UFCW Locals 21, 367 and Teamsters Local 38 grocery workers sent a strong message to the grocery chains by overwhelmingly voting to authorize a strike.

UFCW Locals 21, 367, and Teamsters Local 38 sent a strong message of solidarity to Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons last week when they voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The 98 percent strike authorization vote is the workers’ latest step in their fight for fair treatment, pay, and benefits. Contract negotiations will continue on October 10 and 11. Workers say they expect the chains to now come to the table with a set of serious proposals.

“We hope the employers come to their senses and make a fair proposal that respects me and my co-workers and our families. But if they force us to strike, we are ready,” said Jessica Roach, a UFCW Local 367 Fred Meyer worker.

Workers have been in contract negotiations since March. Despite more than 12 bargaining sessions and a first round of informational pickets in July, Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons  have continued to stick to proposals that would stop providing healthcare coverage for employees working fewer than 30 hours a week, deny workers paid sick days, and cut pay – including for those who work on holidays.

More information and updates on the strike vote and bargaining situation at Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons can be viewed at http://www.ufcw21.org/

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Hundreds of grocery workers will hold informational pickets at 38 grocery stores across the Seattle region to fight for workers’ rights.

Grocery workers from UFCW Locals 21, 367 and Teamsters Local 38 will be joined by co-workers, elected officials, and community supporters in informational pickets held across the Seattle region. Today, workers from Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons will hold actions at 38 different grocery locations to draw attention to their fight for fair treatment, fair pay, and fair benefits.

Grocery store workers have been in contract negotiations since March. Despite more than 12 bargaining sessions and a first round of informational pickets in July, the companies have continued to stick to proposals that would stop providing health care coverage of employees working less than 30 hours a week, deny workers paid sick days, and cut pay including for those who work on holidays. A potential strike vote is set for the end of September depending on the progress of negotiations.

Members from UFCW Locals 21 and 367 join the Teamsters and fight for good contracts for grocery workers in the Pacific Northwest.

Thirty thousand  members of UFCW Locals 21 and 367 and International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 38 in Washington state are covered by contracts at grocers Albertsons, Safeway, Fred Meyer and Quality Food Centers and many other local independent stores that are up for bargaining this year. As the companies have proposed elimination of healthcare, cuts to pay, and denied paid sick days, UFCW and Teamsters members have responded with more solidarity than ever.

In the month of July, hundreds of members of the three union locals were joined by hundreds of community supporters at informational pickets in front of stores in more than ten communities to seek the support of customers as they try to reach a fair deal. The next week, they leafleted thousands of fans at “Union Solidarity Night” at the Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field.

“All we’re asking for is fair pay and benefits for our hard work,” said Barbara Rhodes, a UFCW Local 21 QFC deli worker and member of the bargaining team.

“That lets us focus on caring for our families and taking care of the customers that depend on us.”

By mobilizing the customers they serve every day and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their union brothers and sisters and community supporters, members of the locals are hopeful they will be able to build a better future for all grocery workers in the Pacific Northwest.

Already, the SNAP program denies eligibility to 50 million “food insecure households”.  But now, proposed changes to the Farm Bill would strip access to the program from an additional 2 million families.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and the other congress members participating in the SNAP challenge are addressing this alarming issue by attempting to live off of less than $4.50 a day.

On Wednesday, the challenge participants stopped at a Washington D.C. Safeway, where Local 400 members work, to buy a week’s worth of groceries for about $30.  In order to keep to the strict budget of the food stamp program, staples like milk and butter were out of the question.  Representative Lee described the difficulty of the trip in an online blog:

“What I’m thinking about most during this trip is that I’m shopping only for myself.  When I was a young, single mother, I was on public assistance. It was a bridge over troubled water, and without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I spent hours debating what to buy and what to skip, all the while keeping my sons in my mind.”

The proposed changes to the Farm bill will send many single parents who are in this position, into a state of utter uncertainty about how to provide food for their families.  A large portion of those affected by the cuts will be under the age of 18.

This is not the first time officials have tried the SNAP challenge, however. Newark’s mayor, Cory Booker did so earlier this year, and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton found that adhering to the food stamp budget left him feeling tired, and eventually “unable to focus”.  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) admitted that if this was how he had to live, he would likely be a more unpleasant person, due to his state of hunger. He also lost six pounds in just four days.

The conservatives who claim food stamp programs create dependency on government don’t know what its like to go hungry. Some may joke about those who must rely on government programs, but the reality is that many hard-working people cannot make ends meet without them.

UFCW Local 400 President Mark Federici made a statement following the group’s visit to Safeway this week, commending the challenge participants:

“Year in and year out, the SNAP/Food Stamp program proves itself an unqualified success in reducing hunger, alleviating poverty and stimulating the economy. That’s why we are deeply dismayed that the Senate version of the Farm Bill re-authorization cuts SNAP benefits for approximately 500,000 households, and outraged that the House version of the legislation would completely eliminate benefits for two million low-income families. This would be bad enough under any circumstances, but it’s even worse coming at a time when far too many Americans are unemployed and our economic recovery is still shaky.

“The SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge is a critical way for elected officials and other leaders to experience first-hand how hard it is to feed a family on a SNAP budget, and to understand why benefits should be increased, rather than cut. We applaud all the members of Congress who are joining the challenge this week, and we are especially proud that they chose to purchase their groceries at a union shop. They understand that shopping union gets you the most value for your grocery dollar and the best customer service in the industry.

“Local 400 is privileged to join with these members of Congress in educating the public about the persistence of hunger in America and urging lawmakers to restore full funding to the SNAP/Food Stamp program in the Farm Bill.

“We also remind policy makers that the best way to reduce SNAP expenditures is to shop union, and to restore to workers their right to choose collective bargaining. The rise of low-wage employers like Walmart is a big reason why the SNAP program has grown in recent years, because the workers earn so little, they need Food Stamps to feed their families. By contrast, the more workers with union contracts, the fewer workers will need SNAP or any other type of federal assistance. That’s a win-win solution for everybody, because it lowers poverty, eases hunger, bolsters the economy, and improves government balance sheets.”

