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News and Updates
March 11, 2009
>Scholarship Deadline Extended: Now April 15!
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Your union is about more than your paycheck and benefits. The UFCW is about workers coming together to build better lives for ourselves. It’s about creating opportunity.
Apply by April 15, 2009 for your opportunity to be awarded one of the several scholarships of up to $8,000 that will be awarded to UFCW members and their dependents. Recipients will be notified June 19, 2009.
To find out more, or to apply online, visit UFCW.org/Scholarship.
UFCW International Union, Attn: Scholarship Program, 1775 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
If you need the scholarship rules or application in another language,
please contact us (1-800-551-4010) and we will obtain assistance for you.
March 11, 2009
UFCW CALLS ON BRUNO
Company’s refusal to engage in productive negotiations or identify potential buyers raises serious questions about Bruno’s restructuring and its commitment to Alabama communities
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) released the following statement today following Bruno’s continued unwillingness to fully disclose restructuring plans to its workers:
“The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and UFCW Local 1657 have repeatedly reached out to Bruno’s Supermarket’s management about working to preserve and protect good jobs in Alabama. We have repeatedly said that we are willing to sit down with any potential buyer to discuss plans to restructure the company. Our number one priority is to have these stores succeed.
“All across the country, we have worked with our employers to navigate the current economic situation. But the way Bruno’s is acting is not only unfair, it goes against the core values of our state.
“We are not going to sign away our future because some New York restructuring firm says that we should. They have refused to engage in constructive discussions. They have refused to identify any potential buyers. They are basically saying trust us, we know what is best for you. But these are the same Wall Street financial wizards who got us into this economic mess.
“After years of mismanagement, Bruno’s advisers are now trying to blame workers for the company’s mistakes. Many of these workers have put in decades of service at Bruno’s. That service should be respected. The contracts these workers negotiated are in line with grocery workers we represent across the country. It allows them to provide for their loved ones and to give their children a better life. Why should Alabama families deserve any less than other grocery workers across the country?
“We suggest that if the financial firm Bruno’s hired to “turnaround” the company doesn’t understand this, they should turnaround and head back to Wall Street because their actions do not reflect Alabama’s Main Street values.
“It is unfortunate that Bruno’s seems to be behaving more like Bear Stearns than a responsible Alabama employer. Whenever they are ready to sit down and have a productive conversation about how we can protect Alabama jobs and communities, and can get Bruno’s stores back on track, we are ready and willing to get it done.
“All we are asking is for them to be forthright, honest and transparent so we can do what is in the best interest of the company and the community.”
March 10, 2009
UFCW Statement on the Introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act
(Washington, D.C.) – It is time for leadership. With a faltering economy and millions of hardworking families struggling to make ends meet, only strong leadership can end thirty years of wage stagnation and renew the American Dream for America’s workers. The Employee Free Choice Act would kick start the engine of America’s middle class.
The introduction of the Free Choice legislation today gives Congress the opportunity to show American workers that they are willing to stand up for real change for working families and shape a brighter future for our children and our grandchildren.
1.3 million UFCW members and their families are counting on their Senators and Congresspersons to show leadership and support the Employee Free Choice Act.
Without the Employee Free Choice Act, workers will continue to fight a one-sided, losing battle to exercise their legal rights at work. The recent stimulus package was a necessary first step in the right direction. But if our country is to have a sound and sustainable economy, we must fully renew the opportunity for workers to achieve the American Dream. Union membership is the engine of a middle-class economy.
UFCW members and working families across the nation are standing firmly in support of this legislation. We will not let corporate America drown out reasonable debate on this issue with lies and exaggerations about the process by which workers can choose a union.
We will not let Congress forget why corporate America is spending millions of dollars on ads and lobbyists. Companies like Wal-Mart are profiting from our economic downturn while thousands of Wal-Mart workers try to stay afloat with part-time incomes, unaffordable health care and questionable job security. Severe income inequality is destroying the American Dream and today we stand united to say it’s time to level the playing field for American workers.
UFCW members will continue to make our voices heard so that every worker can freely choose to join a union to improve their lives, without intimidation, harassment or fear.
March 6, 2009
UFCW Calls for Immediate Health Care Reform
Yesterday, the President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Joe Hansen, attended the White House Forum on Health Reform hosted by President Barack Obama. Today, he reiterated the union’s strong commitment to the movement to bring quality, affordable health care to every American:
Every UFCW member has been touched by the health care crisis. They see the devastating effects of our nation’s failure to act on this issue every day in their communities, in their families, and in their workplaces.
I was pleased to be invited to the White House Forum on Health Reform. I was excited to see President Barack Obama take on the mantle of leadership on this critical issue. I was inspired by the broad spectrum of leaders calling for immediate action.
