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.

“Maximus Coffee workers in Houston are simply trying to protect middle class jobs and their benefits after working hard to make their company profitable,” said UFCW Local 455 President Bill Hopkins.  “I hope this strike sends a strong message to the company and moves the negotiation process to a successful conclusion.”

“I’ve worked at this plant for 41 years and for Maximus Coffee since 2006 when they purchased the plant from Maxwell House,” said Robert Barnes.  “I haven’t gotten a real raise since 2009, and don’t know how I’ll be able to support my family if my wages and benefits are reduced.”

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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, http://www.ufcw.org/, or join our online community at http://www.facebook.com/ufcwinternational and https://twitter.com/UFCW.

The four UFCW activists arrested yesterday.

Washington, DC—Four UFCW activists were among those arrested yesterday outside the U.S. Capitol while protesting the failure of House Republican leaders to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. The march, which included tens of thousands of people from across the country, followed over 180 similar actions in 40 states this weekend.

“Today we sent a message to House Republicans loud and clear,” UFCW President Joe Hansen said. “First and foremost, open this government. Secondly, once it is open, give us a vote on comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship.”

In an op-ed in the Huffington Post last week, Hansen laid out the case for reform. “We want to give aspiring citizens an opportunity to achieve the American Dream,” he said. “We want full rights and protections for immigrant workers. We want fairness and justice. We want an immigration policy that reflects our values. Speaker Boehner, we want a vote.”

The UFCW activists who were arrested spoke about the power of civil disobedience and the importance of standing together for comprehensive immigration reform.

Efrain Aguilera of UFCW Local 5 in San Jose, CA said: “I’m a Hispanic born in Michoacán, Mexico who came to this country legally but without knowing a word of English. The immigrant community has to struggle to find work and when it does, they face humiliation because of being undocumented and live in fear of being deported and separated from their families. Getting arrested for civil disobedience is the least I can do to support this great cause. We need comprehensive immigration reform now so that more than 11 million undocumented immigrants can get out of the shadows, work legally, pay taxes and stop being treated like second class citizens.”

Rigo Valdez of UFCW Local 770 in Los Angeles, CA said: “I was arrested today to stand up for the workers who cannot stand up for themselves. In twenty years of organizing, I have witnessed exploitation of workers because of their immigration status. We can no longer allow the abuse of any workers in our country, and must fight and demand that all of us are treated with dignity and according to our rights. Comprehensive immigration reform is not only morally right, but necessary to guarantee the long term economic and social health of our nation. If our lawmakers will not act, then we will.”

Celestino Rivera of UFCW Local 540 in Dallas, TX said: “I was arrested today because I stand with America’s meatpacking and food processing workers to demand that Congress fix our broken immigration system. I have witnessed the price of keeping working families in the shadows.  All workers should be able to exercise their fundamental rights on the job, regardless of immigration status. Now is the time for reform that preserves and protects these rights.”

Idalid Guerrero of UFCW Local 540 in Dallas, TX said: “I came to Washington today as both a worker and a mother. I know firsthand that women bear a huge burden because of our broken immigration system. We deserve reform that is humane and just and keeps families together. I was arrested in solidarity with all immigrant women who are calling on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform now.”

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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.

UFCW locals that are interested are welcome to take part in the video trainings, which are easy to access and use.

Check out the different safety trainings being offered below–if you’re interested, let your local know and have them contact the UFCW Occupational Safety and Health Office (202-466-1546) for details about how to sign up!

Training Sessions

Lock-Out  – Minor Servicing Exception
Major repair jobs are often locked-out properly, but hurried  machine adjustments or frequent unjamming can be a source of confusion, injuries and disciplinary action. This training session follows a step-by-step process to help operators, set-up people, machine cleaners and maintenance workers determine if that ‘’quick, little adjustment’’ requires a full lock-out or not. This training can also be helpful for stewards who have to deal with disciplinary action over Lock Out.
This training is applicable to ALL workplaces. It is most useful for manufacturing, food processing, poultry and meat packing plants.

Ergonomic Risk Factors
How can we predict which jobs will injure workers and which jobs are safe? Participants in this training session will learn about some of the elements of jobs that cause ergonomic-related injuries. The training includes an opportunity to practice using a method that combines the effects of three of the most important ergonomic risk factors.  This method can be used to evaluate most production-type jobs.

Hex Chrome
Welders who work with stainless steel may be at risk for lung cancer. This training session reviews the hazards and OSHA requirements for plants where stainless steel welding is done.

Hazard Recognition
This series of workplace photographs helps union stewards, activists and safety reps develop an eye for finding workplace hazards. This training session switches the focus from blaming workers for safety hazards onto identifying unsafe working conditions as the true hazards.

Extreme Temperatures
Many UFCW members work in conditions of extreme heat or extreme cold. Participants in this training session will learn about the possible health effects of these conditions, how the conditions can be documented and what can be done to protect workers.

Risk Assessment
‘’Long lists don’t get done!’’ This training session is for any union activist, steward, or safety committee member who is struggling to know where to start on their long list of safety problems. Risk Assessment is a systematic and logical approach to analyzing safety issues to place those issues in order of priority.

Material Handling
Participants in this training session will explore the safety requirements for material handling equipment from pallet jacks to fork trucks.

Unfortunately, many retail employers have followed Walmart’s lead by skimping on hours and preventing full-time schedules so they won’t have to provide benefits to their workers.  This low-wage business strategy has, in turn, led to depressed earnings across the retail sector, as well as operational problems in stores, including out-of-stocks; a shortage of employees on the sales floor; and long checkout lines and wait times.

To view Ton’s lecture at the TEDx event, visit http://www.tedxcambridge.com/portfolio-item/zeynep-ton/.  Ton’s research and articles can be viewed at http://www.zeynepton.com/.

UFCW Locals 21, 367 and Teamsters Local 38 grocery workers sent a strong message to the grocery chains by overwhelmingly voting to authorize a strike.

UFCW Locals 21, 367, and Teamsters Local 38 sent a strong message of solidarity to Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons last week when they voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The 98 percent strike authorization vote is the workers’ latest step in their fight for fair treatment, pay, and benefits. Contract negotiations will continue on October 10 and 11. Workers say they expect the chains to now come to the table with a set of serious proposals.

“We hope the employers come to their senses and make a fair proposal that respects me and my co-workers and our families. But if they force us to strike, we are ready,” said Jessica Roach, a UFCW Local 367 Fred Meyer worker.

Workers have been in contract negotiations since March. Despite more than 12 bargaining sessions and a first round of informational pickets in July, Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons  have continued to stick to proposals that would stop providing healthcare coverage for employees working fewer than 30 hours a week, deny workers paid sick days, and cut pay – including for those who work on holidays.

More information and updates on the strike vote and bargaining situation at Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons can be viewed at http://www.ufcw21.org/

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President Hansen says its time for Speaker Boenher to stop letting extremists dictate the actions of the House.  Calling out an “increasingly radical caucus”, President Hansen urges that the outcome of a vote for comprehensive immigration reform should differ from the House’s recent poor decisions on our nation’s budget and social safety net.

The UFCW has been very active in the fight for reform, and has worked hard to help secure votes in the Senate and House. Our members have seen to much destruction from the current, failing immigration system, time and time again.

So, as Joe notes in his op-ed, “they went to town hall meetings, participated in marches and rallies, and visited Congressional offices to create the momentum for comprehensive immigration reform.” All of this hard work paid off in June, when the Senate passed legislation on a strong bipartisan vote, but the House refuses to follow suit. Together with our allies, we must keep up the pressure.

Thanks to this pressure, 26 House Republicans have now announced their support for legislation that will protect the rights of immigrants, keep families together, and gives aspiring Americans the opportunity to become citizens.

“Now it is time for John Boehner to show the guts,” says President Hansen.

UFCW members will be taking part in the rallies happening nationwide on October 5th, to demand a vote for comprehensive immigration reform now.

Read all of what President Hansen has to say in his op-ed here.

This week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law. This means that California will soon have the highest minimum wage in the country.

