-
News and Updates
February 12, 2016
Spread the Union-Made Love This Valentine’s Day
Need a last minute gift for your loved ones this Valentine’s Day? To support your union family, pick up any of the tasty treats that union members make, and shop at union label retail and grocery stores. Below are just a few of the things made by UFCW and other union members that might help you celebrate that special someone!
Chocolate
- Ghirardelli Chocolate
- Hershey’s Hugs and Kisses
- Russell Stover
- See’s Candies
Champagne
- Andre
- Cook’s
- Eden Roc
- J. Roget
- Jacques Bonet
- Jacques Reynard
- JFJ
- Le Domaine
- Tott’s
- Wycliff
Smell Good
- Avon
- Hugo Boss
- Old Spice
- Pierre Cardin
And with your Union Plus discount, you can pick up flowers and chocolates at a great discounted price! Click here for more info.
February 5, 2016
Every Super Bowl Football Starts in UFCW Hands
UFCW members provide the leather to make every NFL game ball ever used
CHICAGO – Super Bowl Sunday is an American tradition and the American ideals of hard work, excellent performance and durability under the toughest conditions are exemplified on and off the field. Those same qualities are exemplified by the craftsmanship of the ball used on the field. Manufactured entirely in the United States, these balls are tough to the core and made to precise specifications, starting with the Horween leather crafted by dedicated UFCW 1546 members at the historic Horween Leather Company, Chicago’s last remaining tannery.
The 150 workers at Horween have been UFCW members since the 1960s, marking half a century of good-paying jobs in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The plant itself was founded in 1905 and has been producing top-quality football leather there for the last 60 years.
“I’ll be watching the Super Bowl knowing that we helped craft every football,” said Earl Ferguson, a machine operator and chief steward at the tannery. “Whether it’s Denver or Carolina, my union brothers at the National Football League Players Association will take the field knowing they’ve reached the pinnacle of their career. For us, we can take pride in that when that foot hits the leather that I made, it’s a sign that our union family is best at what we do.”
In addition to making the leather for every NFL football and NBA basketball, workers at Horween make some of the most sought-after leathers for shoes and clothing the world over, including genuine shell cordovan. The expertise and skill required to build this reputation can only happen with the highly-trained workers that value the stability provided by their union contract.
“I’ve been proud to be a union member at Horween for 26 years,” said Ferguson. “We’re a family here. We take care of each other. The union, that’s just another part of that. Having the UFCW at my back means I have good wages and benefits to care for my loved ones. It means I feel a sense of ownership of my own job, which is important because I take pride in what I do.”
For more photos of the long-time tannery employees, check out Horween’s company blog.
###
We are 1.3 million families standing together to build an economy that every hard-working family deserves.
www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational @UFCW
February 3, 2016
From Campaign Trail, Secretary Clinton Calls Into UFCW Event and Thanks Members
Clinton: “The issues your members fight for are my fights.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Secretary Hillary Clinton called into the 2016 meeting of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) International Executive Board and Advisory Council to thank its members for their efforts in Iowa and to highlight her commitment to hard-working families across the nation.
The UFCW, the largest private sector union in the nation with 1.3 million members, announced its endorsement of Clinton for President of the United States last month and was proud to be a key part of her victory in Iowa.
During her remarks, Secretary Clinton pointed to how UFCW members and their families were vital to her close victory in Iowa, and that she was determined to fight for the issues that matter to tens of millions of working and middle class people.
Specifically, Clinton emphasized her commitment to raising wages, guaranteeing equal pay, providing paid leave, and protecting the rights of hard-working families to negotiate better lives.
The following are excerpts from Clinton’s remarks to the UFCW Executive board and Advisory Council:
On Iowa:
“It’s just meant the world to me to have your support…And I want you to know that you made a difference for me in Iowa. This was a very tight race and your members were critical votes in several precincts across the state. That helped us end up on top. And I appreciated your work on the ground, knocking on doors, talking to voters, making phone calls. And here’s something I want you to know — exit polling shows that in Iowa, union household voters made up 21% of all caucus goers. So more than one fifth of everybody who turned out on Monday night was part of a union household and I was supported by a 9 point advantage among union household voters. You made that possible.”
On issues that matter to working families:
“The issues you and your members are fighting for are my fights too…I will be your partner in the fight to raise wages, provide opportunity for paid sick time, fair scheduling for workers. I will stand up and fight for the right to organize and bargain collectively, for good wages and good working conditions and benefits. And I have a plan to make college affordable, to fight for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship.”
Clinton also took time to answer a question from the audience about what she will do to help workers balance work and family. She said:
“I’ve said before that we’ve got to do more to help families balance work and their families. That’s why I support twelve weeks of paid family leave, seven day of paid sick time…I am making the strength of our family, opportunities for our families, specifically those that working women have, the centerpiece of my campaign. And you’ll hear a lot about this in the months ahead.”
