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.

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.

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.

“It’s a powerful experience to reach out directly to people who have never had a union. The Macy’s associates were very receptive to hearing about how much stronger we are when we stick together,” said Jeff Pleasants from Local 227 in Louisville, Ky. “I’m really hopeful that we can make a difference at Macy’s.”

The UFCW member organizers were able to engage 750 Macy’s associates at 76 stores and offered personal testimonies of what the union has meant for their lives, and why more retail workers like Macy’s associates should be in a union.

“Being part of a union isn’t just about what’s going on in my own store. It’s about the whole industry. If we can raise standards at Macy’s, then we are going to be that much more powerful when we sit down to negotiate our own contract,” said Robert Hernandez, a member of Local 876 in Detroit, Mich.

Thousands of Macy’s workers have already come together with the UFCW to make their jobs better. Now UFCW members are working to ensure that non-union workers at Macy’s in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana have the same voice on the job as their union counterparts.

To learn more about how retail workers nationwide are coming together to raise the standards in their industry, visit www.retailworkersunited.org.

Unique Thrift store workers in New York City voted to join the RWDSU for better wages and working conditions.

This week, workers at Unique Thrift in the Bronx, New York, voted to join the RWDSU/UFCW. All 64 workers at the Bronx store will be part of the bargaining unit. The workers who sort through the donated goods and staff the Unique Thrift stores in the Bronx, and other parts of New York and New Jersey are speaking out about their working conditions. Workers are paid low wages, receive no paid sick days or vacations, are verbally abused by managers and are often hurt on the job.

“As a single mom living in New York City, it is extremely difficult to survive off $7.50 an hour,” said Joanna Carrillo, Unique Thrift employee. “I was proud to vote yes to join the RWDSU because we deserve respect, better wages, and basic benefits such as health care and paid time off.”

Unique Thrift is a for profit thrift store which contracts with the Lupus Foundation. The company solicits donations in the name of the Lupus Foundation, sells the clothes for profit and sends the charity a comparatively small contribution.

“We just want respect. We’ve always asked for it; we’ve never gotten it. That’s why we’re doing this,” said Anzures.

RWDSU Jomar Car Wash workers in New York City strike to help their co-worker return to work.

Anzures’ firing was the latest incident in what workers say is a campaign of harassment that began before employees overwhelmingly voted to join the RWDSU. While Jomar workers used their new union voice to help their co-worker, they are still demanding their employer negotiate a fair union contract.

Jomar workers say co-owner and manager Jose Pires has taken a range of actions against workers and their efforts to organize and bargain a contract. Anzures pressed charges against Pires, who was arrested and taken to the police precinct.

The NLRB is investigating previous complaints from union members. Union lawyers are also preparing a complaint over this latest assault.
Six car washes across New York City have voted to join RWDSU since last July. Hi-Tek car wash in Queens, New York, ratified a contract, and is the first car wash east of Los Angeles where workers have a union contract.

Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo

Last week, 57 workers at Guitar Center’s flagship store in Manhattan voted to form a union with UFCW/RWDSU.

The union victory at the Manhattan store will help ensure that workers will enjoy better working conditions and will put a stop to declining wages.  Several other New York City Guitar Centers are expected to organize as well, with the potential for other store locations across the country to follow suite, according to Rolling Stone.

Workers at Guitar Center began organizing for union representation late in 2012, when they began to see decreased wages, and many struggled to make ends meet.  Big name rockers like Tom Morello and Ted Leo took notice and were among the many supporters of the workers campaign to unionize.

Some workers noted that, by supporting good jobs and working conditions at Guitar Center, the union is also supporting the music, since many of the new union members are in bands themselves.

The UFCW released the following statement about the decision:

“For years, Target has broken the law to suppress its employees’ fundamental right of association. Those days of illegal worker intimidation and suppression are over. The right to stick together at work is a basic American value.

“In this case, despite Target’s legal maneuverings to avoid responsibility, the retailer has been held accountable for suppressing the rights of the Long Island workers and for the company’s nationwide policy to silence all their workers.

“This is not just an isolated instance and Target is not an isolated employer. Too often, major employers get away with systematically silencing millions of American workers from speaking out about their jobs. To stand against freedom of speech like Target did is not just wrong, it’s un-American.”

The following is a statement from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union on the decision:

“For years, Target has broken the law to suppress its employees’ fundamental right of association. Those days of illegal worker intimidation and suppression are over.  The right to stick together at work is a basic American value.

“In this case, despite Target’s legal maneuverings to avoid responsibility, the retailer has been held accountable for suppressing the rights of the Long Island workers and for the company’s nationwide policy to silence all their workers.

This is not just an isolated instance and Target is not an isolated employer.  Too often, major employers get away with systematically silencing millions of American workers from speaking out about their jobs. To stand against freedom of speech like Target did is not just wrong, it’s un-American.”

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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.

Hey union ladies! Want to learn more about the labor movement, and how you can become a stronger leader?

You will learn about these, and much, much more by attending any of the three Union Women’s Summer School programs being offered this summer by  The United Association for Labor Education!

Registration is now open for the three programs, each of which are offered on separate dates in different regions of the country.

The Northeast Regional Summer School for Union Women program, called “Raising our voices: Women’s Leadership for Democracy in our work, our country, and our world!“, will take place at the end of July. It will focus on strengthening the knowledge of union who have come together–rank and file members, officers, and staff–about the labor movement, in order to create better leadership skills.

The Western Regional Summer Institute for Union Women program, called “Women Emerging as Leaders” will take place in late June. This course also focuses on leadership skills and community work.

The third program, the Midwest/Southern Women’s School for Union Women will be held in mid August.

The workshops offered at all of these school programs are fantastic tools for women who are looking to get more involved in the labor movement–to protect workers rights and rebuild the middle class.

Go to http://bit.ly/Yhvunu now for more information and to download useful brochures. Register now to reserve your spot for this great opportunity!

Shaquana Battle and George Miles both work for Martin’s Food Markets, which, along with Giant Food, Peapod, and Stop & Shop, is owned by the Dutch company Royal Ahold NV. The two Martin’s employees arrived in Amsterdam to attend the multi-national grocery retailer’s annual shareholders’ meeting, where along with other labor activists, they had the chance to confront Ahold’s CEO Dick Boer and the members of the Supervisory Board. The workers seized this unique opportunity to address the shareholders in attendance. Their message? That Ahold, as a multi-billion dollar company and 8th largest food retailer in the U.S, must end its double standard policy and afford all its employees the same rights, no matter where they work. While two out of three Ahold workers in the U.S. enjoy the benefits and protection of a union contract with the UFCW, the company denies the same right to Shaquana and her coworkers at Martin’s/Giant Carlisle.