California’s minimum wage had been stuck at $8 since 2008.

Had California’s 1968 minimum wage been indexed to inflation, it would now be $11.08.

UFCW locals in California saw that an increase was long overdue so they stepped up and took action.

This isn’t the first time UFCW’s California locals have helped to secure a minimum wage increase. They were also recently involved with passing living wage ordinances in San Jose and Long Beach.

Securing a wage increase for the entire state of California was a much greater undertaking though and required a concerted effort by all of UFCW’s California locals.

To help give the bill the aggressive push it deserved, five lobby days were held at the State Capitol in Sacramento. This gave UFCW members the opportunity to appeal directly to State Senators, Assemblymembers, and the Governor about how raising the minimum wage would impact their lives.

As the minimum wage bill headed towards passage, UFCW members willed it over the finish line by making direct phone calls to uncommitted legislators.

At the signing of the bill, Governor Brown’s remarks made it clear he heard their message loud and clear.

“Our society is experiencing a growing gap between those at the top and those at the
Raising California’s minimum wage was a great effort and a great success. More than 2.3 million California workers will be affected by the wage increase. It will go a long ways towards ensuring hard work provides both dignity and a livable wage. bottom,” he said. “Our social fabric is being ripped apart. Today, we sew that fabric a little tighter together, as we raise the wages of those who labor at the bottom.”

OUR Walmart fought the lawsuit and successfully persuaded the Washington judge to dismiss it because Walmart’s state court lawsuit violated federal labor law that requires Walmart to present its issues only to the NLRB. Walmart had filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB prior to filing its lawsuit.

This legal win means that Walmart cannot seek trespass injunctions against OUR Walmart or its supporters for future actions in Washington. The win will also help OUR Walmart’s legal team to make similar arguments in other states that have Walmart trespass lawsuits pending, including Ark., Calif., Colo., Fla., and Texas.

OUR Walmart members have announced widespread protests for Black Friday in 2013. As Black Friday approaches, the campaign is asking allies to commit to supporting OUR Walmart members as they take action this holiday shopping season by signing the petition at http://bit.ly/15H42nj.

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.

In her book, which was released in 2012, Shenker-Osorio shares this message with progressives about communicating our message: Get personal. Get real. And for heaven’s sake, quit fighting your opponent on your opponent’s terms. What does Shenker-Osorio mean by this? Well, she says that after making the same mistakes over and over again, she has seen a failure in progressive communication, especially in regards to how we discuss the economy. Don’t Buy It decries the tendency by progressives and well-intentioned experts to continually refer to the recession and the rising inequality that it highlights as an “unstoppable force of nature” or “perfect storm” or any number of other similar terms–because talking about it this way implies that all we can do is sit, and wait, and pray out the storm, rather than do what we sorely need to: actively work for change.

Likewise, she says, for “body” metaphors, like “unhealthy economy” or “sluggish recovery”. This way of talking about the economic situations she says, again implies that it was caused by an outside agency coming in to attack, like germs sickening the body from within.  Her main point:

“The economic crisis was neither an act of God nor a natural disaster, not an attack by microbes or internal organ breakdown. It was the result of choices—bad ones—made by specific human beings who benefited from human-created policies at the expense of a majority of the population. And if our language does not reflect that this crisis is human-made, it follows that it cannot be human unmade either, which plays into the shrugging, no-fault stance of conservatives.”

Well said.
But, then, how should we in the labor movement discuss the economic crises? Shenker-Osorio proposes that “Vehicles. Journeys. Navigation. Maps. Human-created and human-run metaphors for motion,” are the key solution:

“We can change our maps, rules of the road, get new vehicles to take us where we want to go, change direction. We are, in short in charge of the economy when it breaks down. And we, through our choices, can fix it.”

She also notes that it is imperative that we stop being polite, and start being specific about who is responsible for creating these problems. And, she says, progressives need to start changing how we sound in our public statements. We often come off trying to sound academic, but we are a movement made up of regular, hard-working, middle-class people. We should start sounding like it! When we are trying to raise awareness and find solutions regarding issues of fairness, security, livelihood, and well-being for all, it’s time to actually convey to our audiences that we’re talking to “you”.

So, if you want to be inspired about how to talk about the movement and move things forward, attend this event! You can RSVP here and find more info here.

If you’re not a resident of the DMV area or can’t make it to the event, you can still check out the book!

credit: Huffington Post

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on incomes and poverty.  According to the report, the median household income in the U.S. in 2012 was $51,017, and not much different from the 2011 median income of $51,100.  However, when you look at the median household incomes over the last 25 years, the median household income in 1989 was $51,681—meaning that a typical middle class family earned more in 1989 than middle class families did last year.  The nation’s official poverty rate in 2012 also remained stagnant at 15 percent, representing 46.5 million people who are living at or below the poverty line.

Another study this week from Center for American Progress builds on the U.S. Census Bureau data and links the slide of middle class incomes to the decline in union membership since the 1960s.  Between 1967 and 2012, union membership fell from 28.3 percent of all workers to 11.3 percent in all 50 states.  The decline in union membership is reflected in the decline in the share of the nation’s income going to the middle 60 percent of households, which fell from 52.3 percent to 45.7 percent over the same time period.

As the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow, it’s clear that something needs to be done to rebuild the middle class.  Making it easier for workers to stick together in a union to bargain for better wages and benefits is a good place to start.

D.C. residents from neighborhoods throughout the city took their calls for fair wages and good jobs to the D.C. City Council today in light of the override vote of Mayor Gray’s veto of the LRAA. The bill has been recognized by local residents, Council Members, policy experts, and economists as a bill that would help improve jobs and bolster the local economy.

At noon on Tuesday, hundreds of people – including OUR Walmart, UFCW Local 400, AFL-CIO, OUR DC, DC Jobs with Justice, and other community supporters rallied for an override. The rally came as Walmart workers in the D.C. area and nationwide have increased their calls to improve jobs at the country’s largest employer. Last week, 100 workers and supporters were arrested when refusing to end their calls for better jobs at Walmart.

On Tuesday, the D.C. City Council failed to override Mayor Gray’s veto of the LRAA. The bill faced fierce opposition from the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, which threatened to cancel three of six stores planned for D.C. if the LRAA was passed. The threat was made despite the fact Walmart had promised residents and elected officials it would pay a wage of $13 an hour to workers if the stores were approved.

Despite falling short of success, the wage ordinance has boosted living wage efforts across the country.

Less than a week ago, the California Legislature approved raising the state’s minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10 by 2016. This fall, New Jersey voters will vote on a referendum that would raise their state’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. And the Minnesota Legislature is moving toward passage of its own minimum wage increase.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, if the federal minimum wage had kept pace with the cost of living over the past 40 years, it would be $10.74 an hour today, not $7.25

A report from the national public policy center Demos shows that better jobs at Walmart and other large retailers would help the store’s bottom line, as well as have an impact on individual families and the larger economy. A wage floor equivalent of $25,000 per year for a full-time, year-round employee for retailers with more than 1000 employees would lift 1.5 million retail workers and their families out of poverty, add to economic growth, increase retail sales and create more than 100,000 new jobs. The Demos report can be found at http://bit.ly/QRHf0m.

New polling shows that voters overwhelmingly supported the LRAA.  Seventy-one percent of voters voiced their support in a survey conducted last weekend, with large majorities saying the bill would have positive effects not only on workers’ wages, but also on jobs, employment and the local economy. Additionally, 63 percent of voters said that they would be more likely to support a mayoral candidate in 2014 who supported the LRAA.

The survey of D.C. voters on the LRAA can be viewed here and you can access results by clicking here.

The protest comes at a critical time in the fight for reform. Months have passed since the Senate approved its own bill and pressure is mounting for the House to follow suit.  Throughout August, UFCW members went to town hall-style meetings, participated in marches and rallies, and visited Congressional offices to create the momentum for comprehensive immigration reform. During that time, 26 House Republicans announced their support for reform with a road map to citizenship.

