Walmart associates, UFCW join force at US social forum in Detroit

UFCW members and Walmart Associates came together last week at the US Social Forum in Detroit, MI to discuss the impact Walmart has on the lives of working Americans, at a workshop titled "Walmart: Short Term Choices vs. Long Term Reality." The US Social Forum, which brings together over 14,000 activists with concerns on diverse issues ranging from immigration to economic justice to food sovereignty, is a movement building process focused on progressive change.

RWDSU's Retail Action Project members Chimuka N'gandu, Carolina Ferrerya, Romeo Ilboudou, Ahmed Dalhatu, and Leah Danger spoke at two workshops... titled "Low Wages, No Bargain: Resistance in Retail" and "Arresting the Boss: Wage Theft and Organizing Power," which explored innovative strategies to retail organizing and retail worker empowerment.

UFCW Local 5 member Tamara Perine joined three Walmart Associates, brought to the forum by the Wake Up Walmart campaign, to tell workshop participants about the difficulties of working for the company and the need for empowerment on the job, clearly demonstrating the difference between union and non-union retail.

Representatives of the UFCW also participated in workshops hosted by Food and Water Watch and the National Family Farm Coalition.

Walmart associates Ernestine Bassett, Cynthia Murray, and Allen Forrest join Wake Up Walmart activist Sean Stewart at the US Social Forum in Detroit.

Healthcare News You Can Use: Insurance Pools for High-Risk Patients Start Soon

Have you been unable to get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition? Relief is on the way! Starting July 1st, the federal government will start paying for new insurance programs that provide affordable coverage for uninsured people with pre-existing conditions -- all thanks to health care reform! UFCW members who fought hard for these reforms - your efforts are paying off already.

If you think you might be eligible for the kind of plan mentioned above, take a look at this New York Times article for more information.

Walmart: The Face of Global Greed -- Brought to you by UFCW Canada

As part of UFCW Canada’s efforts to provide a strong voice for workers during the upcoming G20 Summit in Toronto, a forum was held Monday to open eyes to greedy corporate behavior. Titled, Walmart: The Face of Global Greed, this forum highlighted the global problems Walmart's practices cause.

The forum provided insight into how Walmart has built a global business model that profits by preventing workers around the world from making enough money to live and thrive. The presentation was part of UFCW Canada’s on-going response to the summit of the leaders of the world’s twenty largest economies in Toronto. The G20 summit takes place this weekend (June 26th & 27th,) and UFCW Canada plans to provide a voice for workers by holding events leading up to and during the summit.

Walmart: The Face of Global Greed brought together academics, activists, and unionists to discuss the affects Walmart’s practices have on people around the Globe. Dr. Nelson Lichtenstein, professor, historian, and highly acclaimed author, headlined the event with the keynote address.

Dr. Lichtenstein speaks to the crowd

You can watch Walmart: The Face of Global Greed and see all of UFCW Canada’s coverage and analysis of the G20 summit at http://www.gee20.ca/.

Local 23 and Giant Eagle reach tentative agreement that allows workers to share in the success

After nearly six weeks of bargaining and negotiating the 6,000 members of Local 23 now have a tentative agreement they can be proud of.

With their contract expiring on June, 26th, Pittsburgh area members stood in solidarity with their brothers and sisters for real wage increases, secure retirement plans, and affordable health care for all workers. Local 23's bargaining committee would not stand down during negotiations. Workers demanded good, family-sustaining jobs and would not settle for less.




Giant-Eagle generated over $8 Billion in profits last year, while workers wages remained relatively stagnant. Workers hope to share in the success the company is expeirencing.

Union members are scheduled to vote on the contract June 26th. There are multiple meeting times where members can learn about what the contract does for them. Meetings will take place at 8:30 AM, 2:00 PM, and 6 PM at the Greentree Radisson Hotel – 101 Radisson Drive, Pittsburgh.

Congrats to Local 23 for showing tremendous solidarity in their achievement!

