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The UFCW is working with employers on:

In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, the UFCW is calling on Congress and state governors to designate our members in the grocery, retail and food processing sectors as first responders and mandate that these workers have at least two weeks of paid leave.

In a letter to Local Presidents, UFCW International President Marc Perrone said:

Keeping our members healthy and safe on the job is our first priority, and paid leave is essential to achieving that goal. Our members in grocery, retail, and food processing are working tirelessly every day to keep our communities calm and ensure families have the food and supplies they need.

It is long past time for Congress and business leaders to step up to ensure every worker has access to paid leave. But partisan gridlock in Washington and inaction from business leaders has made it clear that we must continue to make our voices heard and pressure leaders at both the federal and state level to act.

Today, I am asking each of you to call on your state’s governor and members of Congress to recognize the essential work that our members are doing on the front lines of this outbreak by designating them as first responders. With this designation, we are also asking elected leaders to mandate that each of these workers be provided with at least two weeks of paid leave. This will ensure that our members can continue to serve their communities without having to choose between their health and their paycheck.

On March 15, Perrone condemned Congress for passing a coronavirus relief bill that fails to provide real relief to millions of American workers in the grocery, retail, and food processing industries.

Perrone’s statement reads as follows:

“We are in the middle of a national crisis, and America’s grocery, retail, and food processing workers are on the front lines. These workers must be protected. It is unacceptable that Congress is proposing a bill that fails to cover 80 percent of the workforce. Even worse, the bill’s paid leave protections were gutted as a result of pressure from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents giant corporations like Amazon and Walmart.

“Our country’s grocery, retail, and food processing workers are working tirelessly during this outbreak to help keep calm and ensure families get the food and supplies they need. We need these workers to stay healthy more than ever before, but this flawed legislation will force them to choose between their health and work. In the middle of a pandemic, such poor policy making is unacceptable and outrageous. Both parties must put people and public health first.

“We are urging Republicans and Democrats to work together to fix this broken bill and pass real protections, including two week paid sick leave, immediately.”

On March 11, the UFCW called on President Trump and members of Congress to develop and implement policies that address the economic impact of the new coronavirus on America’s workforce and ensure that workers – salaried and hourly – do not have to choose between their health and making ends meet during a global pandemic.

Top policy priorities the UFCW is calling on elected leaders to consider as part of any package to address the economic impact of the coronavirus include:

• At least two weeks of paid sick leave for all workers;
• Extension of unemployment benefits for workers temporarily laid off or whose work hours have been disrupted;
• Protection against unfair termination or discrimination for those suspected of being exposed to the coronavirus.

In the March 11 letter to President Trump and elected leaders, Perrone said the following:

Nearly 80 million American workers – or 59 percent of the entire U.S. workforce – are hourly employees who only get paid for the hours they work. As the financial impact of the coronavirus is felt across every community, these hard-working men and women are on the front lines.

I am urging each of our nation’s elected leaders to develop immediate policies that ensure that workers – salaried and hourly – do not have to choose between work and their health. These policies should not only protect workers against financial loss (from loss of hours or job loss), but should further ensure that workers seek out immediate medical attention if they feel sick or believe they have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Now, more than ever, it is time that we all focus on what matters most – protecting our families, our communities, and this nation.

You can read the entire letter here.

 

America’s Largest Private Sector Union Calls on White House and Congress for Immediate Action to Protect Workers and Address Economic Impact of Coronavirus 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), is calling for immediate action by our nation’s elected leaders to develop and implement policies to ensure that workers – salaried and hourly – do not have to choose between their health and making ends meet. In a letter to elected leaders UFCW President Marc Perrone said the following:

“Nearly 80 million American workers – or 59 percent of the entire U.S. workforce – are hourly employees who only get paid for the hours they work. As the financial impact of the coronavirus is felt across every community, these hard-working men and women are on the front lines.

“I am urging each of our nation’s elected leaders to develop immediate policies that ensure that workers – salaried and hourly – do not have to choose between work and their health. These policies should not only protect workers against financial loss (from loss of hours or job loss), but should further ensure that workers seek out immediate medical attention if they feel sick or believe they have been exposed to the coronavirus.

