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News and Updates
March 19, 2014
Women’s History Month: UFCW Celebrates the Life of Frances Perkins
“I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain common workingmen.”
(Frances Perkins)
Frances Perkins (1880-1965) graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1902 and earned a Master’s Degree in sociology from Columbia University in 1910. After graduate school, she worked as a social worker and became involved in labor reform efforts after witnessing workers trying to escape from the cramped floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911.
Francis Perkins meets with Carnegie steelworkers
She served as the first woman Industrial Commissioner under New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt, and held other important labor-related jobs in New York state government under Governors Roosevelt and Al Smith. In 1933, President Roosevelt appointed her as his Secretary of Labor—making her the first woman to hold a U.S. Cabinet position.
As Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins championed many aspects of the New Deal, including unemployment insurance, child labor laws, and the adoption of the federal minimum wage. She was largely responsible for the creation of the Social Security system through her role on the President’s Committee on Economic Security. Following her service as Secretary of Labor, she was asked by President Truman to serve on the U.S. Civil Service Commission. She resigned from public service in 1952 shortly after the death of her husband, Paul Caldwell Wilson.
Following her government service career, she continued to be active as a teacher and lecturer until her death. The Frances Perkins Building that serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor was named in her honor in 1980.
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March 18, 2014
UFCW Local 1428 Lobbies Legislators in Sacramento
UFCW Local 1428 traveled to Sacramento today speak with legislators at the State Capitol about bills working families would like to see passed in California.
They lobbied on AB 1792 and AB 1522.
AB 1792 would require the Department of Finance to prepare an annual report highlighting which large companies in California have workers on public assistance programs like food stamps and Medi-Cal.
These programs were designed to help workers through tough times, not as a permanent subsidy to low-wage employers. This report would be used to inspire legislative action against large corporations like Walmart that are failing to pay their workers a living wage and forcing them to turn to the government for help.
AB 1522 would guarantee paid sick leave for every worker in California. This bill would ensure workers who become sick are given the time they deserve to get better.
For many Local 1428 members, this was their first time lobbying and it was eye opening.
“I was amazed to find out all the work my local does in politics,” said Peggy Macias who works at Food 4 Less. “So much of the work they do to pass laws that benefit workers in California we just take for granted. This experience made me realize why it’s so important that everyone is signed up to contribute to ABC.”
“This was my first trip to the Capitol. I have always wanted to be more involved with my union and this trip opened my eyes to what all my union does,” said Myishia Carter who works at Stater Bros. “The trip was educational, exciting, and made me feel like I was making a difference. The entire day inspired me to be more involved. I am a new union steward and can’t wait to go back to my store and tell everyone about my experience and how much I learned.”
Local 1428 members said they would continue to push their elected officials to support workers in California.
March 17, 2014
Women’s History Month: UFCW Celebrates the Life of Mother Jones
Mother Jones (image via motherjonesmuseum.org)
The month of March marks Women’s History Month and provides us with an opportunity to honor the many women who have who have fought for social and economic justice in the workplace.
Mary Harris “Mother” Jones (1837-1930) was a prominent labor activist and cofounder of the Industrial Workers of the World. As a young woman, she worked briefly as a teacher and dressmaker before marrying George Jones, an iron worker and union organizer in Tennessee. The couple had four children, but her husband and children died from the yellow fever epidemic of 1867. After the loss of her family, she moved back to Chicago to work as dressmaker, but tragedy struck again and she lost her shop in the Chicago fire in 1871.
Over the next few years, she became active in the labor movement and traveled to numerous strike sites, including rail strike of 1877 in Pittsburgh and the coal fields of Pennsylvania in 1899. It was during that period that she became known as “Mother Jones.” She was also passionate about children’s rights and led a “children’s crusade” in 1903 to protest the working conditions for children in textile mills. She helped to establish the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905; visited rebel Mexico in 1911; was arrested at the Homestead steel strike in 1919; and worked with dressmakers in Chicago in 1924.
In 1902, a district attorney in West Virginia called Mother Jones “the most dangerous woman in America” for her success in organizing mine workers. Although she has been dead for over 80 years, her name is synonymous with the labor movement. The magazine, Mother Jones, is named for her.
