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Corporate Responsibility, Food Safety, Packing and Processing, Retail Food, Social Justice, UFCW Stewards, Workplace Safety & Health

Remembering Those Who Have Fallen

Apr 25, 2013

This Sunday, April 28th is Worker Memorial Day, in which we take time to remember and honor those who have lost their lives on the job.  With the tragedies of the past two weeks fresh on our minds, this year’s Worker Memorial Day is particularly somber and offers us a chance to rededicate ourselves to the fight for safer workplaces.

Last week, in West, Texas, a fertilizer plant exploded, killing at least 15 workers and emergency responders.  The amount of deadly chemicals stored at the plant was thousands of times beyond the mandated limit, and inspections of the factory had not been performed in several years.

This week, news of a collapsed garment factory in Bangladesh that has killed at least 300 workers saddened us all.  Reports that cracks in the building’s foundation found yesterday were ignored and that management still forced employees to come to work are alarming.  This incident comes only months after more than 100 workers perished at another Bangladesh garment factory, when a fire broke out and locked doors (done by management) trapped workers inside.

Workers at a Nicaraguan Walmart supplier were recently physically attacked by a paid mob when they protested about being fired for trying to organize for a voice on the job.

It’s time that companies stopped putting workers’ lives at risk in order to make a profit.  The working people who make corporations successful deserve basic human rights, and deserve safe working environments.

Take a moment to remember the victims of workplace fatalities, and help us continue to fight for worker safety. If you have a story of a friend or loved one lost or injured on the job that you would like to share, please send us a message on our Facebook page.

2013 Worker Memorial Day Break Room Flyers

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UFCW Stewards, UFCW Values, Uncategorized

The UFCW Mourns the Loss of Wendell W. Young III, Influential Labor Leader

Jan 03, 2013

Wendell W. Young III

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Wendell W. Young III, president emeritus of Local 1776 and longtime Pennsylvania labor leader.

Starting at the age of 16 as a part time clerk at the Acme market in Philadelphia, Mr. Young dedicated his life to the labor movement. As a young clerk, with his father serving as his inspiration to get involved with the store’s union, Mr. Young was soon elected shop steward by his co-workers.

His influence as a labor leader spread quickly and by age 22 Mr. Young became the business agent of Retail Clerks Local 1357 which had 5,000 members at the time, then a year later was elected local president, making him one of the youngest labor leaders in the state’s history.

Throughout Mr. Young’s 43-year tenure, the union’s bargaining unit grew from only representing clerks in Philadelphia to advocating for 24,000 workers in the region and across Pennsylvania. Under Mr. Young, the union grew to represent other industrys as well and became more diverse.

Mr. Young will be remembered for the great work he did as a job creator and innovative negotiator.  He was a key player in the creation of Super Fresh Markets and a creative employee stock ownership bid that saved Acme Markets and thousands of jobs throughout the region.

To read more about the impact that Mr. Young had on the labor movement, click here.

 

2012 Presidential Election, Kroger, Politics, Retail Food, UFCW Stewards

A Star Steward

Sep 11, 2012 (0) Comments

Penny Gibson

Penny Gibson is a meat-cutter at Kroger, a union member, a political activist, and definitely a star steward for UFCW Local 876.

One of the great things Penny is doing to help her coworkers and her community is helping people to register for this year’s election.  With the help of her local union’s Voter Registration Toolkit, Penny working hard to make sure all her coworkers, friends, and neighbors, have a voice in November.

Penny has also dedicated her time and energy to the Protect Our Jobs effort, a drive to put a measure on the November ballot allowing voters to decide on a proposal to add the right to collective bargaining to the Michigan constitution. She secured over 50 signatures, the most of any Local 876 steward. With collective bargaining under attack in so many states across the country, Michigan has a chance to lead the charge for the basic freedoms of speech and association that collective bargaining represents.

Penny says she’s dedicated herself to protecting collective bargaining in part because “many young workers do not realize it is their union contract that provided that raise, that $3 prescription refill, and that week-long paid vacation up north. It is not the company that provided these benefits, it was the union who negotiated these on our behalf.”

With Penny on the case, those young workers will be activists in no time! UFCW member activists and stewards keep their union running. To learn more about how to get involved with your local union, email submissions@ufcw.org or send us a message on Facebook.