Posts tagged United Food and Commercial Workers
Oregon and Washington fruit packers vote to unionize fails
November 19, 2023 // Gibson told the Capital Chronicle the vote affirmed that most Mount Adams fruitpackers do not want a union, but that it also revealed a need to improve communication with staff. “It’s an opportunity to reset, and for managers and employees to work better together. The ones who wanted to unionize – we respect their interests and want to listen to their needs,” he said. Barajas said Gibson and company leaders had reached out to her and other employees to schedule a meeting, though a date has not been set. She does not know if the meeting is punitive or if it is to discuss issues the union organizers brought up, she said.
Perdue workers vote against unionizing, union appeals alleged election interference
October 24, 2023 // After workers at Perdue AgriBusiness in Salisbury voted to not unionize, a call to overturn the vote has been made with the National Labor Relations Board claiming Perdue interfered with the election. Perdue workers in Salisbury voted 21 to 17 in favor of not unionizing during an election held Sept. 28 and 29, according to spokespeople from Perdue and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 27 Union.
Cannabist Co. cultivation workers in New Jersey vote to unionize
October 19, 2023 // New Jersey regulators certified the vote on Oct. 6. In a statement, UFCW Local 152 President Brian String said negotiations on a “fair contract” would commence. The local recently negotiated contracts for workers at Acreage Holdings-owned The Botanist dispensaries in Egg Harbor and Atlantic City, according to the news release. Along with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the UFCW is one of the major U.S. unions organizing workers in the legal cannabis industry. Both unions are aggressively courting workers and demonstrating more militancy in dealings with management.
Oregon sees record-high unionization
October 9, 2023 // what’s happening here in Oregon is a little different: it’s driven by independent unions. Rather than join AFL-CIO, SEIU or other big unions, some Oregon workers are taking a “grow your own” approach to unionizing. Local chain Burgerville’s independent union, Burgerville Workers Union, won federal recognition in 2018 and signed its first contract in 2021. Seeing Burgerville’s success in organizing without the resources of a bigger union inspired workers at Voodoo Doughnut.
Walgreens pharmacy employees launch scattered walkout
October 9, 2023 // “The last few years have required an unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in this work — while recognizing it has been a very challenging time,” Walgreens said. A spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents more than 4,400 workers at Walgreens stores in markets around the country, could not be reached for comment on the walkouts. Last month, workers at three Walgreens stores in Northeast Ohio voted to form their own union, called Pharmacy Workers United, according to a report from Axios Cleveland.
Meijer workers make demands known ahead of contract negotiations
October 6, 2023 // Meijer and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) are getting ready to start contract negotiations for some 28,000 workers, reports CBS News Channel 3. The UFCW has said it wants contract talks to include wage increases, an increase in paid time off, and improvements to a medical plan that protects workers from intense medical debt due to serious illness or injury.
Nearly four decades after infamous strike, Hormel workers in Austin march on Labor Day for better pay
September 6, 2023 // Meatpacking workers in Austin say they need a raise from Hormel Foods Corp. to keep pace with inflation and potentially avert a strike. The Labor Day march aimed to rally support as the local United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) bargaining team and Hormel leadership are running out of time to negotiate a new four-year contract. Many carried the memory of the bitter 1985-86 strike against Hormel, one of the most infamous episodes in modern U.S. labor history. Workers stopped at the Spam Museum, raising as much noise as possible while onlookers took video on their phones, then went north to Hormel offices and the Spam Museum's former location, before returning to the Austin Labor Center just a few blocks west of the Cedar River. As of last week, workers are seeking $6.50 wage increases by September 2025, while Hormel is offering $2.15 over four years. The two sides are also split on insurance increases, bereavement and pension increases, among other issues. The contract talks come as Hormel profits, and the prices of bacon, turkey and other commodities, dip as markets adjust to post-pandemic conditions. The company recently lowered its financial forecast for the rest of 2023, estimating its sales will decline as much as 4% or remain flat compared to 2022.
It’s Official: Oregon Masami Foods Workers’ Vote to Oust UFCW Union Officials is Certified
August 4, 2023 // Despite union legal tactics delaying the certification of an NLRB decertification election, Masami Foods workers are free of unwanted union The case is an example of how the NLRB’s union decertification process is prone to union boss-created roadblocks. Foundation-backed reforms the NLRB adopted in 2020 made it somewhat easier for workers to remove unwanted union officials. However, the Biden NLRB is attempting to roll back these protections and make it much harder to decertify a union. For example, the 2020 reforms blocked union officials from resubmitting overlapping charges, which often contain unverified and unrelated allegations of employer actions and delay the process further. Had these reforms not been in place, the three-month delay for these workers could have been extended much longer, possibly effectively indefinitely.
Seattle Mariners Retail Employees Vote Out UFCW Union, Defeat Union Boss Attempt to Block Election Using “Card Check”
July 27, 2023 // Over the objection of UFCW union officials, the NLRB Regional Director in May ordered a union decertification election at the request of the Seattle Mariners’ retail employees. Union bosses subsequently filed a Request for Review at the NLRB in Washington, D.C., seeking to halt the election. They argued that a so-called “voluntary recognition bar” should be imposed to block the Mariners’ employees from exercising their right to vote on the union’s removal. However, the NLRB denied the union’s Request for Review on July 25. After NLRB Region 19 certifies the 50-9 vote result, the Seattle Mariners’ retail employees will finally be free from the unwanted UFCW union. The retail workers were able to challenge union officials’ card check drive thanks to the Election Protection Rule (EPR), a reform to the election rules enacted by the NLRB in 2020 following Foundation advocacy. While union officials pre-EPR were able to manipulate the so-called “voluntary recognition bar” to block employees from voting out a union for at least a year after an employer recognized a union’s supposed card check victory, the EPR granted employees a 45-day window in which to petition for a secret ballot election to challenge the card check result.
Corrupt Cappuccinos? Unions Looking to Organize Coffee Shops Aren’t Giving Workers the Whole Story
June 19, 2023 // If union leaders are sometimes keeping money for themselves, they don’t seem to be spreading the wealth. In 2020, UFCW Local 400 issued a statement that workers should be prepared to strike against the supermarket chain Kroger. But hidden in the details of the statement was the fact that the national headquarters of the union would only pay workers $100 a week after the first eight days of striking. By the end of 2020, the union paid nearly double for hotels ($1,003,755) than on strike benefits for workers ($574,173). While UFCW Local 400 members would have struggled financially if a strike took place, the union had nearly $90 million in on hand cash by the end of 2020.