UFCW members will continue to ramp up pressure on the House throughout the fall until they allow a vote on common sense reform that protects the rights of immigrants, keeps families together, and creates a path to citizenship for aspiring Americans. Members can pledge their support for immigration reform by signing the petition at http://bit.ly/ZzZRW5.

As delegates to the UFCW’s 7th Regular Convention in Chicago chanted last month, the “time is now.” A video about the impact pro-reform advocates had during the Congressional summer recess can be viewed here.

Find a showing near you!

Gray’s veto comes just two days after the Fair Political Practices Commission in California announced that it would be investigating whether Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson had a conflict of interest in a vote on a big box bill due to charitable donations he solicited from Walmart and the Walton Foundation.

Kimberly Mitchell, a Macy’s employee and lifelong Ward 7 resident:

“I am incredibly upset, disappointed, and angry that Mayor Gray has decided to stand with Walmart and other large corporations instead of with the residents of this city. Mayor Gray has made is clear who he stands with and it’s not with me, my neighbors or the residents of DC. We are now counting on the City Council to do the right thing, stand up with DC residents, and override this veto.”

“Mayor Gray had the opportunity to stand up for the residents of this city, but instead he allowed large, out of town companies, like Walmart, to threaten him and ultimately dictate the policies of our city. By vetoing this bill he has further eroded the ability of DC residents and workers to earn enough money to take care of themselves and their families while remaining in the city.”

Reverend Graylan Hagler, of Plymouth United Congregational Church of Christ and Faith Strategies:

“Unfortunately, the Mayor’s decision is hardly surprising because this is exactly what Walmart’s lobbyists said would happen.  The Mayor’s office and Walmart have been working together to defeat this bill from the start.”

“If we cannot demand higher wages and good jobs from the nation’s and world’s largest corporations DC will not be able to remain a diverse and vibrant city. We strongly urge the city council to override this misguided veto.”

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“I’m proud of the union contract that we negotiated,” said Araceli Flores, Cosmo’s Food worker. “This contract will mean more security for our families.”

The agreement provides $1.30 in wage increases over the life of the contract. In the negotiations, the bargaining committee focused on securing guaranteed hours and seniority rights that will provide workers with greater job security. The contract also guarantees seven paid holidays each year and between one and three weeks of paid vacation for the workers.

“From the beginning, this has been about respect. The relationship between workers and supervisors at Cosmo’s really changed when management had to sit down at the bargaining table with us and negotiate,” said Cosmo’s Food worker Guadalupe Muñoz.

UFCW Local 371 Cosmo’s workers celebrate signing their first contract that increases wages, and improves job security.

Cosmo’s Food Products, Inc., produces a variety of antipasto specialties under the Cosmo’s brand and for private labels.

At the AFL-CIO 2013 Convention in downtown Los Angeles, UFCW delegates received a warm welcome from the union federation as they took the stage to celebrate the new affiliation with the AFL-CIO in a movement to build a stronger, more unified voice for the rights of workers.

“We’re home,” said UFCW President Joe Hansen after leading a huge delegation of gold-shirted members through hundreds of cheering delegates welcoming them back to the AFL-CIO.

The AFL-CIO delegation also cheered on a group of OUR Walmart workers who were welcomed as guests at the convention.

The UFCW announced its affiliation with the AFL-CIO last month in a bold move toward a stronger, more unified labor movement.

“We join the AFL-CIO because it is the right thing to do for UFCW members, giving them more power and influence. This is not about which building in Washington D.C. we call home — it is about fostering more opportunities for workers to have a true voice on the job. It is about joining forces to build a more united labor movement that can fight back against the corporate and political onslaught facing our members each and every day,” said President Hansen.

President Hansen continued, “I respect Rich Trumka’s bold leadership of the AFL-CIO and his strategic advocacy on key issues like the urgent need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, fix the Affordable Care Act so workers in multiemployer plans can keep the health care they currently have, and ensure the National Labor Relations Board protects workers’ rights. The UFCW is proud to affiliate with a transparent, strategic and innovative AFL-CIO – an AFL-CIO committed to bringing a union voice on the job to millions of workers from coast to coast.”

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka remarked at the UFCW 2013 Convention, “Brothers and sisters, the UFCW is a proud and powerful union. On behalf of the 12 million working men and women of the affiliate unions of the AFL-CIO, I want to welcome you to the federation — We’re stronger together.”

Many Walmart workers are struggling to support their families and contribute to their local economies because of low wages, insufficient hours and ongoing efforts to silence workers who are speaking out for better jobs.  Today’s protests come after Walmart failed to respond to a Labor Day deadline set by tens of thousands of Americans calling on Walmart to publicly commit to provide full-time work with a minimum salary of $25,000, reinstate workers who were fired for striking and agree to stop all retaliation against workers calling for better jobs.

Since June, Walmart has illegally disciplined nearly 80 workers, including firing 20 worker-leaders. More than 100 Unfair Labor Practice charges have been filed with the NLRB against Walmart.

There are several ways to help support Walmart workers as they take action today.  You can sign a petition located at http://bit.ly/150trkD.  You can also spread the work on social media by sharing any of the images located at http://bit.ly/17zqsEN or the video posted at http://bit.ly/19fR8K0 on Facebook. You can also go to Twitter to show your support and use the sample tweet: #WalmartStrikers are drawing a line. Stand with them for a real wage & workers’ rights on Sept. 5th bit.ly/1cgXnPA @ChangeWalmart

For photos and video of strikers and their community supporters, visit http://changewalmart.tumblr.com, or follow the conversation and see photos on Twitter at #Walmartstrikers.

Reposted from Making Change at Walmart

It’s been an exciting week and it’s not even Labor Day yet!

This week, low-wage workers of all varieties have gone out on strike to stand up for an American economy that works for working people.

Earlier this week, port truck workers went out on strike in Los Angeles. Today, fast food workers went on strike in more than 50 cities nationwide. And if Walmart doesn’t respond to workers calls by Labor Day, Walmart workers say we’ll see intensified actions nationwide on September 5^th.

These dramatic actions come at a time when working people find themselves in a difficult situation. According to USA Today:

Jobs paying less than $14 an hour in fast food, retail, home health care and other fields made up one of every five jobs lost in the recession, but they account for three of every five new jobs in the recovery, according to NELP.

Many of them are held by adults, some of whom were laid off from much-better-paying positions during the recession. Eighty-eight percent of workers in jobs paying less than $10 an hour are older than 20, and a third are older than 40, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Or as President Clinton’s Secretary of Labor Robert Reich would put it, “The good news as Labor Day approaches: Jobs are returning. The bad news: Most of them pay lousy wages and provide low, if not nonexistent, benefits.”

While everyday Americans continue to struggle with an uneven recovery and more than 7% unemployment, many companies continue to post record profits. Again, according to Reich referencing a NELP report:

…most low-wage workers are employed by large corporations that have been enjoying healthy profits. Three-quarters of these employers (the 50 biggest employers of low-wage workers) are raking in higher revenues now than they did before the recession.

Despite the challenges of the current American economy, low wage workers have dug deep and found the courage to stand up. If you’ve like to stand with Walmart workers, please sign their petition here.

From the U.S. Department of Labor, where I proudly work in a building named for my great predecessor Frances Perkins, let me wish all of my friends in the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and your families – wherever you are – a safe, happy and healthy Labor Day. This Labor Day feels special in many ways: we’re celebrating 100 years of the Labor Department’s tireless efforts on behalf of American workers, and last week we celebrated the March on Washington 50 years ago – a transformational moment in our history that was just as much about labor rights as it was about civil rights. Today, let’s remember that these two movements remain inextricably intertwined, their interests converging time and time again, their goals essentially the same.

It’s also my first Labor Day as Secretary of Labor, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about me. I grew up in Buffalo, New York as the youngest of five children in an immigrant family. Buffalo was and still is a whole lot more gritty than glamorous. It’s a place that exemplifies the values we all care about, the ones we want to hand down to our children.

