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
October 15, 2013 at 2:16 pm Local 770 dispensary workers at two medical cannabis dispensaries are celebrating the ratification of their first union contract. Workers at Greenhouse Herbal Center and LA Wonderland-Hot Zone in Los Angeles have negotiated contracts that will raise standards at their dispensaries while ensuring that the dispensaries adhere to labor laws and industry standards. Workers view this […] October 10, 2013 at 3:54 pm Houston, Texas – Over 250 Maximus Coffee Group workers in Houston, a majority of who are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 455, went on strike this morning to protest the company’s plan to reduce wages from 25 to 50 percent per hour, reduce retirement benefits, increase insurance premiums, […] October 9, 2013 at 12:54 pm 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 […] October 8, 2013 at 8:04 pm Because union members tend to be educated about workplace safety, union workplaces are the safest workplaces! Now, The UFCW Occupational Safety and Health Office will be educating even more union members about staying safe at work with a new program that uses video technology to deliver safety trainings. UFCW locals that are interested are welcome […] October 7, 2013 at 6:43 pm Zeynep Ton, an adjunct associate professor at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management, recently spoke at a TEDx event in Cambridge, Mass., and delivered a provocative analysis of the economic advantages retailers can achieve by investing in their workforce. Drawing on a decade of research, Ton maintains that retailers such as Costco that invest in […] October 7, 2013 at 4:46 pm Reposted from The Walmart 1% As the government shutdown drags on, many pundits have drawn attention to how gerrymandering has helped give the American people a handful of right-wing Republicans willing to shut down the government as part of their ideological crusade against Obamacare. What has not been widely understood is how Walmart, the nation’s […] October 4, 2013 at 1:21 pm Over the last year, Walmart workers and members of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) have called on the retail giant to stop its practice of retaliating against workers who are simply exercising their right to speak out for a better life and improved working conditions. Their calls for change have been […] October 2, 2013 at 7:53 pm 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 […] October 1, 2013 at 6:02 pm Joe Hansen, International President of the UFCW has written an op-ed for the Huffington Post. In it, he poses a very important question to House Republicans and Speaker Boehner: are they going to continue to criminalize undocumented immigrants, causing families to be torn apart and workers to be taken advantage of, or are they going […] September 27, 2013 at 4:25 pm Earlier this month, with support from UFCW locals across the Golden State, California’s legislature voted to increase the state’s minimum wage to $10 per hour. 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 […] September 27, 2013 at 4:04 pm In response to last year’s Black Friday actions, Walmart filed a lawsuit in Washington state court against OUR Walmart and its supporters alleging trespass and requesting a court order to prohibit future OUR Walmart actions inside and outside of Walmart stores. OUR Walmart fought the lawsuit and successfully persuaded the Washington judge to dismiss it […] September 26, 2013 at 7:01 pm 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 […] September 26, 2013 at 4:44 pm Will you be in the DC area on October 3rd? Then you should definitely take the opportunity to stop by the AFL-CIO headquarters for a great book-club event! The featured book and discussion with the author will be about Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense About the Economy, by Anat Shenker-Osorio. In her […] September 19, 2013 at 7:40 pm New data released this week underscore the fact that smaller numbers of unionized workers mean less bargaining power, a weakened middle class and lower wages for everyone. 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 […] September 19, 2013 at 12:40 pm Last week, Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray vetoed the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) which would have required big box retailers to pay a $12.50 per hour minimum wage. 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 […] September 18, 2013 at 4:31 pm UFCW International Vice President and Director of the Civil Rights and Community Action Department Esther Lopez was arrested last Thursday as part of a historic action to call attention to the need for comprehensive immigration reform. The protestors, which included over 100 women—half of them non-citizens—blockaded an intersection outside the House of Representatives. The goal […] September 17, 2013 at 1:52 pm A passionate argument on behalf of the middle class, INEQUALITY FOR ALL features Robert Reich – professor, best-selling author, and Clinton cabinet member – as he demonstrates how the widening income gap has a devastating impact on the American economy. The film is an intimate portrait of a man whose lifelong goal remains protecting those […] September 12, 2013 at 3:04 pm Washington, DC — Today, members of Respect DC, a coalition of grassroots-based organizations, pastors, workers, and community members concerned about the quality of life in the nation’s capital, released the following statement in response to Mayor Vincent Gray’s veto of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA). Gray’s veto comes just two days after the Fair […] September 11, 2013 at 1:03 pm Workers at Cosmo’s Food Products, Inc., in West Haven, Conn., are celebrating the signing of their first union contract. This victory comes seven months after the workers at Cosmo’s voted to join UFCW Local 371. “I’m proud of the union contract that we negotiated,” said Araceli Flores, Cosmo’s Food worker. “This contract will mean more […] September 9, 2013 at 4:51 pm 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 […]Dispensary Workers Sign First Contract
Maximus Coffee Workers Strike in Houston to Protest Company’s Plan to Slash Benefits
UFCW Activists Arrested at Massive Immigration March
UFCW Occupational Safety & Health Office Rolling Out New Safety Trainings
M.I.T. Professor Advocates for Better Jobs for Retail Workers
How Walmart Helped Lay the Groundwork for the Government Shutdown
As the Holidays Approach, OUR Walmart Members Prepare for Black Friday Actions
Grocery workers at UFCW Locals 21 and 367 Send Strong Message to Companies with Strike Vote
President Hansen in HuffPo Op-Ed: “We Demand Reform that Protects the Rights of Immigrants”
UFCW Locals Help Push California’s Minimum Wage to Highest in the Nation
OUR Walmart Celebrates Legal Victory and Prepares for Actions Leading Up to Black Friday
Hundreds of CVS Workers in California Join UFCW Local 770
Talking About the Economy: How We Can Drive Change
New Data Link Decline of Middle Class to the Decline in Union Membership
OUR Walmart Members and Community Allies Support Living Wage Bill
UFCW Members Continue to Push Congress for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Robert Reich’s “Inequality For All” Opens Sept. 27
Statement from Respect DC on Mayor Vincent Gray’s Veto of Large Retailer Accountability Act
UFCW Local 371 Cosmo’s Workers To Sign First Contract
UFCW Members Welcomed and New Affiliation Celebrated at AFL-CIO 2013 Convention