Photo credit: Washington Post

Last week, the Washington Post featured Nita Robinson, a 67-year-old cashier and UFCW member at a La Plata Safeway, in the “Fist Person Singular” section.

In the article, Nita tells her story about starting out at Safeway in 1982, making $4.75 as a salad bar person, and then being made a greeter due to her willingness to “talk to anybody.”  The fact the Ms. Nita has worked at Safeway for 30 years now is impressive, but what makes her a remarkable employee is her dedication to her customers and working hard for her company.

Ms. Nita knows that people like being cared for, and she cares for her customers, whom she says have become her family, by asking about their families, and helping those in need, such as a homeless young man whom she once stopped from stealing in her store.

After suffering a heart attack recently, Nita was about to take some time off, but couldn’t stay away from the job for long.  Nita needed two weeks to recover, and with the help of her union and the respect of her employers was able to do so.  She returend after that time, saying: “I know it’s a long way, but, baby, it’s worth it to me. When I saw a lady today that was coming to find me to meet her son — a 9-month-old little boy — that makes it worth it. The [customers] in the area have always treated us with respect, and the [new] ones will learn to know us. But I know it’s gonna be all right, because you gotta know me. Once you get to know Ms. Nita, it’s on. ”

We are grateful to hear stories about people like Ms. Nita, who work hard for their customers and get treated with respect in return.  The long line that is always in Ms. Nita’s checkout lane speaks for itself.

Ryan Young featured on the news after his suspension from Safeway Photo credit: Change.org

However, upon hearing this news, swarms of people have come to Ryan’s defense, and it has paid off. UFCW Local 5, Ryan’s local union, began supporting Ryan by immediately challenging the suspension. It took several weeks, but Ryan has finally been reinstated at Safeway.

Head over to the UFCW blog to read the full story!

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!

After lengthy and difficult negotiations in which management proposed dozens of givebacks and workers reached out to customers and the community, the contract contains no concessions affecting current or future members of the bargaining unit.

“Our members’ activism and solidarity is why they won one of the best collective bargaining agreements in the supermarket industry,” said UFCW Local 400 President Tom McNutt. “Whenever management tried to push us into making more sacrifices, our members made clear on the floor of the store and everywhere else they were willing to do whatever it takes to get a fair deal. They stood back to back, shoulder to shoulder more than I’ve ever seen, and that is why this contract improves their economic standing and health and retirement security.

“It’s especially impressive that we were able to obtain one of the only contracts in the country with a Maintenance of Benefits provision requiring Giant and Safeway to contribute whatever it takes to our health and welfare plan to pay all health benefits,” McNutt said. “No matter what, our members will receive comprehensive health coverage without having to pay a penny more out of pocket.”

The bargaining sessions were attended by more than 20 rank and file members, all of whom urged their co-workers to ratify the contract. “I sat across the table from management, I asked the company for a fair contract, and I told them I would do anything to get it,” said Satheria Duvernay, an advisory committee member who works at Giant #773 in Herndon, Va. “I protested the companies’ hiring ‘replacement’ workers, handed out buttons and got pledge cards signed. Now we’ve got a good contract that gets us the fruit of our labors. It took an army of activists to get this done.”

Advisory Committee member Sam Abed, who works at Safeway #945, said “I’m happy with the outcome of this contract. It’s fair and we are glad to have our union team on our side.”

“Our president did something different this year,” said Michele Hepner, an advisory committee member who works at Giant #243 in Stafford, Va. “He invited rank and file members to attend negotiations. I sat across from Giant’s lawyer. Our president stood strong and he protected us. We kept our pension, we kept our premium pay on Sundays and we got our raise. It took a lot of hard work by union members. I think it’s a wonderful contract.”

Key contract provisions include:

• Across-the-board wage increases effective April 1, 2012, that exceed increases in the cost of living for most members. This is one of the few contracts in the supermarket industry where all pay increases are provided in higher hourly wages rather than a one-time bonus.
• Full funding of health benefits with no increase in members’ out-of-pocket costs and improved coverage in areas such as HPV vaccinations and endodontic care (root canals).
• Continued retirement security with all current pension benefits maintained and new steps to resolve funding issues for at least the next 10 years.

Concessions demanded by Giant and Safeway that were defeated by Local 400 included creation of a new wage tier for new hires, an increase in health care co-payments, an end to health care Maintenance of Benefits, and treatment of Sunday as part of the regular work week.

The collective bargaining agreement takes effect retroactively on April 1, 2012 and ends on October 31, 2013. Its 19-month duration is due to the uncertainty around implementation of the Affordable Care Act and its impact on the health and welfare plan covering Giant and Safeway workers. By the fall of 2013, most unanswered questions about the new law should be resolved.

“Pleased as we are with the agreement our members enthusiastically ratified today, we view it as a foundation for further improvements in the next round of bargaining,” McNutt said. “We’re going to sustain and build our member activism over the next 19 months, we’re going to organize tenaciously and work to unite grocery workers throughout our region, and we’re going to enter negotiations stronger than ever.”

UFCW Local 400 represents 40,000 members working in the retail food, health care, retail department store, food processing, service and other industries in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The objective of the unions is to negotiate an agreement that provides for the continuation of affordable family medical benefits, assures a living wage, improves hours and access to full time jobs, increases respect on the job and creates an environment where the employers will work as hard as the unions to stem the non-union threat.

The reason talks have not been moving as quickly as in the past is because of many factors. The worst economy since the great depression has brought up problems that are unprecedented and must be addressed cautiously. Healthcare is under siege due to sky rocketing costs and implementation of national coverage. And the management reps for the talks were not set until last week.

Real progress will begin when the companies back away from their plans to insist medical coverage be agreed upon before non-economic items like full time positions. This arrangement in negotiating, non-economic followed by the money items has served the parties well for over seven decades. And it will this time.

The tentative agreement was reached after 8 months of negotiating and strong involvement and activism by the 62,000 grocery workers and widespread support of customers and allies across the region.  The UFCW is grateful to Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, for his guidance through the bargaining process.

UFCW members will vote on the proposals in meetings over the coming week. The agreement increases wages, protects health care and pension benefits throughout the life of the 3-year contract.

