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News and Updates
March 26, 2014
UFCW Local 480 Endorses Abercrombie for Governor of Hawaii
UFCW Local 480 has endorsed Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie in his bid for re-election.
Local 480 President Pat Loo said that Governor Abercrombie has helped Hawaii turn the corner since taking office in 2010 by creating jobs and reducing unemployment.
Governor Abercrombie appreciated the support and said he looks forward to continue working with UFCW 480 to help build opportunities for the working class.
UFCW Local 480 represents 4,500 workers in Hawaii’s grocery, retail, food processing and meatpacking industries.
March 26, 2014
University Food Service Workers Vote to Join UFCW Local 1000
Texas Christian University food service workers voted to join UFCW Local 1000.
More than 150 Sodexo food service workers at Texas Christian University (TCU) voted to have a union voice on the job Monday night and join UFCW Local 1000. According to the workers, the vote was motivated by a change in Sodexo company policy that resulted in roughly 70 percent of TCU dining employees losing benefits such as health care coverage, vacation time, and sick leave.
Sodexo redefined full-time employment terms for workers last fall. When the change took effect, many full-time Sodexo workers at TCU became or were reclassified as part-time workers, effectively losing benefits they previously had as full-time employees.
During the campaign, Sodexo workers had support not only from UFCW Local 1000 members, but TCU students as well. Some students and student groups on campus actively voiced support for the workers’ right to join a union, including the campus chapter of the NAACP.
Negotiations for the workers are set to begin soon.
March 20, 2014
UFCW Member Faces Life after Surgery— with Disability Assistance from Union Plus
From Union Plus
For 17 years, Michael Roque of Somers Point, N.J.–a member of UFCW Local 152–did a job he was good at, caring for the elderly and bringing joy to their lives. But, after having to undergo brain surgery, the long recovery has brought big changes to his life, along with the financial strain of being unable to work full time. Now regaining his strength, Roque is thankful for the Union Plus Disability Grant1 that provided financial assistance at a critical time.
For much of his career as an activities aid in a nursing home, the symptoms from Roque’s epilepsy were kept in check. But a 2004 car accident left him experiencing three to four seizures a month. Eventually, there was no alternative but to have surgery, even though it would mean a recovery period of a year or more, while getting by on his wife Donalyd’s salary.
Assistance from Union Plus has been a huge help during such a difficult time. “I learned about the Disability Grant by chance,” Roque says. “After I got a Union Plus Credit Card, I started getting emails from Union Plus, and one of them described the Disability Grant program. With everything we were going through, it sounded like it would be great for us.”
Union Plus provides a range of unique assistance programs1 to help eligible UFCW Credit Cardholders who are facing hardship. Disability Grants of $1600 to $2700 are available to Union Plus Credit Card holders who have had the card for three months or more and who meet the eligibility requirements.
“The people at Union Plus were extremely helpful all throughout the application process,” Roque says. “They answered all my questions, stayed in touch, and we received help in less than a month.”
The last year has been a tough time in many ways, but Roque is progressing in his recovery and feeling better than he has in a long time. “I haven’t had a seizure since the surgery,” he says. “I’m getting my strength back each day.”
Roque looks forward to returning to work in the coming months. He may be unable to perform his old job, due to the stress and physical requirements, but with his years of experience and his degree in public health, he is confident of finding a good opportunity where he can put his skills to work.
“My life has changed a lot in the last year,” he says. “But I’m moving ahead now. I really appreciate the help that Union Plus provided when we needed it most.”
Do you carry a Union Plus Credit Card? They feature Disability, Job Loss, Strike, and Hospital Grants for eligible cardholders, plus, a competitive rate and all customer service calls are answered in the U.S. You can learn more by visiting www.UFCWCard.com
Also available to eligible UFCW members is the Union Plus Mortgage program, which provides a range of assistance programs, including interest-free loans and grants to help you make mortgage payments when you’re disabled, or become unemployed. Over the life of the Union Plus mortgage assistance program, more than $10.1 million in assistance has been provided to union members.
At UnionPlus.org you can learn more about these programs, as well as the Union Plus benefits and services that are available to union members and retirees. These include legal services, credit counseling, health savings programs, and the Save My Home Hotline.
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1Certain restrictions, limitations, and qualifications apply to these grants. Additional information and eligibility criteria can be obtained at UnionPlus.org/Assistance.
Credit approval required. Terms & Conditions apply. Union Plus Credit Cards issued by Capital One, N.A.
March 20, 2014
Women’s History Month: UFCW Celebrates the Life of Dolores Huerta
“I think organized labor is a necessary part of democracy. Organized labor is the only way to have fair distribution of wealth.”