Local 1994 members speak out - $300 dollars for best video in You Tube contest

Montgomery county workers are fighting back after the Fiscal Year 2011 budget was formally adopted on May 27. The budget was reduced by 4.5% ultimately leading to about 300 lay offs and 6,000 furloughs.

Local 1994 is awarding members a monetary prize for the best video depicting Montgomery County’s budget process. It can be serious or funny, in verse or in song – rap, parody, satire or parody. It doesn’t matter, as long as it gets the point across.

Workers are tired of being targeted for layoffs and furloughs and now it’s their chance to speak up and let the world know how they really feel. First place is awarded $300, second place is $200 and third place is $100.

Note: The contest is open only to Local 1994 members. But that doesn’t mean that the videos won’t be enjoyable to watch for any worker who has been left to bear with the burden of a budget process.

Good Luck workers, let your voices be heard!

Change to Win launches watchdog site to keep tabs on U.S. Chamber of Commerce

With the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s influence more powerful than ever, the average American citizen’s rights are being compromised. The U.S. Chamber is an organization that represents businesses around the country. While many believe it’s an activist for small business owners, the Chamber’s priorities have transformed from its roots. Greed and power has driven the Chamber to be the epitome of what is wrong with Washington lobbying. With nearly unlimited resources, the Chamber has become practically unstoppable in their drive for influence.

Change to Win has established a new watchdog site that plans on challenging the Chamber to accurately and fairly represent its members. FixtheUSChamber.org hopes to track the chamber’s ludicrous spending and secretive contributors.

The Chamber has continuously used its bottomless pool of resources to lobby against the working class. Consistently supporting Wall Street over Main Street, the Chamber has fought against reforms that would make executive disclosure more transparent, financial statements more consistent, and accounting fraud less widespread.

U.S. Chamber chief CEO Tom Donohue has repeatedly stood up for lucrative bonuses and salaries for executives of struggling corporations. Claiming to be opposed to government bailouts, the Chamber continuously supports and fights for bailed out banks.

The Chamber is a powerful corporate machine that utilizes its resources to fight against the working class. With our nation struggling with one of the worst financial recessions in decades, the chamber has spent unprecedented dollars to fight reform beneficial to the American people. The Chamber conducted a coast-to-coast campaign against health care for all and millions of dollars are currently being spent to hinder climate legislation. One of the largest enemies of Employee Free Choice, the Chamber claims to be representing small business owners. However, recent surveys conducted by Americans Rights at Work (ARAW) have shown that 80 percent of small-business owners believe “strong unions make the free market system stronger.” So exactly who is the chamber representing in its fight against stronger and fairer labor laws?

The Chamber needs to be held accountable to both workers and businesses. Change to Win’s new watchdog site hopes to make the Chamber’s activities and funding more transparent. You can also follow Chamber Watch on twitter @uschamberwatch.

Unionization brings Supervalu workers a sense of security, hope

Workers at the new Pequot Lakes, Minn. SuperValu grocery store, owned by S. & R. Quisberg, Inc., have chosen a real voice at work with UFCW Local 653.

The workers in the 100-member unit expressed their desire to form a union by signing authorization cards and the store owner respected their choice. They join with workers in two Cub Foods stores in the Brainerd area to make S. & R. Quisberg an 100 percent union company.

“By using our existing relationships and the employer's past history with our local and our members, we were able to reach out and help this owner provide good jobs
in a new community,” said Local 653 President Raymond Sawicky.

Mandi Turcotte, 19, who works the front end in the Pequot Lakes SuperValu said having a union gives her security in her job and benefits.

“With my union I feel comfortable making my job a long-term career,” said Turcotte.
“I have security in knowing I’m never alone.”

Young Workers Summit engages young activists to lead labor movement

Young workers are extremely important to the UFCW. Our union has more young workers and has a younger overall average age than any other union. And with today's struggling economy, the challenges that all workers face are severe and especially real for young people in the work force.