The new contract, once ratified, will cover 62,000 UFCW grocery workers, the largest bargaining unit in the UFCW.  An additional 28,000 grocery workers at regional chains like Stater Brothers, Food 4 Less, Gelson’s Market and other markets are covered by the successful resolution of the Southern California contract.  The contract covering 45,000 grocery workers in Northern California expires in October.

Workers will vote on whether to ratify the agreement on Tuesday, April 1st.

The members of Baltimore-Washington area UFCW Local Unions 27 and 400 had the support of community and religious leaders, shoppers, sister unions and UFCW members nationwide in their effort to maintain affordable health care coverage and fair wages.

The coordinated effort in Baltimore-Washington is part of a UFCW nationwide unity bargaining program. By supporting each other regionally and nationally, as well as engaging customers and community members in their struggle, grocery workers are improving grocery industry jobs for themselves and their communities.

To learn more about other bargaining campaigns, go to: www.groceryworkersunited.org.

Supermarket giants Safeway and Ahold, owner of Giant Foods in the metro Washington, D.C. area, are refusing to provide access to affordable health care and living wages their employees have earned. This race to the bottom hurts communities who often have to bear the impact from greedy corporations that force hard-working families onto social services for basic needs.

Workers are taking action and reaching out to customers at Safeway and Ahold-owned stores coast-to-coast today, from Southern California and the Puget Sound to Chicago and along the East Coast.

UFCW members at Safeway-owned stores, Dominick’s and Genuardi’s, and Ahold-owned Stop & Shop stores are concerned about the companies’ bargaining agenda and how it could hurt the industry.

“Safeway and the other big grocery chains already reached agreements with workers in other parts of the country that provide affordable health care and decent wages.  It’s really important that these companies treat all of its employees fairly,” says Melissa Champion, UFCW Local 21 member and Seattle Safeway employee.

Caitlin Lawson, UFCW Local 328, works at Ahold-owned Stop & Shop in Massachusetts.  She said, “When we were fighting for health care and decent wages for part-timers, the workers in Baltimore and Washington took a stand with us.  Now I’m proud to let my company know that I’m still in this fight for a fair contract for all supermarket workers.”

The contract covering workers in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore expires on March 29, 2008.  Over the past 18 months, UFCW members have mobilized in unified actions to support supermarket bargaining.  The central website, www.groceryworkersunited.com, has been a focal point for solidarity actions and coast-to-coast UFCW member solidarity.

Just this week, a grocery worker from Chicago posted a message to UFCW members on the East Coast encouraging solidarity.  Jeff, a UFCW Local 1546 member, wrote, “Remember you are fighting not only for your contract talks, but for the rest of them across the nation. We will be watching here in Chicago because we will be starting grocery talks with Safeway near the end of the year.”

The actions today are the latest steps in the national unity bargaining movement among UFCW members working in the grocery industry.   The UFCW represents 1.3 million workers, with nearly one million in the grocery industry.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)-represented grocery workers in the Puget Sound area improved grocery jobs for workers and communities when they recently ratified a fair contract with their employers. These UFCW members joined members in Southern California, Texas, Toledo, and Detroit, and New England in recently ratifying good contracts with affordable, quality health care, retirement security, and wages that pay the bills.

Puget Sound grocery workers in UFCW Locals 21, 81, and 44 overwhelmingly approved their three-year contract agreement with three national grocery chains: Safeway, Supervalu (Albertsons) and Kroger (Fred Meyer and QFC).

The new three-year contract agreement includes:

An affordable, improved health care plan, with no-cost preventative care, coverage for same-sex couples and reduced waiting period for children’s coverage, wellness incentives for employees, and lower prescription costs;

Wage increases of up to $1.30 an hour over the term of the contract;

Improvements in sick leave and scheduling practices; and

Pension plan secured with no cuts for the life of the contract.

“The terms of this contract—especially the medical benefits, give me the feeling of great relief,” said Eleanor Knight, a UFCW Local 21 member working at Issaquah’s QFC. “My son and I need good health care benefits. This new plan will make a big difference in our lives.”

“From the beginning, we set very clear goals,” said Dave Schmitz, President of UFCW Local 21. “We met those goals—and more—without taking any steps backwards. There are solid wage increases, a groundbreaking health care benefits package that means better care at lower costs for members and progress on sick leave and scheduling practices.”

Community support and UFCW solidarity was instrumental in securing a fair contract. Over the past five months of negotiations, grocery employees received an outpouring of support from grocery store customers, workers, and community members throughout Puget Sound as well as throughout the country. Tens of thousands signed a pledge saying they would stand up for grocery workers, and religious leaders and elected officials showed up at stores to bolster support for workers.

“”The community stood with these workers because it was the right thing to do,” said Steve Williamson, Director of Strategic Campaigns for UFCW Local 21. ”Standing with grocery industry workers who are struggling every day to make ends meet is critical to the future of our middle class.”

The Puget Sound campaign, representing 20,000 grocery workers in Puget Sound, is part of the Grocery Workers United unity bargaining campaign. Grocery Workers United is a national movement of over 400,000 UFCW-represented grocery workers joining with each other and with community members across the country and in Canada to improve jobs in the grocery industry–one contract at a time.

To find out more about Puget Sound and other grocery negotiations, log on to www.groceryworkersunited.org, or www.sharethesuccess.org.

For more information, please contact press@ufcw.org.

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Washington, DC—By an overwhelming majority, grocery workers in Southern California represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) ratified a fair contract agreement yesterday with the country’s largest supermarkets: Kroger, Safeway, and Supervalu.

The contract was ratified by an overwhelming margin exceeding 87%, with extremely high membership attendance at the meetings throughout Southern California. All seven United Food and Commercial Workers Local Unions recommended that grocery workers ratify the contract.

UFCW members and their union leaders in Southern California fought long and hard through six months of negotiations for this contract, and it is a major improvement over the previous one.  The new four-year contract includes:

• Elimination of the unfair “two-tier” wage  and benefit structure;
• Wage increases ranging between $1.65 and $6 over the life of the contract;
• All wages increases retroactive to previous contract expiration in March;
• Increased contributions to secure pension benefits;
• Significant improvements to all health care plans; and
• Necessary funding for health care guaranteed through the contract.

