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News and Updates
Retail Food
August 31, 2009
UFCW Join Mexican Consul General to Launch Celebration of “Labor Rights Week” as Labor Day 2009 Approaches
Local Unions Partner with Mexican Consulate in Thirteen Cities to Offer Innovative Worker Rights Programming
(Chicago, Ill.) – The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is proud to partner with the Embassy of Mexico, the U.S. Department of Labor and allied organizations to promote the first “Semana de Derechos Laborales”, or Labor Rights Week. UFCW International President Joe Hansen joined the Mexican Consul General of Chicago, Manuel Rodríguez Arriaga, to launch the national outreach and education program that is taking place in thirteen cities across the country.
As Labor Day 2009 approaches, Semana de Derechos Laborales, which continues through September 4, will focus on the inclusion of Mexican nationals in American workplaces and communities. Programming includes workshops and informational sessions on labor, immigration, and human rights.
“Our communities and neighborhoods are better, safer places to work and live when all workers know and exercise their rights,” said Hansen. “Semana de Derechos Laborales is a perfect way to empower Mexican national workers with information and promote full participation in the civic fabric of our nation. The UFCW has been a union of immigrants for more than 100 years and this weeks’ program helps ensure that a new generation of workers has the resources to have their voice heard on the job.”
Educating immigrant workforces about rights in the workplace helps raise the standard of treatment for all workers in industries where new immigrants often work, including meatpacking, food processing, and grocery.
“In the past few years, a growing number of immigrant workers were subject to abuse under a mantle of fear that was created by policy approaches which allowed unscrupulous employers to use immigration status to threaten deportation if workers reported discrimination, wage and hour or health and safety violations. We recognize the leadership of Secretary Solis in this issue and believe that joint efforts like the Labor Rights Week will strengthen our ability to protect the rights of our nationals abroad”, said Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan.
The UFCW is a proud partner in this week’s activities and has worked with local consulate offices to prepare activities uniquely suited to the communities in which they are offered. The program in Fresno, California, conducted by the local consulate and UFCW Local 5 will focus outreach to workers in the agricultural and dairy industries. UFCW Local 540 and local partners in Dallas, Texas, are taking questions about labor rights on a three-hour long news broadcast program on the local Univision network. The kick-off event in Chicago, Illinois will feature President Hansen and Consul General Rodríguez Arriaga, who will be joined by a number of community leaders.
More details about local events are available at www.ufcw.org
The UFCW has been a national leader in the fight to develop a fairer, more humane immigration system. President Hansen recently served as founding chairman of a national commission which studied federal raids on workplaces and made recommendations for comprehensive immigration reform.
Earlier this year, UFCW Canada and the Mexican state of Michoacán signed a landmark co-operation agreement to ensure that the human and labor rights of agricultural workers from Michoacán, Mexico are recognized and enforced while they work in Canadian fields and greenhouses.
With 1.3 million members, the UFCW is the nation’s largest private-sector union with members in the supermarket, meatpacking, food processing, and other industries.
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Programming open to the media will continue until September 4. Inquiries and interview requests should be directed to Jill Cashen, UFCW, 202-728-4797 or press@ufcw.org.
August 31, 2009
UFCW Joins Mexican Consul General to Launch Celebration of
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 31, 2009
Food and Commercial Workers Join Mexican Consul General to Launch Celebration of “Labor Rights Week” as Labor Day 2009 Approaches
Local Unions Partner with Mexican Consulate in Thirteen Cities to Offer
Innovative Worker Rights Programming
(Chicago, Ill.) – The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is proud to partner with the Embassy of Mexico, the U.S. Department of Labor and allied organizations to promote the first “Semana de Derechos Laborales”, or Labor Rights Week. UFCW International President Joe Hansen joined the Mexican Consul General of Chicago, Manuel Rodríguez Arriaga, to launch the national outreach and education program that is taking place in thirteen cities across the country.