Unfortunately, Shaquana and George’s words were met with “denial and evasion” from the corporate owners, according to an In These Times article. Shaquana, who has worked at Martin’s for five years now, noted that Mr. Boer replied to her statement very indirectly. She also was met with a similar response last year, when she attended the 2012 shareholders’ meeting. She has not however, let this discourage her: “they know we are here, and that we are not going away till we get a union,” she said of the Board of Directors.

Shaquana’s determination to protect workers’ rights is what makes her a great leader in the push of her coworkers to organize at Martin’s, and, partnering with the UFCW, she has helped to push back against Ahold’s aggressive anti-union initiatives.

As Ahold continues to grow, it has expanded further into the U.S and Europe. However, instead of continuing to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with workers like it does at its largely unionized Netherlands grocery chain, Albert Heijn, or at its unionized stores in the U.S., the company is investing in non-union stores, at the expense of its employees. The effect of the non-union store expansion is pressure on union stores to reduce pay and benefits of their workers, since their union contracts have allowed them to bargain for good wages and benefits.

An unfortunate example of this race to the bottom strategy was seen last year, when a large unionized distribution center in Jessup, Maryland was shut down in order to transfer the work to non-union sites, where the company can pay workers less.  This type of anti-union action was not an isolated event. This past march distribution center workers with the Dutch union group Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging (FNV) went on strike against Albert Heijn, because of the chain’s decision to now use temporary, non-union workers.  The use of the temp workers not only hurts the union workers, but has also led to mistreatment of the temp workers, who are often submitted to substandard working conditions. Ahold’s anti-union activity was again seen in the U.S. this year, when Stop & Shop recruited strikebreakers in order to scare the striking members of five UFCW locals in New England to make healthcare concessions.  Despite the chain’s attempts to bully its union workers, the striking workers stood together and bargained for a new contract, which protected their rights.

For George, frustration comes from his store managers in Richmond, who have discouraged him and his coworkers from joining the UFCW.  Having been a union member at his previous place of employment, George says “I know what a union is, and what a union does, so I don’t need these guys to tell me.”

According to George, a majority of his coworkers would like to join the union. George and Shaquana, along with many of their coworkers, know that a union gives them a voice and enables them to protect their rights as workers.

That’s why this was the third year that Shaquana has attended the shareholders’ meeting.  Shaquana and her coworkers are standing their ground and making their presence known, to tell Ahold that they are being closely watched and that the workers at Martin’s/Giant Carlisle will not rest until their rights to freedom of association are respected.

“Senate Republicans have made a mockery of their constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on nominations to the NLRB. Senator Lindsey Graham says the Board is out of control but it is his caucus that has made obstruction an art form. President Obama could nominate Mitch McConnell to the NLRB and Senate Republicans would still likely block him. Their motive is clear—they do not believe in the right to organize and resent that the agency charged with protecting workers is actually doing its job. Later this week, House Republicans will go a step further and consider a disgraceful bill to shut down the Board all together. The Senate now has before it a full package of nominees to the NLRB. It is time for Republicans to put ideology aside, do their job, and allow for prompt consideration. America’s workers deserve nothing less.”

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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.

Workers at the Thomaston Wellness Connection medical marijuana dispensary (photo source: Andy O’Brien via The Daily Chronic)

Yesterday, history was made when a poll found that, for the first time ever, more than half of the US is in favor of legalizing marijuana.  The survey, done by Pew research center, found that 52% of Americans were for legalization, and 45% against, meaning support for legal pot has grown 11 percentage points in just three years.

Young Americans make up a majority of those who support legal marijuana. Most supporters believe that the costs of focusing law enforcement on marijuana outweigh its benefits, and may even be counterproductive.

In the wake of increasing public support and emerging state laws that allow medical cannabis dispensaries, the medical cannabis industry has grown drastically.  But as the industry grows and more workers are employed in medical cannabis facilities, workers realize that they need to stick together and address the concerns they face in the workplace.  That is why thousands of medical cannabis workers nationwide have decided to organize and join the UFCW. They work predominantly in dispensaries, coffee shops, bakeries, patient identification centers, hydroponics stores, and growing and training facilities.

The most recent workers to launch a unionization effort come from The Wellness Connection of Maine, which operates four dispensaries in the state. In addition to poor treatment by the dispensary operators, workers decided to form their union after several failed attempts to resolve issues surrounding the use of pesticides on the cannabis plants, a clear violation of state law  Despite an overwhelming majority of the workers having decided to join the UFCW, Wellness Connection of Maine has so far refused to honor their choice and recognize the workers’ union.

“We will continue to fight for our right to have our union so that we can help our employer work in accordance with state laws and provide the people we serve in the state of Maine with safe access to medical marijuana,” said worker Amanda Kaler.

UFCW members in the medical cannabis industry understand that in order to gain dignity and respect and ensure medical cannabis jobs are good jobs with benefits that can support a family, they must support each other and speak with one voice in the workplace. We are proud to be the union of medical marijuana workers, and together, we can achieve just that.

Keany Produce drivers in Landover, Md. overwhelmingly voted to join UFCW Local 400.

On Friday, March 29, Keany Produce drivers stood up for their rights, living standards, safety, and health and retirement security by voting overwhelmingly for representation by UFCW Local 400.

After years of frustration over low pay, inadequate benefits, inconsistent hours, and unfair treatment, many of the 140 drivers decided they needed to empower themselves through collective bargaining. After an intensive, months-long, worker-led organizing drive, they won in a landslide.

“Divided we fall, united we stand,” said Terrance Helm, a Keany Produce driver who spearheaded the organizing effort. “It’s been a collective effort and we all came together.”

“I love my co-workers,” he said. “I have such an appreciation for all the hard work and the sacrifices they’ve made, and the strength they showed in standing up to management.”

Today, in the wake of their victory, morale among the workers is at an all-time high, Helm observed, and they are looking forward to sitting down across the bargaining table with management.

“We’re here to fight until the end,” he said.

Keany Produce is a wholesale produce distributor located in Landover, Md.

But recently, things have changed.

Darrell was recently fired for supposedly violating a time and attendance policy. Even when Darrell proved that he hadn’t violated the company policy, Juicy denied him unemployment, and a judge had to step in.

Duane, who started his job at 40 hours a week, has seen his hours cut drastically over the years, so that he is now only working 14 a week.  The company claims this is due to his lack of availability, since he has a five-year-old daughter.

But Duane and Darrell are not the only employees at their location to experience such practices.  Many of their coworkers also started as full-time employees, and now only 19 of the 128 Juicy flagship workers are full-time.  When Duane and Darrell realized that their full-time workforce had been swapped for a part-time one, and part-time hours became capped at 21 hours a week, they decided to stand up to Juicy, and are telling the company–which sells $200 jeans and sweaters–to take care of its workers.

