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News and Updates
Industry News
September 11, 2012
A Star Steward
Penny Gibson is a meat-cutter at Kroger, a union member, a political activist, and definitely a star steward for UFCW Local 876.
One of the great things Penny is doing to help her coworkers and her community is helping people to register for this year’s election. With the help of her local union’s Voter Registration Toolkit, Penny working hard to make sure all her coworkers, friends, and neighbors, have a voice in November.
Penny has also dedicated her time and energy to the Protect Our Jobs effort, a drive to put a measure on the November ballot allowing voters to decide on a proposal to add the right to collective bargaining to the Michigan constitution. She secured over 50 signatures, the most of any Local 876 steward. With collective bargaining under attack in so many states across the country, Michigan has a chance to lead the charge for the basic freedoms of speech and association that collective bargaining represents.
Penny says she’s dedicated herself to protecting collective bargaining in part because “many young workers do not realize it is their union contract that provided that raise, that $3 prescription refill, and that week-long paid vacation up north. It is not the company that provided these benefits, it was the union who negotiated these on our behalf.”
With Penny on the case, those young workers will be activists in no time! UFCW member activists and stewards keep their union running. To learn more about how to get involved with your local union, email submissions@ufcw.org or send us a message on Facebook.
September 10, 2012
Tyson Workers Receive Long-Awaited Payment from Wage and Hour Lawsuit Settlement
$32 million Settlement Ends 12-year Legal Battle to Get Paid for Hours Worked
(Washington, D.C.) – After a 12 year legal struggle, more than 12,000 Tyson poultry workers in 41 plants in 12 states will receive their payments from the largest settlement against a major poultry company at $32 million. Thanks to the tenacity and dedication of thousands of workers from across the country and the support of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, workers involved in the suit will receive payments averaging $1,200 in lost wages.
The success of the Tyson’s settlement for poultry workers is just one in a series of actions where workers continue to fight and take a stand for workers’ rights in poultry and meatpacking plants around the country. Similar cases have been brought and resolved against Perdue and Pilgrim’s Pride plants as well. The UFCW continues to work to make sure that every meatpacking and poultry worker is paid honestly and fairly for the work they do. A suit that was filed in 1999 was the first action of its kind to force poultry companies to obey the nation’s basic wage and hour laws.
“This lawsuit and the new pay practices in the meatpacking and poultry industry are just one way union workers raise standards for every worker in their industry,” said Joe Hansen, UFCW International President. “While this settlement is long overdue, our efforts have ensured that thousands of workers have been paid correctly for years now.”
The affected Tyson poultry employees work at plants in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.
These payments will inject much-needed money into America’s rural economy and reward a hard-working and dedicated group of poultry workers.
The lawsuit charged Tyson with violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and cheating their poultry plant employees out of wages by failing to pay workers for the time they spend putting on and taking off protective gear they wear to keep the food they process safe and for their own protection. The poultry company also violated the basic wage and hour laws by failing to provide workers with their required break time.
“Every American deserves to get paid for the work they do,” Hansen continued. “We’re changing the way meat and poultry industries do business by ensuring that workers are paid for all of their time on the job.”
Workers, the UFCW, and activists started to take collective action for workers’ rights to fair wages and treatment at the workplace in 1999. Between 1999 and 2001, they took their action on the road and spread the word of their mission through a bus tour and leafleting other Tyson workers. In that brief time, almost 4,000 workers signed up to join. The federal lawsuit developed following a U.S. Department of Labor survey that found over 60 percent of the nation’s poultry companies were in violation of basic wage and hour laws.
The collective case representing the workers from several plants from across the country went through several judges until a judge in November 2006 declared that the case under the different plants could not be presented as a singular case and dismissed it. The workers and their supporters continued their legal action despite the large setback and filed their cases on a plant-by-plant basis. More than 17,000 workers start signing up to join the suit under the new case conditions.
In September 2011, the workers sent a settlement agreement to the court, which the court later approved. After almost 12 years, workers receive notice in January 2012 that they will finally be receiving their settlement payments.
In order to qualify for the settlement, current workers must have signed up to be part of the lawsuit back in 2008 and former employees were required to send back the W-4 form included with the payment notice, so that tax withholdings could be properly calculated.
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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.
September 6, 2012
Longest Serving Employee in Macy’s History Retires After 73 Years on the Job!
Can you imagine working in the days when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in the White House and the biggest movie at the box-office was The Wizard of Oz?
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| Rose Syracuse Photo credit: CRAIG WARGA/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
Rose Syracuse, can do you one better, because she was actually living those moments. The 92-year old has been working for a whopping 73 years at the Macy’s Herald Square flagship store in New York City. Rose, also a member of RWDSU Local 1-S, is now announcing her retirement.
