November 21, 2013

UFCW President Hansen Statement on Change to Senate Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement after the Senate voted to change its filibuster rules for certain executive branch nominees.

“I applaud the Senate for passing long overdue rules reform. We simply cannot allow a minority of Senators to grind democracy to a halt. The filibuster, once a legislative tool, has been turned into a weapon by those who favor gridlock over progress. The American people, including the hard working members of the UFCW, have had enough. This is not the nuclear option. It is a common sense change that will allow the Senate to do its job. I hope Leader Reid will consider further reforms—beyond just nominees—in the future. Nonetheless, today is an important step towards restoring sanity in the Senate.”

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The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail and meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries. The UFCW protects the rights of workers and strengthens America’s middle class by fighting for health care reform, living wages, retirement security, safe working conditions and the right to unionize so that working men and women and their families can realize the American Dream. For more information about the UFCW’s effort to protect workers’ rights and strengthen America’s middle class, visit www.ufcw.org, or join our online community at www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational and www.twitter.com/ufcw.