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March 13, 2014
President Obama, flanked by UFCW Member, Pushes to Expand Overtime Pay
President Obama today ordered the Department of Labor to expand federal rules so that more salaried workers would be able to qualify for overtime pay. Currently, any salaried employee making more than $455 per week is not required to be given overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week.
The current $455 per week salary threshold has failed to keep pace with inflation. It was $250 in 1975, equivalent to roughly $1,000 today.
This expansion will give millions more workers across the nation the chance to earn extra pay when they do extra work.
UFCW Local 400 member Rob Trotter, a meat cutter at Giant in Annandale, stood next to President Obama as he signed the memorandum.
“I have worked in retail for over twenty years for an hourly wage,” he said. “I have depended upon overtime to pay school tuition for my children, upgrade a family vacation, or to get out from under a financial hardship. The opportunity to earn overtime has always been helpful and comforting to me.”
It is not yet clear by how much the salary threshold will increase. The President’s order instructs the Department of Labor to come up with an expansion plan following a period of input and study. With the stagnation of wages and the increase in corporate profits, actions like this give workers a better chance to provide for their families.
“There have been years when twenty percent of my income was comprised of overtime,” Trotter said. “Going above and beyond expectations at work takes a toll physically because you’re working harder and emotionally because you’re away from your family for a longer period of time. Every employer should fairly recognize and reward this sacrifice.”
March 11, 2014
UFCW Celebrates Women’s History Month
The month of March marks Women’s History Month and provides us with an opportunity to honor the many women who have who have fought for social and economic justice in the workplace.
From Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, the “grandmother of all agitators,” to Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve in the U.S. Cabinet as Secretary of Labor, to Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, to Addie Wyatt, the first African-American woman elected international vice president of a major labor union, to the brave women of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), women in the labor movement have defied convention and taken the lead in fighting for workers’ rights.
Throughout out the month of March, the UFCW will the highlight the lives of these remarkable women who fought for fair wages, dignity in the workplace and the freedom to organize in spite of considerable barriers, and honor their significant contributions to the labor movement.
March 6, 2014
UFCW President Hansen Statement on Safeway’s Announced Sale to Cerberus
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following in response to Safeway’s announced sale to Cerberus Capital Management:
“Safeway announced today that it has reached an agreement to be purchased by Cerberus Capital Management which currently operates supermarkets across the country under the Albertson’s, Acme, Jewel-Osco and Shaw’s banners, among other stores.
“The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents tens of thousands of workers within these two companies. Through ups and downs, the UFCW has maintained good relationships with both Safeway and Cerberus.”
“The UFCW will work closely with Safeway and Cerberus through the acquisition process and beyond so that these major supermarket companies can maintain strong market share and that our members can continue to serve customers and their communities.”
March 6, 2014
Local 1208 Hosts “Poultry Worker Appreciation Day”
Local 1208, which is largely made up of Smithfield Foods workers in Tar Heel, North Carolina, recently hosted a rally as part of a “Poultry Worker Appreciation Day“. The event was created to bring awareness to the need for improved working conditions and living wages for the workers at the Mountaire Farms plant, which processes chicken.
About 65 Local 1208 members served baked beans and chicken to the plant workers, staying from 4 a.m. on Wednesday until around 2:30 a.m. the following morning, to make sure they were present for all of the workers’ shift changes. The UFCW members, wearing their UFCW gold, held signs to support the plant workers, demanding equal rights, and calling for more reasonable work-weeks.
Local 1208 Secretary-treasurer Terry Slaughter, who was present at the rally, said that “the workers are the ones that put chicken on our tables and get the poultry orders out. It is hard to feed your family on $9 an hour. These employees need more money and more respect for the job that they do.”
Standing in solidarity with the plant workers, the UFCW is supporting these workers, who have begun trying to organize and join a union. In fact, more than 400 of Mountaire’s 2,000 workers have signed union cards, indicating such interest.
“We’re trying to get management to show more appreciation for their employees … all the things that a job is supposed to show employees,” Slaughter said.
Yesterday, attorneys with Local 1208 filed charges of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board in Winston-Salem, N.C. The union is asking for an immediate injunction to stop severe and widespread violations of federal labor law.
“We are tired of the treatment and low pay we endure daily at Mountaire,” said Jasmine Isom, who has worked there for three years. “We work hard full time jobs and $10.00 an hour is not enough to raise our families on.”