My father was a physician in the local VA hospital. He died very suddenly when I was 12, and my best friend’s father became like a surrogate dad to me. He was a union man, and I remember the struggles he and his family went through when he lost his job. And that was the first time I saw how the labor movement served as a lifeline and a support network for people when the going got tough.

The principles that took hold within me then have deepened throughout my time in public service. They are the same principles that stirred 250,000 Americans to converge on the National Mall 50 years ago to demand justice from their government. They are the principles that UFCW members so bravely and selflessly march to defend every day in the streets, keeping alive the spirit of that August day in 1963. And when you boil those principles down to their essence, they are all about one thing: protecting and promoting opportunity for American workers.

This expanded opportunity can only happen when workers have a voice at work. The labor movement is one of the greatest forces for economic security the United States of America has ever known. Standing together, speaking with one voice, you built America’s middle class, lifting standards for all workers—union members and non-union members alike.

You know how important the work that lies ahead for us truly is – we are turning the corner on the most crippling recession in 80 years, but we have not yet restored the opportunities that so many Americans have earned. The workers of the UFCW, most visibly the retail workers and the grocery, retail and meat packing workers who have spoken out to demand a fair wage that allows you to raise your kids, pay the bills, and live a good life, are out there every day in the trenches fighting for an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. You are powerful advocates for President Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage, which will benefit 15 million people who lay awake at night sick with worry about how they’re going to pay the utility bill, what they’ll do if the car breaks down, or whether they can put dinner on the table the next day.  You also stand with the President in your faith that a better bargain for the middle class rests on the everlasting promise of opportunity: good jobs, ladders to the middle class through skills training and education, strong safety and health protections, and the ability to retire with dignity and peace of mind.

People like A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin and Walter Reuther – who helped lead the March on Washington – were leading the fight for workers’ rights as well. All of you who continue to stand up for economic justice carry a part of that legacy into the everyday struggles that remain. I can promise that as long as I am Secretary of Labor, the department will stand with you… it will be a bulwark against those who want to undermine the rights of our workers…those who want to dismantle the system of collective bargaining that has served workers and employers so well…those who want to leave hard-working Americans with no leverage to secure better wages, benefits and working conditions.

Thank you. I hope you will take this day to recharge, spend time with your families, enjoy the benefits of your hard work, and gather your strength for the work ahead.

Sincerely,

Thomas E. Perez
U.S. Secretary of Labor

image via Working Washington

Recently, fast food and retail workers alike have come together into tell their employers that they deserve respect on the job, and that they will no longer stand for wages that don’t allow them to make a living. Going on 1-day strikes in cities across the country, these workers have ignited conversation and action surrounding the issue of a living wage.

What began as a 200-person strike in NYC last November, this growing movement is set to gain even more momentum tomorrow, with low-wage worker strikes set to take place in 35 cities across the country–with thousands of workers expected to take part. Employees at establishments such as McDonald’s and Macy’s will make their voices heard by walking off the job, as they call for the right to unionize and raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. These strikes come as America gets ready to celebrate Labor Day–a time in which workers are meant to be honored and recognized, yet many who will participate in the strikes must work on this holiday.

For the workers, most of whom are grown adults, often with families to support, $7.25 doesn’t cut it.  It’s not enough to both feed their children and themselves, or to pay for both healthcare and rent at the same time. These low wages are especially unacceptable when the companies they work for rake in billions of dollars a year, and the CEO-to-employee pay ratios only increase each year, by gigantic amounts.

That’s why, experts say, this is just the beginning of the movement. Workers at Church’s Chicken, Victoria’s Secret, Dunkin Donuts–you name it–are taking action because they have the energy and passion to change a vicious fast food  and retail economy, that rewards the executives up top, but does little to reward those who make the companies successful.

Some of these strikes in recent months have led to wage increases in places like Chicago, and the strikes have caused stores in cities like Seattle to close down for the day due to lack of manpower. This is just an example of how workers can make or break the company’s success–they need to be compensated accordingly.

For more information, click here. Also, be sure to keep an eye on Twitter, Facebook, and even out in your community tomorrow to see all the action unfold!

Hundreds of grocery workers will hold informational pickets at 38 grocery stores across the Seattle region to fight for workers’ rights.

Grocery workers from UFCW Locals 21, 367 and Teamsters Local 38 will be joined by co-workers, elected officials, and community supporters in informational pickets held across the Seattle region. Today, workers from Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and Albertsons will hold actions at 38 different grocery locations to draw attention to their fight for fair treatment, fair pay, and fair benefits.

Grocery store workers have been in contract negotiations since March. Despite more than 12 bargaining sessions and a first round of informational pickets in July, the companies have continued to stick to proposals that would stop providing health care coverage of employees working less than 30 hours a week, deny workers paid sick days, and cut pay including for those who work on holidays. A potential strike vote is set for the end of September depending on the progress of negotiations.

However, although more policymakers are agreeing that its time to focus on the economic challenges of the middle class, we are failing to fix the key problem that is hurting so many working-class Americans. Despite steadily increasing productivity, wages have remained stagnant or have even deflated for the majority of blue and white-collar Americans throughout the past decade.  Right now, overall growth is actually benefiting the richest households in the country, and companies that make billions of dollars annually, like Walmart and McDonalds, continue to make their executives unfathomably rich, while the workers who make such businesses flourish, earn starvation wages.

This data was recently presented in the newest report by the Economic Policy Institute.

Growing income inequality in America must be reversed. The economy cannot recover if the rich continue to become richer, and the poor only poorer. That’s why a raise in the minimum wage is essential. In the case of large retailers, whose CEO’s rake in staggering amounts in earnings and bonuses each year, there is no excuse to not pay their employees enough to live on, or to provide basic benefits.

In June, members of the OUR Walmart sent civil rights movement–style caravans of workers from around the country to Walmart’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Bentonville to protest the retail giant’s  practice of retaliating against workers who speak out for change.  Citing Walmart’s $16 billion in profits every year, OUR Walmart members called on the company to publicly commit to raising wages and increasing access to full-time hours so that no worker at Walmart makes less than $25,000 per year.

Please sign a petition asking Walmart to respect workers’ rights and pay a living wage by visiting http://action.changewalmart.org/page/s/ARealWage.  For more information about OUR Walmart, visit http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/.

(The following is from religionnews.com)

Don Cash had graduated from high school in June 1963 and decided on the spur of the moment to join the March on Washington when he finished his work shift at a nearby warehouse. The Baptist layman is the president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union’s Minority Coalition and a board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the NAACP. He lives in Columbia, Md.
What is your most lasting memory of your participating in the march?

I was just overwhelmed. I saw old women — at the time they appeared to me to be old; they had to be in their 40s and 50s — sitting on the curb wiping their faces, with straw hats. It was very, very hot.

It was just people everywhere. I had never seen that many folks where it was mixed, where it was black and white people, a very diverse crowd. Nobody was laughing dancing or joking. You could tell that it was very, very serious.

I had never experienced all of these people marching and walking in unison and orderly, quietly, people hugging. I saw no incident. None.

Dr. King spoke of his dream for America. Where do you think we are as a society in fulfilling that dream?

I think we got a long ways to go but I do think that there’s been a lot of changes. I don’t think you’ll ever see what Martin Luther King dreamed in reality, in total. I think we’ll always have to strive for perfection.

The dream that he had is a perfect world and I think that in order to be perfect, you have to continue to work at it.

For additional information about various events commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington, please visit http://www.thekingcenter.org/

In spite of the advances we have made over the last 50 years—including the election of our first African American president—the fight for social and economic justice continues.  In the retail sector alone, too many workers are struggling to survive in low-wage jobs with little to no benefits and our economy’s increasing reliance on low-wage, part-time work has widened the gap between the rich and poor. The assault on workers’ rights continues to persist, and in many cases, retail workers who want to stick together to bargain for better wages and benefits are threatened, intimidated and sometimes fired by their employers.

The need to mobilize for freedom, jobs and equality has never been stronger, and the Retail Justice Alliance is honored to carry on the work of the 1963 activists by fighting for social and economic justice in the retail industry and in our communities.