UFCW members owe much of what they’ve accomplished to the solidarity and strength they showed in working together to bargain for a fair contract. Seven UFCW Local Unions in Southern California all worked together in bargaining and coordinating campaign actions and strategies.

Southern California UFCW members also owe their success to the extensive support of community and religious leaders, shoppers, sister unions and UFCW members nationwide throughout the six months of negotiations in their efforts to gain improved health care coverage and fair wages.

Coordinated action with supporters and customers played a pivotal role in gaining a positive settlement. Union members, community members, religious groups, grocery workers, and supporters knocked on thousands of doors, handed out flyers, sent emails and letters of support, wrote editorials, attended rallies and marches, spoke out in churches, and signed pledge cards supporting UFCW members.

“This contract is a major step forward for grocery workers,” said Pat O’Neill, UFCW International Executive Vice President and Director of Collective Bargaining. “But it never would have happened without the solidarity of the UFCW members and their union leaders in Southern California, along with the support of the community. It just goes to show that it pays to be a member of the UFCW.”

The new contract covers approximately 65,000 workers in Southern California. Elsewhere on the West Coast, about 18,000 UFCW members in Washington and Oregon are still fighting for a fair contract with their employers. Grocery workers in Northern California will begin bargaining for a new contract later this fall.

The coordinated effort in Southern California is part of a UFCW nationwide unity bargaining program. By supporting each other regionally and nationally, as well as engaging customers and community members in their struggle, grocery workers are improving grocery industry jobs for themselves and their communities. To learn more about other bargaining campaigns, go to: www.groceryworkersunited.org.
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Washington, DC—Last night, over 60,000 grocery workers in Southern California represented by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) reached a tentative agreement with the country’s largest supermarkets: Kroger, Safeway, and Supervalu.

Details of the contract will be available Monday after workers vote on whether to ratify the agreement on Sunday, July 22.

Southern California UFCW members had the support of community and religious leaders, shoppers, sister unions and UFCW members nationwide throughout the six months of negotiations in their effort to gain improved health care coverage and fair wages.

“This contract goes a long way in maintaining good jobs with health care, wages that pay the bills, and a loyal productive workforce in the grocery industry that is good for workers, communities, and businesses,” said UFCW International President Joe Hansen.

Throughout the negotiations process, UFCW members demonstrated solidarity and strength in bargaining for a fair contract. Seven UFCW locals in Southern California all worked together in bargaining and coordinating campaign actions and strategies.

Coordinated action with supporters and customers played a pivotal role in gaining a positive settlement. Union members, community members, religious groups, grocery workers, and supporters knocked on thousands of doors, handed out flyers, sent emails and letters of support, wrote editorials, attended rallies and marches, spoke out in churches, and signed pledge cards supporting UFCW members.

The coordinated effort in Southern California is part of a UFCW nationwide unity bargaining program. By supporting each other regionally and nationally, as well as engaging customers and community members in their struggle, grocery workers are improving grocery industry jobs for themselves and their communities.

To learn more about other bargaining campaigns, go to: www.groceryworkersunited.org.

The companies are trying to force another strike, like the work stoppage they caused in 2003 that put 60,000 UFCW members on picket lines for nearly five months and disrupted shoppers and communities throughout the region.

The three grocery giants have repeatedly denied members’ need for accessible, affordable health care, and living wages for all workers.  This despite the fact that all three companies have shown a recent rise in profits that analysts predict will continue to grow.

It would appear that Safeway CEO Steve Burd knows that workers need affordable, quality health care for themselves and their families.  That’s why he announced earlier this week that Safeway and nearly 40 other companies were launching the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform (CAHR).  The UFCW applauds Burd and other CAHR participants as welcome voices to this important discussion.  We wish that all three grocery leaders would bring this commitment to the bargaining table.

UFCW members will be reaching out to consumers in Southern California and across the country to remind the grocery giants that their success is due to workers and shoppers, and that they need to show concern for their community and workers by reaching a fair agreement with Southern California workers.

Two grocery companies in Southern California, Stater Bros. and Gelson’s, settled fair contracts with UFCW members that included quality, affordable health care and living wages for all workers. That two regional supermarket chains can afford to offer their workers a fair contract proves that it’s possible to be profitable while still showing your workers respect.

If these regional markets can offer a fair contract, then surely Supervalu, Kroger, and Safeway — national supermarket chains that are currently raking in billions of dollars in profits — can do the same.

Southern California’s grocery workers, together with Stater Bros. and Gelson’s Markets, created a road map to a fair contract, a map that can be followed by the national chains. But instead of doing the right thing and partnering with the workers who helped them return to profitability, these national companies dragged out negotiations in an effort to keep their workers’ wages low and benefits out of reach for workers and families.

Southern California’s grocery workers are unified, and UFCW-represented grocery workers across the country are supporting them as well. But it’s time to end this drawn-out, dead-end negotiations process. With the support of the public, UFCW members can and will win a fair contract — even if means a long, difficult battle.

A great many of the companies have union workforces, including Safeway, Kroger, Supervalu, Raleys, Heinz, General Mills, Clorox, Del Monte Foods and CVS among others, whose workers are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). These companies have long been committed to and engaged in the issue of providing good healthcare coverage to employees through the collective bargaining process.

Escalating costs, declining healthcare access for more and more Americans, as well as compromised quality, leave those at the bargaining table to deal with a national crisis that can only be solved with a national political solution.

Compounding the situation is the lack of fairness in our current healthcare system that allows irresponsible employers—like Wal Mart—to shift their healthcare costs onto taxpayers and responsible employers.

The UFCW has long been a supporter of universal, affordable and quality health care coverage for all Americans.   And we believe that a broad-based effort of all Americans is fundamental to achieving that goal. Responsible members of the business community have a large role to play in this effort, and we applaud CAHR for bringing them into the national healthcare dialogue.

America’s workers need universal healthcare. CAHR principles represent an important contribution in the effort to adopt healthcare reform that is fair to everyone in our society, can control costs, and provide universal access to quality healthcare all Americans.

