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News and Updates
Press Releases
March 5, 2013
UFCW Supports Harkin-Miller Minimum Wage Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the UFCW, today released the following statement in support of a bill introduced by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA) that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and index it to inflation.
“CEO pay has risen 725 percent over the last 30 years yet workers making the minimum wage are still living in poverty. This is a national disgrace. Raising the minimum wage and adjusting it to inflation is an important step in helping millions of American workers make ends meet. The real value of the current minimum wage is lower than it was in the 1960’s even as corporate profits are soaring at astronomical rates. This particularly impacts workers in industries like retail with a high proportion of low-wage and part-time jobs. Raising the minimum wage would not only help lift working families out of poverty but also boost our sluggish economic recovery by giving them more purchasing power. This bill is a win-win and Congress should pass it immediately.”
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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.
February 22, 2013
Over 80 UFCW Leaders Announce Support For Comprehensive Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over 80 leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) from across the United States today wrote President Obama in support of comprehensive immigration reform.
“As leaders of the (UFCW) from every corner of America, we strongly support your call for comprehensive immigration reform,” the letter read. “The time to create a principled, legal immigration system that treats all immigrants with respect and dignity is right now.”
The UFCW has been a leader on immigration reform for decades. Following the raids of Swift plants in 2006, the union spearheaded a national commission to investigate whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated the due process rights of workers.
“Immigration is very personal to us,” said UFCW International President Joe Hansen, who joined President Obama last month in Las Vegas when he unveiled his comprehensive immigration reform plan. ”We remember the ICE raids where our members were treated like criminals. We remember the hearings that followed where we heard the stories of workers terrorized just for doing their jobs.”
“It doesn’t make sense for our country to spend billions of dollars breaking up families, harassing workers, and deporting people who are simply trying to achieve the American Dream,” Hansen continued. “2013 is the year for comprehensive immigration reform.”
The UFCW supports reform that includes a roadmap to citizenship for those already here, an effective mechanism for determining employment eligibility, smart and humane border enforcement, streamlined family reunification, and a fair process for allocating employment based visas.
“(Immigrants) work hard, pay taxes, and make our communities stronger,” the letter from UFCW leaders read. “Yet despite these important contributions, they are too often cast into the shadows. Our future success as a nation depends upon the ability of these immigrants to become full American citizens.”
February 13, 2013
Statement By the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Regarding the Minimum Wage Debate
Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement issued by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union:
“In his State of the Union Address, President Obama made it clear that raising our country’s federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour from the current rate of $7.25 was one of his top priorities, and a recent Pew survey has found that his proposal to raise the minimum wage has wide support among the American people.
“Despite widespread public support, President Obama’s push to raise the minimum wage has been opposed by big business and House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner, who claimed that increasing the minimum wage would hurt our economy. While raising the minimum wage is not a perfect solution and will not lift all Americans out of poverty, a minimum wage increase would improve the standard of living for millions of American workers and give them the purchasing power that is needed to revive the economy.
“As President Obama noted in his State of the Union address, no American working a full-time job should be living under the poverty line. The UFCW applauds President Obama’s effort to close the gap between the rich and the poor by raising the minimum wage. The wasted economic potential of the millions of Americans who are struggling to survive in low-wage sectors is a national tragedy, and our 1.3 million member union will continue to stand with President Obama during the fight to lift American workers out of poverty and provide them with a pathway to the middle class.”
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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.
January 29, 2013
Joe Hansen Weighs in on President Obama’s Immigration Speech
LAS VEGAS, NV — Joe Hansen, International President of the UFCW, today released the following statement after attending President Obama’s immigration speech in Las Vegas.
“I agree with President Obama—the time to reform our broken immigration system is now. The plan unveiled yesterday by a bipartisan group of Senators is a good start and they should get to work right away drafting legislation. The UFCW strongly supports comprehensive immigration reform that treats all immigrants with respect and dignity and creates a modern, 21st century system that reflects our values. Reform should include a roadmap to citizenship for those already here, an effective mechanism for determining employment eligibility, smart and humane border enforcement, and a fair process for allocating employment based visas. This issue is personal for UFCW members. Many watched in horror during the 2006 ICE raids as hundreds of documented and undocumented workers were detained and harassed just for doing their jobs. Our nation is better than that. We must be a land of opportunity for all those who work hard in pursuit of the American Dream. Passing comprehensive immigration reform will allow us to do that.”
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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.
January 8, 2013
Pinnacle Foods Workers in Fort Madison Authorize Strike to Protest Company’s Plan to Eliminate Pensions
FORT MADISON, IOWA – Over 400 Pinnacle Foods Workers in Fort Madison who are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) voted on Sunday, January 6 to authorize a strike to protest the company’s plan to eliminate their pension plan. The Pinnacle Foods plant in Fort Madison manufactures canned food products, including Vienna sausages, Armour brand corned beef hash, beef stew and chili.
