November 8, 2011

Statement from UFCW International President Joe Hansen on 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 balance the budget on the backs of our 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.”

November 7, 2011

I Made A Difference in Ohio:

Wow. What an amazing eight months. From gathering signatures to helping fill out absentee applications to registering new voters, I have had the experience of a lifetime I will never forget, and I will be forever grateful. I made a difference by helping to give voters a voice. I came to them and put a face on the issue. Now, no matter what the outcome, they have been able to use their voices to speak up for good jobs. To speak up for Ohio workers.

I registered my grandson, his best friends and a young lady in high school just waiting for the opportunity to be able to vote. The future of Ohio will be okay in the hands of these young people. Registered another eighteen year old young woman who was balancing an infant on her hip while taking care of her handicapped mother in a poverty stricken neighborhood. Went away with the thought she was going to improve her corner of the world, starting with her signature.

I was in Circleville the last day of voter registration and talked to a seventy year old first time voter who had a date with her son to go to the polls. My high school government teacher came to a drive thru petition signing and never had to leave his car. I’ve had conversations with people from 18 to 98, some I will never forget. So many stories.

The new friends I’ve met, again – wow. My partner in this venture has literally picked me up, dusted me off and inspired me to go on. We can just look at each other and burst out laughing. We are starting to finish each others sentences, a little scary. And lastly I am inspired by my union leadership and will be FOREVER grateful that I can be involved in this effort to help working families across Ohio.

I made a difference.

Juanita Smith is a UFCW member and works as a meatcutter in Chillicothe, Ohio.

November 3, 2011

UFCW & other Unions Provide Food For Protestors at Occupy Oakland

A festive atmosphere reigned in Oakland’s Civic Center Plaza late Wednesday afternoon as workers from the United Food and Commercial Workers union carried tray after steaming tray of burgers, beans and rice in for a mass feast.

The union was one of many under the Alameda Labor Council umbrella that staged the giant foodfest for thousands of Occupy Oakland demonstrators, who called for a citywide “general strike” Wednesday to protest economic conditions. The line wound around the corner.

For more of this story from the LA Times, click here.

October 28, 2011

Right-to-Work is a Lie

Statement of Joe Chorpenning, President, Local 700 United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) On Interim Study Committee on Employment Issues

The Republican -backed recommendation in support of so-called right-to-work (r-t-w) legislation is a direct assault on Hoosier working families. The Republican proposal will lower wages, cost good jobs, reduce economic growth, and lead to higher taxes with fewer services.

The Republican majority on the study committee chose to ignore the overwhelming empirical evidence that r-t-w will drain billions of dollars from the Indiana economy with lost wages, eliminated health care and pension benefits, and more workplace deaths and injuries. At the same time, public services will face an increased burden of more families in poverty and a smaller tax base.

There was no empirical evidence presented to the study committee that r-t-w will result in a net increase in jobs. None! Not a single fact was presented or a single instance of an identified company declining to locate in Indiana because of the lack of a r-t-w law. In fact, Indiana already outperforms most r-t-w states in key measures such the unemployment rate and national rankings of states for business location.

R-t-w is an unwarranted government intrusion in the private sector. It restricts the ability of private parties—private sector workers and private sector companies—to negotiate mutually beneficial contracts. State government interference will not improve the collective bargaining process.

There is an economic crisis in our country. Poverty-rates and economic inequality are at record levels. Unemployment, loss of health and pension benefits, and home foreclosures threaten the middle class. From Montana to Mississippi, r-t-w states lead the nation with the highest poverty rates. Indiana should not go done the low wage path to increased poverty.

We need an honest economic plan with an emphasis on education, training and community development. Hoosiers are ready to move forward. The Republicans on the study committee are taking us backward.

(UFCW Local 700 represents 13,000 members working in neighborhood grocery stores and food processing plants across Indiana.)