Grocery Workers Serving Up Justice in Fight Against Wage Theft

Five hundred and fifty gourmet grocery workers will receive nearly $1.5 million in unpaid wages, thanks to the efforts of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1500.

Watch the video here.

In 2008, several workers at Amish Markets and related stores Zeytinia, Zeytinz, and Zeytuna approached UFCW Local 1500 because they wanted to form a union at their stores.

The UFCW soon discovered that many workers were not being paid proper overtime and brought the violations to the attention of the New York State Department of Labor. The DOL conducted a sweep of nine locations and confirmed widespread wage and hour and labor violations.

Bruce W. Both, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 said, "The New York State Department of Labor and the workers from Amish Markets, a gourmet grocery store serving high-end food products, deserve the gratitude of every taxpayer in the city because they had the courage to stand up and say: ‘This is wrong!’"

State Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith said of Amish Markets, "This employer was caught red-handed with his hand in the gourmet cooking jar."

Local 1500 and the Building Blocks Project play a leading role in bringing good food, good jobs, and good health to New York’s neighborhoods by promoting and establishing policies that preserve existing supermarkets, develop new supermarkets and ensure the ability of grocery workers to form unions.

"Health Care Reform Cannot Wait"

President Obama in his remarks this morning on the 2010 Fiscal Budget announced a radical departure from the old trends in spending and outlined his support for sweeping reforms that will reach all of America.

Among the reforms, Obama reemphasized health care as a priority in getting our economy back on track:

Because of crushing health care costs and the fact that they drag down our economy, bankrupt our families, and represent the fastest-growing part of our budget, we must make it a priority to give every single American quality, affordable health care....With this budget, we are making a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform. It's a step that will not only make families healthier and companies more competitive, but over the long term it will also help us bring down our deficit.

Obama's budget reflects the urgent need for action he spoke of in his State of the Union address earlier this week:

Now, there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve reform, and that is why I’m bringing together businesses and workers, doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to begin work on this issue next week.

I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also now that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.

We have fought tirelessly for this moment and the time is finally here: we are going to get health care reform in 2009. The question now is what will that reform look like?

As the fat cats who have been profiting off of the status quo for so long start to throw up roadblocks on the path to change, it is crucial that we all make sure those who are working for the right kind of reform know they have our support.

Can you help by sending a quick note to the Senate Finance Committee and President Obama thanking them for their swift action so far and commitment to change?

It only takes a minute and we know it makes a difference.

Hilda Solis Confirmed as Secretary of Labor!

Well, it's about time.

The Senate finally voted this afternoon to confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor and--no surprise, given her overwhelming qualifications for the job--the final vote was 80-17 to confirm.

UFCW members have a long history with Solis, who's been an ally in health and safety issues and even during the Southern California strike, when she stood on the picket line in solidarity with workers (above).

We have no doubt that she'll continue to be exactly what we need right now in a labor secretary--a strong advocate for America's workers. She has her work cut out for her, but we know that she'll be a major force in addressing our jobs crisis and strengthening the economy.

UFCW Member Attributes Bagging Skills to Ping Pong Prowess

UFCW Local 99 member and Fry's courtesy clerk Francisco Palacios beat out 23 other finalists from California, Washington, Michigan and Alabama in February at the U.S.A. Best Bagger Competition in Las Vegas.

Palacios, who works at Fry’s 137 in Tucson, credits the hand-eye coordination he honed playing table tennis since childhood.

“We’ve always had a ping-pong table in our home,” he says. “I’m the youngest of six children, so I always had to play against my older siblings. That makes you get up to speed pretty fast.”

Palacios says he joined UFCW Local 99 because the union stands by its members.

“My union will always support me if I have a problem on the job,” he says. “That’s what unions are for. The more members we have, the stronger we become.”

UFCW Members and Community Allies Rally on Behalf of Demoted PriceRite Worker Who Spoke out for Union

Hundreds of UFCW members and staff, workers and labor and community allies from across New England gathered in Providence, R.I., last week to support the reinstatement of Joe Sorrentino—a worker at a Wakefern-owned PriceRite Supermarket in North Providence, RI.

According to charges filed by the UFCW Local Union 328 with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Sorrentino has been punished for standing up for a union at his workplace. Workers and community members also rallied to support passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill which would make it easier for workers like Joe to join unions without fear of retaliation.

