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News and Updates
May 22, 2013
Please Support the UFCW Local 1000 Oklahoma Disaster Relief Fund
Local 1000 members preparing and packing boxes of food for tornado victims
A tragedy has directly affected UFCW Local 1000 in Moore, Oklahoma. At least seven of our union brothers and sisters lost their homes and all of their possessions in the terrible tornado. There is no comparison to the devastation that this community is suffering from as they search through the destruction for their loved ones and pets. Local 1000 has opened a Disaster Relief Fund and we ask that you contribute $10, $25, or as much as you can to our fund in order to help these members recover and rebuild. This is an opportunity for UFCW members from around the country to help people in need quickly. We will be delivering needed money directly to the affected members. The UFCW has always stood together in times of crises – help your brothers and sisters today.
To Donate Online: http://fundly.com/ufcw-local-1000-oklahoma-disaster-relief-fund
Send a Check: made out to “UFCW Local 1000” 967 W. Wall St Suite 100 Grapevine TX 76051
May 21, 2013
UFCW President Joe Hansen in The Hill: Treat nonprofit healthcare fairly
“If you already have health insurance through your job — and because many of you are members of unions, you do — nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change your coverage or your doctor. Let me repeat: Nothing in this plan will require you to change your coverage or your doctor.” Those were the words spoken by President Obama at the AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh on Sept. 15, 2009.
Since then, Congress has passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and it has been signed into law.
It has withstood a challenge before the Supreme Court. Regulations have been issued, exchanges created, and open enrollment is set to begin in a matter of months. Unfortunately, what also has become increasingly clear with each passing day is that the president’s statement to labor in 2009 is simply not true for millions of workers.
For decades, unions have negotiated high quality, affordable health insurance through nonprofit Taft-Hartley plans — one of the few reliable private providers for lower income individuals.
These plans are mutually agreed upon between union members and participating employers and provide insurance to millions of American workers.
In addition to being a long-standing and successful provider, these plans have been models of efficiency, achieving better cost savings than for-profit insurance carriers with medical loss ratios often exceeding 90 percent. That means 90 cents out of every dollar go to patient care.
Savings in healthcare can free up money for wages and pensions, and thus drive the economy forward for all of us.
But as currently interpreted, the ACA would block these plans from the law’s benefits (such as the subsidy for lower-income individuals and families) while subjecting them to the law’s penalties (like the $63 per insured person to subsidize Big Insurance). This creates unstoppable incentives for employers to reduce weekly hours for workers currently on our plans and push them onto the exchanges where many will pay higher costs for poorer insurance with a more limited network of providers. In other words, they will be forced to change their coverage and quite possibly their doctor. Others will be channeled into Medicaid, where taxpayers must pick up the tab.
In addition, the ACA includes a fine for failing to cover full-time workers but includes no such penalty for part-timers (defined as working less than 30 hours a week). As a result, many employers are either reducing hours below 30 or discontinuing part-time health coverage altogether. This is a cut in pay and benefits workers simply cannot afford. For example, a worker making $10 an hour that has his or her schedule cut by six hours a week would lose $3,100 a year in income. With millions of workers impacted, this would have a devastating effect on our economy.
Beginning next year, states are required to have health insurance exchanges up and running to cover the growing uninsured population in this country.
The ACA offers a subsidy to lower-income individuals and families so they can afford to purchase this insurance. As many of our members fall into this category, we believe the subsidy can and should apply to nonprofit plans. All we want is equality — where our plans are treated the same as for-profit insurers.
The Obama administration has refused our request, citing legal hurdles. But since the treatment of Taft-Hartley plans is not fully described in the ACA, we believe the regulatory process is exactly the appropriate place to deem them qualified health plans eligible for subsidies. Any objective review of the evidence and reasonable definition of what our funds provide leads to this conclusion.
We’d be open to a legislative fix, but ultimately this is the administration’s responsibility. They are leading the regulatory process. It’s their signature law.
We don’t want a handout. Our members want to keep the healthcare they currently have. Let me repeat — our members want to keep the healthcare they currently have. We just want them to be treated fairly.