The charges, which you can learn more about on Local 1208’s facebook page, say that Mountaire Farms has been disciplining employees for their union activity, threatening to have employees arrested, engaging in surveillance and coercion, interrogating employees, threatening termination and change in personal working conditions if employees support the union – all in violation of workers’ legal rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
“The Mountaire workers are standing up to this company and saying we will not be abused and disrespected any longer. We stand proudly with these workers,” said Keith Ludlum, President of Local 1208. “Anytime Mountaire violates the rights of workers we will hold them accountable.”
March 6, 2014
UFCW States Council, Locals and Members Meet California Lawmakers on Lobby Day
Special Guest Post From http://www.ufcwwest.org/
UFCW members and locals were out in force yesterday at the state Capitol in Sacramento wearing UFCW blue and gold and handing out reusable plastic bags to show California legislators that we will be paying attention to issues that affect working families this year.
The States Council, along with members and leaders from locals 135, 1167, 1442, 324, 1428, 648, 770, 5 and 8 met at the offices of the California Labor Federation at 9:15am for a quick rallying point before making our way to Speaker Perez’s caucus room for an address and update by legislators’ staff on issues that union members care about. UFCW then filtered out to the halls of the Capitol for meetings with key district legislators and their staff on two important bills that UFCW will be pushing for this year: SB270 and AB1792.
SB270, which would ban single-use plastic bags in grocery stores and pharmacies across California, is a bill co-authored by Senator Kevin de León and Senator Alex Padilla and supported by UFCW in partnership with the California Grocers Association. The bill creates a statewide standard for banning plastic bags, rather than the patchwork of existing local ordinances, and will reduce costs, protect jobs and help cleanup the environment. As UFCW met with lawmakers on this important bill, members and leaders passed out reusable plastic bags with our UFCW brand and CGA’s logo, and there were many sightings of the bag across the Capitol as the day went on.
UFCW also put out the word about AB 1792, the Public Benefit Disclosure Bill authored by Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez. AB1792 is a bill that would be a step in the right direction for the State, capturing data about the number of workers receiving public assistance in both the private and public sectors in order to create accountability. The Council believes that some very large employers — Walmart being the biggest — are taking advantage of a loophole in the President’s Federal Health Insurance Program that encourages bad players to reduce workers’ weekly hours, pay low wages and deliberately push their workers unto the state’s Medi-Cal program for health insurance. UFCW members and leaders asked their legislators what they would be doing to ensure that these companies pay their fair share and protect individual taxpayers from increased taxes, and our hope is that lawmakers will feel accountable to this question in the months to come.
The day was a big success for the union, and we feel that by coming out early and often on these issues, we can push lawmakers to support our priority bills and future UFCW-sponsored legislation. Stay tuned for an announcement of the next States Council lobby day in March, and for updates on these bills and upcoming political fights coming soon.
March 4, 2014
UFCW Local 555 Member Shares Her Story, Makes a Difference for Grocery Workers
Last month, during UFCW Local 555’s Oregon Lobby Day, shop steward Sarah DeMerritt testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of legislation that would ease penalties for those who unknowingly or inadvertently sell alcohol to a minor for the first time.
UFCW Local 555 shop steward Sarah DeMerritt (center) testified before the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would ease the penalties for those who unknowingly or inadvertently sell alcohol to a minor for the first time.
In June of 2013, while working as a checker at Safeway in Lake Oswego, Oregon, she sold a six-pack of beer to someone she believed was of legal drinking age. But instead the customer was part of an Oregon Liquor Control Commission sting. A police officer interviewed and cited DeMerritt in her check stand as customers looked on.
“It was very humiliating,” she said. Despite having more than 12 years on the job and no previous offenses, DeMerritt was fired and charged with a Class A Misdemeanor. “Why would I risk my health benefits, my job, my seniority, my life?” she told the committee. “I thought the customer looked old enough to purchase alcohol and was a familiar neighbor that I had carded and sold to in the past.”
DeMerritt stressed that she takes her responsibility to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors very seriously and had passed all previous stings. Senate Bill 1546 would make penalties for first time offenders more proportional.
The Oregon House passed this legislation, joining the Senate in giving it overwhelming support. Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber said he will sign it into law.
“I do not want other employees to have this experience,” DeMerritt said. “I do not want them to have to fight so hard.” By having the courage to share her story, DeMerritt is helping make the system fairer for all grocery workers in Oregon.