Clinton also took a question about whether she believes collective bargaining is a means to ending wage inequality. She said:
“I believe it. I think the evidence supports it. There’s no doubt in my mind that the labor movement and particularly collective bargaining led to the growth of the American middle class…Republicans and their special interest groups have tried to undermine organizing, undermine collective bargaining. There’s no doubt in my mind they try to diminish our standard of living and growth of the American middle class.”
Photos of UFCW members caucusing for Clinton in Iowa are attached.
###
Join the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) online at www.ufcw.org.
We are 1.3 million families standing together to build an economy that every hard-working family earns and deserves.
February 3, 2016
UFCW Names Esther López New International Secretary-Treasurer
UFCW President Perrone Highlights Historic Announcement as Part of UFCW’s Commitment to Building a Diverse and Strong Union Family
PHOENIX, AZ — Today, the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Executive Board elected Esther López as the new International Secretary-Treasurer. The historic announcement reflects the commitment by the UFCW, as the largest private sector union with 1.3 million members, to building a diverse and strong union family.
Esther López is a leading champion of hard-working men and women, and has worked tirelessly for decades on behalf of immigrants and all families seeking a better life. López has helped lead the UFCW’s groundbreaking outreach effort to the Latino and immigrant communities, and is recognized as a national leader in the areas of immigration reform, as well as civil, human, and labor rights.
“To become a better and stronger union family, I have been absolutely committed to building a diverse and inclusive union. It is why I’m so proud to announce that the UFCW International Executive Board elected Esther López as our union family’s new International Secretary-Treasurer. Esther is a tireless advocate for the rights of all hard-working men and women. Esther believes, as I do, that our nation’s diversity is our strength, that we must grow our union family, and that by working together we will provide a better life to all our incredible members,” said Marc Perrone, International President of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union.
In accepting her position, López said:
“I am truly honored to be elected as the International Secretary-Treasurer. This union and our members are my family. Doing everything I can to improve the lives of hard-working families, and provide them with the better life they’ve earned, has been my life’s mission. It is why the UFCW’s commitment to building a stronger and more diverse union family is so important. It inspires me to never stop fighting to better the lives of our members, and those who deserve to be our members. Under Marc’s leadership, and as part of this incredible UFCW team, I’m more optimistic than ever about the future of our great union family.”
Throughout her career, López has been a champion of the rights of all workers – regardless of where they come from or where they were born. To help provide hope to immigrant workers, López launched a groundbreaking program to ensure eligible UFCW members were first in line to apply for citizenship. Prior to that, she spearheaded the Union Citizenship Action Network, also known as UCAN, to help UFCW members become naturalized and get on the path to citizenship. López was the lead staff person on the UFCW Commission on ICE Enforcement that highlighted civil rights abuses in the 2006 Swift raids. All along, López has never lost focus on the broader goal of giving aspiring Americans the chance to become citizens and ensuring all workers and their families are protected from exploitation.
López began with the UFCW in November 2006 when she was hired as Director of the Civil Rights and Community Action Department. In that role, she has helped put the UFCW on the front lines of the most crucial civil rights battles of our time—fighting back against voter suppression, working to end exploitation of refugees from countries like Burma, Sudan and Somalia, creating more opportunities for women, and expanding LGBT equality.
Prior to her career at the UFCW, López played an active role in improving labor conditions within the state of Illinois, serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Labor, as well as in the governor’s cabinet as Director of the Illinois Department of Labor.
###
We are 1.3 million families standing together to build an economy that every hard-working family deserves.
February 1, 2016
Today Marks First Day of Black History Month
via opengathering.org
Every year in February, we take part in celebrating Black History Month. Throughout the next four weeks, we will highlight and celebrate the rich history of African Americans, the achievements of the civil rights movement, and the impact that various civil rights leaders, labor leaders, and union members have had on the fight for civil and labor rights throughout history, and today.
Black History Month’s origins began in 1926, after historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans dedicated the second week in February as “Negro History Week” to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, the celebration was officially recognized and expanded to span the entire month, and every U.S. president since then has celebrated Black History Month during the month of February.
Paying tribute to African American leaders and community members who have fought for fair wages, dignity in the workplace, and the freedom to organize is still important today–despite the progress that many civil rights leaders made in spite of considerable barriers in the 1960’s, our country still faces threats to the Voting Rights Act, racial discrimination in our cities, and many other setbacks to this progress. Even during the ongoing 2016 Presidential campaign, we have seen race-baiting and other derogatory rhetoric from the likes of Donald Trump. The ideas being put forth by many of the Republican presidential nominees do not represent the America that Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of–we must continue to honor his and and many others’ significant contributions to the labor movement as we fight for equality in the workplace and beyond, for people of all races and backgrounds.