We look forward to working with CAHR, and will continue working with lawmakers, advocacy groups and other unions to solve our country’s health care crisis.

UFCW President Joe Hansen was the only labor representative on the 14 member Citizens’ Health Care Working Group mandated by Congress to make recommendations to the President and Congress for solving the healthcare crisis. The Working Group engaged nearly 40,000 Americans in an historic national dialogue over a nearly two- year period and submitted its recommendations last September. They can be accessed at:  www.ufcw4healthcare.org

“The supermarkets are up to their old tricks,” said UFCW International Vice President and Region 8 Director Shaun Barclay. “This pact fits the same pattern of their actions three years ago when they forced UFCW members and their families into the streets and disrupted shoppers for nearly five months in a grab to end meaningful health care coverage for employees.”

Talks with national supermarket chains had been ongoing in Southern California for nearly three months.

In the meantime, Stater Bros. and Gelson’s—two smaller Southern California regional chains—and  the UFCW reached model agreements, providing wage increases, the end to second-class status for new workers and a return to providing affordable, quality health coverage for all employees.

Supervalu, Kroger, and Safeway all enjoy annual sales that are 10 to 20 times bigger than Stater Bros. and Gelson’s. The smaller chains don’t have the economies of scale in their warehousing and distribution networks, nor do they have the clout with major manufacturers and vendors that the national chains command. And they face the same non-union competition in the Southern California market that is overwhelmingly unionized.

“Given that the big grocers say they want to ‘serve the interests of our employees, customers, and companies,’ it’s a no-brainer for these national companies to reach a settlement along the lines of the Stater Bros. and Gelson’s agreements,” said Barclay. “They’re making record profits and hold dominant positions in markets across the country where they operate.”

“But,” he continued, “forming this pact speaks louder than words. It certainly appears that the big grocers have no interest in recognizing UFCW members for their partnership in the impressive success of their companies. It seems they have no interest in the effects their position will have on employees, families, shoppers and communities.”

Approximately 400,000 UFCW members are negotiating contracts with retail food operators in 2007. Most work for Kroger, Safeway or Supervalu. Talks have begun in the Puget Sound area, Eugene, Oregon, Houston, and Toledo, Ohio.

“”UFCW members across the country are tuned in to what’s happening in Southern California. They know everyone, including their customers, has a stake in what happens in these negotiations out here,”" said Barclay.

In a ten-day period, Wal-Mart compiled a virtually unmatched public record of abusive, illegal and irresponsible conduct involving women, children and taxpayers. These most recent reports come on top of Wal-Mart already facing the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in history, court convictions for forcing employees to work without pay, and government complaints for the illegal firing and intimidation of workers for exercising workplace rights. In Canada, Wal-Mart is closing a store and taking away the livelihoods of almost 200 workers rather than comply with the law providing a fair and impartial process to reach a contract with workers.

So what does Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott do?  He delivers a speech attacking the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).

In his speech delivered in Los Angeles yesterday, Scott glibly ignored the company’s very public record of shameful conduct; blamed the UFCW and other critics (the “guppies” according an earlier Scott pronouncement) for his problems; and, created an alternative reality where low wages, unaffordable benefits, the massive export of U.S. jobs to overseas sweatshops, the suppression of worker rights and taxpayer subsidies for the giant retailer have somehow made the world a better place.

The Scott speech continues a public relations offensive launched several weeks ago to prop up the company’s sagging image, pump up stagnate stock prices, and sidestep holiday season reports that competitors from Sears to Best Buy offered lower prices. The speech contains the same willful distortions and Orwellian double-talk as the company’s ad campaign. Repeating a lie does not make it true.

Scott brags, as did the ads, about the number of full-time employees– except full time in Wal-Mart speak is about 30 hours a week, not 40 hours as in the rest of reality. Scott proudly proclaims that Wal-Mart’s average wages are about twice the minimum wage. He ignores that Wal-Mart uses its enormous political clout– the largest political giver in 2004– to keep the minimum wage in real terms at its lowest level in decades.  Even at the supposed Wal-Mart average wage, a family with a Wal-Mart income is still left scraping the poverty line. Scott cites Wal-Mart health insurance as a positive, but fails to mention that 700,000 Wal-Mart associates do not have the company’s health insurance, and that those who do, pay more on average than employees of other major companies.

In instance after instance, Scott contorts the facts to serve his own purposes. He cites the lack of opposition to his company in communities across California, and declares opposition to Wal-Mart is limited to urbanized areas– except the overwhelming majority of Californians live in those urbanized areas. He talks about company tax payments, but doesn’t mention the tax costs the retailer imposes on states and communities with its low wages and lack of affordable health benefits.

Despite Scott’s protestations, Wal-Mart is not just a simple retailer. Wal-Mart is the largest single economic force in history. It is the largest private employer in the country, and the largest corporation in the world. Walton family members comprise five of the ten richest people in the world. About one percent of the wealth of just one of the Walton richest five would provide affordable health insurance for all Wal-Mart workers in the U.S.  Wal-Mart is about high profits, not low prices.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union has 1.4 million members working in neighborhood supermarkets, retail stores, meat packing and food processing plants. UFCW retail members work for major retailers such as Kroger, Safeway and Albertsons.

“We are in a new era of national bargaining with the three supermarket giants — Safeway, Kroger and Albertsons.  Our actions today are focused on one clear goal: protecting health benefits and securing the best possible contract for supermarket workers.  We are moving to put the collective bargaining process back on track to resolve this situation without sacrificing affordable health care,” said Hansen.

In a letter to UFCW Local 7 and the three supermarket companies, Hansen wrote: “I have now completed my review… and find that the proposals to end the jointly administered health and welfare plan…and the failure to cover additional stores…under the contract…could be injurious to our members.”

The companies’ proposal to move employees to a company-controlled health insurance plan would threaten affordable health care for tens of thousands of workers.