Rose has been a member of Local 1-S for most of her life; in fact, there has never been a time when Local 1-S existed without her membership! Rose was there to witness the birth of the union at Macy’s, and all of the changes that have impacted retail workers since.
Starting as a 17-year-old, Rose entered the Macy’s workforce during a difficult economy, similar to today’s, when America was still feeling the effects of the great depression, and embroiled in World War II. During that time, Rose and her co-workers received a mere $14 per 48-hour work week.
However, after marching through the store, as well as down the streets through the bitter cold, Rose and the others were able to unionize, knowing it would bring about better conditions. They may not have known it at the time, but this victory was one that would benefit the Macy’s workers that came after them for generations and generations.
Speaking with RWDSU, Rose pointed out that “the union fights for you. They really help you. Otherwise how could you do it all by yourself? Nobody would listen to you.” We couldn’t agree more. Rose’s statement reminds us that the point of a union has not changed from 73 years ago: when sticking together, we have a voice that will be listened to.
We’d like to thank Rose for all she has done- serving at Macy’s, and of course laying the ground work for labor movements for years to come. We hope she will now enjoy her well-deserved retirement!
August 31, 2012
STATEMENT BY THE UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION REGARDING SHOOTING AT A NEW JERSEY SUPERMARKET
Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement issued by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW):
“The UFCW is shocked and saddened at the news of a shooting at the Pathmark supermarket in Old Bridge, New Jersey, early this morning. The full details of this tragedy are still being investigated, and UFCW is working to assist our members, Pathmark, and local authorities in any way we can. While the investigation continues, UFCW will be offering professional counseling services to Old Bridge Pathmark workers. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the workers who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. We will continue to monitor the situation and offer our support to our members, Pathmark, law enforcement, and the Old Bridge community.”
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. UFCW Local unions 464A and 1262 represent workers at the Old Bridge, N.J. Pathmark.
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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.
August 24, 2012
Millennials Find Themselves in Retail, and it’s not Going so Well
If you’re a young millennial today, you’re working in retail.
In a study published this week by Generation Y research firm Millennial Branding in conjunction with PayScale, it was found that the most common job among Millennials, or Generation Y, is sales representative or merchandise displayer. Not only were these the most common among this generation, but Millennials are five times more likely to hold these jobs, in comparison to all workers.
There would not be anything wrong with this, except the fact that these positions tend to be among the lowest paid jobs.
According to a recent article from USA TODAY, “for an age group struggling with a poor job outlook and hefty student loans, many settle for retail while they look for jobs in their preferred field”, says Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Millennial Branding. “A lot of them will end up in these retail jobs while applying for professional jobs and hoping there’ll be openings,” he says.
The study of 500,000 worker profiles shows that over half of merchandise displayers have a Bachelors Degree, and 83% of clothing sales associates have them as well.
The bad job economy has resulted in many similar cases, where recent graduates are forced to retain retail jobs they previously held while in school, or otherwise. It is unfortunate that millennials cannot find work in the fields they spend thousands of dollars to be educated in, but what’s worse is that the retail jobs they move into, cannot support a living wage most of the time. This is not just true for millennials, but for countless others who work in retail, struggling to make a living.
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| young workers sticking together |
Stagnating wages and income inequality are ever-growing issues in our country. Workers who are overworked, underpaid and do not have any job security or benefits are all too commonplace. The fear of not being able to pay the bills, getting sick, or getting fired at any moment is plaguing workers in an industry that will become the backbone of the American economy.
So, what can we do about? We can all take a stand by supporting retailers who provide solid-work schedules, and paychecks and benefits that pay the bills.
Although many millennials see their retail jobs as a transition job, or stepping stone to something bigger, many will end up staying where they are. That’s why its more important than ever to stick together and advocate for what’s right. Union workers at retailers like Macys, H&M, Modells, and Bloomingdales already know that having a union voice on the job means they’ll be compensated and treated in a way that reflects their hard work. They’re able to bargain the middle class wages and health care benefits they earn and deserve.
With a union on the job, empowered retail workers can bolster the growing service industry and re-create the modern middle class that workers had in the past, and what we certainly need now.
August 9, 2012
WALMART WORKERS PAINT GRAPHIC PICTURE OF WORKING CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT SUPPLY CHAIN
Workers Describe Jobs Rife with Retaliation, Hazards and Low Pay
LOS ANGELES – Workers representing four links in Walmart’s global supply chain – food production, processing, warehousing and retail – today filed a formal ethics complaint with Walmart’s corporate executives in Los Angeles. The complaint outlines systemic violations of Walmart’s own Statement of Ethics and Standards for Suppliers.
