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

Dispensary Workers Sign First Contract

Oct 15, 2013

Local 770 dispensary workers at two medical cannabis dispensaries are celebrating the ratification of their first union contractL 770 Dispensary Victory 10 07 13. Workers at Greenhouse Herbal Center and LA Wonderland-Hot Zone in Los Angeles have negotiated contracts that will raise standards at their dispensaries while ensuring that the dispensaries adhere to labor laws and industry standards.

Workers view this contract as a victory not only for themselves, but also for their patients and for the future of their industry.

Beyond their workplace organizing efforts, these workers joined with Local 770 to help pass a city-wide voter initiative, Proposition D, that regulates medical cannabis dispensaries. Signing their first collective bargaining agreement is the next step in bringing dignity and order to a still volatile industry and ensuring the enforcement of basic labor laws and industry standards.

Workers also secured regular raises, paid time off and a grievance procedure. The contract language improves regulatory standards and defines respect in the workplace.

“My favorite part of the contract is having regular raises,” said Ksenia, a worker at LA Wonderland-Hot Zone. “It makes me feel more serious and secure about this job.”

The UFCW represents thousands of medical cannabis workers in six states and the District of Columbia. UFCW members in the cannabis industry work predominantly in dispensaries, coffee shops, bakeries, patient identification centers, hydroponics stores, and growing and training facilities.

Economic Justice, Organizing, Retail, Southern California Bargaining, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values

Hundreds of CVS Workers in California Join UFCW Local 770

Sep 26, 2013
Hundreds of CVS workers across the Los Angeles area have voted to join UFCW Local 770.

Hundreds of CVS workers across the Los Angeles area have voted to join UFCW Local 770.

Since May, hundreds of workers at Los Angeles area CVS stores have stood together and joined UFCW Local 770, bringing the total number of newly unionized CVS stores to 50 and more than doubling the number of new stores under contract. These workers join more than 8,000 CVS workers in 11 states and the District of Columbia who are already members of the UFCW. By joining the UFCW, these workers have voted for a better life.

Economic Justice, Organizing, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values

WCA Car Wash Workers Vote to Join RWDSU

Aug 07, 2013
Workers at WCA Car Wash are the latest workers in New York City to vote for a union voice on the job with the RWDSU.

Workers at WCA Car Wash are the latest workers in New York City to vote for a union voice on the job with the RWDSU.

Workers at the WCA Car Wash in the Soundview area of New York City voted unanimously last week to join the RWDSU, becoming the seventh car wash in the city where workers have voted to unionize.

WCA Car Wash, known to the workers as the Rico Pobre Car Wash, is owned by John Lage, who is the largest car wash owner in New York City, owning more than 20 car washes in the metropolitan area.

Omar Pineda, a 35-year old worker from El Salvador, said, “My coworkers and I are thrilled with our victory and feel very grateful for all the support from the community. Just as we won our election we are going to win a just contract. We hope that with the union contract we will win the respect we deserve.”

Lage has been under investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s office for serious allegations of wage-and-hour violations. In 2009, Lage was forced to pay $3.4 million to workers for back pay and damages after a federal lawsuit.  A recent report by RWDSU, New York Communities for Change (NYCC) and the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) found that businesses owned by Lage and his associates could generate as much as $34 million a year in revenue, while paying workers minimum wage salaries.

This victory is the result of the WASH New York campaign. The campaign is a broad project to raise community concerns about widespread mistreatment of workers in the car wash industry. It launched earlier this year as a joint effort between Make the Road New York (MRNY) and New York Communities for Change (NYCC) and supported by the RWDSU.

The WASH NY campaign has quickly gained momentum, with workers at six car washes holding elections to join the RWDSU throughout New York City, winning a successful strike at the Sunny Day Car Wash in the Bronx, saving the jobs of workers at the Soho Car Wash, and ratifying two union contracts at Sunny Day and Astoria Hi-Tek Car Wash & Lube. The campaign has brought about significant change in how workers are treated, even at washes where the workers don’t have a union voice.