Juicy’s actions of cutting hours is so that it does not have to provide healthcare for  its part-time workers. In a time and city where it is hard enough to make ends meet while working a full time job, part-time hours and no healthcare is crippling to these hardworking individuals. To stand up for workers like themselves, who have been forced out of a job due to lack of hours or unjust firing, Duane and Darrell have started a petition in partnership with the Retail Action Project.

“We know from experience that Juicy has loyal customers and dedicated employees — if enough of us speak out and demand Just Hours, they’ll have no choice but to act,” note the former employees.  They couldn’t be more correct–which is why the workers should organize.  If the employees at Juicy Couture come together and unionize, to stand up for their rights as workers, they can put a stop to these unfair business practices.

Please sign their petition here, and tell Juicy to take care of its workers!

Thanks to union member activism during the November elections, California’s legislature is occupied by a worker-friendly majority.  Having allies in leadership positions is key for workers who want to stand up for their rights.

Another trend that has led to increased union membership in the state–  immigrant workers have organized in other industries that simply cannot be “shifted overseas”.  As noted in a recent Guardian article, jobs in arenas such “as healthcare, food service, retail, and transportation” are in need of workers here at home. Indeed, “some work – flipping burgers, administering flu shots, or driving the city bus – just can’t be shipped to China.”

Also, retail is the fastest growing industry in America, with new jobs emerging every day. The large number of retail and service positions opening up in states like California are great for the middle class. However, there is also the potential for workers in these sectors to be exploited by their employers.

As America’s retail union, the UFCW wants to make sure these new jobs are good jobs. Workers who join a union have more access to better benefits, wages, and hours than non-union members, and can stand together to ensure their voice is heard.

Audra Makuch and Betty Wilson from Local 888 standing together for equality

Last week, we all celebrated International Women’s Day, giving thanks to the women who have made a difference in our lives.

This year, UNI Global Union participated in International Women’s Day by being a part of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.  The theme of the commission this year deals with stopping violence against women and girls.  For International Women’s Day, UNI’s call was that women should be able to join a union without fear.

Volunteers from UFCW Region 1 and from the UFCW Women’s Network joined in the events to show their support.  UFCW Women´s network donated 500 folders to the event, and the Region 1 south network worked to get additional volunteers from the local unions, including Local 888, Local 1500, and RWDSU Local 338. Volunteers attended sessions and blogged about their experiences, hand-billed participants on UNI´s breaking the circle campaign and participated in the march.

The International Women’s Day march was hosted by the UN commission and UNI , to further support their cause, and show their solidarity with other  women around the world who were marching for equality. Those involved in the activities were also busy lobbying governments to stop violence against women and girls.

Volunteers from UFCW participate in the UN/UNI International Women’s Day march

As a labor union, standing up in solidarity to support all of our union brothers and sisters is so important.  No one should be made to fear retaliation or punishment for joining a union, or be submitted to harassment in the workplace for any reason, no matter what gender or race you are.

“We want women to be free from fear and have a voice in the work place and the only way we can ensure that happens is through union organizing. Women must have the right to join a union without fear of intimidation. This is the way we can create a safe environment at work which will have a positive effect at home too. We can break through the circle of inequality and violence,” said UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings said, during last week’s events.  We couldn’t agree more!

UFCW members in the medical cannabis industry discussed strategies to protect workers at the National Unity Cannabis Conference.

UFCW members in the medical cannabis industry from Locals 5 and 770, along with medical cannabis staff from UFCW Locals 7 and 881, gathered in Washington, D.C., to share ideas with other medical cannabis activists at the first National Unity Cannabis Conference.

The conference featured medical and legal experts, elected officials, as well as seasoned advocates from the U.S. and overseas. It was an opportunity for UFCW members to discuss Labor’s role in the medical cannabis industry and how to develop strategies that protect the interests of workers as the industry continues to grow.

Today, 18 states and the District of Columbia allow legal access to medical marijuana for over one million Americans whose doctors have recommended it. In those states, UFCW members work in accordance with state laws to provide safe access to medical treatment for qualifying patients.

UFCW members ended the conference on Monday with lobby visits on Capitol Hill to educate their representatives in Congress about the impact of the conflict between state and federal medical laws on workers’ job security. They also urged the representatives to support proposed legislations HR 710 and HR 689 designed to provide for the rescheduling of medical marijuana and for an affirmative defense for the medical use of medical marijuana.

“The conference was very helpful to us,” said Jeff Jones, a UFCW Local 5 member who works at the Patient ID Center in Oakland, Calif. “UFCW members have a lot of work to do to educate Congress about the challenges that we face as workers in the medical marijuana industry.”

“Our goal is to give them the dignity that their sincerity deserves,” said Dan Rush, director of the medical cannabis and hemp division of the UFCW, in regards to workers in the medical cannabis industry. He added, as noted in a Bloomberg article, that “this is a growth industry, and people are looking for jobs.”

According to CVS Caremark and the UFCW, this cooperation agreement will help promote the success of the company and demonstrates the shared commitment of both parties to ensuring that employees have the right to choose whether to be represented by a union without pressure or undue influence.

“This agreement is fair and reasonable for our employees and the company,” said Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO of CVS Caremark. “It enables CVS Caremark to focus all of its energy and resources on our purpose of helping people on their path to better health.”

“We share a commitment to making retail jobs secure, allowing workers to pay their bills, raise a family and live a middle class life,” said Joe Hansen, International President of the UFCW.

The five-year agreement also establishes a quick and simple election process that allows workers to vote on whether or not to join the union.

There are more than 8,300 CVS/pharmacy employees who are currently UFCW members in 11 states and in the District of Columbia. In California, CVS recognized the workers’ union in 100 former Sav-On stores following the company’s acquisition of those stores in 2006.  Under this new cooperative agreement, both parties have agreed to extend the existing collective bargaining agreement for other California CVS/pharmacy employees to incoming union members for the next five years.

# # #

About CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) is the largest pharmacy care provider in the United States with integrated offerings across the entire spectrum of pharmacy care. CVS Caremark is uniquely positioned to engage plan members in behaviors that improve their health and to lower overall health care costs for health plans, plan sponsors, and their members. CVS Caremark is a market leader in mail order pharmacy, retail pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, and retail clinics, and is a leading provider of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. As one of the country’s largest pharmacy benefits managers, the company provides access to a network of approximately 65,000 pharmacies, including more than 7,300 CVS/pharmacy® stores that provide unparalleled service and capabilities. CVS Caremark clinical offerings include its signature Pharmacy Advisor^TM program as well as innovative generic step therapy and genetic benefit management programs that promote more cost effective and healthier behaviors and improve health care outcomes. General information about CVS Caremark is available through the company’s website at http://info.cvscaremark.com

 About UFCW

The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union 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 affordable health care, immigration reform, living wages, retirement security, safe working conditions and the freedom to a voice on the job so that working men and women and their families can realize the American Dream. For more information about the UFCW’s efforts to protect workers’ rights and strengthen America’s middle class, go to www.ufcw.org and join our online community at www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational and www.twitter.com/ufcw

Greenway is the oldest and largest medical cannabis dispensary in Santa Cruz, and will now be part of the UFCW’s Medical Cannabis and Hemp Division.  A “card-check” election took place on November 15 in an atmosphere of optimism and solidarity between the union, the Greenway workers and its management.  Now, workers are preparing to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. The employer involved in the election voluntarily agreed to remain neutral and agreed to abide by the wishes of the workers to become union which was demonstrated by employees signing union authorization cards.