As Labor Day 2009 approaches, Semana de Derechos Laborales, which continues through September 4, will focus on the inclusion of Mexican nationals in American workplaces and communities. Programming includes workshops and informational sessions on labor, immigration, and human rights.
“Our communities and neighborhoods are better, safer places to work and live when all workers know and exercise their rights,” said Hansen. “Semana de Derechos Laborales is a perfect way to empower Mexican national workers with information and promote full participation in the civic fabric of our nation. The UFCW has been a union of immigrants for more than 100 years and this weeks’ program helps ensure that a new generation of workers has the resources to have their voice heard on the job.”
Educating immigrant workforces about rights in the workplace helps raise the standard of treatment for all workers in industries where new immigrants often work, including meatpacking, food processing, and grocery.
“In the past few years, a growing number of immigrant workers were subject to abuse under a mantle of fear that was created by policy approaches which allowed unscrupulous employers to use immigration status to threaten deportation if workers reported discrimination, wage and hour or health and safety violations. We recognize the leadership of Secretary Solis in this issue and believe that joint efforts like the Labor Rights Week will strengthen our ability to protect the rights of our nationals abroad”, said Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan.
The UFCW is a proud partner in this week’s activities and has worked with local consulate offices to prepare activities uniquely suited to the communities in which they are offered. The program in Fresno, California, conducted by the local consulate and UFCW Local 5 will focus outreach to workers in the agricultural and dairy industries. UFCW Local 540 and local partners in Dallas, Texas, are taking questions about labor rights on a three-hour long news broadcast program on the local Univision network. The kick-off event in Chicago, Illinois will feature President Hansen and Consul General Rodríguez Arriaga, who will be joined by a number of community leaders.
More details about local events are available at www.ufcw.org
The UFCW has been a national leader in the fight to develop a fairer, more humane immigration system. President Hansen recently served as founding chairman of a national commission which studied federal raids on workplaces and made recommendations for comprehensive immigration reform.
Earlier this year, UFCW Canada and the Mexican state of Michoacán signed a landmark co-operation agreement to ensure that the human and labor rights of agricultural workers from Michoacán, Mexico are recognized and enforced while they work in Canadian fields and greenhouses.
With 1.3 million members, the UFCW is the nation’s largest private-sector union with members in the supermarket, meatpacking, food processing, and other industries.
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Programming open to the media will continue until September 4. Inquiries and interview requests should be directed to Jill Cashen, UFCW, 202-728-4797 or press@ufcw.org.
August 10, 2009
ROUSES GROCERY OBSTRUCTS FREE SPEECH, INTERFERES WITH WORKERS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 10, 2009
ROUSES GROCERY OBSTRUCTS FREE SPEECH, INTERFERES WITH WORKERS’ RIGHT TO UNION INFORMATION
Louisiana Grocery Store Calls Police on Employees for Expressing Interest in Joining the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union
(NEW ORLEANS) – Rouses grocery store in Louisiana is not behaving like a responsible neighborhood business. Instead, the company is clamping down on the first amendment right of workers, obstructing their right to express any interest in joining the UFCW. The grocer went so far as to call the police, insisting on the arrest of workers and other union members attempting to talk about union representation.
“Workers play a big part in the company’s success,” said UFCW Region 5 Director Chad Young. “And they should share in that success with a voice on the job for paychecks that can support families, affordable, quality health care and job security.”
Even though Rouses allows numerous groups to engage with workers and customers outside their stores, the company is refusing to allow union members and company workers to distribute information and engage in conversations about the process of forming a union.
“What’s clear is that Rouses wants to pick and choose when it abides by the law,” said Young. “The UFCW is filing unfair labor practice charges against the company on behalf of workers and union members who believe their rights were violated. It’s the workers choice on whether they want a union. Rouses should abide by the law and stop interfering with that right.”
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail, meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries.
