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News and Updates
May 23, 2014
Southern California Grocery Workers Reach Tentative Contract
WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 60,000 grocery workers in Southern California, represented by UFCW Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442, have reached a tentative contract agreement with Ralph’s, Albertsons and Vons.
The agreement was reached after 4 months of negotiations. Workers from across Southern California took action to show their solidarity and earn the support of their customers by wearing “Stand Together” buttons at work.
UFCW members from across the region will vote on the proposal in meetings scheduled over the coming weeks. Details of the agreement will not be released until members have had an opportunity to read, discuss, and vote on the tentative agreement.
The current contract expired in early March, and workers are currently on a day to day extension. Private hedge fund Cerberus, which owns Albertsons, recently made a tentative purchase of Safeway, the corporations that owns Vons and Pavilions. That sale could take as long as a year to finalize because it is subject to Federal anti-trust approval.
May 15, 2014
Tyson Poultry Plant Sanitation Workers Join the RWDSU
Sanitation workers at a Tyson poultry plant came together to join RWDSU Southeast Council to have a union voice like the RWDSU members who currently process poultry in the same plant.
More than 30 QSI Contract Sanitation workers came together for a union voice on the job and voted to join the RWDSU Southeast Council. The workers in Buena Vista, Georgia, work sanitation inside a Tyson poultry plant. Workers at QSI Contract Sanitation say they needed a voice on the job to address the lack of a grievance procedure and improve their jobs at the plant.
“Every one of us voted to join the RWDSU. We are looking forward to seeing improved working conditions and higher wages in the near future,” said Leon Burke, a five-year employee at QSI.
The poultry processing workers at the Tyson plant are already members of the RWDSU and played a critical role in assisting QSI Contract Sanitation workers win a union voice. After speaking with their RWDSU co-workers, QSI workers realized the only way they could resolve the lack of a grievance procedure and improve their jobs was by joining a union and negotiating a union contract.
“We couldn’t have done this without the support of the RWDSU Tyson steward leadership and members,” Burke continued.
May 13, 2014
New York UFCW Members Lobby Their State Legislators
UFCW locals representing workers across New York traveled to the State Capitol in Albany today to lobby on issues important to working families. Members and staff from UFCW Locals 1, 1500, and 2013, along with RWDSU Locals 338 and 1102 were in attendance.
A major focus of the lobby day was to push back against efforts to gut the Wage Theft Prevention Act, which took effect in April of 2011. The law requires that employers give workers written notice of wage rates once a year, a provision some Senate Republicans are targeting for repeal. UFCW members made it clear that wage theft is a serious problem and all workers have the right to know if they are being cheated out of money. They called for the Wage Theft Prevention Act to be strengthened, not weakened by repealing the written notice requirement.
Members also discussed the need to raise the minimum wage and pass paid sick leave legislation. For decades, workers’ wages have stagnated while corporate profits and CEO pay have risen to record heights. If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would be over $10 an hour today, but instead it sits at only $8.00 in New York. Members demanded that the minimum wage be raised so it is a living wage.
Members lobbied for statewide paid sick leave, building on the momentum of legislation passed in New York City. They stressed that no worker should be forced to risk their job and their livelihood just because they get sick. Workers without paid sick leave are 1.5 times more likely to go to work sick and contagious than those who have paid sick days. Members said providing paid sick leave would make every workplace more healthy and productive.
Finally, members told their legislators it was long past time to pass the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act, which would include farmworkers under state labor law. This would guarantee that New York’s farmworkers have the right to organize and bargain collectively for the wages and benefits that they deserve. UFCW members understand that all workers must be afforded their fundamental rights.
The lobby day was a great success and members who took part spoke about the importance of meeting directly with their legislators.
“Lobbying is an important way to remind these elected officials who they work for,” said UFCW Local 1500 member John Kubinski, who works at ShopRite in Staten Island. “If we don’t tell them what we want then they cannot properly represent us.”
