April, 2012

Food Safety, Packing and Processing, UFCW Industries, Workplace Safety & Health

Urge the USDA to Pull Its Reckless Poultry Rule

Apr 11, 2012

You may have heard that the USDA has proposed a rule that will waive current line speed limits in poultry plants and permit processing to increase from 75-91 birds per minute to 175 birds per minute. No study has been conducted to determine the impact that increasing the speed of the line will have on worker safety.

USDA did not contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the agency responsible for protecting the health and safety of American workers, before publishing this proposed rule. This sets an alarming precedent for all agencies that may want to use administrative rulemaking to change policies that could weaken health and safety protections for workers. This lack of transparency or collaboration with the agency responsible for workplace safety could put workers in danger. And as we know, when worker safety is at risk in food processing facilities, the safety of our food supply can also be jeopardized.

Please join the UFCW in urging the USDA to pull this rule in its entirety until adequate safety studies are conducted and OSHA uses this information to create standards to protect workers. Click here to send a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging him to pull the poultry rule today.

Collective Bargaining, Safeway

Grocery Workers Converge in Northern California to Support Good Jobs and Health Care

Apr 04, 2012 (0) Comments

Grocery and department store workers from across Northern California came together last week to rally in support of good jobs and affordable health care.

Workers from Raley’s, Safeway, Save Mart, and Macy’s, joined retired workers, union leaders, political and community supporters including State Controller John Chiang to rally for good grocery jobs and to support efforts to reach an equitable agreement with Raley’s, Safeway and Save Mart.

Members in UFCW Local 5’s grocery division have been trying to come to a consensus with their employers over wages and benefit costs since their contract expired in October 2012. Their efforts have been stymied by management’s emphatic demands for massive takeaways in working conditions, pay rates and medical benefits for active employees and retirees.

Meanwhile, Macy’s Northern California furniture store workers are in talks for a first contract.

As UFCW Local 5 President Ron Lind put it, “Northern California grocery workers are some of the hardest working people in the country. Every benefit they have earned over the years has been hard won. We want to let the public know that if the companies think they can slash the wages and medical benefits for active members and retirees without a fight they are wrong.”

It’s great to see such unity from workers and the community in Northern California – keep up the great work!