(Dolores Huerta)
Dolores Huerta with Walmart workers during the Ride for Respect in summer of 2013
Dolores Clara Fernandez, better known as Dolores Huerta, was born in 1930 in New Mexico, and grew up in the farming community of Stockton, California. She earned a teaching degree at Delta Community College. During that time, she met her first husband. She later married Ventura Huerta. In the early 1950s, she worked as an elementary school teacher, and many of her students were the children of farm workers who were living in poverty. Teaching the children of farm workers had a profound impact on her, and in 1955, she became one of the founders of the Stockton chapter of the Community Services Organization (CSO), which worked to improve social and economic conditions for farm workers and fight discrimination. Through her work at the CSO, she met Cesar Chavez.
In 1960, she helped create the Agricultural Worker’s Association (AWA), and in 1962, she and Chavez launched the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), the predecessor to the United Farm Workers Union (UFW).
In 1965, she helped to organize the historic Delano Grape Strike and consumer boycott against growers of table grapes in California. The strike involved thousands of grape workers and was a significant victory for the UFW—leading to a first contract with these growers. In 1967, the NFWA combined with the AWA to create the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. During this time, she negotiated contracts for workers, fought against the use of harmful pesticides, and advocated for unemployment and healthcare benefits for agricultural workers. In 1973, she led another successful consumer boycott against California grape growers that resulted in the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which allowed farm workers to form unions and bargain for better wages and working conditions.
Dolores Huerta stepped down from her position at the UFW in 1999, and established a foundation where she continues her work to improve the lives of workers, immigrants and women. She has received many honors for her activism, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. She is portrayed by Rosario Dawson in the film “Cesar Chavez,” which screened at the White House this week.
To learn more about Dolores Huerta, follow her on Twitter (@DoloresHuerta) or visit her foundation’s website at http://doloreshuerta.org/.
March 19, 2014
UFCW Members in Minnesota Lobby in St. Paul
UFCW members from Locals 653 and 1189 braved the snow to talk with their Representatives at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. The members lobbied for increasing the minimum wage, paid sick leave, and medical cannabis.
Local 1189 member Dave Vasquez, who works on the kill floor at Dakota Premium, was happy to be sharing his concerns with legislators.
“This is my second time being here,” said Vasquez. “It’s important for Representatives to hear from their constituents. Workers and regular people need to be talking to them because that’s who puts them into power and feels the most impact from these laws. Coming to the Capitol helps us make our case and make some positive changes.”
Jillian Roemer, a Local 1189 member who has worked at Byerly’s in Roseville for 19 years was particularly interested in talking with legislators about the importance of paid sick leave.
“I’ve done the math and I’ve lost $240 from being sick just this year. The times I got sick were usually from someone coming to work sick and infecting me. It’s incredibly frustrating. $240 is a huge hit for me I need to pay for my mortgage, food, heat. If it’s affecting me, it’s affecting others. In the service industry, paid sick leave should be a no brainer.”
Legislators themselves were happy to see UFCW members throughout the Capitol. Representative John Marty felt that UFCW’s presence would go a long ways towards ensuring an increase in the minimum wage.
“We need working families to speak up on minimum wage and once we get that victory we have to keep going further. UFCW members being here push that train forward. Without you, it doesn’t move.”
“I thought the day was a huge success,” said Diana Tastad, a Local 1189 member who has worked at Kowalski’s for four years. “Legislators are too often out of touch with working people. They need to hear stories about not being able to feed our children. They don’t know what it’s like to go to bed hungry. The companies we work for spend money on lobbyists and are here all the time. We don’t have that money, but we have our voice, that’s our power. We can’t not show up.”
March 19, 2014
Women’s History Month: UFCW Celebrates the Life of Frances Perkins
“I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen.”
(Frances Perkins)
Frances Perkins (1880-1965) graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1902 and earned a Master’s Degree in sociology from Columbia University in 1910. After graduate school, she worked as a social worker and became involved in labor reform efforts after witnessing workers trying to escape from the cramped floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911.
Francis Perkins meets with Carnegie steelworkers
She served as the first woman Industrial Commissioner under New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt, and held other important labor-related jobs in New York state government under Governors Roosevelt and Al Smith. In 1933, President Roosevelt appointed her as his Secretary of Labor—making her the first woman to hold a U.S. Cabinet position.
As Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins championed many aspects of the New Deal, including unemployment insurance, child labor laws, and the adoption of the federal minimum wage. She was largely responsible for the creation of the Social Security system through her role on the President’s Committee on Economic Security. Following her service as Secretary of Labor, she was asked by President Truman to serve on the U.S. Civil Service Commission. She resigned from public service in 1952 shortly after the death of her husband, Paul Caldwell Wilson.
Following her government service career, she continued to be active as a teacher and lecturer until her death. The Frances Perkins Building that serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor was named in her honor in 1980.
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March 18, 2014
UFCW Local 1428 Lobbies Legislators in Sacramento
UFCW Local 1428 traveled to Sacramento today speak with legislators at the State Capitol about bills working families would like to see passed in California.