The medical cannabis industry, now in 18 states plus the District of Columbia, is known for its passionate community of workers, patients and business leaders. The UFCW and its members has been working relentlessly to stabilize the industry, bring good jobs to workers and build community based on compassion and common goals. It has become increasingly successful at simultaneously bringing dignity and strength to industry workers and the enterprises they work in.

Ron Lind, President of UFCW Local 5 commented, “The workers involved in this recent organizing drive are dedicated and passionate advocates for their industry. They also want to make sure that their jobs are sustainable and can support a family. The union is here to assist them in that effort”.

“I am very excited to become a UFCW union member, said Greenway employee Willie Kramer, I am proud of the work I do, and now I have an organized voice with other workers who share that pride.”

“We are very pleased to have our employees represented by UFCW,” said Lisa Molyneux, founder of Greenway Compassionate Relief. “This is a win, win relationship for all of us. ”

This was UFCW President Joe Hansen’s message, summed up by a simple statement, in yesterday’s Huffington Post article, “A Clear Choice for Workers“.

President Hansen couldn’t have been more on the money.  Citing Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke to UFCW members this past Thursday, President Hansen pointed out that there has never been a clearer choice for workers in a presidential election about which candidate will stand up for them and fight for their rights alongside middle class America.

This year, a fed up and frustrated public supported tea party conservatives in several states, and once elected, these officials began a blatant attack on workers with “right-to-work” acts that aimed to take collective bargaining off the table, and threatened unions of all sorts, making the ability for teachers, firefighters, medical workers, and scores of other public employees to have a voice on the job virtually impossible.  President Hansen points out that the politicians who worked so hard to pass these type of actions, did nothing to create jobs. Electing Mitt Romney as our next president would only mean more anti-worker policies, when our country is in need of more, quality jobs. President Obama on the other hand, has proven to be a job creator.

President Hansen continues by stressing that unions have no place in the formerly know as “Moderate Mitt’s” presidency, who has flip-flopped into the palm of right-wing conservatives who no longer see union workers as “respectful adversaries across the negotiating table,” but “as bottom lines to be squeezed.”

When Romney says he will go after union bosses, President Hansen says, he is only threatening a cashier, or grocery bagger, or construction worker, or teacher who was brave enough to stand up and form a union and have a voice.  If you are undecided about who to vote for today, read Joe’s message and do what’s right for working America- vote for four more years of President Obama.

Dear Friends, 

After five years lifting heavy boxes every day in the warehouse my body aches. I am 31. Walking is difficult, lifting my son is nearly impossible, and I frequently have very painful back spasms. I finally left my job at the warehouse after I seriously hurt my back.

But I had to fight for medical attention. The managers of the warehouse didn’t care about my health or safety. They tried to prevent me from seeing a doctor. I fought and I won medical care, but I have seen a lot of my coworkers fired for similar injuries. They leave the warehouse hurt, with no job and no healthcare.

We move goods for Walmart, but we are treated like we are disposable. To this day it makes me angry, that’s why I am joining with other workers and people who support us to end these inhumane working conditions.

Watch our video and then join with us to help make our jobs better:

Will you stand with us and tell Walmart to take responsibility for its warehouses? 

Together, we can improve the lives of the thousands of people who live with these conditions on a daily basis. Support warehouse workers and sign our letter to Walmart. We will deliver it to Walmart executives when we arrive in Los Angeles at the end of our march.

Thank you for your support,

Marta Medina
Warehouse Worker
San Bernardino, California

Coming on the heels of Raley’s threat to submit a last, best and final offerto the union on April 30, Local 5 immediately set up meetings throughout itsjurisdiction to hold strike vote meetings. Members attended in large numbersand authorized the union’s bargaining committee to call a strike.

Subsequent to Raley’s move to scuttle bargaining the parties agreed to enterfederal mediation.

“”Raley’s actions led the union to call a strike vote in the Nob Hilldivision. When a company threatens to submit a last, best and final offer itsets off a sequence of events that inevitably lead to either accepting aterrible offer or a strike. Both options are bad, but since we alreadycancelled one strike vote in a sign of good faith to further bargaining, weweren’t going to cancel this one. This overwhelming vote will send a strongmessage to the company and hopefully move negotiations to a successfulconclusion,”" stated Ron Lind, President UFCW Local 5.

Negotiations resume with Raley’s-Nob Hill on May 18 under the auspices ofthe Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Oakland.

“A sharply divided Supreme Court closed the door on millions of women working at Walmart today and overturned 40 years of legal precedence in discrimination cases.  In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that Walmart’s written general discrimination policy was proof enough to overturn a lower court’s determination that Walmart women could join together to address widespread gender discrimination claims as a class.  This decision does not make any ruling on the merits of the women’s discrimination claims.

“Today’s decision is deeply disturbing.  The highest court in our nation has turned its back on collective remedy for workers facing widespread injustices.  The UFCW will continue to demand accountability from Walmart to its workers who deserve fair treatment, fair pay and respect on the job.

“Last week, thousands of Walmart workers announced the Organization United for Respect at Walmart because workers know that they are stronger as a group. Employers like Walmart have long attempted to isolate workers and prevent them from solving problems together.  This decision will not stop workers from joining together, through collective action, or prevent them from continuing to pursue their individual claims against Walmart.

The UFCW believes that Walmart is not too big for justice and will continue to hold Walmart to fair workplace standards.  Its 1.4 million associates deserve better.”

Making Change at Walmart seeks to promote the American values of equality, dignity and respect in the workplace. The campaign is making change by working directly with Walmart Associates to claim the respect on the job they deserve, holding Walmart corporate managers accountable to hourly employees and the public for their practices and joining with community leaders in major cities across America to make sure that any new jobs offered by Walmart meet strong standards for healthy, growing communities.

“This wrongheaded decision is based solely on technical grounds related to the NLRB’s internal procedures and not the merits of the rule, which remain sound. The rule seeks only to protect workers’ right to a fair and timely election. I call on the NLRB to take the steps necessary to remove this procedural roadblock and restore the rule as soon as possible.”