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For more information, contact Marc Goumbri, 202-257-8771, or press@ufcw.org
July 29, 2009
PRESIDENT OBAMA TO MEET WITH UFCW MEMBERS ON HEALTH CARE
(BRISTOL, VA) – President Barack Obama will hold health care town hall meeting at the Bristol, Virginia, Kroger grocery store today – Wednesday, July 29 at 4:00 pm. Workers at this store are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 400, and are speaking out for quality, affordable health care for all.
“We’re honored and excited to host President Obama,” said Vera Lewis, a member of the UFCW and a floral designer at the Bristol Kroger. “Like President Obama says, health care reform can’t wait. We need a health care system that covers everyone and brings down costs now.”
UFCW members see the face of the healthcare debate every day across the nation. They work as pharmacists, in health care facilities, and in grocery stores like the Bristol Kroger. UFCW members see that average families are struggling and we need reform that will ease the burden on working families.
“UFCW members have sacrificed to protect quality health care at the bargaining table,” said UFCW Local 400 President Jim Lowthers. “Reform has got to level the playing field and put an end to irresponsible employers freeloading their health care onto responsible companies and the taxpayer. Our members are proud to stand with the President and say that now is the time for health care reform.”
UFCW Local 400 represents more than 40,000 workers across Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee and the District of Columbia. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail, meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries.
April 23, 2009
CONTRACT AGREEMENT REACHED FOR EMPLOYERS AND UFCW LOCAL 1262
CLIFTON, NJ — The Negotiation Committees comprised of nearly 100 rank-and-file UFCW Local 1262 members voted to accept a tentative contract agreement with ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Foodtown and Pathmark. The membership will vote on the tentative agreement at meetings the week of April 27, 2009.
The contract covers nearly 30,000 Local 1262 members at ShopRite, Pathmark and Foodtown stores in New Jersey and the Western Hudson Valley Region of New York and Stop & Shop Supermarkets in New Jersey
According to UFCW Local 1262 President Harvey Whille, the Negotiation Committees accepted the tentative agreement because it did not change Health and Welfare benefits during the term of the new agreement, provides adequate funding to ensure that the Pension Fund continues to remain viable and provides a fair wage increase.
“We achieved everything we wanted going into these negotiations,” said Whille. “First we obtained the same contract for all of our members no matter where they work. Second, we maintained our level of benefits, which is a significant feat considering the fact that health care costs continue to increase annually and the state of the world’s investment markets.”
Local 1262 will hold four Special Union Meetings next week at which members will review the tentative agreement and then vote to accept or reject the contract.
February 26, 2009
Gourmet Grocery workers fight back against wage theft
(New York)—Five hundred and fifty gourmet grocery workers will receive nearly $1.5 million in unpaid wages, thanks to the efforts of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1500.
In 2008, several workers at Amish Markets and related stores Zeytinia, Zeytinz, and Zeytuna approached UFCW Local 1500 because they wanted to form a union at their stores. UFCW soon discovered that many workers were not being paid proper overtime and brought the violations to the attention of the New York State Department of Labor. The DOL conducted a sweep of nine locations and confirmed widespread wage and hour and labor violations including:
–employees who had worked up to 60 hours per week who were not paid time-and-a-half for their overtime as required by law;
–workers paid less than the minimum wage as part of a “trial period”;
–at least one whistleblower who was terminated in retaliation for providing information to the New York State Department of Labor.
Bruce W. Both, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 said, “When workers do not receive the pay they’re entitled to by law, both workers and taxpayers suffer. Unpaid wages also mean unpaid taxes. We can never tolerate that, especially in these difficult economic times. The New York State Department of Labor and the workers from Amish Markets, a gourmet grocery store serving high-end food products, deserve the gratitude of every taxpayer in the city because they had the courage to stand up and say: ‘This is wrong!’ Today, the only thing being served and delivered by these grocery workers is justice.”
Local 1500’s Gourmet Grocery Campaign is an effort to bring a union voice on the job to workers in New York’s gourmet grocery industry so they may secure middle class wages, decent benefits, and improved working conditions.
