September, 2012

On Labor Day, UFCW Local 1208 members gathered with other workers at the Southern Workers Assembly in Charlotte, North Carolina to collect information about workers’ rights and the benefits of having a union voice on the job. Members also discussed the issues they face at the workplace and showed support for one another.

“We have rights, and we have to express them. We shouldn’t be scared of our supervisors,” said UFCW member Julius Powell.

The Southern Workers Assembly was the first of its kind for southeastern union groups. Workers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Tennessee attended, though some came from as far as California, New York, and Michigan. Workers from both the private and public sector spoke about the importance of having a voice on the job and the struggles of being in right to work states. Southern workers who are traditionally excluded from labor movements, including undocumented immigrants and former convicts, spoke at the assembly as well.

Among other groups that attended were Southern International Worker Justice, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee.

A recent report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service has rekindled  the constant concern that some people in our country don’t know where their next meal will come from. The report found that the percentage of American’s with very low food security increased last year, from 5.4 % to 5.7%, according to an article by Meatingplace.com.

Although more than three quarters of our population have a steady, secure supply of food, a growing percentage of people suffering from food insecurity, or in other words, a limited access to food due to a lack of money or other resources, is simply unacceptable. 

That is why UFCW Partnerships with groups like Feeding the Hungry are so important.  The good jobs unions help provide allow us to live well, and put food on the table for our families, but there are many Americans whose jobs don’t allow them to make ends meet.  Food should not be a something that someone should have to sacrifice, it is a human right. 

The work we do in our communities, like holding food drives, can make a difference, and so can standing together, to achieve a voice for what’s right.  It is also important to make sure we vote to keep President Obama in office this November, so government programs that help feed families and individuals who don’t know when their next meal will be won’t disappear.

We must keep sticking together for good jobs that pay people enough to keep themselves and their families fed, because letting people starve is not an option.