Sorrentino and other PriceRite employees have been working to organize with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), but have faced a campaign of company harassment and intimidation. This harassment has been unfair and unnecessary, since workers at most other stores that Wakefern owns and/or supplies already belong to the UFCW and have a voice on the job.

“Joe Sorrentino bravely stood up for his rights, and his coworkers as he continued to try and form a union despite unfair resistance from his employer,” said Mary Beth Maxwell, founding Executive Director of American Rights at Work (ARAW), in a statement of support that was read at the rally. “His subsequent demotion is a terrible injustice and sends a chilling message to workers that you will be punished for wanting to have a voice on the job.

"American Rights at Work," her statement continued, " and our allies are even more emboldened to fight for swift passage of the Employee Free Choice Act to ensure Joe and workers everywhere have a free choice to join a union and a chance at a better life.”

Shortly after receiving national attention for speaking out on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act at an ARAW-organized event in Washington, DC, press conference on January 13, Sorrentino was demoted and given a pay cut--the kind of harassment by corporations against workers that the Employee Free Choice Act seeks to eliminate.

Local 328 has filed charges with the NLRB, seeking reinstatement of Sorrentino’s pay, and position as a Night Crew Chief. “If the Employee Free Choice was already a law, my employer would not have been able to treat me like they did. I would have been able to speak out without fear of retaliation,” said Sorrentino at the event.

Workers rally for Employee Free Choice

Here's some video from yesterday's rally for Employee Free Choice:


Rep. George Miller (D-CA) addresses crowd rallying for Employee Free Choice from UFCW on Vimeo.

[Blooper alert: Someone knocks the camera out of my hands midway through the clip. were all very excited.]

You can also check out photos from the event below:

Workers Rally at Capitol Today for Employee Free Choice

James Satler worked as a grocery employee in Huntington Beach, CA. He went to Fresh & Easy from Trader Joe’s, excited by Fresh & Easy’s promises of competitive pay, affordable healthcare and promotional opportunities.

But the Fresh & Easy never lived up to the promises they made. James couldn't afford the health care, made less than he was told he'd make--and somehow those promotional opportunities never came up for him.
So James did what millions of workers do every year when conditions at their workplace are unsatisfactory--he decided to try to organize a union at Fresh & Easy. He signed a union card and talked to his co-workers about the benefits of forming a union, becoming more active the more convinced he became that a union was the right way to go. You know where this is going, right?

When James and his co-workers asked Fresh & Easy to allow a neutral party to compare the cards signed against a list of employees provided by the company, so that they could see a majority of workers signed cards saying they wanted to join the union--James and his co-workers' proposal was rejected and management insisted that they, not employees, be allowed to dictate the terms under which employees could choose to form a union.

Fresh & Easy then refused to recognize the employees' decision to form a union.

Then, Fresh & Easy starting treating James differently, disciplining him for things that other employees were allowed to do, and finally firing James for what he believes were trumped up reasons to cover the REAL cause--his vocal support of a union.

James worked hard and wanted to move up in his grocery career and support his family. He might still be employed at Fresh & Easy if management had been forced to respect his decision to form a union. Instead, James lost a job and now has to pursue justice through the National Labor Relations Board, which could take years to decide his case.

The process for forming a union is broken. That's why over 250,000 UFCW members and workers like James signed cards this years in support of passing Employee Free Choice--a bill that would make it easier for workers to form unions--with fear of intimidation or retaliation by employers. Employee Free Choice would level the playing field for working families in America.

And hundreds of thousands of other workers have joined us in signing cards. In fact, 1.5 million union members and supporters have signed cards to pass Employee Free Choice. And today, James will join thousands of workers in Washington, D.C., to deliver thousands of petitions demanding Congress pass the Employee Free Choice Act and make the economy work for everyone.

At 12:30 pm, a rally kicks off outside the U.S. Capitol, and workers will speak out about why the Employee Free Choice is needed to help level the playing field and fix our broken economy. Many of these workers are like James--workers who've been harrassed, intimidated, and fired for trying to form and union and improve their working conditions, wages, and benefits. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), two sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act, will also speak about why this legislation is important.

Afer the rally, James and other workers will visit their members of Congress and tell their stories to underline the importance of passing Employee Free Choice. For more from workers on why this legislation is so important, check out www.ufcwforfreechoice.org.