Local 1500 and the Building Blocks Project play a leading role in bringing good food, good jobs, and good health to New York’s neighborhoods by promoting and establishing policies that preserve existing supermarkets, develop new supermarkets and ensure the ability of grocery workers to form unions.
February 3, 2009
SPEAKING OUT FOR UNION EARNS PRICERITE WORKER PAY CUT, DEMOTION
Joe Sorrentino, a worker at a Wakefern PriceRite Supermarket in North Providence, Rhode Island, has been punished for standing up for a union at his workplace, according to charges filed by UFCW Local Union 328 with the National Labor Relations Board.
Sorrentino and other PriceRite employees have been working to organize with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), but have faced a campaign of company harassment and intimidation. Shortly after receiving national attention for speaking out on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act at a Washington, DC, press conference on January 13, Sorrentino was demoted and given a pay cut—the kind of harassment by corporations against workers that the Employee Free Choice Act would eliminate.
UFCW Local 328, in Providence has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking reinstatement of Sorrentino’s position and pay, as a Night Crew Chief.
“This is the way companies destroy worker attempts to gain a voice on the job,” said Dave Fleming, UFCW local 328 President. “They wage fear campaigns. They fire. They spy. They intimidate. They send a clear and frightening message that if you support forming a union, you will be punished.”
A study from Cornell University scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner found that:
- In 25 percent of organizing campaigns, private-sector employers illegally fire workers because they want to form a union.
- Half of employers threaten to shut down partially or totally if employees join together in a union.
- Ninety-two percent of private-sector employers, when faced with employees who want to join together in a union, force employees to attend closed-door meetings to hear anti-union propaganda; 80 percent require supervisors to attend training sessions on attacking unions; and 78 percent require that supervisors deliver anti-union messages to workers they oversee.
- Seventy-five percent hire outside consultants to run anti-union campaigns, often based on mass psychology and distorting the law.
Joe Sorrentino, like countless other workers trying to improve their workplace, exercised his right speak out for a union on the job,” said Fleming. “The next thing he knew, he was demoted with a wage cut of $3 an hour.”
November 10, 2008
PriceRite Workers and Grocery Workers
Providence, R.I.—On November 7, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), grocery workers and community members gathered at the Providence PriceRite store on 325 Valley St to reach out to shoppers. Workers handed out flyers to customers and talked to them about the need for good union jobs, especially in this troubled economy.
PriceRite is owned by Wakefern–the same company that owns and/or supplies ShopRite stores in Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey, where the vast majority of workers have a union. Those ShopRite workers say their union, the UFCW, gives them benefits like good wages, quality, affordable health care, and respect on the job–the kind of benefits that make grocery jobs the good, middle-class jobs that strengthen communities.
PriceRite stores are primarily located in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Workers in these states also began reaching out to customers today. PriceRite workers say they are not being allowed the same freedom to choose a union–without company interference.
“”I’ve seen PriceRite run all over immigrant workers and disrespect them in lots of ways,”” said PriceRite worker Charles Heirsch. “”That’s not good for workers or families here in Providence.””
“”It’s just unfair,”” said Ronnie Cabral, Jr., a PriceRite employee. “We need the union here, too, so we can get better pay and health care, and job security.””
A majority of PriceRite workers are part-time, and are not eligible for health care. When workers can’t get health care, it means more uninsured families in Providence–and taxpayers footing the bills for government health care. PriceRite workers are reaching out to community members to help make their employer understand: in this troubled economy, the last thing Providence needs is dead-end, low-paying jobs that don’t provide health care coverage.
“”We’re not just workers–we’re a part of the community,”” says Heirsch. “”If we can improve jobs at PriceRite, it will help working families and make our middle class stronger. That’s why we need a union at PriceRite.””