Bringing Attention to Illegal Retaliation and Low Wages,

WALMART WORKERS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES, CALL FOR BETTER JOBS IN NATION’S CAPITAL

Thursday: March for Good Jobs at Walmart DC Office

WASHINGTON, DC—Following an aggressive uptick in illegal retaliation against workers speaking out for better jobs at Walmart, a group of current and recently fired Walmart workers are in Washington, DC this week to share their experiences and call for changes at the nation’s largest employer and company.  The workers, part of the national organization OUR Walmart, are speaking with local residents and elected officials, Members of Congress and their staff and national leaders who are supporting their efforts.

“We’re here to make sure DC residents and our nation’s leaders know the truth about what’s going on at Walmart stores across the country,” said OUR Walmart member Jovani Gomez from Lakewood, CA.  Gomez has worked at Walmart for nearly six years before being fired for going on strike in June. “Walmart is the largest employer in the country, but the jobs that Walmart is creating are holding back American workers and families.”

With hundreds of DC-area residents supporting them, the group plans to rally outside Walmart’s DC offices to try to get Walmart to publicly commit to increasing wages that the company pays, which have been under debate since DC City Council passed a bill requiring large, profitable retailers to pay a minimum hourly wage of $12.50 an hour.  Prior to the rally, a group will visit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) where they will highlight the public support for the Board to continue its investigations of the aggressive retaliation that workers have been facing.

“With $16 billion in profits for the company and the wealth of 42% of American families combined in the pockets of the Walton family, Walmart can and must do more to create good jobs,” Heidi Shierholz, economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “With its size and wealth, Walmart could be making an impact in strengthening and growing our middle class, but instead, Walmart workers are forced to rely on food stamps and other public supports to cover the basics.”

Calling for Walmart to publicly commit to paying full-time work at a minimum rate of $25,000 a year, OUR Walmart’s concerns are gaining support from workers, community leaders and shareholders.  At this year’s annual shareholder meeting, OUR Walmart member Janet Sparks, joined by 100 striking workers from across the country, spoke about the insufficient hours, low wages and short-staffing that are hurting customer service at stores. Additionally, Walmart employees are some of the main recipients of food stamps, Medicaid and government support.

But rather than provide good jobs that American workers need and deserve, Walmart is spending its time and money trying to deny a decent day’s pay and trying to silence workers who are standing up with their co-workers to live better.  Since the prolonged strikes in June, Walmart has illegally disciplined nearly 80 workers, including 20 worker-leaders who have been fired.

“We’ve had enough is enough of Walmart’s lip-service and lies,” said Lucas Handy of Fort Dodge, IA.  “We need full-time hours, we need better wages, and we need our jobs back with the promise that the retaliation against OUR Walmart will stop.”

On Wednesday, the group plans to visit Members of Congress to thank them for a recent letter to Walmart CEO Mike Duke calling for an end to the illegal activity, and to ask Members to sign onto the Worker Anti-Retaliation Act introduced by Rep. Alan Grayson in July.

OUR Walmart, Organization United for Respect at Walmart, formed just two years ago when 100 Walmart associates came together to voice their concerns about the company.  The group, organized the first strikes in company history last year and helped bring more than 30,000 supporters to protest at stores on Black Friday in 2012.

Follow the conversation and see photos at @ChangeWalmart, #WalmartStrikers and ChangeWalmart.org/Tumblr

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 LEGAL DISCLAIMER: UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publically commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.

One of the winning photos from the UFCW Made Facebook Contest – photo by George Wilson.

Earlier this year, UFCW launched a photo contest to highlight UFCW made products and members at work. We asked members and staff to post pictures on our Facebook app of themselves or their co-workers or members–on the job or with the products we make.

Congratulations to the winners of our contest! We will be contacting our winners about their prizes shortly. We’ll also post the winning pictures soon.

These members and staff got the most votes for their terrific photos, and have won the following in order of most votes received:

First Place: Paula, Local 770 Santa Barbara, winning a $500 grocery gift card

Second Place: Dawne, Local 880, winning a $250 grocery gift card

Third Place: Cole Edwards, Local 1189, winning a $250 grocery gift card

Fourth Place:  Mary Brown, Local 1428, winning a UFCW Bonded Fleece Jacket

Fifth Place:  Diane Johnson, Local 770, winning a UFCW T-shirt

Sixth Place: George Wilson, Local 23, winning a UFCW travel mug

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to all who posted, voted, shared, and sent in pictures–we’ll be posting many of your pictures on Facebook and on our website in the weeks and months to come!

Washington, D.C

“The UFCW is proud to stand with our brothers and sisters from across the country to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  Fifty years ago on August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Organized largely by A. Philip Randolph and black labor to promote freedom, economic equality and jobs, the March on Washington was a defining moment for the civil rights movement—spurring the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“In spite of the advances we have made since the March on Washington 50 years ago—including the election of our first African American president—the dream of freedom, economic equality and jobs has not been realized. The Great Recession has widened the gap between the rich and poor, and African American and Latino communities, in particular, have been hit the hardest by the economic downturn.  These and other communities have also been the targets of voter suppression, and the recent Supreme Court decision to strike down key parts of the Voting Rights Act will undermine voting rights in future elections.

“The need to mobilize for freedom, jobs and equality has never been stronger, and the UFCW is honored to continue the work of the 1963 activists by fighting for social and economic justice in the workplace and in our communities.”

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Below, please find details of the Anniversary Commemoration Event:

The Fight for Social and Economic Justice Continues

Fifty years ago on August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The March on Washington was a defining moment for the civil rights movement and on Saturday, August 24, UFCW members and other progressive groups will commemorate the 50^th anniversary of that groundbreaking event.

Event Details:

Date: Saturday, August 24, 2013

Time: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. We will meet at the Lincoln Memorial at 8 a.m. The program begins at 9 a.m. and the march will take place from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

Location: The Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Washington, D.C.

For additional information about various events commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington, please visit http://www.thekingcenter.org/

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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, http://www.ufcw.org/, or join our online community at http://www.facebook.com/ufcwinternational and https://twitter.com/UFCW

The UFCW 7^th Regular convention convened yesterday in Chicago, wrapping up a historic gathering for North America’s most progressive and leading force for workers and their families.

In an emotional speech to more than 2,500 UFCW activists, award-winning actress and social justice activist Ashley Judd thanked the union movement today for “making the dream accessible.”

Delivering the closing keynote address to the convention, Judd focused on family, and the essential role that UFCW activists play in protecting communities from the spread of poverty, and in protecting the dream and hope that fairness and economic justice can be built upon from one generation to the next.

Praising the efforts of union activists, Judd echoed the importance of union solidarity and combined action by saying “the greatest progress for the greatest number depends on unity.”

In addition to Ashley Judd, conventioneers also heard from civil rights and social justice trailblazers like Lilly Ledbetter, who addressed delegates earlier in the week.

On Tuesday delegates re-elected the Hansen Team to lead the union’s Unity Agenda as the UFCW Executive Committee, which includes International President Joe Hansen, Secretary-Treasurer Marc Perrone, and Executive Vice Presidents Wayne Hanley, Bill McDonough and Pat O’Neill.

Throughout the convention, the groundbreaking efforts of UFCW members were featured in a number of videos and images that combined to create the most-cutting edge and multi-media international convention in the union’s history.

To see photos of all the action during convention, click here.

Reposted from Making Change at Walmart

Walmart’s second quarter sales report shows the continuation of negative same store sales. In response, OUR Walmart member Larry Born, who has worked at Walmart in Crestwood, IL for over three years, issued the following statement:

“Today’s numbers make it clear that Walmart’s labor practices aren’t just hurting workers like me—they’re also hurting business. Instead of listening to employees who raise concerns about working conditions and their impact on sales and the company’s reputation, Walmart has tried to suppress our fundamental right to speak out for better jobs by firing and disciplining many of us who simply want what’s best for our families and for the company.