Standing in front of the proposed site of a Walmart store in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, workers and supporters described working conditions that include enslavement, injury, hazardous equipment, retaliatory firings and chemical exposure in the production, transport and sale of Walmart merchandise.
“This is a pattern. No matter the country, no matter the workplace, no matter the worker, we see that Walmart and its contractors’ deny responsibility, ignore serious problems and fire workers who stand up for change. This behavior should not be rewarded with more stores,” said Guadalupe Palma, a campaign director with Warehouse Workers United, an organization committed to improving warehousing jobs in the Inland Empire.
Warehouse workers who move Walmart goods in Southern California are part of an increasing number of workers stepping out of the shadows and calling attention to unsafe and illegal treatment of workers employed by Walmart and its contractors.
“So many of my coworkers are living in pain because of the pressure to work fast or lose our jobs,” said Limber Herrera, a warehouse worker in Riverside. “We often breathe a thick black dust that gives us nosebleeds and headaches. We want Walmart to take responsibility and fix these bad working conditions.”
Workers and supporters also presented copies of two petitions to Walmart that garnered a combined 250,000 signatures and cast light on conditions faced by seafood workers who work for Walmart suppliers. Ana Rosa Diaz, one of eight guestworkers who exposed forced labor at Walmart supplier C.J.’s Seafood in Louisiana last month, spoke at the event. Only after Diaz went on strike and 150,000 people pledged their support was Walmart forced to admit to labor violations and suspend its contract with the supplier.
“We know that hundreds of other guestworkers at other Walmart suppliers are facing abuse,” said Diaz, a member of the National Guestworker Alliance. “The U.S. Department of Labor has confirmed our claims of abuse at C.J.’s Seafood. Now it’s time for Walmart to sit down with us to agree to a solution to stop abuse across its supply chain.”
In Thailand, it was revealed in June that a major Walmart shrimp supplier was engaged in debt bondage. After workers struck, causing media and consumer scrutiny, the Walmart supplier, Patthana, pledged to end its practice of debt bondage. However, many workers in Walmart’s supply chain remain vulnerable to other abuses. At a Thai pineapple factory, Vita Foods, that also supplies Walmart there are reports of human trafficking similar to those at Patthana, including that children under the age of 15 have been bought and sold to work there.
“Globalization for the working poor of the world means that American warehouse workers today have more in common with factory workers in Thailand’s shrimp and pineapple factories than with the one-percenters in their own country who profit from their labor. Hyper-exploitation is the global labor standard Walmart has chosen to pursue. This just means the fight for justice for Walmart’s workers is that much bigger. Thailand may seem far away to the Walton heirs, but we are going to bring the plight of Thai workers to the suburbs of Arkansas. You bring home the profits, you bring home the struggle too,” said Chancee Martorell, executive director of the Thai Community Development Center, representing the Thai workers.
Through the organization OUR Walmart, store associates are fighting for and winning changes at Walmart to help workers, who are struggling to support their families on low-wages, reductions in hours, unaffordable healthcare, unjust terminations and unsafe and discriminatory working conditions. In Riverside, after warehouse workers filed a comprehensive complaint with the state of California detailing broken equipment, limited access to water, extreme heat and other violations of state law, two warehouse workers were suspended indefinitely. Both Carlos Martinez and David Garcia won their return to work after filing charges with the state.
“We are standing up for ourselves and our co-workers to make real changes at Walmart and we will not be silenced,” said Greg Fletcher, a father of two sons and a member of OUR Walmart. “Even though Walmart is the biggest company in the country, the company is not above the law. When we stand together and hold Walmart accountable, we are winning protections for workers, our community and our economy.”
Fletcher is a six-year Walmart associate in Duarte, California.
Members of the Chinatown community joined the rally saying residents are not interested in the expansion of low wage jobs, retaliation, injury and dangerous working conditions and a destruction of the local community.
“We stand with the workers against retaliation, injury and dangerous working conditions. It is illegal, and it is immoral,” King Cheung, a member of the Chinatown Committee for Equitable Development. “For the world’s largest retailer, Walmart pays its workers substandard low wages. Chinatown deserves better than Walmart. Walmart is well known for bad treatment of its workers. It is also well known for harming small businesses and communities. That is why we do not want Walmart here in LA Chinatown.”
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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 18, 2012
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Releases Official App for Smartphones
(WASHINGTON, DC) The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), the nations largest grocery workers union, today announced the release of its first ever-smartphone app, designed to highlight worker voices and connect consumers with union grocery stores across the country. The app is a major development for consumers seeking to make informed choices about where they spend their shopping dollars by highlighting stores where workers are sticking together to preserve good, family-supporting jobs in our communities.