“Now, more than ever, it is time that we all focus on what matters most – protecting our families, our communities, and this nation.”

BACKGROUND:

Top policy priorities UFCW is calling on elected leaders to consider as part of any package to address the economic impact of the coronavirus include:

• At least two weeks of paid sick leave for all workers;
• Extension of unemployment benefits for workers temporarily laid off or whose work hours have been disrupted;
• Payroll tax cuts for all lower- and middle-income workers; and
• Protection against unfair termination or discrimination for those suspected of being exposed to the coronavirus.

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The UFCW is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.3 million professionals and their families in healthcare, grocery stores, meatpacking, food processing, retail shops and other industries. Our members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at www.ufcw.org.

One of the most important benefits of coming together with your colleagues to form a union is gaining the clarity and security of a union contract. Having one means knowing exactly what is expected of you at work, and what you can expect from your employer in return. A union contract is a written agreement between the employer and the employees that details the terms and benefits in a clear and legally-binding way (more on the value of contracts here).

This might not seem like a big deal at first, but consider the power of being able to propose policy changes or raise issues with a company as a whole instead of just taking them individually to a manager. You could have the best manager in the world, but it’s unlikely they have the power to change company-wide scheduling policies, or tackle vital benefits like health care. Drawing up a contract with your company as equal partners is an incredible opportunity to dramatically improve your day to day life at work—and at home.

But how does a contract get written to begin with? The negotiation process can look slightly different from company to company and industry to industry, but here’s what’s generally involved:

1.You and your coworkers decide together that you want a contract.

Contracts typically expire after 3-4 years (depending on what length of time you and the company agree on together), so many times negotiations begin when an old contract is getting ready to expire. Alternatively, you and your coworkers could have just organized your workplace and this could be your first time sitting down with the company. All of the employees covered under the same contract are called a “bargaining unit.”

2. You come together to determine what you want to discuss with your employer.

Most discussions begin by starting with what you have now then building upon it, but you are only limited by what you and your coworkers can dream up together. Items up for discussion during negotiations are anything you want to address in your workplace, including, but not limited to:

• Wages
• Healthcare
• Pensions and Retirement
• Hours and Scheduling
• Paid time off
• Premium and holiday pay
• Working conditions
• Seniority and advancement

There are many ways to give input on what should be included in the new contract, including completing surveys, attending union meetings, texting or talking with union representatives, and emailing your local union office.

3. Meeting dates, sometimes referred to as bargaining sessions, are scheduled.

Two teams are established for the scheduled bargaining sessions, one representing the union members and the other representing the company. These negotiations can often take several rounds of meetings over the course of weeks or sometimes months. On the union side, we call the group representing the interests of all their co-workers at these meetings the “bargaining committee.”

4. Both sides hear each other’s ideas.

Formal negotiations sessions begin and both the employer and the bargaining committee listen to each other’s ideas and priorities. The process always includes formal discussions with notes taken so there is a record of what was said in case there is a question or dispute later on.

5. Your union and the company will go back and forth on terms.

During this time, both sides discuss and start to form the language of the contract. The union bargaining committee may request additional relevant information from the company to substantiate any of the employer’s claims, such as the impacts of various proposed changes on profitability. If common ground can’t be found, a neutral third-party mediator may be called in.

6. When both sides think they have come to a tentative agreement, the new contract is taken to you and your colleagues for a “ratification vote.”

The bargaining unit holds a vote, either in person or via mail. You will always have a say on whether to accept the tentative agreement or not. A contract is not considered to be in effect until the membership has voted to ratify it. Meanwhile, the company’s representatives also take the agreement to their stakeholders for approval.

7. Members accept or reject the contract.

If the majority of your bargaining unit votes no and rejects the contract, the bargaining committee and the company will typically restart negotiations and continue trying to work out a solution that both sides can agree on.

Have more questions about how negotiations work for your contract?
Contact your local union representative.

