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News and Updates
May 29, 2018
Local 7 Safeway Pharmacy Technicians in Wyoming Bargain for a Better Life
Members of UFCW Local 7 who work as Safeway pharmacy technicians in Douglas, Wyoming, ratified their first union contract on April 16.
The new contract includes better wages and health care. The three Safeway pharmacy technicians joined UFCW Local 7 last August because they wanted to join the rest of their coworkers for a voice in the workplace. The Safeway store in Douglas is now wall-to-wall union.
May 29, 2018
Court Rulings Restore DACA Program Renewals
Federal court rulings recently halted the Trump administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The court orders require U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume accepting DACA renewal applications. These orders apply nationwide to any individual previously awarded DACA. Individuals never awarded DACA are not eligible to apply.
Here is basic information about the DACA renewal application process:
Who is eligible to apply for DACA renewal?
Any individual who was previously granted DACA may apply, including individuals whose DACA has expired; current DACA recipients whose DACA is about to expire; and individuals whose DACA was terminated.
Renewal process for DACA recipients whose DACA expired on or after September 5, 2016 or will expire:
A previous recipient whose DACA status expired on or after September 5, 2016, or whose status is expected to expire, may file a renewal request.
The renewal should be filed with USCIS on Form I-821D, Form I-765 (work authorization application), and Form I-765WS (worksheet).
Renewal process for DACA recipients whose DACA expired before September 5, 2016:
An individual previously granted DACA whose eligibility expired before September 5, 2016, must file a new initial DACA request.
The request should be filed with USCIS on Form I-821D, Form I-765 (work authorization application), and Form I-765WS (worksheet).
Renewal process for DACA recipients whose eligibility was terminated:
An individual whose most recent DACA grant was terminated may file a new initial application with USCIS on Form I-821D, Form I-765 (work authorization application), and Form I-765WS (worksheet).
Information applicable to all filers:
A filing fee will be charged or the filer may apply to waive the fee.
All applications should list the date DACA expired or was terminated.
There will be no advance parole granted during this period.
The same program requirements in effect prior to the program’s termination will apply to renewals.
DACA recipients must have resided continuously in the U.S. from the time of their initial DACA request to the present.
DACA recipients must not have departed the U.S. on or after August 15, 2012, except on advance parole.
If a recipient has had any interaction with law enforcement since the last DACA approval, it is advisable to consult with an attorney.
DACA recipients may contact UFCW Legal Department at (202) 223-3111 with questions.
May 21, 2018
More Locals Honor Third Shift Workers
This year, the UFCW’s tribute to members who work the graveyard shift on National Third Shift Workers Day was a success, and photos of UFCW locals thanking third shift workers in creative ways for their hard work and sacrifice continue to pour in.
UFCW Local 2 gave out over 13,000 donuts last week to third shift workers, and UFCW Local 770 gave out “Night Shift Strong” cups to members who keep stores and facilities running through the night.
Here are a few images from UFCW Locals 2 and 770:
May 21, 2018
Local 653 Highlights the Need for Living Wages, Affordable Housing in Minnesota
In April, members of UFCW Local 653, in partnership with the Northwest Suburbs Community and Labor Coalition, took part in a community canvassing event in Hennepin County, Minnesota, to talk about the need for living wages and affordable housing. Hennepin County is the most populous county in the state of Minnesota, and includes the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul and Bloomington. Other labor, community, and faith based groups also participated in the event.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Living Wage Calculator, a living wage for a family of two adults and two children in Hennepin County is $69,759 per year before taxes. However, many working families in the area earn less than the MIT living wage threshold, and are struggling with the rising cost of housing.
“People working 40 hours a week should be able to afford a decent place to live and food to feed their families without working multiple jobs. I believe livable wages and affordable housing should be basic rights,” said Alex Kunau, a member of UFCW Local 653 who works as a deli manager at Silver Lake Road Cub Foods.
May 21, 2018
UFCW Calls on Amazon to Stop Job-Killing Store Expansion
On May 15, UFCW International President Marc Perrone responded to news that Amazon Go stores, which replace cashiers with technology, would be opening in Chicago and San Francisco. According to Bloomberg, the Amazon Go store concept saves customers just 50 seconds and employs up to three fewer people compared with the average U.S. convenience store.
Perrone’s statement reads as follows:
“This isn’t about technology or convenience, this is about Amazon’s and Jeff Bezos’ greed.