• Under the employer proposed company insurance, new hires would see drastic cuts in coverage and current hourly supermarket workers would face escalating premiums that would make quality family health coverage unaffordable.
• Historically, jointly-administered union and management health benefit trust funds have provided higher quality coverage for lower costs than if the employers purchased insurance on the open market.
• The employer demands would force workers to abandon any sense of security or voice over their health benefits and puts all control over cost and coverage into the hands of the supermarket companies.
• Employee pension coverage also risks serious cuts under the employers’ proposal.

“UFCW members have proven that we have the strength and determination to hold the line against employer attacks on health benefits and we will do so again if we must.  But, it is my obligation to make sure we have exhausted every possible option at the bargaining table and elsewhere before asking UFCW members to sacrifice on the picket line in order to protect affordable health care,” continued Hansen.

Further, the supermarkets’ demands to deny union representation to workers at new or expanded stores could leave hundreds of new supermarket employees in our communities without job security, workplace protections or a voice on the job.

Through the federal mediation and conciliation process, the UFCW International Union has been able to reach settlements across the country including ending the four and a half month long strike in Southern California.

The 1.4 million-member UFCW is America’s neighborhood union representing workers in neighborhood grocery stores across the country. UFCW puts dinner on the table for America’s families with members working in meatpacking and food processing. UFCW gives a voice to care with representation for nurses, medical technicians and nursing home workers.

Access to affordable family health benefits is the issue that forced 70,000 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) on strike against Safeway/Vons, Ralphs/Kroger and Albertsons for more than 5 months. The Southern California supermarket strike has sounded the alarm to America that our health care system is in crisis and that all workers are at risk of losing benefits.

Striking Vons worker Cathi Shafer said, “”I’m proud to have John Kerry join our picket line today because he is committed to the principle that health care is a right—that if you work hard, you’ve earned the right to health care. This fight is about our future. We are not going to give up on our future. And John Kerry is not going to give up on the future for working families.”"

Melissa Larson has been walking the picket line with her husband said, “”John Kerry put his life on the line for his country. He wasn’t afraid to fight for America. He will fight for affordable health care for America’s working families.”" John Kerry will call the striking workers American heroes for their courage and commitment to hold the line for America’s health care.

Senator Kerry was endorsed by the UFCW and the AFL-CIO last week for his commitment to worker issues like health care. UFCW members have made tremendous personal sacrifices during the 19-week battle, relying on food banks to feed their families, applying to hardship funds to keep a roof over their heads and supporting one another to keep picket lines strong. Supporters from across the country have poured millions of dollars in donations to the striking supermarket workers and mobilized thousands of supporters to actions at Safeway and Albertsons stores across the country.

In a letter to Safeway CEO, Steve Burd, the California congressman went straight to the heart of the matter:

Safeway and two supermarket operators have waged a misinformation campaign designed to convince workers and the public that the grocery giants were only asking that current employees make a modest co-payment of $5 to $15 a week for comprehensive health benefits. The Lantos letter stripped away the facade from the companies campaign:

Both new and current employees would ultimately wind up with excessive co-pays, scaled back benefits and finally the effective elimination of benefits. Lantos directly challenged the veracity of company statements on the impact of Safeway’s proposal, “”Mr. Burd, it appears your company is lying to workers, consumers and the public.”"

“”The bottom line,”" according to the Congressman,”"is that 70,000 jobs that now come with affordable family health coverage will not come with that coverage in the future.”"

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) released today the letter dated November 21, 2003. Click here to read the full text of the letter.

Picket lines will go up at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, November 21, at the Safeway at 1268 West Capitol Ave. in West Sacramento. The striking workers are asking customers to support them in the fight to save affordable health care by choosing to shop elsewhere. Southern California workers will be available for interviews and photographs.

The extension of picket lines to Northern California Safeway stores is the first phase of the nationalization of the grocery strike. The fight to protect health benefits from complete elimination goes beyond Southern California—workers are standing together across the state, and across the country, to hold the line for affordable health care. Picket lines in Northern California have been met with great support from customers.

More than 70,000 UFCW members in Southern California have been on strike since October 11th. Workers in Northern California supermarkets will be bargaining with Safeway, Albertson’s and other employers next year and are preparing to face similar demands for cuts to health care.

WHO:  Southern California striking workers

WHAT:  Extension of picket lines to Sacramento-area Safeway stores

WHEN:  Friday, November 21, 2003 at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE:  Safeway, 1268 West Capitol Ave., West Sacramento

CALIFORNIA SUPERMARKET STRIKE HITS LOCAL SAFEWAY STORES

National Picket Lines to Hit Washington Area Safeway Stores this Weekend

70,000 Supermarket Workers on Strike for Affordable Health Benefits

Directions

Safeway shoppers in the Washington area will likely see picket lines at their local stores this weekend. After six weeks on the streets, Southern California supermarket workers are taking their fight across the country. From the San Francisco Bay to the Chesapeake, Safeway shoppers will be confronted by striking UFCW members asking them: Do Not Shop Safeway.

Local labor, religious and community leaders, joined by hundreds of striking and supporting union members, will launch the local campaign at noon on Saturday, November 22, at the Safeway store at 6500 Piney Branch Road NW in Washington, DC. More than 200 striking UFCW members from California will be joined by workers from West Virginia, acting in support, will blanket Safeway stores in Washington, D.C. and Maryland and ask customers to take their grocery business to a more responsible employer.

More than 70,000 United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) members in Southern California have been on strike against Vons, owned by Safeway, Albertsons and Ralphs, owned by Kroger, for six weeks. 4,000 Kroger workers in West Virginia have been holding the line for affordable health care at work against the Safeway-led charge to destroy health benefits for workers and their families.

Southern California strikers have extended picket lines to Safeway stores in the San Francisco Bay area and throughout Northern California. The DC-area extension is the latest push to educate consumers about Safeway’s anti-worker agenda.

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WHO: Striking supermarket workers, national and local labor leaders, religious and community leaders.

WHAT: Hold the Line for Health Care – Pickets Hit Local Safeway Stores

WHEN: 12:00 noon, Saturday, November 22, 2003

WHERE: Safeway, 6500 Piney Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC

Directions

After five weeks on strike, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union are extending picket lines to Fresno Safeway stores. Picket lines are now up at Safeway in San Francisco, Oakland, Castro Valley and Hayward. Strikers are holding the line across the state of California to send a clear message to Safeway—we will not let giant corporations eliminate health care.