The AFL-CIO has acknowledged the power and presence of young workers with its first Young Workers Summit. Last weekend, young union activists from around the country met in Washington, D.C. to discuss issues facing the labor movement and what young people can do to tackle these issues. Over the weekend, hundreds of young people took part in panel discussions, forums, and break-out sessions about organizing, political activism, and a path for the future of the union movement.

The forum provided like-minded young union members a place to engage in discussion. The summit also live-tweeted updates throughout the weekend.

Some of the main issues discussed were apprenticeship/internship programs for workers trying to break into the work force, the rising costs of secondary education, and new ways to engage lawmakers.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka expressed the need for young people to stand up for the rights of workers saying, "Working people have a right and a responsibility to demand a fair share of the profits we produce. We should not be conditioned to accept scraps from the tables of the rich and powerful. It's not greedy to work for and pursue the American dream. There’s nothing wrong with wanting fairness and security."

Young workers are essential for a progressive union movement. A new generation has to meet today's challenges facing the work force with a mission to make a difference. Our global economy is changing and young workers are needed to lead the way.

Striking Shaw's workers ask Supervalu investors to take a stand

This week, with the Shaw's strike in Methuen entering its 14th week, workers descended on State Street Bank in Downtown Boston to ask the company - which is the third largest shareholder in Supervalu, the parent company of Shaw's - to take a stand against Supervalu's refusal to settle the strike.


Strikers and Massachusetts labor leaders met with top State Street executives, including Shawn Johnson, the head of State Street Global Advisors and Chairman of its Investment Committee. Here is a bit of what workers and their allies had to say:

"We've helped this company to succeed," said Mike Upton. "We don't ask for a lot. We've sacrificed in the past to maintain good health benefits. But this year, despite everything we've done, the company was just unwilling to negotiate."

"Now we've got no choice but to go outside the box and expand the strike," said UFCW's Peter Derouen. "As a major shareholder of this company, we are requesting that State Street contact Supervalu CEO Craig Herkert and actively encourage Supervalu management to restore the workers' health care benefits and return to the bargaining table."

"State Street handles pension and other funds for many unions," said the Bricklayers' Tom McIntyre. "As your clients, we don't want to see our money used against working families. You can make a difference!"

"As an investor and leader in the Greater Boston community, you should be concerned that Shaw's demands to take away hard earned benefits and job security is doing untold damage to the company's brand and reputation," said Jobs with Justice's Russ Davis. "A vigorous store boycott is underway and it's having a long term impact."

The workers plan to give State Street a few days to decide on a course of action, but hope to have the company's support in advance of the Supervalu annual shareholder meeting, which will take place June 24 in Minneapolis. Whatever happens, UFCW workers will attend the shareholder meeting and stand strong for good jobs in Methuen, and around the country.

What we're reading: June 9, 2010

In all the excitement yesterday (elections, Walmart scams, etc), we didn't have a chance to point you to Bob Herbert's most recent column, the gist of which is, "Unemployment is crushing families and stifling the prospects of young people." It's definitely worth a read. Here are some more highlights:

"It’s impossible to overstate the threat that this crisis of unemployment poses to the well-being of the United States. With so many people out of work and so much of the rest of the population deeply in debt, where is the spending going to come from to power a true economic recovery?

Policy makers have acted as if they are unaware of the magnitude of this crisis. They have behaved as though somehow, through some economic magic perhaps, or the power of prayer, this ocean of joblessness will just disappear. That’s a pipe dream."

Thanks Bob Herbert, for reminding us all to keep our eyes on the prize.

Win UFCW Gear-- Tell Us Your Story!

You can win UFCW gear if you share your political action story and it's featured in our next issue of Working America.

It’s been an incredible two years since the last election cycle went into full swing and UFCW members helped to elect the nation’s first African-American president, Barack Obama. We’ve had some victories—health care, Hilda Solis—and some frustrations, too. And in-between, hundreds of thousands of UFCW members have participated in politics and policy issues like never before.