“I am pleased that the Senate defeated this transparently anti-worker resolution. Senator Enzi and his allies have a clear goal in mind: to legislate unions out of existence. It’s no different than what is being done by Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) at statehouses across the country. This NLRB rule is a modest step toward improving the rights of workers to organize. It will help eliminate some of the unnecessary delays and frivolous lawsuits that prevent workers from receiving a fair and timely election. But make no mistake, the NLRB union election process still overwhelmingly favors employers who control workers’ schedules and opportunities for raises and promotions. Majority sign-up, binding arbitration, and true employer neutrality are all still needed to make the system even remotely fair. With this charade over, it is time for the Senate to get to work creating jobs and opportunity for the American people.”

“”This NLRB rule is a modest but important first step toward ensuring a level playing field for workers in the union election process. Preventing unnecessary delays and frivolous litigation means less time for employers to intimidate, harass, and in some cases fire pro-union employees. Every worker has the right to decide whether he or she wants a union, free of interference.

“Now it is time for the Senate to confirm President Obama’s nominees to the NLRB. Leaving the Board short of a quorum in 2012 is unacceptable.”

The vote ended the workers’ two month union organizing campaign. Workers said they became interested in forming a union when management began to use intimidation tactics to increase productivity. Workers cited wanting respect, equality and accountability as reasons to vote for union representation.

“The workers at DFA are very much a close community, and watching management mistreat coworkers was an incentive for workers to fi nd their voices,” said Noah Hefner, a DFA receiver. “I am really proud of my coworkers today,” We are ready to make progress by bargaining a fair contract with management.”

“”The NLRBs proposed rule to streamline the vote for union representation would be a modest but important first step toward fixing a broken process that favors CEOs over workers. Justice delayed is justice denied, and that is too often the case for workers that file a union election petition. Many employers delay, delay, and delay some more through frivolous litigation and other procedural tactics. They use this time to intimidate, harass, and in some cases fire pro-union employees. The result is an unfair election or no election at all. This proposed rule would ensure that when a majority of workers want to have a voice on the job, they will be able to do so, free of interference.

“”With the rule not even finalized, House Republicans have continued their assault on workers by passing legislation to block it. It is the latest act by a party more committed to denying the rights of workers to stick together than fixing the economy and creating jobs. Like the rest of the extreme anti-worker measures passed by the House, we expect this one will be given a quick death in the Senate.

“Union contracts offer the best opportunity for stable, middle-class jobs. The NLRB is charged with protecting the right of every American to bargain for a better life. This proposed rule would do just that. It should be adopted.”"

“”The repeal of Senate Bill 5 is bigger than just one law or one state. It sends a message to all those who would try to silence the voice of American workers: you do so at your own peril. It shows that the right to bargain collectively for a better life is fundamental—not some perk that can be stripped away on a whim. The votes cast today in Columbus and Cleveland and everywhere in between will have aftershocks in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Washington D.C.

“”America’s working families want a good job that pays a fair wage, decent affordable health care, access to a quality education for their kids, and a little money left in the bank so they can retire with dignity. They also understand that the economic mess we find ourselves in today was caused by Wall Street, not Main Street. They know the guilty parties are speculators and predatory lenders, not teachers and first responders. Extreme politicians like Governor Kasich are waging war on the middle class.

“”Today’s vote shows that we are fighting back. And better yet, we are winning. I am proud of the UFCW and its members for their great work in Ohio. We understand that an attack on one worker—whether public or private sector, union or non-union—is an attack on all workers. We are proud to be part of diverse coalition of activists, including the entire labor movement, who dedicated countless hours to the fight for workers’ rights in Ohio.

“”Tonight we know that America’s middle class will no longer sit idly by. The silent majority is silent no more. Every elected official that would do us harm should take notice.”"

The workers’ campaign began when several National Beef workers contacted the UFCW seeking a union voice on the job. At that time, National Beef and the UFCW agreed on a fair and balanced process that allowed employees to vote on whether or not they wanted union representation. UFCW represents the workers at a neighboring Cargill beef slaughter and processing plant in Dodge City.

“Helping to organize my co-workers into a union was a life changing journey,” said Rebecca McGary, a worker in the fabrication department at National Beef.

“We know that workers at Cargill, just down the street from National Beef, have had a contract with Local 2 for many years – and that means they have always had a say in their wages, benefits and working conditions,” said Ramon Prieto who works on the kill floor at National Beef and who took a leading role in organizing his co-workers. “That’s why I voted to join the UFCW, so that we all will have a chance to negotiate benefits and salaries, job security, and a better life for our families.”

The National Beef workers are the latest in a series of meatpacking workers to join the UFCW at locations across the country. On October 19, approximately 1,000 workers at a JBS beef kill facility in Plainwell, Michigan joined UFCW Local 951. On October 25, 125 workers at a Farmland Foods facility in Carroll, Iowa joined UFCW Local 440. And in late September, 300 workers at Nebraska Prime in Hastings, Nebraska joined UFCW Local 293.

“Im proud that my coworkers stood together to get a long-awaited voice on the job here in Carroll,” said Gary Schaefer, a mechanic in the plant. “We won our union voice by using worksite solidarity among workers from all parts of the world. Our cross-cultural unity was key to bringing everyone together.”

Saul Trevino, a receiving dock employee, said, “Together, we talked to each other about organizing and how together wed be able to advocate for better working conditions for everyone in the plant. Im glad were now UFCW Local 440 just like the Farmland workers in Denison.”

UFCW Local 440 represents 1200 workers in western Iowa in the meatpacking and food processing industry.

Yesterday’s vote adds the Farmland workers in Carroll to the Farmland Denison workers already represented by UFCW Local 440.

“”Im proud that my coworkers stood together to get a long-awaited voice on the job here in Carroll,”" said Gary Schaefer, a mechanic in the plant. “”We won our union voice by using worksite solidarity among workers from all parts of the world. Our cross-cultural unity was key to bringing everyone together.”"

Saul Trevino, a receiving dock employee, said, “”Together, we talked to each other about organizing and how together wed be able to advocate for better working conditions for everyone in the plant. Im glad were now UFCW Local 440 just like the Farmland workers in Denison.”"

UFCW Local 440 represents 1200 workers in western Iowa in the meatpacking and food processing industry.

“The protest that began as Occupy Wall Street has now bloomed into a mass movement spanning more than 300 cities nationwide. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest corporate greed and demand good jobs now.

“The movement is spreading like wildfire, with Americans standing up for economic justice across the nation. This is a movement started by ordinary Americans, fed-up with the growing inequality in this country – people who simply want good jobs and a shot at the American Dream. The UFCW shares that vision for America.

“The people “occupying” cities across the country are workers, students, and the unemployed. They are our friends and relatives, our neighbors and co-workers. They are fighting for the same things we are: good jobs, fairness, and an end to corporate greed and attacks on workers.  And it’s part of a larger movement, one that started earlier this year as workers fought back against corporate greed and right-wing politicians in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and across the nation.

