Posts tagged UFCW
Union Reactions to Biden’s Exit
July 23, 2024 // Notably, many unions released statements in response to President Biden’s announcement without officially endorsing Vice President Harris.
A measure to help Oregon cannabis workers unionize is headed to November ballot, labor group says
July 11, 2024 // When a bill to enact a very similar law failed in the 2023 legislative session, UFCW announced it would attempt to recall state Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene. Union leaders accused Holvey, who chaired an influential committee, of tanking the bill’s chance of passing. Holvey, often seen as a staunch supporter of unions, has said he was concerned the idea would violate federal labor law, and that he offered UFCW opportunities to make changes. The union spent more than $300,000 on a recall campaign that was defeated overwhelmingly by voters in Holvey’s Eugene district last October. Holvey has since announced he will retire when his term expires in early 2025. In the meantime, UFCW was taking steps to put its idea directly before voters. According to campaign finance records, the union has spent more than $2 million on a statewide signature gathering campaign.
REI Opens New Store in Ithaca Amid Union Busting Allegations
July 2, 2024 // The rally will feature speeches from New York State Senator Lea Webb, Assembly Member Anna Kelles, Ithaca Common Council Members Kayla Matos and Phoebe Brown, and unionized REI workers. The event aims to draw attention to the difficulties REI workers have faced in negotiating their first contracts. Since 2022, ten REI stores have voted to unionize, including locations in SoHo, New York; Berkeley, California; Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Durham, North Carolina; Maple Grove, Minnesota; Bellingham, Washington; Castleton, Indiana; and Santa Cruz, California. Workers at these stores have cited a desire for better wages, improved working conditions, and greater job security as reasons for unionizing.
Food 4 Less workers reach tentative labor deal, avoid strike
June 27, 2024 // The union representing thousands of Food 4 Less workers reached a tentative contract agreement Tuesday with the grocery company, averting a potential strike. Workers had previously authorized a work stoppage if labor talks failed. But on Tuesday, representatives of United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442 announced that they had reached a tentative deal that includes "substantial wage increases for all workers, more guaranteed hours and other contract improvements."
Michigan Meijer Employee Hits Supermarket with Federal Charges for Forcing Him to Join UFCW Union or Be Fired
June 12, 2024 // Charges come as more workers challenge union bosses’ forced-dues power in wake of Michigan Right to Work repeal
Some union workers at Sacred Heart are not participating in the strike
April 26, 2024 // Not all Sacred Heart healthcare union workers are participating in the current strike, according to hospital leadership. Wednesday marked the third day in an eight-day strike at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Workers are picketing in hopes of negotiating a new and improved contract from Providence, but not all union members have joined the strike. "We had several more than what is normal for a strike of this nature of current union caregivers who chose to come into the building and take care of patients," said Susan Stacey, Providence Inland Northwest's Chief Executive.
Michigan’s largest unions have seen plummeting membership over the past decade
April 18, 2024 // Analysis Michigan’s largest unions have seen plummeting membership over the past decade Jobs and incomes are up, workplace injuries are down By Jarrett Skorup | April 16, 2024Share on FacebookShare on X Photo by Kateryna Babaieva on Pexels In recent years, most of Michigan’s largest labor unions saw massive declines in membership, despite significant job growth in most industries. The reason? A decade with right-to-work law, which gave workers the ability to choose whether to join a union, as a member or through a fee, or not. The reports many labor unions are required to file with the federal government reveal the state of labor union membership, as do reports from the Michigan Civil Service Commission. Every one of Michigan’s 15 largest unions or so has seen a decline, whether in state government, schools, local government, or private industries such as construction or food service. But the declines are uneven. A variety of AFSCME associations, representing mostly state and local government workers, have seen a loss of more than half their members. The SEIU, which mostly represents workers in health care and local government, is down nearly 70%. Despite job gains in the auto sector over the past decade and a highly publicized strike last year, the UAW branches in Michigan have lost 16,000 members over the past decade. Other private sector unions have seen fewer losses. These include the United Food and Commercial Workers (-8.7%), Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters (-6.8%), the Operating Engineers (-2.5%) and Michigan Nurses Association (-3.7%). Losses in the public sector are much more pronounced than those in the private sector. The Michigan Education Association has now lost more than 38,000 members, or one-third, since the right-to-work law went into effect in 2013. The American Federation of Teachers branch, the bulk of which is in the Detroit Federation of Teachers, is down more than 25%. The Michigan public school system added 27,000 employees since 2012, but its largest employee unions have lost a combined 45,000 members. The total number of public sector union members in Michigan has dropped by 80,000 since the right-to-work law was passed. Unions representing state of Michigan employees are down by more than one-third. That may soon change. The Democratic-led Michigan Legislature repealed the state’s right-to-work law in 2023. The UAW and other unions representing workers for private employers can now require them to rejoin or pay fees. A 2018 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court means that public sector employees such as schoolteachers still have the right to decline paying or joining a union. Repealing the law is expected to boost union membership and financial support for the Democratic Party. In fighting in 2012 against a law allowing workers to opt out, SEIU Healthcare Michigan President Marge Faville said unions needed the forced funds to “make sure Democrats get [elected].” Just before legislators voted to enact a right-to-work law, a local Michigan Education Association leader sent an email out on a public server to tell other public school employees that “[emergency management] is the future in Michigan with a Republican governor and Legislature” and union members need to “[get] everyone we know to vote for Democrats.”
MI Kroger Employee Hits UFCW Union, Kroger with Federal Charges for Illegally Requiring Dues Payments, PAC Contributions
April 17, 2024 // n employee of Kroger’s supermarket in the Prospect Hill Shopping Center in Milford, MI, has just hit United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 876 union officials and Kroger management with federal charges. The employee, Roger Cornett, charges that Kroger declared it would fire him unless he signed a union membership form, and authorized union dues deductions and contributions to the union’s Political Action Committee (PAC) from his paycheck. Cornett notably points out that UFCW lacks a legal basis to demand money from any worker.
Ohio Kroger Employee Slams UFCW and Kroger with Federal Charges for Illegally Seizing Money from Paycheck
March 21, 2024 // Carroll’s charges explain that the form UFCW union bosses forced him to sign is an illegal “dual purpose” membership form, which seeks only one employee signature for authorization of both union membership and dues deductions. Federal labor law requires that any authorization for union dues deductions be voluntary and separate from a union membership application. Additionally, Supreme Court precedents like General Motors v. NLRB recognize the right of workers to refrain from union membership.
US unions target the housing affordability crisis as their ‘biggest issue’
February 20, 2024 // Organized labor across the country is now setting its sights on housing costs as rents and mortgages continue to soar