We will do whatever it takes to see quality, affordable health care extended to everyone in this country. UFCW members demand it and our country needs it now more than ever. A real solution to America’s healthcare problem is the single best way to put America’s economy back on track. Reform must be based on shared responsibility, and that includes fair funding for a public health insurance option so that we have real choices in our system.
So we take this moment to urge each and every person to join us in this fight. Visit www.healthcareforamericanow.org today to read our principles, tell your Congressperson or Senator of our national need for urgent health care reform, and to take action in your community.
March 5, 2009
Food and Commercial Workers President Joe Hansen to Promote Affordable, Quality Health Care at White House Forum on Heal
WASHINGTON, DC – At the invitation of President Barack Obama, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) President Joe Hansen will appear this afternoon at the White House Forum on Health Reform. Hansen has been a consistent voice for quality, affordable health care. Hansen is eager to join the President’s nominees for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform, Nancy-Ann DeParle, at the forum and to support President Obama’s efforts to bring affordable, quality health care for all.
For nearly three decades, Hansen has played a key role in the negotiation of contracts covering hundreds of thousands of workers in the retail and food manufacturing industries. An original member of the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group, Hansen served as the sole worker representative in that congressionally chartered body. The group facilitated a groundbreaking national dialogue that resulted in a bipartisan consensus on the need for affordable, quality care for all Americans.
At the forum, Hansen will focus on how workers and unions can play an important role in reforming a health care system paralyzed by insurance companies and entrenched special interests, a critical step in the effort to rebuild the American middle class. Hansen recognizes that America needs a national solution to the health care crisis and this year is the time to act.
The full proceedings of the summit, which begins at 1:00 p.m. EST, can be observed live at www.WhiteHouse.gov.
March 4, 2009
HHS CHOICE SEBELIUS REFLECTS OBAMA COMMITMENT TO QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS
Washington DC–President Obama’s commitment to ensuring that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care was reaffirmed today, as he announced his choice of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. Gov. Sebelius is well-respected on both sides of the aisle and understands the challenges confronting America’s health care apparatus. During her tenure as Kansas insurance commissioner, she demonstrated both the tenacity and technical expertise needed to overhaul a system paralyzed by insurance companies and special interests. The voters of Kansas have long known Gov. Sebelius as a champion of working families and as a dedicated public servant, and we are eager to join her as she works to realize the dream of a stronger, healthier America.
February 26, 2009
Gourmet Grocery workers fight back against wage theft
(New York)—Five hundred and fifty gourmet grocery workers will receive nearly $1.5 million in unpaid wages, thanks to the efforts of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1500.
In 2008, several workers at Amish Markets and related stores Zeytinia, Zeytinz, and Zeytuna approached UFCW Local 1500 because they wanted to form a union at their stores. UFCW soon discovered that many workers were not being paid proper overtime and brought the violations to the attention of the New York State Department of Labor. The DOL conducted a sweep of nine locations and confirmed widespread wage and hour and labor violations including:
–employees who had worked up to 60 hours per week who were not paid time-and-a-half for their overtime as required by law;
–workers paid less than the minimum wage as part of a “trial period”;
–at least one whistleblower who was terminated in retaliation for providing information to the New York State Department of Labor.
Bruce W. Both, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 said, “When workers do not receive the pay they’re entitled to by law, both workers and taxpayers suffer. Unpaid wages also mean unpaid taxes. We can never tolerate that, especially in these difficult economic times. The New York State Department of Labor and the workers from Amish Markets, a gourmet grocery store serving high-end food products, deserve the gratitude of every taxpayer in the city because they had the courage to stand up and say: ‘This is wrong!’ Today, the only thing being served and delivered by these grocery workers is justice.”
Local 1500’s Gourmet Grocery Campaign is an effort to bring a union voice on the job to workers in New York’s gourmet grocery industry so they may secure middle class wages, decent benefits, and improved working conditions.
Local 1500 and the Building Blocks Project play a leading role in bringing good food, good jobs, and good health to New York’s neighborhoods by promoting and establishing policies that preserve existing supermarkets, develop new supermarkets and ensure the ability of grocery workers to form unions.
February 9, 2009
FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS URGE CONFIRMATION OF SECRETARY DESIGNATE HILDA SOLIS
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(Washington, DC) — The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), America’s neighborhood union, calls for the immediate confirmation of Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis. Secretary Designate Solis has been a loyal champion for working Americans, fighting for workers’ rights and safety. UFCW members know that she will be an excellent Secretary of Labor, and are frustrated that Republican Senators are obstructing her confirmation during this economic crisis. While thousands of people are forced onto unemployment, our nation needs to have a Labor Secretary to immediately help solve our jobs crisis.
