Local 5, Berkeley Bowl Announce Win-Win Agreement

May 21, 2009

UFCW Local 5 and Berkeley Bowl recently announced the company’s agreement to use card check recognition, a process that recognizes union representation when a majority of workers sign union cards. Berkeley Bowl is an independent supermarket in Berkeley, Calif., that specializes in fresh produce and organic and natural foods.

According to the agreement, Berkeley Bowl and the UFCW agree to remain neutral throughout the 90-day process, and agree to federal mediation if disputes arise.

“The workers at Berkeley Bowl view this achievement as groundbreaking,” said Local 5 President Ron Lind. “The ability to come to an agreement with the company on such an important issue and avoid the acrimony built up during the last organizing drive is a huge victory for the workers, the community, and indeed, management.”

Grocery workers and Local 5 have been battling with the company since 2003, but the store’s general manager agreed to a new approach that will benefit everyone, saying at a city council meeting this week, “we feel that resolving the issue of representation with a process that is fair to all parties involved is the right thing to do.”

The agreement is a breath of fresh air in the wake of a new study by noted Cornell University labor scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner that says corporations have ramped up a wide-range of tactics designed to punish and intimidate workers for seeking to form a union.  The study of 1,004 randomly selected union organizing drives found that employers threatened to close plants in almost 60 percent of the campaigns and threatened to cut wages and benefits in nearly 50 percent.

The study also found that employers fired pro-union workers in 34 percent of the campaigns. And it asserted that management’s antiunion tactics had helped pushed down the unionization rate to 12.4 percent, from 22 percent three decades ago.

The Local 5 and Berkeley Bowl agreement is an example of what responsible employers can do for their community and workers, while remaining successful. Unfortunately, as Bronfenbrenner’s study points out, there are not many responsible employers that believe in the win-win model. While Berkeley Bowl has stepped up to the plate to serve its local community, the need for the Employee Free Choice Act exists to make sure all workers have the free choice and fair chance to join a union.