“In Wisconsin, hundreds of thousands of workers and outraged community members stormed the capitol in Madison after anti-worker politicians rammed through legislation attacking the rights of workers. In Ohio, over a million signatures were gathered to repeal Ohio’s SB 5. Corporate America has launched an unprecedented attack on our jobs and our rights, but the other 99% aren’t just rolling over.

“So exactly what do we – the 99% – have to be so angry about? To begin with: worker productivity has been rising over the past decade, but wages have remained stagnant while the cost of health care has skyrocketed, leaving the average American struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the gap between the richest 1% and the rest of us has gotten even wider.

“What we have seen over the past few weeks is more and more ordinary Americans standing up and demanding their share of the success that’s being hoarded by the wealthiest 1% of the country. UFCW has been encouraging its members and local unions to join Occupy actions in their communities. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these brave Americans as they fight to make America a better, more just nation.”

“I love my job and I’ve worked there a long time,” said Natasha King, a four-year Sales Associate at the H&M in Staten Island, New York, “but there was room for change.”

H&M recognized the workers’ choice for a real voice on the job after an overwhelming majority of workers at the stores signed cards to show their desire for UFCW representation.

“This shows, once again, that when the process is fair and free that retail workers want to and will choose to form a union,” said Tom Plumb, Director of the Retail Stores Division of the UFCW International Union. “Together, retail workers across the country are making retail jobs into good long-term retail careers in union stores like H&M.”

“Retail workers, especially part-time workers like me, need a union for fair treatment, fair pay, affordable health care and equality in the workplace,” said King. “We’ll stand together and protect each other as a team, as a union.”

The six newly unionized stores are located in Queens, Brooklyn, West Nyack, White Plains, Yonkers and Staten Island, New York. They join the union for retail workers, the UFCW, and are part of a group of workers at major retailers across the country including Macy’s, Syms, RiteAid and more. The UFCW is working across America to build a movement of retail workers that raises standards and ensures that America’s fastest-growing profession is also the source of millions of good jobs.

“American workers are struggling to make ends meet during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.  Workers in the grocery, retail, meatpacking and food processing industries are no exception.  Union contracts offer the best opportunity for stable, middle class jobs. While the National Labor Relations Act gives workers the fundamental right to join a union and achieve the benefits of collective bargaining, the NLRB’s current rules are seriously outdated, needlessly complex, and foster frivolous litigation.  The current process creates barriers to workers exercising their fundamental right to form a union. It’s time to return the process to its original intent – which is to give workers a clear path to making the choice when they want collective bargaining.

“We view the proposed election rule changes as a modest but important first step toward modernizing and streamlining an outmoded process that encourages unnecessary, time-consuming and wasteful litigation.

“The proposal to defer resolution of most voter eligibility issues until after the election, including all bargaining unit disputes affecting less than 20 percent of the unit, would make the current process more efficient and worker-friendly. Just ask the employees of Home Market Foods in Norwood, Mass., who sought representation by UFCW Local 1445. Workers petitioned for an election in a unit of all production, maintenance, shipping, receiving and housekeeping employees, including 11 quality assurance (Q.A.) technicians but excluding nine Q.A. technologists, who the technicians consider to be their supervisors. However, the company argued that none of the Q.A. workers should be in the unit – or if they were included, that the technologists were not supervisors and should vote in the election.  By disputing the Q.A. workers’ status, the company delayed the election until 79 days after the petition was filed.  And during this delay, management used the time to further threaten workers with job loss and plant closure if they won in the election. The workers lost the election 104-114. If the Q.A. employees’ eligibility to vote had been deferred until after the election, the election would have taken place before the employer’s scare tactics had their intended effect. In that case, the workers would have won the election by a big enough margin that their votes would not have affected the outcome.

“This is exactly why the proposed changes are needed.  Workers go to work to earn a living, not to get engaged in a protracted lawyer-driven tug of war with their employer. When workers want to organize a union, they want to do it immediately.

“The proposed rule changes will not interfere with employers’ free speech rights. Workers know their employers’ views on unionization.  And if workers are unclear about their employers’ position, it doesn’t take long for them to find out.  Nor will this rule change lead to “ambush” elections, as claimed by employer-funded lawyers.  Almost all union election campaigns are well underway and well known to employers long before an election petition is filed. In virtually all instances, employers have ample time to communicate with their workers.

“This fact is supported by a recent study by Professors Kate Bronfenbrenner of Cornell and Dorian Warren of Columbia, both of whom will address this panel later today.  Their research shows that “Thirty-one percent of serious [unfair labor practice] violations occurred 30 days before the petition was filed and 47 percent of all serious allegations occurred before the petition was filed.” The data support their conclusion that employer “opposition starts long before the filing of the petition.”  UFCW organizers have long known and experienced this first-hand many times.

“The UFCW is optimistic that the proposed rule changes will begin to restore the NLRB election process back to what it was intended to do – give workers a clear process to organizing a union.  We are, however, concerned about the possible elimination of the blocking charge policy.  Strong employer opposition to union organizing campaigns is the rule rather than the exception. Workers and their unions, when faced with serious employer unfair labor practices during the critical period, may need temporary postponement of the election to try to counter the employer’s illegal conduct. The blocking charge policy is needed to help attempt to prevent that from happening.

“The UFCW will make a more detailed response to the Board’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the written comments it plans to file. Again, thank you for this opportunity to speak in support of the proposed rule.”

Just ask the workers at the 2 Sisters Food Group plant in Riverside, California. When a majority decided they wanted a union voice in their workplace, their employer used the lengthy timeline of the NLRB election process to mount a vicious harassment and intimidation campaign. Instead of investing in their workforce, they hired anti-worker consultants. They distributed anti-union flyers. They forced attendance at daily anti-union meetings. They insisted on including leads who appeared to be supervisors in the unit, which workers agreed to, in order to avoid a lengthy pre-election litigation delay.

As Election Day neared, bosses escalated their campaign by hiring uniformed security guards to monitor the comings and goings of every worker. They illegally fired five workers for their union support-one just a week before the election. When the voting came, off-shift workers were forced to wait at a parking lot gate and then personally escorted one by one to the ballot box by the company CEO, then escorted off company grounds.

The harassment, intimidation and illegal firings were too much.  Workers feared for their livelihoods, and they narrowly lost their bid for a union.

Todays proposed rule is an acknowledgment that the pressure and bullying 2 Sisters workers encountered shouldnt happen in an American workplace or at an American ballot box. American workers have the right to vote on whether to form a union; and the election process should be straightforward and streamlined; it shouldnt involve long delays nor require workers to navigate a legal maze.

WHAT: Akter will deliver NYC Pension Funds’ shareholder proposal on behalf of New York City Comptroller John C. Liu at Friday’s shareholders meeting, calling on the company to require reports on suppliers’ compliance with international human and workers rights standards.  Press availability on-site / Photo Opportunity.