That’s why we want to hear YOUR story! Did you march on Washington for health care last June? Did you attend a rally in support of EFCA, or for good jobs in your community? Did you canvass for Joe Sestak or Bill Halter, or write a letter to your editor about Wall Street's greed or any other issue? Let us know! Tell us what you did and why, in a sentence or two, or a few paragraphs if you feel like it. Then send it to vote@ufcw.org. Send us pictures, too, if you have some. We love pictures! If your story is selected, we may feature it in Working America magazine or on one of our websites.

Thanks for all you do. This fall, let’s continue to fight for candidates who’ll fight for working families.

Don't forget to vote!

Today there are primary elections in 11 states today, plus one very special runoff in Georgia! If you live in Arkansas, California, Nevada, South Carolina, Montana, New Jersey, Virginia, Iowa, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Georgia, be sure to get out and vote!

A few things you should know about Walmart's online college scheme

We don't often re-post other blogs here at the UFCW, but this one bears repeating. Our friends at Wake Up Walmart have done some research on Walmart's new online college scheme for its associates. Walmart has been getting a lot of press on this over the last few days, but as Wake Up Walmart points out, this new partnership with American Public University leaves a lot to be desired. And educationally speaking, some experts find the idea of offering college credit to associates for things like taking Walmart's ethics trainings a little shaky. Here are a few important facts about the program:

• American Public University isn't "public." It is a private institution, part of the American Public University System.
• APUS is mostly American Military University, an online university that focuses on serving members of the armed forces and is designed to be flexible to meet the demands of deployed troops.
• Undergraduate tuition at APU is $250 per credit hour ($750 per 3 credit course). Will from Wake Up Walmart called the community college near where he grew up, Edison Community College in Southwest Florida, and found out that instate tuition there was $89.88 per credit hour. They would have to be giving a more than 60% discount to Walmart Associates to make up that difference.
• APUS is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association and Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council. Students may have difficulty transferring credits.

Thanks, Wake Up Walmart, for getting to the bottom of this!

March for Justice at Shaw's: 300 families, 60 miles, 5 days

Last month, Shaw's workers, their families, and supporters completed a historic march from Methuen to the Massachusetts State House, and shared their struggle for justice on the job with communities along the way. If you haven't already, take a look at this video of their journey:

On May 23, striking workers at the Shaw's Perishable Distribution Center in Methuen, their families and supporters embarked on a 5-day, 60-mile march from Methuen to the State House in Boston for justice at Shaw's.

New college degree programs for union members

Here’s a good factoid for UFCW members to keep in mind: employees with a bachelor’s degree earn 62% more than those with a high school diploma alone. But we all know, college degrees haven’t always been easy to come by, especially for working Americans. The National Labor College (NLC) is working to change that.

NLC is devoted to educating union members, leaders, and staff, and it’s about to start offering new, online programs to help busy union members conveniently complete their college education from home for less than $10,000. A college degree can help union members expand their job skills, increase salary, enhance job security, and improve job satisfaction. And with the NCL’s program, you won’t have to quit your job to get an education.

For more information on college degree programs for union members, visit http://www.unionplus.org/forms/nlc.

Are Americans Willing to Settle For Less, as Politicians Think They Should?

From Politico:

"We have a new privileged class in America," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who rescinded state workers' collective bargaining power on his first day in office in 2006. "We used to think of government workers as underpaid public servants. Now they are better paid than the people who pay their salaries."

Yes, really, why can't we go back to the glorious days when public employees were underpaid? (Not like now, right, with all these furloughs and unpaid leave?) Those halcyon days when Wall Street tycoons occupied their proper place as gods, and government workers were underpaid and overworked just like the rest of us except those CEOs we work for and the golden parachutes they fly in and out on. When regulations melted away and left politicians and money men standing smiling before the bell in the morning at the Stock Exchange, in mutual satisfaction and dreaming of the piles of cash they'd all be swimming in soon. Let's go back to that time, shall we?