“Now major investors are divesting from the company as a direct result of its labor practices, and Walmart’s urban expansion efforts are facing resistance from cities like Washington, DC that don’t want to bring Walmart values into their communities. Until Walmart shows a real commitment to creating good jobs that can support a family and strengthen local economies, the company will continue to face roadblocks in this key part of its business strategy.

“Similarly, while associates struggle to support their families as a result of erratic and inadequate hours, Walmart is receiving the lowest customer satisfaction scores compared to other supermarkets,thanks to the empty shelves and long checkout lines caused by understaffing. At the international level, costs related to Walmart’s violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are sky-high, and the company’s reputation with the public and with investors has been seriously damaged by its refusal to join other retailers in committing to improve safety at supplier factories in Bangladesh, where Walmart was found to have procured clothing as recently as 2012 in the factory collapse that killed over 1000 garment workers.

“If Walmart wants to reverse these trends, the company should start by listening to its associates. With $16 billion in profits every year, Walmart can easily afford to increase pay and access to full-time hours so that we can make our stores great places to shop and so that every Walmart worker can support their family—without relying on public assistance. These commonsense changes will help repair the company’s image, lift its bottom-line, and strengthen our entire economy.”

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publicly commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.

UFCW members from across the country will continue to reach out to their Representatives about passing comprehensive immigration reform.

As Congress begins their August recess, UFCW International and local unions across the country are focused on keeping the legislative push for comprehensive immigration reform alive and strong. This is a key moment in the immigration debate. UFCW local unions and members across the country have plans to do everything they can this August to ensure their members of Congress return to the Capitol building in September ready and willing to act on a comprehensive immigration reform bill that reflects UFCW values.

Earlier in the summer, UFCW members successfully lobbied their Senators to pass a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a road-map to citizenship. This summer, they intend to convince the House to do the same. While House members spend the month of August at home in their districts, they will hear from UFCW members at town-hall meetings and other events about the importance of passing an immigration bill that makes sense for workers. The UFCW is pushing to create a common sense immigration process that recognizes the hardships and contributions of people moving here, keeps families together, and creates a road-map to citizenship for new Americans who aspire to be citizens.

Washington, DC

“The national settlement reached today between OSHA and Walmart resolves the highest penalties any individual Walmart store has ever faced as a result of health and safety violations – over $350,000. The problems detailed in the settlement are issues we have been raising for years, but it’s clear that the company has consistently failed to listen to our concerns, let alone address them.

“This is just the latest indication of Walmart’s malfeasance throughout the supply chain, and these serious problems represent a major danger to workers, the environment, and the company’s future. As workers we routinely face inadequate fire safety measures, including blocked fire exits, and do not receive proper training on how to safely handle hazardous chemicals. Poorly maintained equipment, including balers and compactors, represent another hazard, made worse because these machines often lack appropriate mechanisms to ensure worker safety.

“We like our jobs and want what’s best for the company. We hope that today’s settlement sends a message to Walmart that cutting corners on safety comes at great costs, not just to employees, but also to the company.  Moreover, Walmart needs to go beyond the settlement, start listening to its workers, and investigate its stores throughout the country to see if these violations are widespread and where they find violations, fix them. These issues are about the very basic right employees have to work in safe environments.”

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publically commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.

STATEMENT FROM STACY MITCHELL ON OSHA SETTLEMENT WITH WALMART

In response to today’s settlement, Institute for Local Self Reliance senior researcher Stacy Mitchell issued the following statement:

“Walmart’s negligence in managing hazardous chemicals is yet another illustration of its disregard for the environment and the health of workers and communities. While Walmart publicizes its solar installations, behind the scenes, the company is continuing to cut corners and harm the environment throughout its operations and supply chain.”

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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.

Since that time, UFCW local unions from around the country have remained committed to helping the people of Haiti rebuild their communities. The UFCW Charity Foundation distributed more than $450,000 to bring food, water and technology to Haitian children and their families and partnered with several local foundations to provide earthquake relief.  The foundations include Reviving Haiti, which funds clean water access to Haitian families; Hope for Haiti and High Hopes for Haiti, which are working to build computer labs and libraries at St. Francois de Sales school and James Stine College; and God to Haiti, which provides hot meals for children and families.

A great deal of work remains to be done in Haiti—a country of origin for many UFCW members—and the UFCW remains committed to helping our Haitian brothers and sisters recover from this tragedy .

Currently the plant has about 800 workers. The workers and the good relationship between UFCW Local 540 members and the company directly played a part in the Paris plant being selected to have the new production line. Campbell’s Paris plant also makes Campbell’s condensed soups, Prego Italian sauces, Pace Mexican sauces and V8 juices.

In response to Walmart’s increased attempts to silence employees who spoke out at the company’s June shareholder meeting about retaliation against those who call for better jobs, this week Walmart associates and their supporters are fighting back with an unprecedented wave of actions on the ground and online. At the same time, warehouse workers in California have gone on strike to protest the extreme intimidation, spying, and retaliation they have experienced since they exposed dangerous and unsafe working conditions at a Walmart-contracted warehouse in Riverside County.

Thousands of people nationwide are taking the calls for an immediate end to the company’s suppression of workers’ basic freedom to speak out for better jobs directly to Walmart Board members online, at their homes, and at their offices.

With their calls for the creation of better jobs at Walmart resonating widely, workers assert that the company feels threatened and has doubled down on its suppression of associates. In the past few weeks alone, Walmart has illegally fired 19 workers and disciplined 40 more for taking part in the legally protected strike. The striking workers were calling on the Board for an end to Walmart’s retaliation against and attempts to silence those who speak out about issues such as the company’s labor mismanagement under CEO Mike Duke’s leadership, which has led to under-staffing and unsafe conditions in stores, warehouses, and at suppliers.

“We fear that every day we go to work could be our last,” said Heidi Baizabal, who has worked at a warehouse in California for five years. “We are followed, watched on camera, forced into individual meetings, and harassed daily. We need Walmart to see what’s happening inside its contracted warehouse. We move Walmart suitcases and we want safe, good jobs.”

“In this country, we believe that when we work hard, we should have the opportunity to get ahead.  We believe that everyone has the fundamental right to join together with coworkers to improve their job and to speak out to improve their life,” said Sarita Gupta, Executive Director of American Rights at Work/Jobs with Justice. “Our country’s largest employer should be promoting these values by creating good, steady jobs and careers. Instead, Walmart is creating a reality for American workers that is built on part-time work, few benefits and illegal retaliation for those who speak out for something better.”

This isn’t the first time Walmart has tried to bully workers. According to a white paper recently released by American Rights at Work, Walmart associates who have come together to address concerns about working conditions have increasingly faced harassment, threats, changes to their jobs, and retaliatory discipline—including termination—for speaking out.

Standing up with workers like Barbara Collins, a mother of two who was fired after protesting Walmart’s illegal treatment of workers who speak out about not getting enough hours to support their families, workers picked up the pace this week with protests occurring in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas, as well as other states, after previous protests calling on Marissa Mayer at Yahoo meetings last week. Workers plan to continue taking their message directly to Walmart Board of Directors members at their offices, homes, and public events in the coming days and weeks. Demonstrations are also taking place at stores across the country.

“I have been working hard at Walmart to support my family amidst changes to my hours and schedules, increases in the cost of healthcare, and not enough people to keep the shelves stocked,” said Barbara Collins. “We have to have a conversation about the problems with under-staffing and the jobs at Walmart, and we will not stop speaking out even as Walmart illegally threatens and even fires us. Together, we’re going to win back our jobs and make changes at this company.”

Nationally, a growing number of community and elected leaders have joined workers’ call on Walmart to immediately reinstate workers who have faced firings and discipline for striking to protest Walmart’s attempts to silence and retaliate against workers who speak out. Meanwhile, a petition directed at the company and Board members has already received more than 152,000 signatures.

Walmart keeps its associates without enough hours, without healthcare, and struggling to get by on poverty wages. As a result many employees can’t even support their families without relying on government support. As a result, a recent report found that taxpayers pay nearly $1 million to subsidize Walmart’s race-to-the-bottom business model at a single store.