Hansen is the president of the 1.3 million member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and chairman of Change to Win.
May 13, 2013
President Hansen on Decision of H&M and Others to Improve Workplace Safety in Bangladesh
Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement issued by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) President Joseph Hansen regarding the decision of H&M and other retailers to sign a legally binding agreement to improve workplace safety in Bangladesh:
“The UFCW applauds H&M and other retailers for accepting binding building safety standards at Bangladeshi garment factories following the recent fire and building collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh. By signing the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, H&M and other retailers are taking the high road and putting people before profits at their supplier factories.
“The UFCW also applauds UNI Global Union, IndustriALL Global Union and the Worker Rights Consortium for their work to address the terrible working conditions in Bangladesh. Thousands of UFCW members work in the retail industry, including at H&M, and the UFCW will continue to honor the workers who died or were injured in Bangladesh by supporting workers here and abroad who are struggling to protect their basic rights, and by calling on other retailers that have a strong presence in Bangladesh—such as Walmart—to do the right thing and sign this agreement.”
May 13, 2013
Walmart Associates, Community Supporters Launch New Website www.ReallyWalmart.org
Washington, DC- Today, the Making Change at Walmart campaign and its coalition partners announced the launch of a new website www.ReallyWalmart.org. The website, which showcases a number of video interviews of Walmart employees, community activists, environmentalists and others sharing their experiences with and concerns about Walmart, comes on the heels of Walmart launching a new multimillion-dollar ad-campaign and website of the same name titled “The Real Walmart”.
“Usually I work 36 hours a week but they cut hours…sometimes I even get only 26 hours and I am supposed to be fulltime,” said Chicago native and OUR Walmart member Rose Campbell, who is featured on the site. “I’ve even had 19 hours. I’ve got bills and none of that changes…you have to make do.”
ReallyWalmart.org includes testimony from Walmart employees, community activist and even Actor/Activist Danny Glover. The site also includes footage from elected officials, including President Obama’s keynote address to the Unite Food and Commercial Workers Union in 2008. Also featured is exclusive footage from labor activist and former Bangladesh garment worker Kalpona Aktar.
“We might not have millions of dollars to pay for TV ads, but we have the stories to share that Walmart doesn’t want the public to hear,” said OUR Walmart member Charlene Fletcher. “The truth is that Walmart is a company that puts profits over people and employs tactics and strategies that keep employees like me in jobs that don’t let us provide for our families. Even while Walmart’s profits are going up, my coworkers and I have to rely on food stamps just to cover groceries.”
Citing nearly $16 billion in annual profits and a CEO earning 1000 times the average employee, Walmart employees and communities across the globe are calling for a change of course at the company. Making Change at Walmart is calling on the company to raise wages, an end to retaliation against employees who speak out as well as increased access to full time hours so that employees make a minimum of $25,000 per year.
Additionally, the group is also calling on Walmart sign a binding agreement on fire and building safety to help prevent tragedies like last month’s Rana Plaza building collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh which caused the death of more than 1,000 garment workers.
Over the course of the last year, Walmart has seen its reputation and business practices questioned amidst bribery allegations, tragedies in its supply chain and turmoil amongst its workforce including strikes launched last year for the first time in the company’s 51 year history. Since 2011 Walmart has seen a decline in its reputational index rating, while its competitors have seen an increase during the same period and support for changing course at Walmart has been growing. Last fall, more than 30,000 supporters joined striking workers on picket lines around Black Friday and since then a number of actions have taken place at Walmart stores across the country including last month when hundreds of OUR Walmart members and their supporters called on the company to correct scheduling problems within stores.
The new website highlights stories from various Walmart employees including those who have called on the company to change course and leadership. Additionally, it features stories of Walmart employees who receive public assistance and those work along the supply chain.
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UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publically commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.
May 9, 2013
UFCW Statement on House Bill Attacking Hourly Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The UFCW yesterday released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1406, the inappropriately named Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 which would take money out of the pockets of America’s hourly workers.
