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News and Updates
February 11, 2012
Globalization Brings New Challenges to Meat Workers All Over the World
Early in November of 2011, the UFCW hosted the IUF Global Meat Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. The IUF is a global union of meat and food workers
The global meat market is an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and it is currently dominated by a few companies whose power and reach are growing year after year. With the consolidation of these companies, workers in meat plants face both local and global challenges. We are all familiar with local challenges: inadequate crewing at higher line speeds, disregard for ergonomics and safety, improper handling of hazardous materials like ammonia, wage and benefits cuts, etc.
Globalization brings its own set of challenges. As companies compete in global markets, they devise new systems and strategies to increase profits and reduce costs. These systems are often designed in corporate offices, far away from the plants. Engineers arrive at plants with blueprints and equipment; they install new machines and systems, but their involvement stops once the installation is done.
“Come Friday at 3:30 in the afternoon, these engineers are gone,” says Dan Riesner, a UFCW steward from Local 222 who works a combined job at the Gelita plant in Iowa. “When management comes back and does its inspection tour on Monday morning, they see that things are working, but they don’t really understand the amount of effort and the number of people it took to keep things running during the weekend, once the engineers left. There is no support and no follow-through. They leave us holding the bag and these changes have a very negative effect on job performance.”
Unionized workers in the U.S. have the protection of good contracts and government agencies such as the NLRB, but workers in other countries have to deal with indifferent governments and abusive managers. When global companies promote these managers and relocate them for new positions in the U.S., our rights are in jeopardy. These managers are used to abusing workers and ignoring safety concerns. Not only that, they are used to getting away with it. So once they are relocated to our plants, they will try to impose their practices on our brothers and sisters.
But in a global market information and opportunities flow both ways. As Dan explains, “when workers from other countries reach our plants, we have the opportunity to educate them and share the values of our own labor movement. Once they experience the difference in working conditions in our plants, we should encourage them to share with their own families abroad. If companies are going to import their abusive practices, we should be able to export our values.”
February 2, 2012
Statement from UFCW President Joe Hansen on Appointment of Cecilia Munoz
(Washington, D.C.) — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union, today released the following statement after President Obama announced the promotion of Cecilia Muñoz to Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
“”Cecilia Muñoz is an outstanding choice for Director of the Domestic Policy Council. She has spent her entire career as a fierce advocate for social and economic justice. During her time at the National Council of La Raza, she led the fight to improve opportunities for all Hispanics. As Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, she has been the top liaison to state and local governments on issues important to working families and the President’s senior advisor on immigration. Indeed, we hope her appointment to this important position represents a renewed commitment by the Administration to making comprehensive immigration reform the law of the land.”
February 1, 2012
Indiana Passes “Right-To-Work”
Just days before billions of people will be tuning in to watch Indianapolis host the Superbowl, the Indiana GOP is putting the wrong kind of spotlight on the Hoosier state. Governor Mitch Daniels will sign “right-to-work” into law today, making Indiana the first state since Oklahoma to adopt this destructive law.
As you know, “right-to-work” is not about rights or work. It is, as President Hansen said in the Huffington Post, “the ultimate transfer of wealth from the 99 percent to the 1 percent.”
You can guarantee that special interest groups, big corporations, and anti-worker zealots will try to use their victory in Indiana as leverage to pass “right-to-work” in Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire, and in more and more states around the country.
Not on our watch! Click here to join our rapid response program so that together, we can fight back against anti-worker attacks. You can also sign up by using your cell phone to text the letters UFCW to 698329.
Join today to make sure workers across the country are protected!
January 31, 2012
Our Companies are Global – Unions Must Act Globally
Early in November of 2011, the UFCW hosted a Global Meat Conference for meat packing workers from all over the world in Omaha, Nebraska. The two-day conference focused on the challenges workers face with the growth and consolidation of international meat companies like JBS and Cargill.
Thanks to consolidation and globalization, just a handful of companies dominate this billion dollar industry, and their power is growing year after year. That means challenges for workers who want to share in the success of their companies – whether those workers are in the U.S., Brazil, Japan or any other country.
Meat packing and food processing workers face the same basic challenges all over the world: inadequate crewing, disregard for ergonomics and safety, improper handling of hazardous materials like ammonia, downward pressure on wages and benefits, and a lack of dignity on the job.