November 7, 2008
A New Day for Working Families
Washington — The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) endorsed President-elect Barack Obama’s candidacy in February because his run for the White House was based on renewing hope for the middle class—on restoring the American Dream for America’s workers. UFCW members are energized to seize this opportunity to change America and restore the American Dream for workers and their families.
The UFCW is the largest union of young workers with more than 40 percent of our 1.3 million members under the age of 30. The UFCW was the first major labor unions to support Barack Obama’s primary campaign because his message of changing hope into reality inspired our young members across the country.
Twenty-two-year-old UFCW Local 1776 member Samantha Miskevich of Limerick, Pennsylvania, pointed out how especially significant the election was for young voters, observing that “[t]his is our time. For me and my peers, this election was our 1960’s moment, our moment to vote for change. I’ve never worked so hard or talked to so many people. This election was about saving the middle class.”
UFCW members, and millions of Americans, have been inspired by President-elect Obama to build a movement to unite our country that will deliver the type of change that is needed – for good jobs, affordable health care, retirement security and worker safety. Today is a new day for working families.
UFCW members are proud to have played such a vital role in bringing change to Washington, D.C. and setting a course that will improve the lives of their children and grandchildren. Tuesday’s election was only the beginning of the movement. UFCW members are ready to keep up the hard work to make President-elect Obama’s change platform a reality.
President-elect Obama understands the needs of working people and is committed to restoring the balance between working America and corporate America. The U.S. economy needs urgent attention and President-elect Obama understands that we need an economy built on real income for real workers – not on inflated housing markets and unreliable stock prices. Restoring the middle class is the best way to rebuild our economy and the UFCW is ready to work closely with President-elect Obama to make that dream a reality.
Today is a new day for meatpackers and food processors who work long hours to ensure that the dreams of their sons and daughters for college and a better life become a reality. It’s a new day for cashiers and clerks in retail and grocery stores who work every day to make sure they don’t have to choose between feeding their families or paying health care bills. Tuesday’s election was about filling dreams of hard working people across this country.
September 29, 2008
UNITED INDIANA GROCERY WORKERS ACHIEVE HIGHER LIVING STANDARDS
(Indianapolis, IN) Workers in Indiana’s grocery industry now have better jobs and a stronger voice at the bargaining table, thanks to a new agreement between UFCW Local 700 and the Kroger Company.
The contract covers 1100 Kroger/Sav-On workers in central Indiana, and includes:
- Early and significant wage increases and bonuses;
- Major improvements to health and welfare, with employer contribution increases;
- Increases in paid holidays, vacations, and personal days.
“I am thrilled,” said Jennifer Keating, Local 700 member and Kroger Sav-On employee. “I’ve only been with the company a little over a year, and with this contract I’m going to get $2.65 in raises in just one year. And I’ve also gained another week’s paid vacation.”
Marcia Sisson, a pharmacy tech at Kroger Sav-On and UFCW 700 member, agreed. “It’s a great deal,” she said of the agreement, which increases her pay $3 over the contract.
“UFCW Local 700 is part of the Grocery Workers United program, which is leading a nationwide effort to make grocery jobs good jobs,” said UFCW Local 700 President Joe Chorpenning. “The UFCW has settled good contracts, the kind that bring good jobs, in cities across the country—including right here in Indianapolis. By uniting workers to bargain better contracts,” he said, “we’re helping grocery workers throughout Indiana turn supermarket jobs into good, middle class jobs—the kind that come with affordable health care, a living wage, and a secure retirement, and that benefit workers and their communities.”
Members are keenly aware of the difference the contract will make to their standard of living. “Gaining this new prescription card will save me hundreds of dollars,” said Miranda Biddle, Local 700 member and Kroger Sav-On employee. “And I gain another $250,000 in coverage and free cleanings, vision and dental improvements, too. I love it!”
“Grocery store workers across Indiana are enjoying better lives because they are uniting to improve wages and benefits in the grocery industry,” said Chorpenning. “And we’re taking that message to every community in Indiana, from Evansville to Fort Wayne.”