“Anytime House Republicans talk about flexibility, working families should reach for their wallets. H.R. 1406 is just the latest scheme in the war on workers. It would have employees working unpaid overtime hours in exchange for accruing time off that can only be used when an employer sees fit. That is not flexibility—it is just unfair. This bill is an affront to the basic concept that a day’s work deserves a day’s wages paid in currency. It gives employers a clear incentive to push workers toward comp time instead of overtime pay. This creates a scenario where workers will find themselves in the awkward position of choosing between their employer’s wishes and their own need for a higher paycheck. If House Republicans are truly interested in improving the lives of hourly workers, they should start with raising the minimum wage, guaranteeing paid sick days, and passing the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights.”
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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 8, 2013
UFCW Statement on House Bill Attacking Hourly Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1406, the inappropriately named Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 which would take money out of the pockets of America’s hourly workers.
“Anytime House Republicans talk about flexibility, working families should reach for their wallets. H.R. 1406 is just the latest scheme in the war on workers. It would have employees working unpaid overtime hours in exchange for accruing time off that can only be used when an employer sees fit. That is not flexibility—it is just unfair. This bill is an affront to the basic concept that a day’s work deserves a day’s wages paid in currency. It gives employers a clear incentive to push workers toward comp time instead of overtime pay. This creates a scenario where workers will find themselves in the awkward position of choosing between their employer’s wishes and their own need for a higher paycheck. If House Republicans are truly interested in improving the lives of hourly workers, they should start with raising the minimum wage, guaranteeing paid sick days, and passing the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights.”
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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 8, 2013
UFCW, Food Manufacturers Form Alliance on Senate Immigration Bill
WASHINGTON, DC –The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union and the Food Manufacturers Immigration Coalition (FMIC) yesterday announced their partnership on comprehensive immigration reform in a letter sent to the Senate “Gang of Eight,” praising them for their efforts on S. 744. The labor-business coalition is also seeking improvements to the Senate bill in the areas of visa allocation and employment verification.
“We write in support of the comprehensive immigration reform process and thank you for your critical and constructive efforts in support of this legislation,” says the letter signed by UFCW International President Joe Hansen and Barry Carpenter of FMIC.
The labor-business coalition said they support the Senate bill’s provisions to establish a roadmap to citizenship, protect family based immigration, promote smart, effective border enforcement, implement a workable, transparent employment verification system, and create an occupational visa for non-seasonal, permanent positions. However, Hansen and Carpenter are also calling for commonsense improvements to S. 744 in the areas of visa allocation and employment verification.
The labor-business coalition asked for more flexibility when it comes to employment verification. “Allowing employers to use Self-Check in a uniform, nondiscriminatory fashion will create greater transparency for new employees, and will enable employers to ensure that their new hires are not circumventing E-Verify,” the letter reads.
Moreover, the letter outlined: “If an employer takes the extra step of deterring identity theft through the uniform use of Self-Check, then the employer should be presumed to have acted in ‘good faith’ with respect to the E-Verify confirmations it receives.”
Finally, the labor-business coalition requested that Senators direct the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to create regulations that would provide specific rules of the road “describing a course of conduct…that satisfies employment verification requirements and concurrently avoids anti-discrimination liability.” “If an employer follows these regulations, then the employer is presumed to have complied with both the verification and anti-discrimination rules,” the letter reads.
The labor-business coalition said they look forward to working with the Senate to improve S.744 and seeing comprehensive immigration reform become the law of the land.
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May 7, 2013
National Retail Justice Alliance Highlights Need for Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights in California
The National Retail Justice Alliance, in partnership with other stakeholders including UFCW Locals 5, 770, and 1428, hosted hearings last week in Oakland and Los Angeles with two Members of Congress—Barbara Lee and Judy Chu—to highlight the social and economic plight of part-time workers in retail and other service industries.
The hearings underscored the need for the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act of 2013 (H.R. 675), which would ensure that part-time workers (defined as working less than 30 hours a week) and their families have access to critical workplace benefits. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) penalizes employers who fail to provide health insurance to full-time workers, but includes no such penalties for employers who deny health coverage to part-time workers. The Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights would penalize employers for failing to provide health care to part-timers and thereby end the incentive for dropping workers from their coverage.