“In a volatile financial environment, Pinnacle Foods workers in Fort Madison are simply trying to protect middle class jobs and their retirement benefits after working hard to make their company profitable,” said UFCW Local 617 President Darin Boatman. “I hope this strike vote sends a strong message to the company and moves the negotiation process to a successful conclusion.”
Defined benefit pension plans are the most secure retirement system for workers. While many workers are forced to rely on less secure investments, like 401 (k) plans, or have no retirement at all, many UFCW members have retirement security through their pension benefits that provide for a monthly payment for their lifetime after they retire.
Pinnacle Foods, Inc. is backed by the Blackstone Group L.P., a private equity firm, and posted net sales of $2.5 billion in the 2011 fiscal year.
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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
December 14, 2012
Walmart Worker Protests Spread Globally
Workers in 10 Countries Call for an End to the Silencing of Workers at Walmart
OUR Walmart and Community Supporters Commit to Continued Protests in 2013
Follow the conversation and see photos on Twitter: #WalmartStrikers and @ForRespect and @ChangeWalmart
MIAMI—US Walmart workers were joined by Walmart workers in nine countries on Friday to call for an end to Walmart’s attempts to silence workers for speaking out for changes at the world’s largest employer. As Walmart workers and community supporters marched in front of a Walmart store in Miami, workers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Zambia and India held their own rallies, marches, and other actions at Walmart and Walmart subsidiary stores. During the protests, workers cited the negative impacts that the silencing is having on their families, the economy and the company’s bottom-line. 
At the protests across the globe, workers held a moment of silence to honor the victims of the factory fire in Bangladesh that tragically claimed the lives of 112 workers. Recent reports show that Walmart “played a leading role in blocking an effort” to improve electrical and fire safety systems in factories in the country.
“Walmart must stop its attempts to silence those who speak out. We are standing up for what is right for our families and the global economy,” said Elaine Rozie, an OUR Walmart member from the Hialeah store in Miami Gardens, Fl. Rozie is a seven-year associate who despite works full-time at Walmart still has to depend on public assistance to make ends meet. “As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart should be setting a standard for good, safe jobs. The benefits of having steady, well-trained workers in stores and along the supply chain will help Walmart improve customer service ratings and its reputation, which is good business.”
“We are inspired by OUR Walmart members who are standing up for a better future for all of our families,” said Louisa Plaatjies, a worker from South Africa. In October, workers from seven countries – where workers all have union representation – launched the UNI Walmart Global Union Alliance to fight for fairness, decent working conditions, and the fundamental human right of freedom of association. “We are will continue to stand up with our brothers and sisters in the United States until Walmart starts listening to the workers that keep the store running.”
The global protests held today build on the ongoing calls for change at Walmart. In November, community members and Walmart workers held more than 1,000 demonstrations, including strikes in 100 cities, during the Black Friday shopping rush in protest of the company’s illegal attempts to silence workers for speaking out about the company’s manipulation of hours and benefits, efforts to try to keep people from working full-time and its discrimination against women and people of color. The Black Friday strike wave came a little more than a month after OUR Walmart leaders held the first-ever strikes against the mega-retailer. In just one year, OUR Walmart has grown from a group of 100 Walmart workers to an army of thousands of Associates across 43 states.
“The Walmart workers may come from different cultures and continents but they are united in their opposition to Walmart’s cynical and systematic squeezing of its employees to maximize profit, be it the US dollar, the South African rand, the Indian rupee, the Argentine peso or any other currency,” said the International UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings. “Walmart has gone too far. US Walmart workers have had enough and they are fighting back as we saw on Black Friday and every day since. The Alliance is standing with them not just in solidarity but in strength and in action.”
Workers like Jesus Vargas, who have been illegally fired, targeted by management or other retaliation for speaking out, are also raising their voices. More than 30 federal charges against Walmart have already been filed, with another 60 allegations against Walmart’s illegal threats currently under investigation.
“Walmart, we will not be silenced,” Vargas said. Vargas, who was unjustly fired for speaking out at his store in California, has filed a federal charge against Walmart. “We are coming together to be heard and to create good jobs that workers in America and across the globe need.”
With so many Americans struggling to make ends meet and Walmart taking in $16 billion in profits and compensating its executives $10 million each, workers and community leaders have been calling on Walmart and Chairman Rob Walton to address the wage gap the company is creating. At the same time frontline Walmart workers are facing financial hardships, the Walton Family – heirs to the Walmart fortune – are the richest family in the country with more wealth than the bottom 42% of American families combined.