In early June, Walmart workers went on strike nationwide and joined the “Ride for Respect,” a week-long, nationwide caravan to Walmart’s shareholders’ meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas, to call for an end to retaliation against workers and voice the direct impact that Walmart is having on their lives and the economy. The company has responded by cracking down on associates’ right to speak out – even firing some workers.

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UFCW and OUR Walmart have the purpose of helping Wal-Mart employees as individuals or groups in their dealings with Wal-Mart over labor rights and standards and their efforts to have Wal-Mart publically commit to adhering to labor rights and standards. UFCW and OUR Walmart have no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW or OUR Walmart as the representative of Walmart employees.

Members from UFCW Locals 21 and 367 join the Teamsters and fight for good contracts for grocery workers in the Pacific Northwest.

Thirty thousand  members of UFCW Locals 21 and 367 and International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 38 in Washington state are covered by contracts at grocers Albertsons, Safeway, Fred Meyer and Quality Food Centers and many other local independent stores that are up for bargaining this year. As the companies have proposed elimination of healthcare, cuts to pay, and denied paid sick days, UFCW and Teamsters members have responded with more solidarity than ever.

In the month of July, hundreds of members of the three union locals were joined by hundreds of community supporters at informational pickets in front of stores in more than ten communities to seek the support of customers as they try to reach a fair deal. The next week, they leafleted thousands of fans at “Union Solidarity Night” at the Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field.

“All we’re asking for is fair pay and benefits for our hard work,” said Barbara Rhodes, a UFCW Local 21 QFC deli worker and member of the bargaining team.

“That lets us focus on caring for our families and taking care of the customers that depend on us.”

By mobilizing the customers they serve every day and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their union brothers and sisters and community supporters, members of the locals are hopeful they will be able to build a better future for all grocery workers in the Pacific Northwest.

Immigrant families join unions, work hard and achieve success—with help from Union Plus awards scholarships and other benefits

For centuries, immigrants have come to America seeking opportunity. In these difficult economic times, some people would say those opportunities are fewer than before.

That may be true for non-union jobs, which offer lower pay and limited benefits. Some immigrants even report being exploited by non-union employers, sometimes with tragic results.

But for many immigrants who join unions, the American dream is still very much within reach. Recipients of Union Plus scholarships have expressed how union benefits offer their families greater security, more dignity and respect in the workplace, better wages and more protection for workers, including rules that prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin.

Recently, Union Plus announced the winners of its 2013 scholarships. Among the honorees were dozens of students who are children or grandchildren of immigrants—many of whom overcame considerable obstacles and hardship thanks to the union—and who are now excelling academically while pursuing education and careers in fields such as medicine and law.

When Phuong Duong of Fairfax, VA, came to America from Vietnam, for example, he suffered a serious workplace injury. But he would soon learn that, as a union member in United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 400, he was entitled to protection—and compensation.

UFCW backed him through his injuries, ensured he received proper care and benefits, guaranteed his job was waiting for him upon his return, and helped achieve a safer workplace for his coworkers.

Ngoc Duong, daughter of Local 400 member Phuong Dong and Union Plus scholarship winner, says her father’s decision to join a union was saved their family.

He also helped achieve opportunity for his family. Today Phuong’s daughter Ngoc, who recently received a Union Plus scholarship, has attained a business degree and is pursuing a career in management.

Her father’s decision to join the union, she says, “saved our family.”

The Duong family’s story is a familiar one, only with a modern twist. For generations immigrant families have come to America, joined unions and worked hard, while their children and grandchildren have advanced their careers through college education.

Today, however, rising education costs are making it difficult for even many union families to afford the cost of tuition. That’s one reason Union Plus, which was established by the AFL-CIO to provide important consumer benefits to union members and retirees, offers a unique scholarship program for union members and family members—a program that in just over two decades has awarded over $3.5 million in education funding.

“The union movement believes strongly in education, which for generations has helped working people to advance their own careers and improve the lives of their children,” says Leslie Tolf, president of Union Privilege, the organization that provides Union Plus benefits for union families. “These days, however, rising tuitions and expensive student loans are putting higher education out of reach for many working families. That’s why we continue our long commitment to funding college scholarships to help union families achieve their dreams.”

Electra Nassis of Dobbs Ferry, NY, whose family immigrated to the United States from Greece, is studying biomedical engineering. But she knows she wouldn’t be where she is today if it weren’t for her father Yanni’s membership in International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 3.

“As immigrants, my family had to start with nothing when we first came to the United States,” she says. “I have watched my parents work endlessly for 14 years to provide us with food, clothing and shelter. They succeeded and I will, too.” To help ensure Electra’s success, and defray the costs of higher education, Union Plus has provided her with a scholarship.

Andrew Gonzales of Winters, CA, grew up solidly middle class—an advantage he attributes to his grandparents joining unions after immigrating, and to both his parents being union members, including his father’s membership in International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 3. “I am thankful to them for the lifestyle I live,” Andrew says.

“They came to work in this country as laborers,” he adds, “and because of unions they were given the opportunity to advance the quality of their life.”

Like many of the families represented among this year’s Union Plus scholarship recipients, Andrew’s parents and grandparents felt passionately about giving back to their country and community, and it is a lesson they passed on to him. Andrew has volunteered avidly, including giving his time to Future Farmers of America; he plans to use his Union Plus scholarship to advance his studies in the field of animal science.

If you are a union member or your parents, spouse or children are members—and pursuing the American Dream through education—you should learn more about Union Plus Scholarship awards, which are granted to students attending a two-year college, four-year college, graduate school or a recognized technical or trade school. Recipients are selected based on academic ability, social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor.

Please visit UnionPlus.org/Education for applications and benefit eligibility.

In addition to the Union Plus Scholarships, the following benefits help union families afford higher education:

• National Labor College (NLC) Scholarships to help union members and leaders finish their degrees with an affordable, flexible and convenient online NLC program  (starting in September, the NLC will offer associate of arts degrees (for the first two years of college);
• Discounts of 15 to 60 percent on college and graduate school test (e.g. SAT, ACT, GMAT, LSAT, GRE, etc.) preparation courses from The Princeton Review.

Union Plus also provides a wide range of money-saving benefits and services for union families, including discounts on all-union AT&T wireless service, a credit card and mortgage with unique financial assistance, savings on travel and recreation, and more. To learn more, visit UnionPlus.org.

For many immigrant parents the American Dream has always been to get a good job, encourage their children’s achievements, and increase opportunity from one generation to the next. Education is one part of that ascendancy, and so is union membership. Today, more than ever, good union wages and benefits give families the security they need, and children the opportunity to succeed—with help from Union Plus.

RWDSU Local 338 members and community supporters protest the opening of a Walmart Neighborhood Market to protect the local economy, small businesses, and jobs.

On June 12, RWDSU Local 338 joined dozens of Long Island community and labor organizations to protest the grand opening of a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Levittown, the first of its kind in the Long Island region. Protestors claimed that another Walmart opening on Long Island would hurt the local economy and small businesses, and said that the store’s opening on the same site of a previously unionized Waldbaum’s supermarket added insult to injury.

“This store was proudly represented by RWDSU Local 338 and it saddens me that what used to be a great supermarket that took care of its workers with good wages and strong benefits, as Waldbaum’s did, is now hosting a Walmart Neighborhood Market.  The residents and workers of this community deserve better than the bottom barrel wages and unaffordable benefits that Walmart jobs bring. A Neighborhood Market sends the wrong message here on Long Island,” said John R. Durso, President, RWDSU Local 338.

Over 100 RWDSU Local 338 members, community activists, and labor allies called on Walmart to change their business and labor practices and held signs that read “Shame on you Walmart, Workers Deserve Better Wages.” Protests at the store will continue until Walmart practices change and workers are provided with fair wages and affordable benefits.

Adapted from Making Change at Walmart

Last week, Washington D.C.’s City Council voted 8-5 to approve a living wage bill despite threats by Walmart. The bill requires large retailers in the District, like Walmart, to pay their employees no less than $12.50 an hour.