They lobbied on AB 1792 and AB 1522.
AB 1792 would require the Department of Finance to prepare an annual report highlighting which large companies in California have workers on public assistance programs like food stamps and Medi-Cal.
These programs were designed to help workers through tough times, not as a permanent subsidy to low-wage employers. This report would be used to inspire legislative action against large corporations like Walmart that are failing to pay their workers a living wage and forcing them to turn to the government for help.
AB 1522 would guarantee paid sick leave for every worker in California. This bill would ensure workers who become sick are given the time they deserve to get better.
For many Local 1428 members, this was their first time lobbying and it was eye opening.
“I was amazed to find out all the work my local does in politics,” said Peggy Macias who works at Food 4 Less. “So much of the work they do to pass laws that benefit workers in California we just take for granted. This experience made me realize why it’s so important that everyone is signed up to contribute to ABC.”
“This was my first trip to the Capitol. I have always wanted to be more involved with my union and this trip opened my eyes to what all my union does,” said Myishia Carter who works at Stater Bros. “The trip was educational, exciting, and made me feel like I was making a difference. The entire day inspired me to be more involved. I am a new union steward and can’t wait to go back to my store and tell everyone about my experience and how much I learned.”
Local 1428 members said they would continue to push their elected officials to support workers in California.
March 17, 2014
Women’s History Month: UFCW Celebrates the Life of Mother Jones
Mother Jones (image via motherjonesmuseum.org)
The month of March marks Women’s History Month and provides us with an opportunity to honor the many women who have who have fought for social and economic justice in the workplace.
Mary Harris “Mother” Jones (1837-1930) was a prominent labor activist and cofounder of the Industrial Workers of the World. As a young woman, she worked briefly as a teacher and dressmaker before marrying George Jones, an iron worker and union organizer in Tennessee. The couple had four children, but her husband and children died from the yellow fever epidemic of 1867. After the loss of her family, she moved back to Chicago to work as dressmaker, but tragedy struck again and she lost her shop in the Chicago fire in 1871.
Over the next few years, she became active in the labor movement and traveled to numerous strike sites, including rail strike of 1877 in Pittsburgh and the coal fields of Pennsylvania in 1899. It was during that period that she became known as “Mother Jones.” She was also passionate about children’s rights and led a “children’s crusade” in 1903 to protest the working conditions for children in textile mills. She helped to establish the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905; visited rebel Mexico in 1911; was arrested at the Homestead steel strike in 1919; and worked with dressmakers in Chicago in 1924.
In 1902, a district attorney in West Virginia called Mother Jones “the most dangerous woman in America” for her success in organizing mine workers. Although she has been dead for over 80 years, her name is synonymous with the labor movement. The magazine, Mother Jones, is named for her.
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March 13, 2014
President Obama, flanked by UFCW Member, Pushes to Expand Overtime Pay
President Obama today ordered the Department of Labor to expand federal rules so that more salaried workers would be able to qualify for overtime pay. Currently, any salaried employee making more than $455 per week is not required to be given overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week.
The current $455 per week salary threshold has failed to keep pace with inflation. It was $250 in 1975, equivalent to roughly $1,000 today.
This expansion will give millions more workers across the nation the chance to earn extra pay when they do extra work.
UFCW Local 400 member Rob Trotter, a meat cutter at Giant in Annandale, stood next to President Obama as he signed the memorandum.
“I have worked in retail for over twenty years for an hourly wage,” he said. “I have depended upon overtime to pay school tuition for my children, upgrade a family vacation, or to get out from under a financial hardship. The opportunity to earn overtime has always been helpful and comforting to me.”
It is not yet clear by how much the salary threshold will increase. The President’s order instructs the Department of Labor to come up with an expansion plan following a period of input and study. With the stagnation of wages and the increase in corporate profits, actions like this give workers a better chance to provide for their families.
“There have been years when twenty percent of my income was comprised of overtime,” Trotter said. “Going above and beyond expectations at work takes a toll physically because you’re working harder and emotionally because you’re away from your family for a longer period of time. Every employer should fairly recognize and reward this sacrifice.”
March 11, 2014
UFCW Celebrates Women’s History Month
The month of March marks Women’s History Month and provides us with an opportunity to honor the many women who have who have fought for social and economic justice in the workplace.
From Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, the “grandmother of all agitators,” to Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve in the U.S. Cabinet as Secretary of Labor, to Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, to Addie Wyatt, the first African-American woman elected international vice president of a major labor union, to the brave women of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), women in the labor movement have defied convention and taken the lead in fighting for workers’ rights.
Throughout out the month of March, the UFCW will the highlight the lives of these remarkable women who fought for fair wages, dignity in the workplace and the freedom to organize in spite of considerable barriers, and honor their significant contributions to the labor movement.