Picket lines will go up at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 16, at the Safeway at 5638 E. King’s Canyon in Fresno. The striking workers are asking customers to support them in the fight to save affordable health care by choosing to shop elsewhere. Southern California workers will be available for interviews and photographs.

The extension of picket lines to Northern California Safeway stores is the first phase of the nationalization of the grocery strike. The fight to protect health benefits from complete elimination goes beyond Southern California—workers are standing together across the state, and across the country, to hold the line for affordable health care. Picket lines in Northern California have been met with great support from customers.

More than 70,000 UFCW members in Southern California have been on strike since October 11th. Workers in Northern California supermarkets will be bargaining with Safeway, Albertson’s and other employers next year and are preparing to face similar demands for cuts to health care.

WHO: Southern California striking workers

WHAT: Extension of picket lines to Fresno Safeway stores

WHEN: Sunday, November 16, 2003 at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Safeway, 5638 E. King’s Canyon, Fresno

The striking supermarket workers will ask customers not to shop Safeway until the giant supermarket ends its demands for the elimination of health care benefits at work.

Who: Striking supermarket workers from Southern California

What: Extend picket lines to Northern California–East Bay Safeway stores

When: Noon, November 14, 2003  Where: Safeway, 5130 Broadway Street, Oakland, California

Press Backgrounder 11/14 (pdf)

Picket lines will go up at selected Northern California Safeway stores in the next several days and will continue indefinitely. UFCW members working in those stores will continue on the job according to their contracts, but pickets will ask customers to honor the line and to shop elsewhere. The Northern California action is the first step in the nationalization of the supermarket strike. UFCW International President Doug Dority announced last week that he would authorize the extension of picket lines across the country. Following the Dority announcement, newspaper ads featuring strikers and the health care issue appeared in Washington, Baltimore, Denver, Seattle and Northern California. A separate ad on CEO Steve Burd’s management record ran in the Wall Street Journal.

UFCW members are bargaining with Safeway, Kroger and Albertson’s in Arizona, Indiana, Oregon and Tennessee and are preparing for possible walk-outs.

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Copies of the radio commericals are attached:

COMMERCIAL #1

As working moms, we have to make sure our kids have the health care they need when they need it. As Safeway employees, we sacrificed wage increases so our kids could have good medical coverage. Now, this giant corporation wants to slash our health care—not because the company isn’t making a profit—it just wants more. I’m Lucy Medler a 20 year Safeway-Von’s employee and a working mom. I’m asking you from my family to yours, please don’t shop Safeway.

A message from the working men and women of the UFCW – we’re holding the line for health care for all working families.

COMMERCIAL #2

First, Safeway’s CEO Steve Burd sold about $20 million worth of company stock. Then, he forced me and 70,000 other workers onto the streets to save our families’ health benefits. We’re out of work— shoppers have been inconvenienced— and Safeway stock prices have taken a nose dive— but— Steve Burd is looking out for himself. It’s time to turn the tables— I’m Kathy Shafer a 28-year Safeway Vons employee. Send Steve Burd a message–please don’t shop Safeway when you see our picket lines.

A message from the working men and women of the UFCW – we’re holding the line for health care for all working families.

COMMERCIAL #3

It’s just me and my mom at home now. We do great on our own but we need to be able to go to the doctor or buy medicine when we’re sick. My mom’s company Safeway makes money year after year but I guess it’s just not enough. Now they want to take my health care away. My name is James and Safeway forced my mom to strike for me. Please help us keep health care. Don’t shop at Safeway while we’re on strike.

A message from the working men and women of the UFCW – we’re holding the line for health care for all working families.

October 30, 2003

I want to thank John Sweeney and the AFL-CIO for arranging this event and for helping to build a coalition to “Hold The Line For America’s Health Care.”

Almost 90,000 UFCW members, 70,000 in Southern California alone, are in the streets in a fight to save health benefits at work.  Make no mistake about the scope and the consequences of this struggle. It is corporate greed vs. human need and corporate greed is a killer.

If corporate greed prevails in this wave of strikes, it will signal the death of workplace health care benefits in the supermarket industry and, eventually for all workers.

The supermarket giants, Kroger, Albertson’s and Safeway, led by Safeway’s CEO Steve Burd, are trying to cover their agenda with a misinformation campaign about the true nature of their demands.    They are lying about the impact of their proposals.  They are trying to mislead both workers and customers into passively accepting their plans to kill affordable health care.

The issue is not cost sharing, worker co-pays or deductibles. It is not about premiums.

Kroger, Albertson’s, Safeway and Steve Burd propose to eliminate health care benefits for all future workers in the Southern California supermarket industry. They propose to shift massive costs to current workers until the existing health care plan collapses.   And Kroger is trying to do the same thing in West Virginia.

Of course they don’t say that is their purpose, you have to look at the funding mechanism.    Like so many politicians, they promise a program, but then fail to provide the funding to support it.  Or much worse, they promise a program and then propose a funding mechanism that they know will kill the program.

We are here to say, Safeway, Kroger, and Albertson’s and particularly to Steve Burd:   you have miscalculated the resolve of workers.   You have underestimated the determination of the UFCW.

You have failed to see the strength of support for workers from the community, from the labor movement, from religious leaders, from civil rights and women’s organizations and from everyday Americans who think its wrong for profitable corporations to take health care from working families.

Make sure you understand the impact on working families.     It is not simply a matter of a tighter budget to pay for health care. It is not about giving up a few luxuries, so the kids can see the doctor. Working families will face the choice between food and health care—between the rent and health care.

In Southern California, a working mom with a couple of kids can work in a supermarket and keep her family out of poverty.

Maria Lopez was supposed to be here today but she is at her mother’s bedside, helping her recover from a stroke she suffered last night.   Maria supports herself and her three children on her wages she earns at Vons/Safeway.  She makes about $19,000 a year and with health benefits, her family is secure.