Unfortunately, globalization and consolidation don’t necessarily raise standards for workers – the opposite is often true. For instance, at the Global Meat Conference, workers from all over the world met each other to speak and compare working conditions. They discovered that although they may share the same employer or parent company, their working conditions could be markedly different. For instance, workers from the U.S. or Australia may have strong union contracts, but workers in other countries are systematically denied bathroom breaks, or forced to work for weeks without a day off. They also learned that companies in every corner of the globe work to systematically deny workers who want a voice on the job from joining together with their co-workers in a union.
If companies like JBS, Tyson, and Cargill are global in their scope, our union must act globally, too. That is why UFCW members are communicating and coordinating with workers who belong to other meat packing unions around the world. We are routinely meeting; sharing information and developments; and coordinating on contract language that prevents exploitative or dangerous practices. These are effective ways to build the power that lets us negotiate better contracts and raise the working and living standards for everyone who works in this industry – both in the U.S. and abroad.
Dan Riesner is a UFCW steward from Local 222 in Iowa who works at the Gelita plant in Sergeant Bluff. He is tasked with the maceration of beef bones in acid, and assigned to the operation of a wash tank. The experience meeting workers in his industry from all over the globe really drove home to him how important it is for workers to band together, even across international borders.
“By sharing information with each other, union workers can learn about strategies and tactics that are effective in pressuring companies to come to the table and agree to fair, respectful working conditions,” Riesner said.
“It’s been a real eye-opener. Our strong union contracts mean we have it pretty good here in the U.S., comparatively, but we can’t take it for granted. If we don’t want consolidation and globalization to bite us – we need to kick up our efforts to organize and to stick together when we bargain.”
January 10, 2012
Is the meatpacking industry getting safer?
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published in 1906, sparking a public outcry around safety issues in the meatpacking industry. That’s how long the industry has been infamous for its hazardous working conditions.
The good news is, according to new reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), workplace safety in the meatpacking industry is steadily improving, with injury and illness rates for full-time workers on the decline.
The bad news is, in comparison to other industrial and manufacturing sectors, meatpacking and poultry processing are still among the most dangerous. Food manufacturing workers are twice as likely to experience injuries and illnesses than industrial and manufacturing workers as a whole. The meatpacking industry also ranks high for severe injury and illness cases – meaning those that cause workers to miss days at work or those that necessitate restricted work activities or even job transfers. Nationally, the poultry industry has the fifth-highest rate of worker illness across all industries.
Though progress has been made on worker safety in the meatpacking and poultry industries, we must understand what the numbers really mean, and make sure we are addressing issues that really make a difference in improving safety and health in these industries.
Some in the meat industry, like the trade association (read: lobbying outfit) American Meat Institute, are quick to highlight improvement using data that does not reflect the most dangerous jobs in the industry. That’s a slippery slope – and one that risks obscuring the truth on safety for the sake of profit-margin. The truth is, there is some doubt about the accuracy of the BLS numbers themselves. Studies conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conclude that both BLS and OSHA miss from 20 percent to as much as 50 percent of the nation’s workplace injuries. A number of factors can cause this kind of under-reporting: workers sometimes don’t report injuries because of fears surrounding their immigration status and retaliation by their employers; employers are motivated to under-count injuries in order to win safety awards, and managers are incentivized by low-injury bonuses; and finally, some employers have instituted programs requiring workers who report injuries or accidents to undergo drug testing – adding additional risk to reporting.
For all these reasons, we must not let a modest increase in overall workplace safety lull us into a false sense of security when it comes to the meatpacking and poultry processing industries. We must continue to strive for better and safer workplaces for all meatpacking and poultry processing workers – and for collective bargaining agreements as well as stronger regulations that make it safe for all workers to report hazards and injuries.
January 6, 2012
UFCW Members in Indiana Continue to Fight Right-to-Work Legislation
On January 4, they held meetings with their legislators to reiterate that RTW is wrong for Hoosier families. Amy Hale, a member of UFCW Local 700 who works at Kroger in Fishers, IN, was one of the participants., “I believe in the middle class and I’m fighting for workers’ rights and to keep my head above water,” she said. Without my union I wouldn’t be where I am today. If this legislation passes, incomes would drop significantly. Our standard of living would go down. We can’t let that happen.”
While Indiana Republicans control every lever of state government, the process requires a working quorum, which House Democrats have denied them to this point. “We refuse to let the most controversial public policy bill of the decade be railroaded through with the public being denied their fair and adequate input,” said House Democratic Leader and UFCW-ally Patrick Bauer.
In the meantime, workers from UFCW and several other labor unions continue to voice their concerns to legislators about the negative effects RTW will have on the quality of life for Hoosier working families.