While the bill enjoyed the support of a majority of the members and many district residents, Walmart threatened at the last minute to cancel the construction of three stores slated to open in the District if the bill became law. Interestingly, the company made this threat after publicly stating that it would pay District Walmart employees $13 an hour if the stores were approved to be built.

While many are shocked by Walmart’s clear hypocritical stance, groups like OUR Walmart and Making Change at Walmart have shown that Walmart is a company that likes to say one thing but do another. Walmart has a history of making promises but then reneging.

Not only are Walmart’s promises empty, but when they are held to their commitments they threaten the communities who hold them accountable. Walmart comes into communities, says one thing and does another. If they don’t get their way they threaten and bully communities the same way they bully their workers. Walmart proclaims to embody and promote American values, but when those values become inconvenient to their bottom-line they do everything in their power, including firing workers and reneging on promises, to get their way.

The DC Council sent a powerful message to not only Walmart but to companies that choose to do business in the city: you must fulfill your promise and treat DC residents with dignity and respect, while paying them a wage that allows them to care for their family. The living wage bill comes at a time when a family of four living in D.C. needs over $88K a year just to get by, according to a recent study.

With so much at stake, D.C. workers need your help to make sure the bill gets finalized. Please click here and send an email to D.C.’s Mayor Gray, asking him not to veto the bill.

In stark contrast, more than 75 corporations from 15 countries, including the United States, have signed the binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety negotiated with Bangladeshi and international unions. The Accord has rules to make real improvements in the safety of garment workers.  Workers, unions and worker rights organizations negotiated this agreement with employers and integrated worker safety efforts by governments and the International Labor Organization (ILO).  The AFL-CIO and Change to Win,  along with global unions IndustriAll and UNI and numerous organizations representing Bangladeshi workers, also endorse it. The AFL-CIO and Change to Win reject the Walmart/GAP plan as a way to avoid accountability, limit costs and silence workers and their representatives.

Rather than sign the binding Accord, Walmart and Gap are pushing a weak and worthless plan that avoids enforceable commitments. The Bipartisan Policy Center, which has clear financial and political connections to Walmart, is releasing the document, which is the product of a closed process and has been signed only by the same corporations that produced it.

The Accord departs from the broken system of voluntary corporate responsibility in supply chains that has so often failed to protect workers. It makes a clear commitment to worker safety and rights, and to transparency. It expresses values that most countries uphold.

The Accord has been endorsed by the United Nations, the ILO, the government of Bangladesh, both the parliament and commission of the European Union, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Members and leaders in both houses of the U.S. Congress have also endorsed the Accord.

In the last eight years, more than 1,800 Bangladeshi garment workers have been killed in preventable factory fires and building collapses while producing mostly for European and U.S. markets.  This tragic loss of life requires more than a wink and a nod from two of the richest corporations in the world. It means taking responsibility for the safety of workers by entering into a legitimate, binding process that will save lives.  Seventy-five brands have taken that important step.  It is time for Walmart and GAP to join them, rather than trying to undermine those efforts and maintain a system that has a long and bloody record of failure.

Statement online here: http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/Joint-Statement-by-Richard-L.-Trumka-AFL-CIO-and-Joe-Hansen-ChangetoWin-on-the-Walmart-and-GAP-Bangladesh-Safety-Alliance-Weak-and-Worthless

For the latest udates, follow @AFLCIO and @RichardTrumka on Twitter.

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A decision by the Quebec Labour Standards Commission recognized – for the first time – Target’s responsibility to Zellers workers and their communities by ruling that Target needs just cause to deny former-Zellers workers employment in the rebranded retail locations.

The spokesperson for the Labour Standards Commission, Jean-François Pelchat announced that all former Zellers employees who had applied for a job at Target, and whose application was turned down, had 45 days from the date of the denial notice to file a complaint with the Commission for dismissal without just cause.

As far as UFCW Canada is concerned, the Commission’s decision clearly recognizes the employment relationship between former Zellers employees and their new employer – Target.

“It’s an important day for Zellers employees. At last, their labour rights are being recognized and Target will have no choice but to respect them. We encourage all the men and women who suffered another setback from Target to file a complaint with the Labour Standards Commission. The more employees who file a complaint, the clearer the message will be that the company is not above the law and that it cannot use unethical ploys with impunity. Even if these workers are not union members, UFCW will support them all along the process,” says Antonio Filato, president of UFCW Canada Local 500.

To see the original announcement from UFCW Canada, click here.

Members from UFCW Local 1245 and community leaders celebrate their successful campaign to keep a Walmart from being built.

UFCW Local 1245 members in Hawthorne, N.J., joined with local community organizations to successfully stop a Walmart Neighborhood Supermarket from building in the area. About 40 members partnered with community leaders in a campaign that led to Walmart withdrawing their building application.

UFCW Local 1245 hosted a shop stewards day to educate members about the campaign and recruit volunteers to help participate.

Members then joined community groups and canvassed local neighborhoods to distribute door hangers to residents asking them to support local businesses and good jobs by keeping Walmart out of the area.

Members work at a Shop Rite and a Kings Supermarket within a short distance from where the Walmart was supposed to be built. A Walmart entering the area would significantly hurt local businesses and union jobs. As a result of the campaign and public demands, Walmart withdrew their application and does not intend to return to the Hawthorne area.

“Employer responsibility has been a cornerstone principle of the UFCW’s health care reform position for decades.  The Administration’s announcement is disconcerting as it releases employers from the financial penalty from cutting its workers’ health insurance.

“The Administration’s decision to delay employer health care requirements appears to be a significant hand-out to employers.

“However, the fact that the Administration appears open to changing the rules encourages us to continue to advocate on behalf of Taft-Hartley health care plans that provide affordable, quality insurance to tens of millions of working families.”

Omaha Steaks products are UFCW-made

All of the following hot dogs are  UFCW-made:

• Ball Park
• Boar’s Head
• Foster Farms
• Hebrew National
• Hofmann
• Oscar Mayer
• Hormel

Sausages:

• Farmland
• Koegel’s
• Gianelli (UFCW)
• Kroger brand (UFCW)

Condiments:

• French’s and Guldens Mustard (UFCW)
• Heinz Ketchup and Catsup (UFCW)
• Lucky Whip
• Hidden Valley Ranch

Buns:

• Sara Lee (UFCW)
• Oroweat
• Arnold
• Stroehmann

Soda & Bottled Water:

• Barq’s Rootbeer, Coke , and Sprite products (UFCW)
• Pepsi
• American Springs  and Poland Springs Water (UFCW)
• Pocono Northern Fall’s Water

Beer:

• Bud Light (UFCW)
• Budweiser
• Michelob
• Miller
• Milwaukee’s Best
• Rolling Rock
• Goose Island

Snacks & Desserts:

• Breyers & Good Humor Ice Cream (UFCW)
• Flips pretzels
• Frito-Lay Chips

Supplies:

• Solo cups
• Weber Q grills
• Igloo coolers

This is just a small glimpse of the union-made products that you can use at your July 4th celebration–for more ideas, visit Labor 411 and our UFCW-made Pinterest board!

WASHINGTON, D.C.

“I commend the Senate for taking a major bipartisan step toward making comprehensive immigration reform the law of the land. This bill includes many of the UFCW’s principles including a roadmap to citizenship for those already here, strong labor protections for immigrant workers, and a modernized system for allocating employment-based visas based on hard data, not politics.

“For decades, the UFCW has been a staunch advocate for fixing a flawed immigration system that punishes working men and women, tears families apart, and fails workers, families, communities and businesses alike.  We have been proud to be part of a national movement that has led the way in changing the narrative–so that at this point in time a majority of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform.

“Let me be clear. This is a compromise bill. The ‘border surge’ provision added earlier this week is bad public policy at a high price and the UFCW will do everything in its power to mitigate its impact while making clear no further concessions are acceptable. But we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Senate passage of comprehensive immigration reform with a road map to citizenship sends a clear message that America will no longer penalize aspiring citizens just for trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. It is now time for the House to finish the job.”

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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.