February, 2008

Immigration, Press Releases, Social Justice, UFCW Values

UFCW MEMBER TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS ON ABUSE AND MISCONDUCT BY ICE OFFICIALS DURING SWIFT RAIDS

Feb 13, 2008

WASHINGTON — Mike Graves, a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1149, testified today before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law about heavy handed tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who raided the Swift Company packing plant in Marshalltown, Ia., where he works.

“”I’m a U.S. Citizen, born in Iowa,”" Graves said. “”Yet, ICE agents treated me as a criminal. They detained me for eight hours. There was no legitimate reason. There was no probable cause. Our plant – our workplace – was transformed into a prison. We were turned into prisoners because we went to work that day.”"

On December 12, 2006, thousands of meatpacking workers-including citizens, legal residents and immigrants in the process of legalization-were swept up in ICE raids at six meat packing plants across the country. The UFCW represents workers at five of the plants including Worthington, Minn.; Greeley, Colo.; Cactus, Tex.; Marshalltown, Ia.; and Grand Island, Neb.

“”What happened to me – and to thousands of other U.S. citizens and legal residents on that December day – was a complete violation of our rights,”" Graves testified. “”It can happen at any workplace – at any time – in this country if we do not do something now to change the way these immigration raids are conducted.”"

Unfortunately, Graves’ story was not an isolated incident. Many innocent workers at the plant were detained in handcuffs during the raids. Others were shipped out on buses. Families, schools and daycare centers could not be contacted to make arrangements for the children of detained workers. Families were left divided and scared-not knowing where or when they might see a missing family member again.

In September 2007, the UFCW filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas naming Michael Chertoff of U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Julie Myers of ICE as defendants. The suit calls for an injunction against the excessive, illegal and unnecessary worksite raids conducted by ICE agents.

In addition to the lawsuit, the UFCW recently announced the formation of a national commission to examine the policies and practices of enforcement actions by ICE. The commission will gather independent information and analysis through a series of regional public hearings that will explore the execution, implications and ramifications of workplace raids. It will also look into claims that ICE, in the conduct of raids, has engaged in violations of law. The commission is made up of a broad group of leading experts from across the country, including former elected officials, academics and public policy specialists. The first hearing will be held on February, 25, 2008.

“”We have seen federal agents routinely violate the 4th Amendment rights of workers during massive workplace raids across the country,”" said Mark Lauritsen, UFCW International Vice President. “”Until national leaders fix our country’s immigration system, our local communities will be torn apart, and the constitutional rights of citizens and legal residents will be routinely violated. Our country desperately requires a framework for moving forward, humanely and comprehensively, to fix our immigration system.”"

UFCW Stewards

WORKERS HAVE A VOICE WITH EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE

Feb 08, 2008

Unions have been the engine behind millions of workers achieving the American Dream.

Over the last 70 years, unions have led the fight for the minimum wage and the eight-hour work day; championed employer-paid health care and pension plans for workers; played a leading role securing Social Security and Medicare for seniors; and won major advances ensuring workplace safety and workers’ rights.

Unions are just as important today in securing livable wages and benefits. Wages of union members are almost 30 percent higher than those of nonunion workers. And when you include the much better health care and pension benefits union workers receive, the total compensation of union workers is 44% higher than that of non-union workers.

 

So it’s no wonder that nearly 60 million workers in America say that would join a union if they could. When given the option, workers want a stable job where they can earn enough to support a family, buy a home, send their children to college, and save for retirement.

The more workers unite together in unions, the better off everyone is. During contract negotiations, you know that having more union workers in your industry means more power at the bargaining table with your employer. Building this worker power in unions is the best way to raise the standard for wages and benefits for all workers.

 

But when unions are under attack, as they are today, workers face stagnant wages and declining health and retirement benefits.

 

Good jobs are vanishing, and health care coverage and retirement security are slipping out of reach. The American dream is slipping away from our children’s reach. For the first time in history, Americans believe their children will be worse off financially than they are.

To restore the American Dream, we need to turn the low-paying, no-benefit jobs of today into the union wage, middle-class jobs of tomorrow. Right now, the power employers have over workers is completely out of hand, and the NLRB doesn’t exercise real strength to protect workers or to level the playing field. Workers deserve the chance to make choices on the job that will help them reach their dreams and give their children a better life.

 

That’s why Congress needs to create a system that respects workers and revives this country’s strong middle class. It needs a system that restores the balance between workers and employers—a system built on fairness, openness and the freedom for workers to make their own choices.

 

Employee Free Choice would do just that. It would protect the ability of workers to come together and form unions to bargain for better wages and benefits and safer working conditions. Employee Free Choice would protect working families by bolstering financial equality and maintaining a strong middle class. We must support Employee Free Choice because all workers deserve the best chance to reach the American Dream.