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June 12, 2013

Support Union Dads This Father’s Day and Buy Union!

Father’s Day is right around the corner, and you know that means–a great opportunity to support your union! Check out the list of gift ideas, provided by the AFL-CIO.

Among the UFCW-made products dads may enjoy are:

-Jim Beam

-Knob Creek Whiskey

-Naturalizer, Red Wing, and any shoes sold at the Union Boot Pro!

-Old Spice products

-Pierre Cardin cologne

-Omaha Steaks

–Carhartt clothing

You can get even more ideas here, and on our Pinterest page!

 

 

 

May 30, 2013

Show Your UFCW Pride by Entering the New UFCW Facebook Contest!

DSC_0226Are you proud of what you do as a UFCW member on the job? Do you and your coworkers create a product that makes you proud to say “UFCW-made”?

Why not show it off! Enter our new contest by uploading a photo of you or you and your coworkers, or a UFCW product (you can see some of the great things UFCW members make here), and you are not only helping us showcase the great work UFCW members do, but are also entering for a chance to win cool UFCW gear and even grocery store gift cards–worth up to $500!

Its easy to upload and enter: you can either go to http://ufcwmade.com/ or you can get the Facebook app and share with friends!

Vote for your favorite photos on the site, and show your support for UFCW members!

May 24, 2013

Have a Union-Made Memorial Day Weekend!

It’s Memorial Day Weekend! Which means that you have another opportunity to buy union-made products to celebrate at your BBQ, weekend getaway, or maybe even the first day at your neighborhood pool!

Thanks to the AFL-CIO and Labor 411, you can refer to this grocery shopping list that makes buying union-made products a breeze. 295090_10151659223141153_1295056525_n

Labor 411 is also hosting “Support UFCW Week” this week–you can find the UFCW-made items from the list below–what better way to support your brothers and sisters than to buy the products that they make?

All listed Hot Dogs

Condiments

  • French’s Mustard
  • Guldens Mustard
  • Heinz Catsup and Ketchup
  • Vlasic

Sodas & Bottled Water

  • Barq’s Rootbeer
  • Coke & Diet Coke
  • Sprite & Diet Sprite
  • Pepsi
  • American Springs
  • Poland Springs

Sausages

  • Gianelli
  • Hofmann
  • Kroger

Sara Lee Buns

Breyers & Good Humor Ice Cream

Bud Light

April 4, 2013

Keany Produce Drivers Say ‘Yes” to a Union Voice with UFCW Local 400

Keany Produce drivers in Landover, Md. overwhelmingly voted to join UFCW Local 400.

On Friday, March 29, Keany Produce drivers stood up for their rights, living standards, safety, and health and retirement security by voting overwhelmingly for representation by UFCW Local 400.

After years of frustration over low pay, inadequate benefits, inconsistent hours, and unfair treatment, many of the 140 drivers decided they needed to empower themselves through collective bargaining. After an intensive, months-long, worker-led organizing drive, they won in a landslide.

“Divided we fall, united we stand,” said Terrance Helm, a Keany Produce driver who spearheaded the organizing effort. “It’s been a collective effort and we all came together.”

“I love my co-workers,” he said. “I have such an appreciation for all the hard work and the sacrifices they’ve made, and the strength they showed in standing up to management.”

Today, in the wake of their victory, morale among the workers is at an all-time high, Helm observed, and they are looking forward to sitting down across the bargaining table with management.

“We’re here to fight until the end,” he said.

Keany Produce is a wholesale produce distributor located in Landover, Md.

February 13, 2013

UFCW Members Make Valentine’s Day a Little Sweeter

source: Labor 411

 

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend $1.6 billion on candy this year to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  UFCW members across the country, along with members of many other unions, have worked hard to make this holiday a little sweeter this year, by helping to create your favorite candy, chocolate, gifts, and other Valentine’s day products! Refer to the list below, brought to you by Labor 411 to help you find last-minute, union-made goodies.