A major highlight of the app is its Shop Union feature, which allows anyone in the United States or Canada to locate and secure driving directions to their nearest union grocery store. If UFCW members work at a grocery store near you, the app will be able to get you there. The release of the smartphone app is just the latest element of UFCWs ongoing program to connect with the next generation of workers.
The UFCW app also lets users receive the latest updates from UFCW members and working people everywhere, see breaking news and original video, and get information about how to take action for working families.
Already, the app is receiving positive reviews from early adopters:
What a great app! Now I can easily stay informed on the latest union news, and always find the closest union store even when I am on the go.
Love the feature where I can search for the nearest union grocery store!
Works well and smoothly. Quick download and installation.
This is great for finding union grocery stores! We need to support good jobs.
The app can be accessed from any smartphone at http://ufcwaction.org/app.
May 18, 2012
Raley’s Nob Hill Division UFCW Local 5 Members Authorize Strike by 96%
(San Jose, CA) – United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 5 membersworking for Raley’s Nob Hill division have voted by a 96% margin toauthorize a strike.
Coming on the heels of Raley’s threat to submit a last, best and final offerto the union on April 30, Local 5 immediately set up meetings throughout itsjurisdiction to hold strike vote meetings. Members attended in large numbersand authorized the union’s bargaining committee to call a strike.
Subsequent to Raley’s move to scuttle bargaining the parties agreed to enterfederal mediation.
“”Raley’s actions led the union to call a strike vote in the Nob Hilldivision. When a company threatens to submit a last, best and final offer itsets off a sequence of events that inevitably lead to either accepting aterrible offer or a strike. Both options are bad, but since we alreadycancelled one strike vote in a sign of good faith to further bargaining, weweren’t going to cancel this one. This overwhelming vote will send a strongmessage to the company and hopefully move negotiations to a successfulconclusion,”” stated Ron Lind, President UFCW Local 5.
Negotiations resume with Raley’s-Nob Hill on May 18 under the auspices ofthe Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Oakland.
May 16, 2012
Statement on the Supreme Court
(Washington, DC) – UFCW International President Joseph Hansen released the following statement:
“A sharply divided Supreme Court closed the door on millions of women working at Walmart today and overturned 40 years of legal precedence in discrimination cases. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that Walmart’s written general discrimination policy was proof enough to overturn a lower court’s determination that Walmart women could join together to address widespread gender discrimination claims as a class. This decision does not make any ruling on the merits of the women’s discrimination claims.
“Today’s decision is deeply disturbing. The highest court in our nation has turned its back on collective remedy for workers facing widespread injustices. The UFCW will continue to demand accountability from Walmart to its workers who deserve fair treatment, fair pay and respect on the job.
“Last week, thousands of Walmart workers announced the Organization United for Respect at Walmart because workers know that they are stronger as a group. Employers like Walmart have long attempted to isolate workers and prevent them from solving problems together. This decision will not stop workers from joining together, through collective action, or prevent them from continuing to pursue their individual claims against Walmart.
The UFCW believes that Walmart is not too big for justice and will continue to hold Walmart to fair workplace standards. Its 1.4 million associates deserve better.”
Making Change at Walmart seeks to promote the American values of equality, dignity and respect in the workplace. The campaign is making change by working directly with Walmart Associates to claim the respect on the job they deserve, holding Walmart corporate managers accountable to hourly employees and the public for their practices and joining with community leaders in major cities across America to make sure that any new jobs offered by Walmart meet strong standards for healthy, growing communities.
May 9, 2012
STATEMENT OF THE UFCW IN SUPPORT OF THE HINCHEY-ROHRABACHER AMENDMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) issued the following statement today in support of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment:
The UFCW supports the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment. This amendment will prevent the U.S. Department of Justice from using taxpayer money to raid, arrest or prosecute medical cannabis patients and providers in the states where medical marijuana is legal.
Medical marijuana laws have been enacted to allow patients safe and legal access to appropriately produced and compliantly dispensed medical marijuana in the safest possible environment and UFCW members in the medical cannabis industry work in accordance with state laws to provide safe and effective medical treatment for persons suffering from cancer and other serious medical conditions.
At a time when millions of hardworking Americans are out of work and still struggling to make ends meet, the use of taxpayer money for the misguided targeting and prosecution of an industry that provides Americans with good middle class jobs with benefits is counterproductive. The U.S. Justice Department should not use the fewer resources it has to focus on targeting patients and dispensaries abiding by state law. That is a problem that the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment will solve and the UFCW wholeheartedly supports it.