Local 1500 member Jeff Guardado, who works at Stop & Shop in West Islip, talked about power in numbers. “We’re all fighting for the same cause,” he said. “We stand up for the little people. The little people are many. The powerful are few.”
Local 1500 member Georgette Wilson, who works at Stop & Shop in Hempstead, agreed. “We are here to speak out for those who don’t have the opportunity to have their voice heard.”
Local 1500 member Keith Jefferson, who works at Pathmark in Coney Island, summed up the day. “Too often these elected officials look at papers and they don’t see faces. They need to see faces. I like when my union does this. We fill up the whole bus and all of us come here.”
Members said they will be boarding the bus again next year for the 2015 New York Lobby Day.
May 12, 2014
Bestway Workers Vote Union Yes
Luis Manzaneres served as a union election observer for his fellow Bestway workers.
Last week, workers at a Bestway Supermarket in Mt. Vernon, Va., voted UFCW Yes, becoming the third Bestway store in the region to join UFCW Local 400. The workers’ activism began when the workers stood in solidarity this past October with coworkers at a Falls Church Bestway store who were illegally fired in retaliation for forming a union. The Falls Church workers picketed the store for nine days, uniting customers and other area Bestway workers in their cause before successfully reaching an agreement with Bestway to reinstate the workers and set guidelines to begin negotiations for their first contract.
Despite previous union victories, the Mt. Vernon workers are facing an employer that continues to fight its workers. Bestway management has challenged the results of the NLRB election, an action that has only served to strengthen the solidarity of workers within the store.
“We are very happy with our victory here at Bestway, Mt. Vernon and I thank all my coworkers who showed unity through the election process,” said Luis Manzaneres, a worker at the Mt. Vernon store who served as an election observer on behalf of his coworkers. “We hope to God to sit at the bargaining table very soon to start negotiating our first contract. We are ready!”
May 7, 2014
UFCW President Hansen Statement on President Obama’s Upcoming Visit to Walmart
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s upcoming visit to a California Walmart to discuss energy efficiency.
“On Friday, President Obama will stand side by side with a company known for low wages, few benefits, unreliable hours, discrimination against women, violating workers’ rights, and yes, environmental degradation. Despite promising to be a leader on climate, Walmart’s greenhouse gas pollution continues to rise. According to its own Global Responsibility Report, the company’s emissions grew 2 percent, nearly half a million metric tons, in the last year alone. In addition, Walmart still lags badly behind other large companies when it comes to renewable power, with its projects and purchases deriving only 3 percent of electricity from these sources.
“More than anything, the President’s visit sends a terrible message to workers across America. He is lending credibility to a bad actor when he should be joining the calls for Walmart to change. A federal agency—the National Labor Relations Board—is prosecuting Walmart for retaliating against workers who stand up and speak out. Taxpayers are subsidizing Walmart which pays many of its own workers so little that they must rely on food stamps and Medicaid. And at a time when there is a renewed conversation about addressing income inequality, Walmart’s business model is making the problem worse.
“After the pep rally in California, I invite the President to meet with Walmart workers who can tell him firsthand about their struggles.”
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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.
May 7, 2014
UFCW President Hansen Statement on President Obama’s Upcoming Visit to Walmart
Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s visit to a California Walmart to discuss energy efficiency.
“On Friday, President Obama will stand side by side with a company known for low wages, few benefits, unreliable hours, discrimination against women, violating workers’ rights, and yes, environmental degradation. Despite promising to be a leader on climate, Walmart’s greenhouse gas pollution continues to rise. According to its own Global Responsibility Report, the company’s emissions grew 2 percent, nearly half a million metric tons, in the last year alone. In addition, Walmart still lags badly behind other large companies when it comes to renewable power, with its projects and purchases deriving only 3 percent of electricity from these sources.