“Part-time workers across our nation need to come together and make their voices heard,” said Congresswoman Lee. “We cannot afford to go down a path where millions of Americans don’t have access to critical health care, retirement, and other benefits.” “Millions of Americans are only able to find part-time jobs, and too many of these jobs do not provide health insurance, family and medical leave, or pension plans,” said Congresswoman Chu. “That’s why the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights, which would extend benefits to part-time workers, is so critical. In today’s economy, we need to make sure that all hard-working Americans can afford to put food on the table and have a safety net to protect them and their families.”
Both Lee and Chu have signed on as cosponsors of H.R. 675.
In addition to the Members of Congress, state and local leaders, economic experts, and part-time workers also spoke at the hearings.
May 7, 2013
UFCW, Food Manufacturers Form Alliance on Senate Immigration Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and the Food Manufacturers Immigration Coalition (FMIC) today announced their partnership on comprehensive immigration reform in a letter sent to the Senate “Gang of Eight,” praising them for their efforts on S. 744. The labor-business coalition is also seeking improvements to the Senate bill in the areas of visa allocation and employment verification.
“We write in support of the comprehensive immigration reform process and thank you for your critical andconstructive efforts in support of this legislation,” says the letter signed by UFCW International President Joe Hansen and Barry Carpenter of FMIC.
The labor-business coalition said they support the Senate bill’s provisions to establish a roadmap to citizenship, protect family based immigration, promote smart, effective border enforcement, implement a workable, transparent employment verification system, and create an occupational visa for non-seasonal, permanent positions. However, Hansen and Carpenter are also calling for commonsense improvements to S. 744 in the areas of visa allocation and employment verification.
The labor-business coalition asked for more flexibility when it comes to employment verification. “Allowing employers to use Self-Check in a uniform, nondiscriminatory fashion will create greater transparency for new employees, and will enable employers to ensure that their new hires are not circumventing E-Verify,”the letter reads.
Moreover, the letter outlined: “If an employer takes the extra step of deterring identity theft through the uniform use of Self-Check, then the employer should be presumed to have acted in ‘good faith’ with respect to the E-Verify confirmations it receives.”
Finally, the labor-business coalition requested that Senators direct the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to create regulations that would provide specific rules of the road “describing a course of conduct…that satisfies employment verification requirements and concurrently avoids anti-discrimination liability.” “If an employer follows these regulations, then the employer is presumed to have complied with both the verification and anti-discrimination rules,” the letter reads.
The labor-business coalition said they look forward to working with the Senate to improve S.744 and seeing comprehensive immigration reform become the law of the land.
May 6, 2013
Make Mom Proud by Giving her a Union-Made Mother’s Day
You can make awesome Mother’s Day cards like this one at http://mamasday.org/ , thanks to The Strong Families Initiative
Mother’s Day is when we give back to the women who gave us life. Why not also make it a day to give back to and support union workers who help keep our country going? It’s easy to pamper mom with union-made gifts, or make her a home-cooked, union-ingredient meal! With help from resources like Labor 411 , the AFL-CIO, and Union Plus you can find everything you need- check out our guide below!
Click here for a variety of delicious dinner ideas that you can impress mom with–like Roasted Almond Crusted Salmon with Pomegranate Glaze, Creamy Garlic Pasta with Shrimp & Vegetables, or Turkey Mignons with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Glaze–all with union-made ingredients!
No time to cook? Fear not–you can cater to Mom’s sweet tooth with any of these union-made treats:
- See’s Candies
- Godiva
- Ghirardelli (UFCW)
- Almond Roca
- Russell Stover
Or, if you’re looking to make Mom feel pretty (even though she’s already the most beautiful woman on earth), these union-made beauty products are perfect:
- Avon (UFCW)
- Caress skin care (UFCW)
- Dove beauty care (UFCW)
- Lander personal care (UFCW)
- Revlon
If mom likes a drink every now and then, don’t forget about the many union-made beers, wines, champagnes, and liquors available! Click here to see a complete list.