January 4, 2012
Statement by UFCW International President Joe Hansen on President Obama
“We applaud President Obama’s recent decision to fill vacant posts at the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau and. These agencies play an important role in safeguarding the rights of workers and their families.
The President’s appointees are each eminently qualified, and have long deserved an up-or-down vote. The U.S. Constitution makes it possible for the President of the United States to break through political obstructionism to ensure that our laws are enforced. These appointments are a victory for working families over partisan gridlock in Washington. We thank President Obama for his leadership in standing up for workers and curtailing the excesses of Wall Street.””
January 3, 2012
UFCW and Kroger Strengthen and Improve Pension Plans for Kroger Workers
Washington, D.C. – The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local unions and Kroger Company have announced today an agreement to improve and secure pension funds, or defined benefit pension plans, for over 170,000 retired and active Kroger workers. The pension plan, which will result from the merger of four plans, includes a ten-year review and will affect Kroger workers who are members of 14 UFCW local unions in 15 states, primarily in the Midwest and South.The combined plan will protect the current benefits of vested employees and enhance the benefits of new hires. The plan will also include automatic benefit increases as pay increases, with benefits proportionately pegged to salary levels, and will provide a more secure and stable pension fund in an unstable financial environment. The combined plan also includes a commitment by Kroger to pay off all of the unfunded liability in the markets covered by the 14 UFCW local unions. In a volatile financial environment, this plan represents a long term solution for a secure retirement for our hard working members who have chosen a career in the retail food industry, said UFCW International President Joseph T. Hansen. The UFCW is proud of our local union leaders and Kroger for working together toward an innovative solution for workers retirement security. Defined benefit pension plans are the most secure retirement system for workers. While many workers are forced to rely on their own investments, like 401 (k) plans, or have no retirement at all, UFCW members have retirement security through their pension benefits that provide for a monthly payment for their lifetime after they retire. Members of the 14 UFCW local unions are in the process of ratifying the new plan. Those members who have already met have overwhelmingly approved the proposal. More than 197,000 UFCW members work in Kroger stores across the country.
December 1, 2011
Statement from UFCW International President Joe Hansen on NLRB Election Rule
(Washington, D.C.) — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union, today released the following statement after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took a step toward approving a final rule to modernize the union election process and House Republicans passed legislation to block that rule.
“”The NLRBs proposed rule to streamline the vote for union representation would be a modest but important first step toward fixing a broken process that favors CEOs over workers. Justice delayed is justice denied, and that is too often the case for workers that file a union election petition. Many employers delay, delay, and delay some more through frivolous litigation and other procedural tactics. They use this time to intimidate, harass, and in some cases fire pro-union employees. The result is an unfair election or no election at all. This proposed rule would ensure that when a majority of workers want to have a voice on the job, they will be able to do so, free of interference.
“”With the rule not even finalized, House Republicans have continued their assault on workers by passing legislation to block it. It is the latest act by a party more committed to denying the rights of workers to stick together than fixing the economy and creating jobs. Like the rest of the extreme anti-worker measures passed by the House, we expect this one will be given a quick death in the Senate.
“Union contracts offer the best opportunity for stable, middle-class jobs. The NLRB is charged with protecting the right of every American to bargain for a better life. This proposed rule would do just that. It should be adopted.””
November 10, 2011
Statement from UFCW International President Joe Hansen on Election Results in Ohio
(Washington, D.C.) — Following is a statement from Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union on the election results in Ohio:
“”The repeal of Senate Bill 5 is bigger than just one law or one state. It sends a message to all those who would try to silence the voice of American workers: you do so at your own peril. It shows that the right to bargain collectively for a better life is fundamental—not some perk that can be stripped away on a whim. The votes cast today in Columbus and Cleveland and everywhere in between will have aftershocks in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Washington D.C.
“”America’s working families want a good job that pays a fair wage, decent affordable health care, access to a quality education for their kids, and a little money left in the bank so they can retire with dignity. They also understand that the economic mess we find ourselves in today was caused by Wall Street, not Main Street. They know the guilty parties are speculators and predatory lenders, not teachers and first responders. Extreme politicians like Governor Kasich are waging war on the middle class.
“”Today’s vote shows that we are fighting back. And better yet, we are winning. I am proud of the UFCW and its members for their great work in Ohio. We understand that an attack on one worker—whether public or private sector, union or non-union—is an attack on all workers. We are proud to be part of diverse coalition of activists, including the entire labor movement, who dedicated countless hours to the fight for workers’ rights in Ohio.
“”Tonight we know that America’s middle class will no longer sit idly by. The silent majority is silent no more. Every elected official that would do us harm should take notice.””