June, 2012

Uncategorized

What Has Obama Ever Done for…the Middle Class?

Jun 25, 2012 (0) Comments
At a time when workers are under attack by big corporations, special interests, and their cronies in government, President Obama has been an unyielding friend to working men and women. He has stayed true to the vision he outlined to the UFCW nearly four years ago. He is the only candidate for President in 2012 that has our interests at heart. 

Despite what the opposition is saying, President Obama has taken great leaps and bounds to improve the quality of life for the middle class in our country:

  • Created White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families, which aims to expand education and lifelong training opportunities, improve work and family balance, and restore labor standards, including workplace safety.  It also lists helping to protect middle-class and working-family incomes and protecting retirement security among its other goals.

  • Took steps to lower the interest rates on student loans and make college more affordable, and continues to push the Stop the Rate Hike Act of 2012, which would stop the loan percent interest rate from doubling to 6.8 for more than 7 million students and former students with Stafford loans.

  • Instituted mortgage relief for families in danger of losing their homes through no fault of their own. Recently, long-term mortgage rates have fallen to the lowest they have been since the 1950′s, helping to drive a modest recovery in the housing market.

It’s time for President Obama’s critics to look at the facts.  The President has served as a continuous ally for the working people of America by looking out for their well-being, striving to make sure our country’s middle class can succeed. To read more about what President Obama has done for to help the middle class, and what we must do to make sure he has four more years in office to finish his work, check out VoteUFCW.org.

2012 Presidential Election, Elections, Immigration, Politics, Social Justice, United Latinos

HANSEN: ROMNEY IMMIGRATION PLAN MORE OF THE SAME

Jun 21, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement in response to Mitt Romney’s speech before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

“During the Republican presidential primaries, there was no one more radical on the issue of immigration than Mitt Romney. He promised to veto the DREAM Act and encouraged undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Last week, he criticized President Obama’s historic immigration order as temporary, even though it would prevent the deportation of nearly a million young, patriotic immigrants who work hard and play by the rules. Today, in front of the nation’s Latino leaders, Romney offered more of the same, pledging to replace the President’s order with something more permanent. That something is likely to be in the mold of Arizona’s restrictive and inhumane immigration law, an approach Romney strongly supported. Mitt Romney may be a flip-flopper, but when it comes to immigration, his extreme position is crystal clear.”

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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.

Uncategorized

Quaker Workers and UFCW Members Win Big in Powerball

Jun 21, 2012 (0) Comments

This week, 20 UFCW/RWDSU Local 110 members who work as Quaker shipping employees in Cedar Rapids received some overwhelmingly good news- they had all won the lottery! The only winning ticket in the week’s Powerball lottery, the group will split a whopping $242 million prize, the 15th largest in Powerball history; the biggest in Iowa’s. Since the group opted for the lump sum, they will each receive $5.6 million, after taxes.

Workers from the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, react as their winning $241 million Powerball ticket is scanned at the Iowa Lottery headquarters, Wednesday, June 20, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer says one of the workers bought the winning ticket for the group for the June 13 drawing and the winnings will be split 20 ways. Photo: AP / AP
photo credit: chron.com

The ‘Shipping 20,’ as they’re calling themselves, proudly donned their union shirts to present their winning ticket.

This spot of good luck for the winning workers is nice to hear in times where many are enduring economic hardship. We hope these winnings ease any hard times for these employees, and provide motivation for other workers to stick together when things get tough, whether its to fight for workers’ rights and families, or to win the jackpot.