Chocolate:

  • See’s Candy
  • Russell Stover
  • Ghirardelli Chocolates (UFCW)
  • Hershey Kisses and Hugs
  • Necco Sweethearts
  • Tootsie Rolls
  • York pepper mint patties

Champagne:

  • Andre (UFCW)
  • Cook’s (UFCW)
  • Eden Roc (UFCW
  • J. Roget (UFCW)
  • Jacques Bonet (UFCW)
  • Jacque Reynard (UFCW)
  • JFJ (UFCW)
  • Le Domaine (UFCW)
  • Tott’s
  • Wycliff (UFCW)

 

C0logne and Perfume:

  • Hugo Boss
  • Pierre Cardin (UFCW)
  • Avon (UFCW)
  • Old Spice (UFCW)

Making dinner for your Valentine? Then pick up what you need from a union grocery store near you, with the help of the UFCW mobile app. Then pick out some union-made wine to go with it!

You can also make these Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcakes with the union-made ingredients provided in the recipe for your sweetheart. You’ll be sure to impress.

And if you really screwed up last V-day, why not purchase some jewelry from fellow union members at department stores like Macy’s?

We hope that with the help our our tips, you and your honey have a happy, union-made Valentine’s Day!

December 11, 2012

Fresh & Easy Flops While CEO Walks with Golden Parachute

CEO Secures Severance Package Worth Over $9 Million as 5,000 Workers Likely to Lose Jobs

(Washington, DC) – Even though Tim Mason ran Fresh & Easy into the ground, the former CEO will still be getting his Christmas bonus. Tim Mason has proved more successful at lining his own pockets than at running a grocery chain. Although Mason has resigned following the failure of Fresh & Easy, he will still walk away with a severance package of more than $9 million.

But the company’s 5,000 workers are more likely to see pink slips than bonuses in their stockings this holiday season.

This pattern of putting C-suite interests above the needs of workers and customers contributed to the failure of Fresh & Easy. Now those workers and customers will likely pay the price, with lost jobs and communities blighted by empty storefronts.

Under Mason’s watch, Fresh & Easy lost over $1.6 billion since opening its doors five years ago. Fresh & Easy repeatedly missed its benchmarks for both performance and growth. A June 2012 field research study by Change to Win, a labor federation with which UFCW is affiliated, found that a number of Fresh & Easy stores had execution problems such as product out of stocks, cleanliness and/or product freshness issues, and problems with the ease of self-checkout.

Despite this record, Mason was consistently one of the highest paid executives at Tesco. But compensation for the workers stagnated, with the most senior workers going three years without a pay raise. Now, Mason will walk away from Fresh & Easy with a generous severance package that includes 2 million shares of company stock, and a year’s severance pay, with an additional $14.5 million in pension money.

Mason’s shocking compensation package had been a thorn with investors as they watched Mason become the most highly-paid executive at Tesco, out-earning his own boss, Tesco International CEO Phil Clarke. In 2011, the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union engaged with investors and triggered a revolt in which nearly half of Tesco’s investors refused to approve the remuneration package, pushing the company to overhaul its pay policy for top executives.

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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, go to ufcw.org and join us on Facebook: UFCWinternational and follow us on Twitter @UFCW.

December 5, 2012

UFCW Statement on Tesco’s Fresh & Easy

Statement by UFCW Executive Vice President Pat O’Neill Regarding Tesco’s Announcement on US Venture, Fresh & Easy


“Tesco’s announcement today forces thousands of Fresh & Easy workers in California, Arizona, and Nevada to face a holiday season filled with uncertainty and fear if their jobs and stores will still be there in the new year. These job losses could have been avoided if Tesco had chosen to engage with community stakeholders and its customers to address the many underlying problems and warning signs of the troubled Fresh & Easy model.

“We call on Tesco and Fresh & Easy executives to include all community and labor stakeholders as the company undergoes this review process.”

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The United Food & Commercial 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, go to ufcw.org and join us on Facebook: UFCWinternational and follow us on Twitter @UFCW.

November 13, 2012

Statement from the UFCW International Regarding the Resolution of the Raley’s and Nob Hill Strike

Washington, DC – The following is a statement from the UFCW regarding the resolution of the Raley’s and Nob Hill strike: 

“Today, grocery workers around the country are acknowledging the tremendous resolve and solidarity of Raley’s and Nob Hill workers who took tremendous risk to protect middle class grocery jobs. Nearly a million union grocery workers and their families count on grocery jobs that provide meaningful benefits and a middle-class paycheck. The fight in California was truly a fight against lowering the bar in this industry, and worker solidarity with loyal customers and allies from around the labor movement secured a real victory for grocery workers.”