Workers’ concerns about wages and staffing have been affirmed by newly uncovered company pay-plans exposed by the Huffington Post, recent poor sales reports and a new study on wage trends in the retail industry. Huffington Post uncovered what reporters call “a rigid pay structure for hourly employees that makes it difficult for most to rise much beyond poverty-level wages.” Meanwhile, last week’s sales reports show that understaffing, which affects workers’ scheduling and take-home pay, is also having an impact on company sales. Last week’s sales report showed that Walmart’s comp store sales are about half what competitors like Target reported in the same quarter, continuing a pattern of underperformance by the world’s largest retailer.
As workers and community supporters call for changes at Walmart, a new report by the national public policy center Demos, shows that better jobs at Walmart and other large retailers would have an impact on our economy. A wage floor equivalent of $25,000 per year for a full-time, year-round employee for retailers with more than 1000 employees would lift 1.5 million retail workers and their families out of poverty or near poverty, add to economic growth, increase retail sales and create more than 100,000 new jobs. The findings in the study prove there is a flaw in the conventional thinking by companies like Walmart that profits, low prices, and decent wages cannot coexist.
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Making Change at Walmart is a campaign challenging Walmart to help rebuild our economy and strengthen working families. Anchored by the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), Making Change at Walmart is a coalition of Walmart associates, union members, small business owners, religious leaders, community organizations, women’s advocacy groups, multi-ethnic coalitions, elected officials and ordinary citizens who believe that changing Walmart is vital for the future of our country.
December 11, 2012
President Hansen Speaks Out on Michigan’s Sham Right to Work Law
Washington, DC –Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) today released the following statement regarding the passage of a right to work law in Michigan.
“I am deeply disappointed that Michigan has gone over to the dark side. Right to work is a sham that provides no new rights and no new work. It is designed for a single purpose: to give more money and power to CEOs at the expense of their workers. This is particularly poor timing for Michigan, which is in the midst of a truly remarkable comeback story, led by the resurgence of the auto industry and made possible by unsung heroes in retail and meatpacking. But make no mistake—we will use this moment to build a stronger union, ramp up communication and outreach, and help our members continue to bargain for a better life.
“The people of Michigan spoke loud and clear on Election Day, supporting pro-worker candidates like Senator Debbie Stabenow and President Obama by wide margins. But instead of listening to his constituents, Governor Snyder is bending to the big-moneyed interests behind right to work. This is truly a sad day for Michigan.”
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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 on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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 23, 2012
Striking Walmart Workers Make Their Voices Heard
Walkouts in Dallas, Miami, Wisconsin and Bay Area Kick Off Strikes in More than 100 Cities – 1,000 Black Friday Protests in 46 State Sweep Across the Nation
USA—Walmart workers in Miami, Dallas, Wisconsin and the Bay Area kicked off this year’s Black Friday shopping season by walking off the job on Thursday, and this morning, workers from Chicago and Washington, DC have joined them. Throughout the day, Walmart workers in more than 100 cities are expected to go on strike as part of the continued wave of 1,000 protests in 46 states leading up to and on Black Friday, including strikes, rallies, flash mobs, direct action and other efforts to inform customers about the illegalactions that Walmart has been taking against its workers.
The workers, who are members of the organization OUR Walmart, are on strike in protest against the company’s attempts to silence workers who speak out for better jobs. Workers in California, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana, Minnesota and across the country are among those expected to strike throughout the day.
Watch a video from Walmart workers on why they’re standing upor follow the conversation on Twitter at #WalmartStrikers. Live-streaming of protests will also be available atQik.com/OURWalmart.
“Walmart has spent the last 50 years pushing its way on workers and communities,” said Mary Pat Tifft, an OUR Walmart member and 24-year associate who led a protest on Thursday evening in Kenosha, Wisconsin. “In just one year, leaders of OUR Walmart and Warehouse Workers United have begun to prove that change is coming to the world’s largest employer.”
“Our voices are being heard,” said Colby Harris, OUR Walmart member and 3-year associate who walked off the job in Lancaster, Texas Thursday evening. “And thousands of people in our cities and towns and all across the country are joining our calls for change at Walmart. We are overwhelmed by the support and proud of what we’ve achieved so quickly and about where we are heading.”
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Making Change at Walmart is a campaign challenging Walmart to help rebuild our economy and strengthen working families. Anchored by the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), we are a coalition of Walmart associates, union members, small business owners, religious leaders, community organizations, women’s advocacy groups, multi-ethnic coalitions, elected officials and ordinary citizens who believe that changing Walmart is vital for the future of our country.