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Collective Bargaining, Economic Justice, Retail Food, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values

UFCW Local 1776 ShopRite Workers Ratify New Contracts

May 01, 2013

UFCW Local 1776 members who work in 16 Greater Philadelphia area ShopRite supermarkets have ratified new two-year labor contracts. The agreements provide for wage increases and maintain healthcare, other benefits, and pensions.

The contracts cover 2,300 ShopRite workers. Members have worked for nearly a year under an extension of their previous contract that expired last May.

ShopRite workers from UFCW Local 1776 ratified new contracts that include wage increases and maintain benefits.

ShopRite workers from UFCW Local 1776
ratified new contracts that include wage
increases and maintain benefits.

The new agreements run for two years through May of 2014, dating back to the expired agreements.  They include letters stating the intent of the union and the owners to begin talks on the next set of contracts later this year, so as to avoid contract extensions when the new agreements expire in 2014.

ShopRite is owned and operated by the Brown, Collins, R&R McMenamin, Colligas, Ammons and Zallie families in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania suburbs.

Congratulations to all the 1776 members who stood together and bargained for their rights!

Collective Bargaining, Economic Justice, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values

UFCW Local 348-S Americare Workers Ratify New Contract

Apr 25, 2013

Thousands of Americare workers from UFCW Local 348-S in New York City ratified a new contract in an overwhelming city-wide vote on Saturday. The new contract includes a new system that ensures worker seniority when it assigns cases. Members also have improved bereavement leave and secured leave for union stewards. Americare home health aides take care of and assist elderly and disabled patients in their homes.

Members at Americare participated in an extensive seven-month campaign featuring a contract survey that gathered information from hundreds of members and several informational pieces that communicated bargaining priorities and updates to the membership. A text blast system provided bargaining updates to a list of hundreds of core activists, a crucial link to a widely dispersed home-based workforce that lacks a common worksite.

Phone-banking and one-on-one sessions at workers’ homes also identified leaders in the bargaining unit who will later become “neighborhood stewards,” providing a union base for workers who don’t see each other at work or in break rooms.

Thousands of Americare workers from UFCW Local 348-S voted to ratify a new contract last week.

Thousands of Americare workers from UFCW Local 348-S voted to ratify a new contract last week.

Dozens of members attended bargaining sessions. Workers also organized home meetings where aides gathered to discuss their work and their contract, and a rally when contract talks broke down in January that brought out dozens of aides, other UFCW locals, and allies.

Collective Bargaining, Packing and Processing, UFCW Industries

Unity Bargaining, In-Plant Solidarity Secures New Contract for Viscofan Workers

Apr 24, 2013
Viscofan workers from UFCW Local 686 stand together with other UFCW locals to ratify a new three-year contract.

Viscofan workers from UFCW Local 686 stand together with other UFCW locals to ratify a new three-year contract.

By standing together in the plant, and with other UFCW members, Viscofan workers in Danville, Ill. recently ratified a new three-year contract. The new contract includes better wages and safety improvements. Workers in the Danville plant manufacture casings used the in the production of meat products like sausages and deli meats.

The contract ratification follows a strike vote when bargaining between members and Viscofan broke down. At that point, workers reached out to their fellow UFCW members to continue their fight for a good contract and to show their solidarity.

Many of the plant’s customers are UFCW-represented meat processing facilities. The UFCW locals at those facilities signed on to a letter to the company where they work, informing them of the dispute at  Viscofan and warning that they might need to find other sources for their casings if the dispute were to continue.

UFCW Locals who stood with the Viscofan workers include 2, 5, 6, 7R, 8*, 75, 152, 204, 293, 304A, 324, 342, 400, 431, 440, 455, 538, 540, 711, 1473, 1546, and 1996. This great show of solidarity was a big source of support for the Viscofan workers and factor in their success. Congrats to all the plant workers on their new contract!