WHEN: Friday, June 3, after Akter’s presentation

WHERE: Walmart Shareholders Meeting
Bentonville, AR

CONTACT:
Ryan Vanderbilt at 202.285.8227 / rvanderbilt@asgk.com
Jennifer Stapleton at 202.466.1576 / jstapleton@ufcw.org
Matthew Sweeney, Office of NYC Comptroller John C. Liu, 212-669-3747, msweeney@comptroller.nyc.gov

Bentonville, AR–Kalpona Akter, the executive director of the Bangladeshi Center for Worker Solidarity, will deliver a proposal at Walmart’s shareholders meeting Friday, calling on the nation’s largest retailer to require its suppliers around the globe to publish reports on their compliance with international standards of human and workers rights.

The proposal, put forth by New York City Controller John C. Liu and the New York City Pension Funds, will be voted on by Walmart shareholders on Friday. NYC Pension Funds hold Walmart shares valued at more than $300 million.

Akter faces years in prison or even a potential death sentence on unsubstantiated criminal charges of fomenting garment worker unrest in Bangladesh. In 2010, Bangladeshi factory owners, including a Walmart subcontractor, filed a false criminal complaint against Akter, which resulted in her being arrested, imprisoned for 30 days, and tortured.

Factory workers in the country have organized to raise the minimum wage — from 12 cents an hour to 35 cents — but have been met with backlash. Eighteen members of Congress have sent letters on Akter’s behalf to Walmart, five other U.S. retailers, and to the U.S. Trade Representative.

Online press kit at: http://www.ufcw.org/makingchange/shareholder.cfm

A strong partnership already exists between the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the German trade union, ver.di, and the two unions formed a joint organization called TU that represents T-Mobile workers on both sides of the Atlantic.  In Germany, Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile, fully recognizes workers’ bargaining rights, and ver.di is a full and positive partner.  That has not been the case in the U.S., where T-Mobile workers have been discouraged from forming a union.

Amid the anti-union legislation sweeping through the country, this merger is a positive step in the right direction for workers who want to make their own choice about having a bargaining voice.  The UFCW has no doubt that T-Mobile’s workers will benefit from their association with the CWA and the union’s president, Larry Cohen, and finally have a voice in their workplace.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Valerie B. Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, were joined by women who are currently working to organize their workplaces, including Ernestine Bassett, a Walmart Associate from Laurel, Maryland.

“We are still fighting to provide adequate working conditions for all women and men on the job, ensure that no person within our borders is exploited for their labor, and uphold collective bargaining as a means to give workers a seat at the tables of power,” said President Obama in a proclamation released at the event.

“At today’s event, the Administration made it very clear that it values the role unions play in building the middle class in this country,” said Joe Hansen, UFCW International President. “We thank them for standing with courageous women who are currently trying to improve their lives by organizing their workplaces.”

“Walmart is the largest private employer in this country,” said Patrick O’Neill, UFCW Director of Organizing. “Their practices set the standard for the retail industry. We are pleased that the White House and Department of Labor gave a Walmart associate the chance to testify about the intimidation she and her coworkers face when trying to exercise their legal rights to organize for respect on the job.”

“I am committed, despite significant intimidation from my employer, to winning respect for my fellow associates at Walmart,” said Ernestine Bassett. “We are organizing to ensure safety and a better life for all Walmart associates.”

To watch the event online, visit:

After several months of feeling intimidated and threatened by managers, Giant Eagle employees have had enough.  Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 23, joined by a number of community organizations, will march on the corporate headquarters, to deliver support post cards signed by fellow employees at 36 stores, to say enough is enough.

“”We have the right to talk about our union, with our co-workers, with other Giant Eagle employees, with anyone we want to. This is America and we don’t check our free speech rights at the door when we take a job with Giant Eagle” said Deborah Wieloch, an employee at the Shady Side Market District Store.

Weiloch was arrested in September when she, on her day off work, went to the Waterfront Giant Eagle to talk to employees on break about their contract and other union issues.  UFCW Local 23 filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board over the incident.

Weiloch’s arrest came as part of what employees see as a wave of anti-unionism on the part of Giant Eagle.

“We’ve been told we can’t wear buttons, we’ve been told not to talk about our union, we’ve been threatened with arrest or worse, being fired,” explained Jim D’Alessandro.  “It isn’t right. They are infringing on our right to free speech and violating our nation’s laws that ensure we have a right to organize and be organized. Our contract even gives us the right to talk about our union during work.”

The members of UFCW got tired of harassment from management and started a postcard campaign to tell Giant Eagle they are tired of it.

While corporate Giant Eagle has pressured workers to remain silent and tried to keep their actions out of the press, workers have received tremendous support from allies and the public.

Along with a delegation of several dozen UFCW Local 23 members taking the cards to the corporate headquarters, community groups will be on hand to show support, including ACTION United, NAACP, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network,  Pittsburgh UNITED, and others.   A number of UFCW Local 23 members will be dressed as the Founding Fathers, complete with wigs and costumes, to reinforce the message that free speech rights are guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.

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“I am delighted that we stood together and made the right choice to form a union,” said Bernard Coneghen, who has worked at the Souderton facility for 27 years. “We had the opportunity to speak with representatives of the UFCW about the benefits of having a voice at work and were able to make an informed choice about forming a union.”

The workers’ victory today was the successful conclusion of a months-long campaign designed to give a voice to the nearly 1,200 JBS workers in Souderton, but also as part of a UFCW-led nationwide effort aimed at raising wages and benefits for all workers in the meatpacking and poultry industries.

“The outcome of this election shows that when workers get a free and fair process, they choose union representation,” said Wendell Young, IV, UFCW International Vice President and President of Local 1776.” The UFCW applauds JBS for taking the high road to allow the workers to have a free and fair process. Having a union makes it better for everyone, workers, the company, and the larger community.”

The Brazilian firm JBS, S.A. acquired the former Moyer Packing Company’s Souderton facility with the purchase of the Smithfield Beef Group in 2008.  JBS, out of respect for its workers, allowed a free and fair process for workers to decide about union representation.

“We achieved our victory because we stood together and that’s what made us strong,” said Melina Martinez, who has worked at the plant for the last six years. “Now that we have a union, we want to get right to work on a contract that protects our rights and improves our working conditions.”

By choosing UFCW Local 1776 today as their bargaining representative, workers at the JBS plant in Souderton will be joining together with 27,000 JBS workers and 250,000 meatpacking and poultry workers across the country who already enjoy the benefits of union representation with the UFCW.

UFCW Local 1776 represents thousands of packinghouse and food processing workers in Pennsylvania at plants such as Empire Kosher Poultry in Mifflintown, Cargill in Hazelton, BC Natural Chicken in Fredericksburg and Citterio USA in Freeland.