“More than anything, the President’s visit sends a terrible message to workers across America. He is lending credibility to a bad actor when he should be joining the calls for Walmart to change. A federal agency—the National Labor Relations Board—is prosecuting Walmart for retaliating against workers who stand up and speak out. Taxpayers are subsidizing Walmart which pays many of its own workers so little that they must rely on food stamps and Medicaid. And at a time when there is a renewed conversation about addressing income inequality, Walmart’s business model is making the problem worse.
“After the pep rally in California, I invite the President to meet with Walmart workers who can tell him firsthand about their struggles.”
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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.
May 7, 2014
JBS SLAUGHTERHOUSE WORKERS AUTHORIZE STRIKE
Worthington MN: Workers at the JBS pork processing facility in Worthington, Minnesota have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. More than 1,800 union workers are employed at the facility slaughtering hogs and processing and packaging pork products and belong to UFCW Local 1161. Workers have been at the bargaining table with the company negotiating a new union contract for ten months. The company has made no offer of any wage increases, and has repeatedly proposed a health care plan that could drastically increase out-of-pocket costs for workers, while reducing coverage.
Over the last few years, JBS’s union workers across the country have negotiated with the company to keep labor costs down, making it possible for the company to thrive. Together, workers and the company have kept health care costs steady and cost-effective.
“Today, JBS is a successful, profitable, multi-national corporation that’s earning profits hand over fist,” said Mike Potter, President of UFCW Local 1161. “Working people in the plants made this success possible. Yet, the company is demanding that workers accept deep cuts to their health care coverage. Their proposed health care plan is so bad, and so potentially expensive, it could mean bankruptcy for workers who become seriously ill, or decide to have a baby. There is simply no economic need to threaten the livelihoods of these workers – the only reason for this is greed,” Potter said.
“I’ve worked at JBS for 23 years,” said Lisa Mejia who operates a whizard knife on the cut floor and is on the union’s bargaining committee. “This has always been a good job, and workers have always been able to sit down and negotiate decent wages and benefits that mean we can have a good life. But now the company is asking us to make too big a sacrifice – one that puts our families at risk. It’s just not right, and it will negatively affect hundreds of families in Worthington and across the area.”
The UFCW represents JBS workers at several other locations around the country. Workers are also at the bargaining table in Greely, Colorado; Souderton, Pennsylvania; Grand Island Nebraska where the company is proposing similar cuts to health care. Workers in Louisville, Kentucky; and Omaha Nebraska will begin negotiations in the next two months. If Worthington workers go on strike, and the dispute spreads to these other locations it could affect more than 10,000 workers.
May 6, 2014
UFCW Members Join Other Unions for Leadership Workshops and Trainings at Kaiser Conference
UFCW members attended workshop trainings at the annual Union Delegate Conference for Kaiser Permanente workers.
Members from UFCW Locals 7, 27, 135, 324, 400, 555, 770, 1428, and 1996 attended the annual Union Delegate Conference for Kaiser Permanente workers in San Jose, Calif. The theme of the conference, which took place April 13-15, was “Walk, Talk, Lead Change.” There, UFCW members attended workshops on leadership roles in the workplace.
UFCW members are part of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which includes nearly 100,000 members from 30 different unions. The coalition was formed in 1997 as a way to transform the relationship between workers and managers. The partnership involves workers, managers, and physicians in a joint decision-making and problem-solving process that is based on common interests from all parties. Workers covered by the partnership include registered nurses, pharmacists, maintenance and service workers, technicians, psychologists, lab scientists, and many others.
The Union Delegate Conference is also an opportunity for UFCW members to participate in collective bargaining with other unions who are part of the coalition. The entire coalition bargains together as a whole for their contract. Next year, the Union Delegate Conference will focus on collective bargaining and negotiations for their new contract since the current one is set to expire in July 2015.
May 1, 2014
Progressive Groups Supporting Seattle Mayor’s $15/hr Proposal
SEATTLE–Seattle’s progressive leaders say they strongly support Mayor Murray’s $15/hour minimum wage plan as a big win for 100,000 people working for low wages in Seattle, all while boosting the local economy and giving smaller employers time to phase in higher wages.