The new 2020 application for the Union Plus Scholarship is now available to UFCW members and members of their families who are students. Now celebrating its 28th year, the Union Plus Scholarship Program awards scholarships based on outstanding academic achievement, personal character, financial need, and commitment to the values of organized labor. The program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation.

Union Plus Scholarship awards are granted to students attending a two-year or four-year college, graduate school, or a recognized technical or trade school. This year, over 7,100 applications were received from 65 unions and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, representing an almost 20 percent increase in applications from 2018. The 2019 Union Plus Scholarship awards were recently announced, including five members and family members of our UFCW union. This year’s UFCW winners are:

Payton Amend of Soper, Okla. Amend, whose father, David Amend, is a member of UFCW Local 540, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Guadalupe Godinez of Chicago. Godinez, whose mother, Silvia Godinez, is a member of UFCW Local 1546, has been awarded a $4,000 scholarship.

Marisol Gomez Marrufo of Muleshoe, Texas. Gomez Marrufo, whose parents, Carlos and Christina Perea, are members of UFCW Local 540, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Brittany Martinez of Granville, Ohio. Martinez, who is a member of UFCW Local 1059, has been awarded a $3,500 scholarship.

Julia Walli of Lombard, Ill. Walli, whose mother, Jennifer Walli, is a member of UFCW Local 881, has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

The deadline for the 2020 Union Plus Scholarship application is January 31, 2020. You can learn more about the Union Plus Scholarship Program here.

What defines a “good job?” Ask 100 people and you’ll likely get 100 different answers. But one thing we can all agree on is that one good job should be enough to take care of ourselves and our families, to plan for the future, and be able to live a comfortable life. And having a good job ultimately starts with a healthy workplace.

A healthy workplace is one where hardworking men and women have access to quality, affordable healthcare, a safe working environment, and the ability to take care of themselves and their families without having to look for additional work to make ends meet.

And as part of a union, your union contract is what helps ensure that one good job can be enough with benefits like fair scheduling, wage increases, and paid vacation days. A strong union contract provides you and your family with the benefits you need to stay healthy and productive, both in the workplace and at home.

For nine-year Kroger member Edith Peck, who goes by Edye, customer service is the best part of her job at store #410, but she knows that affordable health care is what enables her to provide that exceptional service:

“Our health is important. Healthy employees are happy employees. They’re better with customers. You want healthy people making your food. You don’t want people who can’t afford to see a doctor when they get sick or can’t see a dentist. No one wants that. It’s better for everybody.”

And we agree! Affordable, quality healthcare is the right thing to do for business, customers, and employees.   That’s why we are currently negotiating with Kroger for a contract that protects our members’ health care, members just like Edye.

And once we reach an agreement with the company, our members will get to vote on their contract – because with a union, you have a voice, and a vote, on the things that matter.

With a strong union contract, one good job can be enough. UFCW members will continue to stand together to protect affordable health care, fair wages, and strong benefits. Our customers, neighbors, family, and friends are also standing with us because they know that this is about protecting good jobs, so that we can provide quality products and services for our community while taking care of ourselves and our families at home.

Have you ever skipped a doctor’s appointment because you didn’t have health care coverage or had a plan with deductibles that were just too high?

One of the many benefits of being member of UFCW Local 1529 is having a union contract that protects you and your family’s well-being, including access to affordable health care.

Too many Americans are facing financial ruin when an illness strikes because they don’t have health care or have inadequate coverage with high deductibles. Our union believes that having affordable, quality health care is a right, not a privilege—and that’s why we negotiate strong contracts that provide you and your family with the benefits you need to stay healthy and productive in the workplace and at home.

Because you have a strong, union contract, you’re more likely to have health care coverage that includes better deductibles and benefit packages than most nonunion workers receive. In addition to affordable, quality health care coverage, your union contract also provides you with short term disability for all full-time employees – another benefit that millions of Americans don’t have.

Being a member of UFCW Local 1529 is truly good for your health!

You work hard and deserve a contract that provides you with the wages and benefits you’ve earned and deserve. With your help, we can continue to negotiate strong contracts and raise standards for all workers.

Thank you for being a part of our union family.