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Have a Union-Made Passover

Mar 25, 2013

source: timeanddate.com

Tomorrow is the first day of Passover- what better way to celebrate your Passover seders than with union-made foods and ingredients?  Check out the list of products below, all made by UFCW members, as well as our brothers and sisters at UFW, IAM, and IBT,  brought to you by Labor 411 and the AFL-CIO:

Matzo Products, Crackers and Farfel
Manischewitz (UFCW)

Meats
Empire Kosher (UFCW)

Wine and Grape Juice
Arbor Mist (UFCW)
C.K. Mondavi (UFW, UFCW)
Chateau Ste. Michelle (UFW, IBT)
Gallo of Sonoma (UFW)
Turning Leaf (UFCW)
Minute Maid Grape Juice (UFCW)
Welch’s Grape Juice (UFCW)

Bonus:
Here’s an Empire Kosher’s recipe for glazed and spiced matzo stuffed chicken breasts. For this recipe, there are plenty of union-made ingredients to incorporate:

6 tablespoons Empire Kosher Rendered Chicken Fat, divided
4 cups Passover Matzo Farfel (Manischewitz)
Salt and pepper (Morton Salt [UFCW, IAM] and Durkee Pepper [UFCW])
6 Empire Kosher Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (Durkee [UFCW])
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Durkee [UFCW])
¾ cup white wine (see union-made options here).

 

Be sure to check out Labor 411 for all things union-made!

Economic Justice, Health Care, Immigration, Organizing, Retail, Retail Food, Social Justice, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Uncategorized

California’s Union Numbers Swell

Mar 19, 2013

One bright-spot for working people that has been making headlines recently– California’s rapid rate of incoming union members.  In fact, last year, California’s union membership grew by 110,000 members.

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.

 

Collective Bargaining, Economic Justice, Health Care, Retail Food, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Uncategorized

Stop & Shop Workers from Five UFCW Locals Ratify New Contracts

Mar 14, 2013

After several months of challenging bargaining, members of UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445 and 1459 at Stop & Shop, voted on Sunday to ratify new three-year contracts. The local unions were facing a tremendous amount of financial pressure to bring the five health care plans up to compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Under that pressure, the local unions worked in total unison and solidarity to craft creative solutions that invest resources back into workers’ paychecks and provide stability for our existing Taft-Hartley benefit plans.

The new contracts include:

• Wage increases per hour for full and part-time workers ranging from 95 cents to $1.62 over three years.

• Scheduling language that protects current part-timers working over 30 hours per week from any ACA-related pressure to cut hours.

• Mechanisms that keep part-time workers in the existing Taft-Hartley benefit plans for ancillary benefits while investing in health savings accounts for part-timers to use in conjunction with a plan on the state exchange.

• A number of new structures, depending on the collective bargaining agreement or state, for part-time, new hires to connect with their union for health coverage.

Ratification meetings were held in all five local unions this past weekend and the contract was overwhelmingly accepted by members across New England.

The five locals are a perfect example of what we can all achieve when we stick together in solidarity.