“We will no longer wait for CEOs or Congress to take action to address the income inequality and economic malaise that particularly plagues working women and people of color,” said Pramila Jayapal, former Executive Director of One America, an immigrant rights organization. “Seattle, and other cities across the country, are taking the lead to raise wages to match the rising cost of living, helping all families trying to achieve the American dream.” Jayapal served as member of the Mayor’s Income Inequality Advisory Committee (IIAC) and supports the Mayor’s plan.
Supported by a wide range of progressive organizations and small businesses, the Mayor’s plan would provide an immediate boost for 102,000 low wage workers in Seattle. The majority of low wage workers in Seattle would see their minimum wages rise to $15/hour in 2017 or 2018, and then progress towards $18.13/hour (based on projected Consumer Price Index adjustments) at different rates, depending on the size of their employers.
“What matters most to me is my 4-year old daughter, Canaela. My dream is to give her the same opportunities as other children. For starters, I want to provide a stable home for her and I want to give her a space to call her own,” said Julia DePape, a McDonald’s worker and leader of Working Washington, which led Seattle’s fast food worker strikes. “I dream of taking her to the zoo for the first time because I can only imagine how her face would light up! With $15, I have a chance at that.”
According to the 15 For Seattle statement signed by more than 100 progressive groups, including Seattle NAACP, Lifelong Aids Alliance and Moms Rising: “Today, more than 100,000 Seattle residents earn less than $15 an hour, half of them are older than 30 and a third of them are parents.”
“By 2017, workers in Seattle will have $100 million more to spend than if minimum wage paced with inflation alone,” explained Nicole Vallestro Keenan, Policy Director at Puget Sound Sage and a member of the IIAC supporting the Mayor’s plan.
The 15 For Seattle statement also says: “The cost of living in Seattle has out-paced wage growth, and this has had a disproportionate impact on women and people of color.”
“We’ve already raised our workers’ salaries to $15 an hour,” said Estela Ortega, Executive Director of El Centro de la Raza, a non-profit service provider and social justice organization. “Higher wages give our workers a reason to stay at their jobs and the ability to spend more money, putting more tax dollars into the economy. When our constituents make more money at their jobs, they are better able to take care of themselves and their families.”
Many of the coalition’s 100+ progressive members have already endorsed the Mayor’s plan, including SEIU, One America, Main Street Alliance, UFCW 21, Working Washington, King County Central Labor Council, Washington Community Action Network, Puget Sound Sage, Teamsters 117, and El Centro de la Raza. Other members of 15 For Seattle are taking the Mayor’s proposal back to their organizations for review and approval.
“We’re all better off when we’re all better off and this agreement pushes up the hourly wages of all lower paid workers over time to $15 and then beyond. This is a groundbreaking,” said Sarah Cherin, Policy and Political Director for UFCW 21 and a member of the IIAC supporting the Mayor’s plan. UFCW 21 represents workers in grocery stores, health care, retail and other industries.
As a transition measure, the Mayor’s proposal allows consideration of health care and tips during phase in of higher wages for smaller businesses and non-profits. The plan establishes a temporary “Minimum Compensation” responsibility above a set minimum wage. Employers can choose to phase in minimum wage increases at a slower pace only if they provide a minimum level of additional compensation through health care contributions (or tips, for smaller businesses).
“Mayor Murray has put forward a smart, responsible plan to raise the minimum wage, boost our local economy, and support small business success at the same time,” said Jody Hall, owner of Cupcake Royale and a leader in the Main Street Alliance of Washington. “The Mayor listened to small businesses who sought common ground because we know our economy is built from the bottom up, not the top down. Mayor Murray’s plan recognizes that our local economy is stronger when low and middle class families have greater economic security and more money to spend, and provides small businesses time to reap the benefits of increasing consumer demand while transitioning to a $15 wage.”
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