Take away her health benefits and how is she going to pay for health care? There is no fat in her budget. There is no extra.    A broken arm, the flu…any illness could be a financial disaster.   We are not going to let that happen.

UFCW members will not give up, they will not give in—UFCW members will hold the line for health care.    The UFCW will mobilize all of its resources, all of its members and all of its friends and allies.   We will not allow any worker to be starved into giving up health care benefits.

We will be there one day longer, fighting to save health care, than Safeway will be there, trying to kill health care.

> First, we will maintain strike benefits. We have amassed tens of millions of dollars to support our members holding the line.

> Second, today we are announcing the “Hold The Line For Health Care Fund.”   Organizations and individuals can make contributions to provide emergency relief to striking families.

> Third, we will ask our friend and allies to take action in areas where there are strikes—to honor picket lines, to put up a yard sign, to send a message to the employers to settle the contracts and keep affordable health care.

> Fourth, we have received requests from our striking members to extend their picket lines.   We are considering their request.  We could extend picket lines from the stores in Southern California nationwide to all Safeway, Albertson’s and Kroger stores.

> Fifth, UFCW members in Arizona are working without a contract with these employers.   The contracts for workers in Indiana and Memphis are expiring very soon.   Safeway, Albertson’s and Kroger could face additional strikes before the end of this year where our members are holding the line to save health care.

In all areas of the country, we are asking friends and allies to contact Steve Burd and Safeway. Tell them to stop the attack on working families.

These strikes are not local matters—they are the battlegrounds in a national fight over the future of health care benefits at work.

These strikes are not just about UFCW members, because if the giant supermarket chains can kill health care in Southern California, then all employers will feel that they can get away with eliminating benefits.

UFCW members on strike for health care are fighting for all workers. They are heroes and I am proud to be part of their union.    On behalf of those working and their families, I want to thank all of you who came here today. Together, we will win this fight.

“This is not an issue of a company struggling to survive in a poor economy,” UFCW Local 400 President Jim Lowthers said. “This is an issue of corporate greed surging ahead at the expense of hard-working employees.”

Kroger earned $2.5 billion dollars over the past several years and has $562 million in profits so far this year. Yet it is underfunding employee benefit plans, refusing to provide adequate health care. This basic unfairness is why members of Local 400 voted to strike after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations, Lowthers said.

“Kroger’s policy apparently is ‘Billions for Profits, No Benefits for People,’” he said. “This policy hurts every community in the tri-state area, not just Kroger employees. If Kroger gets away with this, other employers will try it. We’re standing up for working families and demanding justice.”

Workers are confronting Kroger and other employee-pinching grocery chains nationwide. In California, 70,000 workers have walked off the job at Kroger’s Ralph’s stores, Safeway’s Vons stores and Albertsons, citing unacceptable health care packages. Another 10,000 Shop ‘N Save, Schnucks and Dierbergs workers in St. Louis are striking over pay and health care issues.

“Our members are trying to take care of their families,” Lowthers said. “Kroger is telling its employees that it will not provide the benefits to do that.”

Kroger stores affected include stores throughout West Virginia, Ashland, Kentucky, and Marietta, Ohio.

Click here to view a copy of a UFCW newspaper ad.

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Additional press contact: Nelson Graham, 304-346-9679

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 represents more than 40,000 workers in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia. The members work in industries ranging from meat processing plants and retail and grocery stores to nursing homes.

Friday, Oct. 10, 2003

UFCW Supermarket Workers Reject Employers’ Offer Vote Overwhelmingly To Protect Health Care and Retirement Benefits

In elections this week at seven local unions of the United Food and Commercial Workers, almost 70,000 supermarket workers in Southern California voted overwhelmingly to reject the demands of their employers and to authorize their leaders to call a strike. The vote to reject the proposals surpassed 97 percent.

Some 85 percent of workers eligible to vote did so in an unprecedented turnout of support for rejection of the offer.

The three supermarket companies – Albertson’s, Safeway (Vons) and Kroger (Ralphs) – have been working together to impose a package of severe cuts in benefits for their employees. In addition, they aim to set up a “”second tier”" of wages, benefits and working conditions for new employees – in effect making them second-class citizens in their own workplaces.

Workers have also announced that they will only target one supermaket chain in order to avoid inconveniencing their customers. Workers at the two other supermarket chains will urge their employers to allow them to stay on the job and not to act on Employer threats to lock the workers out of the stores. The other chains are urged by the seven locals on behalf of their customers and neighbors not to spread the dispute by engaging in a retaliatory lockout .

The seven local unions represent supermarket employees and other workers from Bishop in the north to the Mexican border in the south and from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Nevada and Arizona borders in the east.

The 1.4-million-strong United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is the largest private-sector union in North America. It represents employees of  supermarkets, pharmacies, health agencies and other companies and organizations throughout the United States and Canada.

UFCW MEDIA CONTACTS:

Greg Denier, 202-256-7851 (cell)

Ellen Anreder, (818) 591-7480, (818) 416-9400 (cell)

Barbara Maynard, (323) 850-1356. (323) 855-8739 (cell)

Genuardi’s at East Norriton, 25 West Germantown Pike - Norristown

(Philadelphia, PA) Genuardi’s workers will launch a campaign to Save Our Stores at a press conference and rally on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 at 12:30 p.m.  Two years ago, Safeway bought the long-time Philadelphia family-owned grocery chain and has driven it into the ground.  Customers and workers are deeply disappointed in Safeway’s management of our local chain.  Workers are fighting back.

Genuardi’s workers want to have a voice.  They want to have a seat at the table to force Safeway to keep these stores as an asset to our community.  Safeway should respect the knowledge, experience and loyalty of the Genuardi’s workforce.

This isn’t the first time Safeway has nearly destroyed a local chain.  Workers from the Dominick’s chain in Chicago will tell their story of Safeway’s takeover and subsequent downturn in sales.  The Dominick’s workers have a union on their side and are actively saving their company thanks to their voice with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). Safeway workers from Baltimore and Washington, D.C. will join workers from Chicago at the rally as part of the UFCW Safeway Worker Action Team (SWAT) to help local workers stand up to Safeway’s mismanagement and corporate greed.