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Constituency Groups, Legislation, LGBTQ, Politics, Press Releases, Social Justice, UFCW Values

UFCW Statement on Defense of Marriage Act Decision

Jun 26, 2013

UFCWnewsWASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“Today the Supreme Court put DOMA in the trash bin of history with separate but equal and other discriminatory laws. The Defense of Marriage Act actually defended nothing at all. Instead it was a direct assault on married same-sex couples who were denied more than 1,100 federal benefits and protections by the government’s refusal to recognize their relationship. The UFCW strongly supports full equality for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. That means equal rights in employment, immigration, and yes—marriage. The momentum for marriage equality is growing every day. The Supreme Court today restored it in California, Minnesota recently became the 12th state to recognize same-sex unions, and more are on the way. It is not a matter of if but when all Americans will have the freedom to marry. The UFCW looks forward to that day.”

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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. 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.

Corporate Responsibility, Legislation, Retail, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart, War on Workers

UFCW Praises Introduction of Worker Anti-Retaliation Bill

Jun 25, 2013

Comes as Walmart Workers are Fired for Speaking Out

UFCWnewsWASHINGTON, D.C.—The 1.3 million member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) today threw its support behind H.R. 2311—the Worker Anti-Retaliation Act—which would penalize large employers for illegally targeting workers for trying to improve their job conditions.

Earlier this month, Walmart workers went on strike nationwide and caravanned to the company’s shareholder meeting in Arkansas to call for an end to retaliation. In response, Walmart last week illegally fired nearly a dozen strikers and disciplined others without cause. This comes on the heels of a report released by American Rights at Work that details Walmart’s extensive and systematic efforts to silence associates who are speaking out for better jobs.

The Worker Anti-Retaliation Act—authored by Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL)—would expressly prohibit this type of retaliation against workers and give victims the right to back pay, damages, and other civil penalties.

“Walmart is reinventing labor retaliation in today’s economy, the latest chapter in the retail giant’s appalling record on workers’ rights,” UFCW International President Joe Hansen said. “Congressman Grayson’s bill would protect workers from targeting and send a message to all employers that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.”

“This legislation provides necessary protections to low-wage workers, particularly those employed by Walmart, one of the nation’s largest retailers,” Grayson said. “My bill will protect workers from retaliation by their employers, and provide victims of retaliatory actions with legal relief. Employees of Walmart have little control over their working conditions. They are not unionized, and Walmart has used every trick in the book to prevent them from protesting dismal working conditions and unfair treatment. In fact, Walmart recently fired one of my constituents, who dared to speak out against Walmart’s employment practices. It’s time to put an end to Walmart’s abhorrent mistreatment of its employees—and let workers know that their rights to organize and protest will be protected.”

Grayson’s constituent, Vanessa Ferriera, worked at Walmart for 8 years, until she was fired in May. Ferriera was frustrated with the inability of Walmart to provide the wages and benefits she needed to support her family. So she stood up and spoke out about her concerns. She started meeting with her fellow associates—as part of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart)— to assist in the effort to get Walmart to publicly commit to improving labor standards. Rather than responding to the valid concerns of Ferriera and others, Walmart management began targeting her for speaking out. She was unfairly disciplined for minor errors and interrogated by management whenever she participated in concerted activities with other associates. Walmart claims to have fired Ferriera for taking “extended breaks” but never provided any documentation or evidence of its claim.

Ferriera’s story is the tip of the iceberg. All across the country, unscrupulous employers are actively squashing and suppressing workers who are collectively seeking improvements in their workplaces. These aggressive and unlawful efforts must be stopped and the Worker Anti-Retaliation Act would put in place the safeguards to do so.

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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.

Economic Justice, Legislation, Politics, Retail, Retail Food, Safeway, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart, War on Workers

Local 400 Safeway Members Welcome SNAP Challenge Participants

Jun 14, 2013

D10781_0518This week, 26 members of Congress have committed to living off of a food stamp budget in order to bring awareness to the House Republican cuts to the  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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.”