###

For more information or to arrange interviews with workers, e-mail press@ufcw.org.

UFCW Local 1776 represents 24,000 members who work in southeast, northeast and central Pennsylvania, northeast Maryland and southern New York in supermarkets, drug stores, food processing plants, government services, manufacturing facilities, nursing homes, professional offices and Pennsylvania’s Wine and Spirits Shops.

The strike became a national symbol for working people struggling to maintain middle class jobs and strong communities, after Dr Pepper Snapple Group imposed a $1.50 per hour wage decrease and other cuts on the workers. UFCW members, along with community and other allies, engaged in nearly 600 actions, including handbilling shoppers at grocery stores across the country in support of Local 220* members. Driven by blogs and social networks, tens of thousands of people joined the cause of the Mott’s strikers, advocating for good jobs with paychecks that pay the bills.  

Local 220* members will be back on the job September 20, eager once again to make applesauce and other great products for American families.

“We will continue to work closely with UNITE HERE and all unions in our efforts to advance the cause of working people.”

“This contract gives us wages that protect full-time, families supporting jobs in our community,” said Gene Muff, an Americold worker and a member of UFCW Local 271. “When all workers in the heartland stand together for a voice on the job, we can raise everyone’s wages, benefits and working conditions.”

With this contract, 150 workers at Americold will join the more than 250,000 workers in the poultry and meatpacking industries nationwide who have a union contract with the UFCW.

The new Americold contract includes:

- Average wage increases of $1.44/hr for the first year and an additional 30 cents per hour for the next four years;
- A formal system to resolve workplace issues;
- Time and a half pay for holiday work;
- Night shift premium wages;
- Affordable family health coverage;
- Job advancement opportunities based on seniority;
- Funeral leave and paid vacation benefits.

The Americold contract is the latest of several major collective bargaining wins for UFCW packing and food processing members across the country.

For more information, contact Gonzalo Salvador at (202) 466-1591 or press@ufcw.org

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# # #

ROUSES GROCERY OBSTRUCTS FREE SPEECH, INTERFERES WITH WORKERS’ RIGHT TO UNION INFORMATION

Louisiana Grocery Store Calls Police on Employees for Expressing Interest in Joining the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union

(NEW ORLEANS) – Rouses grocery store in Louisiana is not behaving like a responsible neighborhood business. Instead, the company is clamping down on the first amendment right of workers, obstructing their right to express any interest in joining the UFCW. The grocer went so far as to call the police, insisting on the arrest of workers and other union members attempting to talk about union representation.

“Workers play a big part in the company’s success,” said UFCW Region 5 Director Chad Young.  “And they should share in that success with a voice on the job for paychecks that can support families, affordable, quality health care and job security.” 

Even though Rouses allows numerous groups to engage with workers and customers outside their stores, the company is refusing to allow union members and company workers to distribute information and engage in conversations about the process of forming a union.

“What’s clear is that Rouses wants to pick and choose when it abides by the law,” said Young. “The UFCW is filing unfair labor practice charges against the company on behalf of workers and union members who believe their rights were violated. It’s the workers choice on whether they want a union. Rouses should abide by the law and stop interfering with that right.”

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail, meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries.

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For more information, contact Marc Goumbri, 202-257-8771, or press@ufcw.org

“”We find ourselves at a critical moment in our country – working families are struggling to make ends meet, while corporations like Walmart continue to reap record profits,”" said UFCW President Joe Hansen. “”Walmart workers across America are standing up and demanding change, and the UFCW is standing with them to achieve the health care and labor law reforms that will restore and expand the middle class. The UFCW is the labor union for retail workers and we will not let Walmart, as the world’s largest retailer, shirk its responsibility to the 1.4 million employees who work for the company.”"

“”As Walmart workers continue to speak out to transform their jobs, we believe they are best served by a single organization dedicated to supporting Walmart workers and holding the retail giant accountable for its actions,”" said SEIU President Andy Stern. “”Walmart has made a lot of promises to working families, and we plan to hold them accountable for making those changes.”"

Walmart earns $34,880 in profit every minute, yet only 50 percent of Walmart workers are covered by the company’s health care plan, because Walmart premiums and deductibles are unaffordable. Workers’ schedules — and therefore wages — are shrinking, and when workers stand up and demand changes, they are confronted with special squad of “”attitude”" enforcers straight from company headquarters in Bentonville. If workers persist in standing up, they are shown the door.

“”We are ready for change, and feel that if we stand together, we can change this company for the better from the inside,”" said Cynthia Murray, an associate from Laurel, MD. “”We work too hard to be pushed aside so that company executives can add a few million dollars to their bonuses this year.”"

In April, thousands of Walmart’s 1.4 million associates across the country united to launch Walmart Workers for Change, the largest effort ever by Walmart workers to demand a voice on the job. Workers in more than 100 stores in 15 states across the country have already joined together. This historic action led to the decision by Wal-Mart Watch to unite its strength with WakeUpWalMart.com.

Joining with WakeUpWalMart.com will:

• Unite hundreds of thousands of activists both online and in neighborhoods across the country to support Walmart workers with one collective voice.

• Allow President Obama and Members of Congress to unite with a newly strengthened group invested in transforming the world’s largest retailer.

• Create a stronger partner for Walmart Workers for Change, the Walmart workers leading the campaign to create good jobs at Walmart from the inside.

• Strengthen efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which will allow Walmart workers to form unions free from harassment and intimidation; and ensure passage of real and meaningful healthcare reform that holds employers like Walmart accountable.

Speakers included Leo Chapman, former mayor of West Memphis and first
African American elected to that position, Irvin Calliste, International
Representative for the Steelworkers’ Union and President of the
Memphis AFL-CIO Labor Council, and Billy Myers, International
Representative for the United Food & Commercial Workers Union.

At the meeting, Chapman said workers would have more opportunities if it were easier to join a union. “”Look at the people where they’re behind, if
they were unionizing they would be in a better position than they are
today. We want to enjoy the same rights and privileges as anyone else.”

Calliste noted that unions are a core part of our country, saying, “Because of unions, this country thrived. It’s not a coincidence that when union membership declined, the middle class started declining with it. Unions are responsible for the great middle class in this country.”

Billy Myers urged UFCW and community members to mobilize for the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing field so workers can have more opportunities to get ahead. “I tell the workers it’s illegal [the company anti-union campaigns]. They can’t fire you for union activities. But in the back of my mind, I know it happens. Right now there’s no level playing field, the company has all the power. We must change that.”

Passing Employee Free Choice is crucial to growing the middle class and building an economy that works for everyone.  It will allow workers to have a voice at work and to bargain collectively for higher wages, benefits, and job security.  The bill seeks to level the playing field between workers and their employers because it would give workers–not their employers–the power to choose to join a union either through majority sign-up or through an election.