Why are Republican Senators delaying this important confirmation? Solis has a stellar track record on labor issues. Her own background as the daughter of a union shop steward from Mexico and an assembly line worker from Nicaragua has led her to stand up and speak out for working families. And the confirmation of the first Latina Secretary of Labor, showcasing the growing diversity in our country, should be a matter of pride for the U.S.
It is clear that those Republican Senators who seek to thwart her confirmation would like to prevent the Department of Labor from fulfilling its function: in the words of the DOL’s mission statement, by fostering and promoting “the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States.”
Secretary Designate Solis’ expertise with labor issues, her experience as a federally-elected official and her longtime role as a champion of workers are reason enough for confirmation. She is eminently qualified, and Republican Senators should stop obstructing her confirmation.
February 3, 2009
SPEAKING OUT FOR UNION EARNS PRICERITE WORKER PAY CUT, DEMOTION
Joe Sorrentino, a worker at a Wakefern PriceRite Supermarket in North Providence, Rhode Island, has been punished for standing up for a union at his workplace, according to charges filed by UFCW Local Union 328 with the National Labor Relations Board.
Sorrentino and other PriceRite employees have been working to organize with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), but have faced a campaign of company harassment and intimidation. Shortly after receiving national attention for speaking out on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act at a Washington, DC, press conference on January 13, Sorrentino was demoted and given a pay cut—the kind of harassment by corporations against workers that the Employee Free Choice Act would eliminate.
UFCW Local 328, in Providence has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking reinstatement of Sorrentino’s position and pay, as a Night Crew Chief.
“This is the way companies destroy worker attempts to gain a voice on the job,” said Dave Fleming, UFCW local 328 President. “They wage fear campaigns. They fire. They spy. They intimidate. They send a clear and frightening message that if you support forming a union, you will be punished.”
A study from Cornell University scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner found that:
- In 25 percent of organizing campaigns, private-sector employers illegally fire workers because they want to form a union.
- Half of employers threaten to shut down partially or totally if employees join together in a union.
- Ninety-two percent of private-sector employers, when faced with employees who want to join together in a union, force employees to attend closed-door meetings to hear anti-union propaganda; 80 percent require supervisors to attend training sessions on attacking unions; and 78 percent require that supervisors deliver anti-union messages to workers they oversee.
- Seventy-five percent hire outside consultants to run anti-union campaigns, often based on mass psychology and distorting the law.
Joe Sorrentino, like countless other workers trying to improve their workplace, exercised his right speak out for a union on the job,” said Fleming. “The next thing he knew, he was demoted with a wage cut of $3 an hour.”
February 2, 2009
Packinghouse Workers Win Solid Wage and Benefits Increases with Smithfield Foods
(Washington, DC) – Two new contracts—one covering 1800 Smithfield/Farmland Foods workers in Crete, Neb., and the other covering 250 Smithfield/Armour Eckrich workers in Mason City, Iowa—raise living standards for meatpacking workers and their families. The contracts negotiated by members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 271 and 6 provide solid wage increases, lower worker health care costs with improved health care benefits, and retirement security.
More than 10,000 workers at twelve UFCW local unions that are bargaining (or have recently settled) new contracts with Smithfield have been taking unified worksite actions over the past eight months. This unified bargaining approach is sending a strong message to Smithfield that UFCW members are willing to stick together for contracts that raise working conditions and living standards for meatpacking workers across the industry. One of the goals of the program was to show UFCW members at each plant that no one stood alone. Unity bargaining is producing the best contracts in the pork industry and changing the lives of workers.
“We just settled a contract that secures middle class wages and benefits for our families and we did it by working together with our UFCW brothers and sisters in Nebraska and across the country, said Bob Hampton,” chief steward at Local 6 in Mason City. “Smithfield workers are sticking together to make Smithfield jobs quality, middle class jobs you can raise a family on.”
In Mason City, the new four-year contract:
–Increases wages by $1.40 over the four year term of the contract.
–Maintains affordable health insurance and adds improved well child care and a variety of improvements in health care benefits.
–Improves vacation pay.
–Improves retirement.
–Improves sick pay.
In Crete, the new four-year contract:
–Increases wages by at least $1.50 over the four year term of the contract.
–Improves health care coverage with controlled costs to workers.
–Secures retirement.
–Improves working conditions.
These contracts are the latest of several major collective bargaining wins for UFCW packing and food processing members across the country. The UFCW represents 250,000 workers in this industry. Smithfield workers at the company’s largest pork processing plant recently voted to join the UFCW after a 15-year campaign.