January 29, 2016
Quest Diagnostics Workers Vote “Yes” to Join UFCW Local 135
Quest Diagnostics workers in San Diego voted to join UFCW Local 135. The workers join a growing movement of phlebotomist and lab technicians who have come together from the Northwest to the Southwest to raise standards in the health care industry. Workers wanted to join a union in order improve their jobs and workplace. Better wages, respect on the job, stable schedules, and vacation and sick days are some of the top priorities for workers. Negotiations for their first contract begins next month.
Quest Diagnostics is a leading diagnostics services provider in oncology and genetics. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and has 45,000 employees. Given the company’s prominence, workers hope that through the growing power of their combined voice, Quest Diagnostics workers will be able to influence and improve standards for workers throughout the industry.
Phlebotomist and lab technicians across the Northwest and Southwest began voting to join the UFCW after a chance encounter with their unionized counterparts in Washington state. With the encouragement and support of their coworkers, these workers are coming together and finding their voice.
Visit LabWorkersUnited.com to learn more.
January 28, 2016
El Super Grocery Workers and their Supporters Protest Recently Opened El Super Store in Pico Rivera
– El Super operates 54 grocery stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, and is a subsidiary of Mexico retail giant Grupo Comercial Chedraui
Community members and El Super workers rallied outside the chain’s newly opened El Super store in Pico Rivera yesterday. El Super has been under consumer boycott since December 2014, and its unionized workers have struck the company twice in protest of unfair labor practices. Jobs at El Super are beneath grocery industry standards and the federal government has issued multiple complaints, and a temporary injunction, against the company for violating the rights of workers who speak out in favor of higher standards.
On January 22, a new El Super opened at 9320 Slauson Ave, Pico Rivera. This space was a Ralph’s store, before it closed last October.
“This will be a non Union store where workers have fewer protections and no voice at work. Pico Rivera needs good, union jobs that uplift workers, their families and our community. We need grocery stores that preserve the quality job standards established at neighboring stores,” said Andrea Zinder, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) 324 Secretary Treasurer.
Ralph’s workers at this store had a good union contract that included guaranteed hours, family sustaining wages, adequate paid sick leave, and affordable family health care. The jobs at the Pico Rivera El Super are inferior in every way.
In 2014, Chedraui posted over $100 million (US) in profits, and El Super contributed more than a fifth of the company’s net revenues. Despite its success, unionized El Super workers at seven (7) California stores have been working without a fair union contract for over two years.
####
January 21, 2016
At MLK Conference, UFCW Plays Large Role in Fighting for Justice
From left to right: Agueda Arias UFCW Local 888, Karina Rosado, UFCW Local 400, Angela Johnson UFCW Local 1000 and Kimberly Mitchell UFCW Local 400, attend a session at the MLK Conference.
The AFL-CIO held its annual Martin Luther King (MLK) Conference last week in Washington, D.C., where UFCW members from across the country attended and participated. The conference, titled “Change The Rules, Be The Power,” revolved around organizing, politics, and other issues, openly discussing race, and activism — including the in-the-neighborhoods activism by its 1,000 delegates. At least one speaker urged the federation to openly endorse and back the Black Lives Matter movement, which has pushed the discussion about racial justice to the forefront of U.S. consciousness. A special AFL-CIO race and justice commission, co-chaired by UFCW International President Marc Perrone, is holding a series of hearings nationwide to get that discussion going.
The MLK Conference also covered issues ranging from ending mass incarceration of minorities and immigrants, to the looming U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would make every state and local government a right-to-work fiefdom. One speaker noted that the right-to-work ruling would disproportionately harm minorities and women.
The conference’s big secondary theme was the need to greatly increase organizing, both by the labor movement and its allies (faith groups, community groups, women’s groups, civil rights groups, environmentalists and others) in order to increase membership and supporters and marshal resources and people to call out and fight against the issues that would harm hard-working men and women in the 2016 election and beyond.
UFCW Executive Vice President Esther Lopez was honored with the distinguish, “At The River I Stand” Award.
The conference agenda was packed with incredible speakers from union presidents, to community activists, representatives from worker centers, young workers and more. UFCW Executive Vice President Esther Lopez was honored with the distinguished “At The River I Stand” Award at the Sunday night awards dinner. During the conference, UFCW activists participated in many dynamic plenaries, workshops sessions, awards, events and community service projects. Some of the community service projects included cleaning the homes of senior citizens and preparing meal kits and food bags at food pantries. The conference ended on Monday with conference participants joining community members from Ward 8 in Washington, D.C. for their MLK parade.
FCW Local 400 members help with cleaning and doing minor repairs to senior citizens’ homes during Senior Service Project Day.
During the service day, Agueda Arias from UFCW Local 888 prepares bags for potatoes and other food goods at a local food bank.
Kellie from UFCW Local 655 cleans windows during Senior Service Project Day.