“Workers at Raley’s and Nob Hill stores in Northern and Central California ended their nine-day strike against the company today when a tentative agreement was reached between Raley’s/Nob Hill management and members of UFCW Local 5 and UFCW Local 8.”

“More than 7,000 UFCW members went on strike against the grocery chain on Sunday, Nov. 4 after 15 months of highly contentious bargaining.”

“Ordinarily, the terms of a tentative agreement are not released prior to the members having an opportunity to vote. However, UFCW Locals 5 and 8 confirmed that Raley’s agreed to retain and fund the union’s health benefit plan, the same plan agreed to by Save Mart and Safeway.”

“The settlement will be submitted to members of UFCW Locals 5 and 8 for review and ratification. The proposed agreement also will be submitted to workers at Raley’s Bel Air chain.”

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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 join our online community at http://www.facebook.com/ufcwinternational and https://twitter.com/UFCW.

November 13, 2012

Worker Voices: Longtime Safeway Cashier and UFCW member Ms. Nita says Customers Make it Worth Her While

Photo credit: Washington Post

Last week, the Washington Post featured Nita Robinson, a 67-year-old cashier and UFCW member at a La Plata Safeway, in the “Fist Person Singular” section.

In the article, Nita tells her story about starting out at Safeway in 1982, making $4.75 as a salad bar person, and then being made a greeter due to her willingness to “talk to anybody.”  The fact the Ms. Nita has worked at Safeway for 30 years now is impressive, but what makes her a remarkable employee is her dedication to her customers and working hard for her company.

Ms. Nita knows that people like being cared for, and she cares for her customers, whom she says have become her family, by asking about their families, and helping those in need, such as a homeless young man whom she once stopped from stealing in her store.

After suffering a heart attack recently, Nita was about to take some time off, but couldn’t stay away from the job for long.  Nita needed two weeks to recover, and with the help of her union and the respect of her employers was able to do so.  She returend after that time, saying: “I know it’s a long way, but, baby, it’s worth it to me. When I saw a lady today that was coming to find me to meet her son — a 9-month-old little boy — that makes it worth it. The [customers] in the area have always treated us with respect, and the [new] ones will learn to know us. But I know it’s gonna be all right, because you gotta know me. Once you get to know Ms. Nita, it’s on. ”

We are grateful to hear stories about people like Ms. Nita, who work hard for their customers and get treated with respect in return.  The long line that is always in Ms. Nita’s checkout lane speaks for itself.

 

November 6, 2012

UFCW ANNOUNCES UNION-WIDE SUPPORT FOR RALEY’S WORKERS

STATEMENT FROM JOSEPH T. HANSEN, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, UNITED FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION ANNOUNCING UNION-WIDE SUPPORT FOR RALEY’S WORKERS

(Washington, D.C.) — The following is a statement issued by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union President Joseph Hansen:

Raley’s employees went on strike Sunday morning, November 4, 2012.

Following months of intense negotiations, workers from UFCW 8-Golden State and UFCW Local 5 have been forced on strike against Raley’s supermarket chain.

Nearly one million union grocery workers and their families across the country count on grocery jobs that provide meaningful benefits and a paycheck that can support a family. We cannot allow Raley’s to lower standards for working people in Northern California. Our full union stands in solidarity with the UFCW members standing up to keep grocery jobs middle class jobs.

Workers are fighting back against the company’s unlawful implementation of contract proposals and lowered job standards that were put in place without the input or approval of union employees. Workers have also filed unfair labor practice charges against the company, citing violations of laws prohibiting harassment and intimidation of union members, circumventing the union’s authority as a bargaining agent, and “regressive bargaining” — submitting proposals that are worse than previous offers.

The strike affects more than 7,000 workers in Northern and Central California .

UFCW 8-Golden State and UFCW Local 5 have been negotiating with Raley’s (which owns Bel Air and Nob Hill stores), Safeway/Vons and Save Mart/Lucky for more than a year, seeking agreement on new contracts for grocery workers in Northern and Central California. While an agreement was ratified with Save Mart/Lucky and negotiations are continuing between Safeway/Vons, Raley’s management has been bargaining in bad faith since contract negotiations began 15 months ago.

For further updates please visit www.yourbreadandbutter.com and www.supportgroceryworkers.com/.

 

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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, http://www.ufcw.org/, or join our online community at http://www.facebook.com/ufcwinternational and https://twitter.com/UFCW.