When will people get it through their heads that union workers aren't "privileged?" That they fought for and mobilized for the benefits they have now? And why should those benefits be eroded just because others weren't able to do the same? Once again, it's the race to the bottom for all American workers. And too many Americans, unfortunately, buy into this line. Instead of thinking, "Yeah, I should unionize so I can get the good benefits and salary that unionized workers enjoy," too many Americans are led instead, by CEOs and greedy politicians bent on destroying unions, to think, "I don't have that stuff, so nobody should."

It's the kind of mindset that's going to send all of us--that's going to send America--to the bottom of the hill if we don't act fast and act now. It's the kind of mindset that makes us doubt, frankly, whether the can-do spirit of America is still with us.

Instead of the race to the bottom, can't we join together in our workplaces to make all jobs better? Before the only Americans who can afford to take care of their families and retire with dignity are the ones at the top--the CEOs and Wall Street execs? It's time politicians stopped blaming unions and started blaming the ones who caused this mess of a recession in the first place. And it wasn't teachers, or firefighters, or cops. That we do know. But will politicians and too many Americans continue to use them as whipping boys anyway? Or will we stand up--at least all union members, public and private employees together--and say once and for all that American workers deserve more?

Walmart takes major hits as 2010 shareholder meeting begins

Today Walmart is holding its annual shareholder meeting, and, wow, tough week to have to answer to your shareholders.

On Wednesday, Consumer Reports released a pretty scathing report that shows customers by and large are dissatisfied with Walmart. Out of the 11 chain stores customers were surveyed about, Walmart came in 10th overall and received negative ratings in all 13 categories. Customers didn't even feel they were getting a good value at Walmart. So much for the "save money" and "live better" parts of "Save money. Live better." Consumer Reports even went so far to suggest that customers would be happier shopping somewhere other than Walmart. Ouch.

Then, yesterday, the New York Times presented evidence that Walmart has known since 1995 that the company is liable - to the tune of billions of dollars - for its discriminatory employment practices. You may remember that six years later, the biggest sex discrimination lawsuit in history was filed against Walmart. So, to be clear, Walmart leadership was aware of the financial risk facing the company for six years before women took legal action against policies that systematically paid female workers less than their male counterparts and prevented women from winning promotions. Shareholders can't be too happy with Bentonville for exposing them to that kind of financial risk.

Meanwhile, as Walmart tried to salvage what was no doubt a tense shareholder meeting with celebrity appearances and empty talking points, activists were talking directly to Walmart shoppers, letting them know about Walmart's discriminatory practices. Here are some photos of actions that took place around the country today:

Send us your political action stories!

It’s been an incredible two years since the last election cycle went into full swing and UFCW members helped to elect the nation’s first African-American president, Barack Obama. We’ve had some victories—health care, Hilda Solis—and some frustrations, too. And in-between, hundreds of thousands of UFCW members have participated in politics and policy issues like never before.

That’s why we want to hear YOUR story! Did you march on Washington for health care last June? Did you attend a rally in support of EFCA, or for good jobs in your community? Did you canvass for Joe Sestak or Bill Halter, or write a letter to your editor about Wall Street's greed or any other issue? Let us know! Tell us what you did and why, in a sentence or two, or a few paragraphs if you feel like it. Then send it to vote@ufcw.org. Send us pictures, too, if you have some. We love pictures! If your story is selected, we may feature it in Working America magazine or on one of our websites.

Thanks for all you do. This fall, let’s continue to fight for candidates who’ll fight for working families.

Striking Mott's Workers Speak Out (w/Video)

Mott's, a subsidiary of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, enjoyed a record $555 million in profits last year. But Mott's isn't sharing that success with the workers who made it possible. Those workers, their families, and their New York communities have suffered from the company's attempt to reduce hourly wages and force drastic health care cuts on workers. It's just not right.

The Williamson plant is the only plant that produces Mott's applesauce, including high margin single serve packs, and these are good, middle-class jobs that make the community strong. Why does Mott's seem to want to destroy middle-class jobs?

Those workers deserve better. They deserve to share in Mott's extraordinary success under Dr. Pepper Snapple.

Watch the video of Mott's workers below for more on the injustice these workers face.