UFCW activists march in the D.C. Ward 8 MLK parade.
January 15, 2016
Alabama RWDSU Rep. Helps Rescue, Reunite Family
This article was originally published by ABC 33/40
A family swept away by floodwaters on Christmas Day got the chance to reunite with the Good Samaritan who helped them to safety. This month, they met at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Hall in Birmingham with smiles and hugs.
The last time Curtis Gray, who works at RWDSU Mid-South Council, met the Miller family they were on Sweeney Hollow Road in Pinson, Alabama around 5:30pm in the pouring rain with rising flood waters December 25th. Gray was headed home and the Millers to a family gathering.
Rickey Miller had just gotten out of his vehicle to check and see if the road was passable when he yelled to his family to get out; the water was rising too fast. But it was too late and the vehicle was swept into the creek.”I was hysterical. I thought I had lost them,” explained Miller.
Curtis Gray had also stopped along the road a ways back. “Next thing I know, a car come floating down,” said Gray. He got out and first saw Miller’s daughter Faith. “She was screaming help me, help me!” Gray, who says he is not a swimmer, directed her back to the bank where the water was shallower and helped her out. Then Rickey Miller made it out of the creek and they saw his son Ryan surface.
“The car was nose down in ditch and he popped up. We told him to hang on and stay there.” Neighbors on the other side got a rope and helped him to safety. Gray said he had to convince Miller not to go back in the rushing flood waters. It was too dangerous. His wife Jamie was still missing at this point. “The little girl looked at me and said I’m not worried Dad. Mom’s going to be okay,” recalled Gray.
By this time, rescue crews were arriving. Grey walked about fifty feet looking around and heard her faint cries. He spotted Jamie Miller still in the frigid waters hanging onto a branch. They estimate the water was round eight feet deep. Gray alerted firefighters who were able to pull her out. She has a broken collarbone and plenty of bruises, but is otherwise okay.
After their harrowing night, the Millers spent their Christmas night in the emergency room. “We were alive, that was enough Christmas for us to be alive and together,” said Rickey Miller.
They drove from their home in Blount County to thank Gray personally for coming to their rescue giving him a card and gift card.
“I’m just happy God put me in that position to help them out,” said Gray. Both he and the Millers say they have a renewed respect now for those weather watches and warnings. They pledge to stay home when the weather is rough and take no chances. Gray said he’s seen video on the news before of cars and homes being swept away and never dreamed he would see such a thing first hand.
January 15, 2016
Alabama RWDSU/UFCW Rep. Helps Rescue, Reunite Family
This article was originally published by ABC 33/40
A family swept away by floodwaters on Christmas Day got the chance to reunite with the Good Samaritan who helped them to safety. This month, they met at the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Hall in Birmingham with smiles and hugs.
The last time Curtis Gray, who works at RWDSU/UFCW Mid-South Council, met the Miller family they were on Sweeney Hollow Road in Pinson, Alabama around 5:30pm in the pouring rain with rising flood waters December 25th. Gray was headed home and the Millers to a family gathering.
Rickey Miller had just gotten out of his vehicle to check and see if the road was passable when he yelled to his family to get out; the water was rising too fast. But it was too late and the vehicle was swept into the creek.”I was hysterical. I thought I had lost them,” explained Miller.
Curtis Gray had also stopped along the road a ways back. “Next thing I know, a car come floating down,” said Gray. He got out and first saw Miller’s daughter Faith. “She was screaming help me, help me!” Gray, who says he is not a swimmer, directed her back to the bank where the water was shallower and helped her out. Then Rickey Miller made it out of the creek and they saw his son Ryan surface.
“The car was nose down in ditch and he popped up. We told him to hang on and stay there.” Neighbors on the other side got a rope and helped him to safety. Gray said he had to convince Miller not to go back in the rushing flood waters. It was too dangerous. His wife Jamie was still missing at this point. “The little girl looked at me and said I’m not worried Dad. Mom’s going to be okay,” recalled Gray.
By this time, rescue crews were arriving. Grey walked about fifty feet looking around and heard her faint cries. He spotted Jamie Miller still in the frigid waters hanging onto a branch. They estimate the water was round eight feet deep. Gray alerted firefighters who were able to pull her out. She has a broken collarbone and plenty of bruises, but is otherwise okay.
After their harrowing night, the Millers spent their Christmas night in the emergency room. “We were alive, that was enough Christmas for us to be alive and together,” said Rickey Miller.
They drove from their home in Blount County to thank Gray personally for coming to their rescue giving him a card and gift card.
“I’m just happy God put me in that position to help them out,” said Gray. Both he and the Millers say they have a renewed respect now for those weather watches and warnings. They pledge to stay home when the weather is rough and take no chances. Gray said he’s seen video on the news before of cars and homes being swept away and never dreamed he would see such a thing first hand.