“Amazon’s unchecked expansion of this job-killing store concept should be of great concern to everyone who lives and works in America.
“It is time for elected leaders to stop being fooled by Amazon’s HQ2 search and see this company for what it really is – a monopoly that threatens millions of American jobs and hard-working families.”
May 21, 2018
UFCW Responds to Bipartisan Defeat of Farm Bill
UFCW International President Marc Perrone released a statement on May 18 regarding the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2), also known as the Farm Bill, failing to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Perrone’s statement reads as follows:
“This Farm Bill was flawed and deserved to be defeated.
“The most common jobs in our country are retail jobs where work schedules are uncertain and vary widely from week to week. If this bill had become law, someone who works hard could have lost access to food simply because their employer cut their hours.
“We urge members of Congress to go back to the drawing board, and work together to craft a Farm Bill that doesn’t punish hard-working families, protects jobs, and actually makes life better in the communities we call home.”
May 21, 2018
Local 7 Adds More Members to Our Union Family
Grocery and convenience store workers in Colorado recently joined UFCW Local 7 for a voice in the workplace and a pathway to a better life.
On May 11, 13 King Soopers deli workers in Broomfield, Colorado, voted to join UFCW Local 7 by an overwhelming margin. King Soopers is a supermarket brand of Kroger. The workers organized for better wages and health insurance, as well as credit for prior retail experience. Despite the company’s delays and tactics since October 2017, including trying to block the election less than 40 hours before voting began, these workers held strong.
On April 22, 80 workers at six former Loaf ‘N Jug convenience stores in Denver, which are now under the King Soopers banner, joined UFCW Local 7. Kroger recently sold their convenience stores to the England-based EG Group, including the Loaf ‘N Jug brand. However, Kroger kept and rebranded the Denver area Loaf ‘N Jug stores to King Soopers convenience stores. By joining UFCW Local 7 as King Soopers workers, the workers gained pay increases, union health care and a union pension.
May 14, 2018
UFCW Helps to Stamp Out Hunger in Communities Across the Country
On May 12, the UFCW once again partnered with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) to sponsor the 26th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive—the largest single-day food drive in the world—and helped collect millions of pounds of non-perishable food made by union members for local food banks. The UFCW has served as a national sponsor of the NALC’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive for the past three years. In that time, the food drive has collected more than 150 million pounds of food.
Nationally, an estimated 42 million Americans, or one in six, struggle with food insecurity, which is defined as not knowing where the next meal is coming from. Over 13 million children are living in a food insecure household, and 5.4 million seniors currently face hunger in our country. The consequences of food insecurity are profound, and contribute to developmental problems for children, and depression among adults, especially seniors.
This food drive has been a way for our union family to address food insecurity in our country and show our friends, neighbors and community members that we care and they are not alone.
Here are a few images from this year’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive:
May 14, 2018
Paying Tribute to Third Shift Workers
On May 9—National Third Shift Workers Day—UFCW locals visited members who work the graveyard shift in stores and facilities across the country to thank them for their hard work and sacrifice.
Third shift work can make life unusual and sometimes difficult. According to multiple studies, the risk of workplace injuries, obesity and depression are all increased if a person works overnight. While there is no federal law requiring third shift workers to be provided with any extra pay or benefits, the UFCW is proud to negotiate premium pay for third shift workers to help provide them with the better life they’ve earned and deserve.
“Thank you for recognizing us,” said Beverly Martin, a UFCW Local 8-Golden State member who works at Save Mart in California. “I work the third shift and have for six years now. We get looked over for a lot of things.”
Here are a few images from National Third Shift Workers Day:
May 14, 2018
UFCW and Allies Launch Poor People’s Campaign
On May 14, members of the UFCW helped launch the “The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival,” which took place in over 30 states and Washington, D.C. The campaign has scheduled similar events between May 13 and June 23 as part of its “40 Days of Moral Action” for the purpose of challenging systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation, and the nation’s distorted morality.
“The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival,” was founded by Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Rev. Liz Theoharis, the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary, and hundreds of local and national grassroots groups. The campaign builds on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, who organized the campaign in 1968 to demand economic and human rights for poor Americans of all backgrounds, and is uniting tens of thousands of people across the country.
For more information about the Poor People’s Campaign, contact the UFCW’s Civil Rights and Community Action Department at (202) 223-3111.
