Posts tagged United Food and Commercial Workers
Commentary: Call for End to Israel Aid Is More Proof Organized Labor Is Progressivism and Progressivism Is Organized Labor
July 24, 2024 // The UAW called for a cease-fire in Gaza in December of last year, with some UAW locals calling for one mere days after the Hamas attack on October 7. The UAW, in particular, has a large contingent of higher-education workers in its ranks, with college campuses being hotbeds of anti-Israel activism. The UAW represents about the same number of workers at the University of California system as it does at General Motors. The UAW Arab Caucus, which also supports the BDS movement, called for the union to change its stance from calling for a cease-fire only to also calling for a halt to all U.S. military aid back in February.
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."
So, A Union’s Own Unionized Workers Go On Strike…
June 21, 2024 // In a May 30 news release, the Guild pointed to its one-day unfair labor practice strike held on May 23, 2024 to “protest the anti-union hypocrisy and unlawful practices from UFCW executives at the bargaining table,” apparently to signal that Guild members are prepared to dig in their heels. In another post six days later, the Guild stated that the UFCW’s “last, best, and final proposal” lacked “substantive changes” from UFCW’s previous proposal, which had been voted down. The UFCW refused to schedule bargaining sessions until the Guild voted again. In response, the Guild “thr[e]w a voting party complete with party hats, candy cigarettes, and a copy of the proposal to annotate suggestions for improvement [to the proposal].” And unsurprisingly, Guild members rejected the proposal once again. Often, unions attack employers (many of whom are truly trying to do their best to be fair and reasonable) as unfair, unreasonable, uncaring, bullying, greedy, amoral…. Well, you get the picture. So, it’s fascinating, in a car-crash kind of way, when an organization with the specific mission of promoting worker rights is accused by its own employees of violating those same rights!
Food4less Workers to Vote on Strike Authorization This Week
June 10, 2024 // The contract with the grocery chain expired Saturday. The union’s demands include equity, fair pay and safe stores.
Adda Coffee & Tea House reaches agreement with union
February 14, 2024 // Under the preliminary agreement, the company will give employees a compensation package in exchange for the union withdrawing its petition to the National Labor Relations Board for an election to represent the workers. Adda Coffee & Tea House, which had four locations, announced in January that it was closed effective immediately. The business said it had been operating at a loss since the beginning and the pandemic exacerbated its struggles.
Smith College student dining workers vote for union
February 8, 2024 // Heyne noted that some 270 out of a total of approximately 400 student dining workers signed the union petition in November. But NLRB rules state that only those who work an average of four hours a week or more are eligible to vote. Student dining workers are capped at 10 hours a week. That reduced the voter list to 139, and that included some who had graduated or who are studying abroad this semester, Heyne said. However, she said, the actual scope of union membership is still to be determined
DC-Area Union Kitchen Employees Overwhelmingly Vote to Remove UFCW Union
January 9, 2024 // Silva and her coworkers’ effort began amid union boss-ordered pickets and boycotts against Union Kitchen Grocery locations, which inflamed tensions among workers. In some instances, union picketers endangered workers by blocking exits, requiring the intervention of police. “The vast majority of the workers at Union Kitchen are sick and tired of the UFCW’s picketing, harassment of employees, and constant disruptions of our day-to-day work life,” Silva said at the time. “If the union cares at all about what we want, they will respect our wishes and immediately disclaim their interest in representing workers who have overwhelmingly rejected them.”
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.