2004

Collective Bargaining, Press Releases, Retail Food, UFCW Industries

Colorado Supermarket Contract Voting Halted

Nov 09, 2004
 
 UFCW International President
Joe Hansen

Joseph Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), exercised his authority under Article 23(A) of the International Constitution to halt voting on the offer presented on November 1, 2004, from Safeway, King Soopers and Alberstons to more than 13,000 UFCW members represented by Wheat Ridge, Co., Local 7.

Article 23 (A) of the International Constitution gives the International President the right to review any proposed contracts prior to any membership action on the proposal.  The purpose of Friday’s action is to give the International President the opportunity to assess the potential impact of proposed contract provisions on other UFCW members across the country and to see if they meet the established objectives relating to wages, benefits and working conditions. Following the International President’s review, he could either opt to restart or suspend (cancel) Colorado member voting on the existing proposal.  In the event that voting is restarted, ballots cast prior to Friday’s action would be counted.

“The supermarket chains bargaining with Local 7 in Colorado are large national corporations. Consequently, their proposals have national ramifications for our members,” said International President Joe Hansen. “I owe an obligation to all UFCW members working in the grocery industry to fully review the current proposal to determine whether or not it would be injurious to them.”

The UFCW International Union remains hopeful that ultimately an equitable solution can be reached between the parties.

Economic Justice, Elections, Politics, Press Releases, UFCW Values

Working America Turns Out For Change

Nov 04, 2004

Working America turned out in unprecedented numbers to support an agenda of change. Working families are demanding a different direction for the next four years, regardless of the final vote count. From better jobs to affordable family health care, a program for the economic rebuilding of working America— a working America that has suffered massive job loss, declining wages and the rapid erosion of affordable health insurance—now has the informed, mobilized and determined grassroots base to force its way onto the political agenda for the next four years.

“”We turned out on election day, and we will not be turned around. We activated an army of working families for this election, and we are now mobilized to fight for a program to rebuild working America,”" said Joe Hansen, president of the 1.4 million member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Hansen congratulated the hundreds of UFCW local unions for their tireless and relentless work to register and turnout hundreds of thousands of union members, many of whom were first time voters. The UFCW is one of the largest unions overall, and one of the largest unions of working women, in most of the battleground states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. The UFCW, the largest union of workers under age 25, also collaborated with Rock the Vote and other youth-oriented programs to help generate a record turnout of young voters.

The efforts of the UFCW and the labor movement produced results. According to early reports, union members made up a record-shattering percentage of the electorate and provided a solid foundation of voters for change. The turnout numbers indicate a growing demand among working families for government action to restore the economic standing of the working middle class.

Despite a growing economy and increased productivity, workers have seen the steady outsourcing of good jobs, the steady decline of real wages, and a steady increase in health care costs and the number of uninsured working families. The Bush Administration launched an unrelenting assault on workers from its first days in office with the repeal of the ergonomic standard in early 2001 to proposing to take away overtime pay for millions of workers in 2004. More and more workers slid into poverty over the past four years threatening the future of a working middle class America.

Hansen declared, “”Implementing a program to rebuild working America is fight for the heart and soul of our country—will we continue to be a nation were hard work brings dignity, respect and a decent standard of living; or, will we be a nation where the wealth concentrates at the top while the many who do the work fall farther and farther behind?”"

The first agenda item in a program to rebuild working America, according to the UFCW leader, is health care reform. “”There is no greater threat to family economic and personal security than the loss of health insurance. Without decent health insurance, most working families are only illness away from an economic crisis that could shatter the family and dim its hopes for the future. Affordable, accessible, comprehensive health care for all working families is the foundation of restoring the working middle class.”"

A rebuild working America program would, according to Hansen, also focus government investment to generate job growth, raise the minimum wage and restore workplace rights.

“”We don’t want big government, we want effective government that acts to raise living standards and provide economic opportunity for working Americans,”" Hansen said.

 

Economic Justice, Health Care, Press Releases, Retail Food, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values

Communities Back UFCW Members

Oct 28, 2004

 

UFCW members aren’t alone in the fight for affordable health care, as an overwhelming percent of supermarket shoppers surveyed side with their local grocery store workers on employee concerns. The community support is echoed in two recent surveys of grocery shoppers, one conducted in Colorado and one in Washington State.

Both surveys reinforce what UFCW workers already know:  communities stand behind workers when it comes to workplace issues, especially health care.  The large majority of shoppers agree that grocery store employees “deserve to have affordable health care.”  Most shoppers (85%) believe that major supermarkets like Albertsons, Kroger and Safeway are very profitable and have a responsibility to provide workers with affordable health care benefits.

Over 80% in the Washington community said they would support workers on strike if management threatened to eliminate health care benefits.  The majority also said they would sympathize with grocery store workers on strike over the employers even if they knew very little about specific bargaining issues. Most shoppers would go out of their way to shop at another store if their local grocery store had employees on strike.

Economic studies show that when large corporations take away or reduce their employees’ health benefits, taxpayers take on the increased costs for workers because more workers are forced to utilize publicly-subsidized health services.  More than two-thirds of shoppers surveyed agree that the responsibility for health care cots would indeed float to taxpayers.  Even more shoppers agree that workers end up paying for extravagant corporate executive compensation and bonuses.

Last summer, UFCW members in the Puget Sound, Wash. area visited their local communities and informed residents about what was happening at the bargaining table during their contract negotiations.  UFCW members collected “don’t shop” pledges from the public if the employers insisted on eliminating affordable health care benefits.  They participated in marches and rallies that kept bargaining issues at the center of the public’s attention, and moved elected officials to write letters in support of grocery store workers and voice those opinions to the media. Mobilizing in neighborhoods and solidifying support among community members put key pressure on the grocery stores, ultimately helping 18,000 UFCW members in Puget Sound settle a fair contract.

The survey in Colorado was conducted by TKG Research in August and identified perceptions of worker issues, while the survey in Washington, taken by the Evergreen Research Group in January, recognized early attitudes toward grocery workers, management and possible strikes.