Sticking Together
When we stand together, as workers in the retail grocery industry, we can fight for better wages and benefits and improve jobs not just for union workers, but throughout our whole industry.
UFCW members know all too well that non-union retail and grocery stores -like Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods- are often in direct competition with grocery and department stores where UFCW members work. As anti-worker chains like Walmart continue to grow and to bring down industry standards, UFCW members will have to fight harder and harder at the bargaining table to maintain good wages and benefits.
Company Profiles
Some of the major retail food companies where UFCW members work are:
- Loblaw Companies
- Wakefern Food Corporation
- The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
- Giant Eagle
- Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc.
- Pathmark Stores, Inc.
- Stater Bros. Holdings Inc.
- Raley’s Inc.
- Save Mart Supermarkets
- Schnuck Markets, Inc.
- Dierbergs Markets Inc.
- Lund Food Holdings, Inc.
- Overwaitea Food Group
Recent News
May 24, 2013 at 2:43 pm It’s Memorial Day Weekend! Which means that you have another opportunity to buy union-made products to celebrate at your BBQ, weekend getaway, or maybe even the first day at your neighborhood pool! Thanks to the AFL-CIO and Labor 411, you can refer to this grocery shopping list that makes buying union-made products a breeze. Labor [...] May 23, 2013 at 3:10 pm Interested in labor education classes? Want to learn how to be a stronger leader in your union? The National Labor College offers courses that will enrich your educational experience with the skills you need to be an active member of your union. New AA degree offered - NLC was recently approved to offer an [...] May 23, 2013 at 1:41 pm Last week, the UFCW submitted comments about a recent EPA action against 23 Tyson plants that use hazardous chemicals. The EPA recently fined Tyson close to $4 million and required the company to take extra steps to improve their ammonia refrigeration safety programs. While the EPA’s action is a step in the right direction, the [...] May 22, 2013 at 6:12 pm Recently, workers at John Morrell meatpacking plants from UFCW Local 304-A in Sioux Falls, S.D., and UFCW Local 1546 in St. Charles, Ill., voted to ratify new contracts. Local unions and members worked together and stayed in close contact during the negotiating process to raise the bar for workers at both local unions, ensuring workers [...] May 22, 2013 at 12:53 pm A tragedy has directly affected UFCW Local 1000 in Moore, Oklahoma. At least seven of our union brothers and sisters lost their homes and all of their possessions in the terrible tornado. There is no comparison to the devastation that this community is suffering from as they search through the destruction for their loved ones [...] May 17, 2013 at 12:45 pm Many people would be surprised to know that garment making is quite possibly the most dangerous job “outside of war zones,” as Washington Post writer Harold Meyerson puts it in a recent article about the dangerous cycle that is the garment industry. The death toll from last month’s building collapse in Rana Plaza, a garment [...] May 16, 2013 at 12:56 pm Last week, UFCW Local 455 Kroger clerks and meat cutters ratified a new three-year contract that improves healthcare benefits, increases wages, and preserves pensions. The new contract covers more than 13,000 Kroger clerk and meat workers, including part-time workers, in the Houston area. “The wage improvements are great,” said Kroger associate Lenda Cadoree. “These hard [...] May 13, 2013 at 9:28 pm Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement issued by United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) President Joseph Hansen regarding the decision of H&M and other retailers to sign a legally binding agreement to improve workplace safety in Bangladesh: “The UFCW applauds H&M and other retailers for accepting binding building safety standards at [...] May 13, 2013 at 7:26 pm Washington, DC- Today, the Making Change at Walmart campaign and its coalition partners announced the launch of a new website www.ReallyWalmart.org. The website, which showcases a number of video interviews of Walmart employees, community activists, environmentalists and others sharing their experiences with and concerns about Walmart, comes on the heels of Walmart launching a new multimillion-dollar [...] May 13, 2013 at 5:31 pm H&M has accepted binding building safety standards at Bangladeshi garment factories following the recent fire and building collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh. By signing the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, H&M is taking the high road and putting people before profits at their supplier factories. Thousands of [...] May 9, 2013 at 2:06 pm WASHINGTON, D.C. — The UFCW yesterday released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1406, the inappropriately named Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 which would take money out of the pockets of America’s hourly workers. “Anytime House Republicans talk about flexibility, working families should reach for their wallets. H.R. 1406 is [...] May 8, 2013 at 2:43 pm On April 26, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overturned the results of a union election based on Target’s worker rights violations at their store in Valley Stream, N.Y. during the campaign last year. Additionally, the NLRB found that the company systematically violated the rights of workers nationwide by maintaining illegal work rules designed to [...] May 8, 2013 at 12:25 pm WASHINGTON, DC –The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union and the Food Manufacturers Immigration Coalition (FMIC) yesterday announced their partnership on comprehensive immigration reform in a letter sent to the Senate “Gang of Eight,” praising them for their efforts on S. 744. The labor-business coalition is also seeking improvements to the Senate bill in [...] May 6, 2013 at 5:25 pm Mother’s Day is when we give back to the women who gave us life. Why not also make it a day to give back to and support union workers who help keep our country going? It’s easy to pamper mom with union-made gifts, or make her a home-cooked, union-ingredient meal! With help from resources like [...] May 2, 2013 at 7:30 pm Los Angeles, Calif. – The National Retail Justice Alliance, in partnership with the UFCW, hosted a hearing today in Los Angeles with Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-Calif.) to highlight the social and economic plight of part-time workers in retail and other service industries. The hearing also underscored the need for the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights [...] May 2, 2013 at 6:45 pm WASHINGTON – On April 26, 2013, the National Labor Relations Board overturned the results of a union election based on Target’s worker rights violations at their store in Valley Stream, New York during the campaign last year. Additionally, the Board found that the company systematically violated the rights of workers nationwide by maintaining illegal work [...] May 1, 2013 at 6:08 pm The Retail Justice Alliance stands with our sisters and brothers in Bangladesh who were told to report to work in a building that had severe structural cracks and lost their lives. As the death toll continues to rise in Bangladesh after the collapse of a building that housed garment factory workers, it’s clear that cheap [...] May 1, 2013 at 3:43 pm Washington, D.C. – The following is a statement issued by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union: “As the death toll continues to rise in Bangladesh after the collapse of a building that housed garment factory workers, it’s clear that cheap apparel comes at too great a human cost. UFCW members in the U.S. [...] May 1, 2013 at 3:37 pm Last week, nearly 100 UFCW members and staff from UFCW Locals 1, 342, 464A, 888, 1262, and 1500 traveled to the New York State Capitol in Albany to lobby their elected officials about important issues facing working men and women. The delegation lobbied New York State Assembly Members and Senators in support of offering college [...] May 1, 2013 at 3:32 pm UFCW Local 1776 members who work in 16 Greater Philadelphia area ShopRite supermarkets have ratified new two-year labor contracts. The agreements provide for wage increases and maintain healthcare, other benefits, and pensions. The contracts cover 2,300 ShopRite workers. Members have worked for nearly a year under an extension of their previous contract that expired last [...]Have a Union-Made Memorial Day Weekend!
National Labor College Updates
UFCW Submits Comments to EPA Against Tyson and Dangers of Hazardous Chemicals to Workers
John Morrell Locals in South Dakota and Illinois Coordinate Bargaining, Ratify New Contracts
Please Support the UFCW Local 1000 Oklahoma Disaster Relief Fund
Time to Take Responsibility
UFCW Local 455 Kroger Members Ratify New Three-Year Contract
President Hansen on Decision of H&M and Others to Improve Workplace Safety in Bangladesh
Walmart Associates, Community Supporters Launch New Website www.ReallyWalmart.org
H&M Takes Responsibility for Workplace Safety in Bangladesh
UFCW Statement on House Bill Attacking Hourly Workers
Target Violated Federal Labor Law, Workers’ Rights According to NLRB Decision
UFCW, Food Manufacturers Form Alliance on Senate Immigration Bill
Make Mom Proud by Giving her a Union-Made Mother’s Day
National Retail Justice Alliance Highlights Struggles of Part-Time Workers in Hearing with Congresswoman Judy Chu
Target Violated Federal Labor Law, Workers’ Rights According to Sweeping Labor Board Decision
Retail Justice Alliance Stands with Bangladesh Factory Wokers This May Day
Statement by the United Food and Commerical Workers Union Regarding the Tragedy in Bangladesh
UFCW Members Lobby New York Legislators About Middle Class Concerns
UFCW Local 1776 ShopRite Workers Ratify New Contracts