UFCW RELEASES NEW NATIONAL POLL ON JOBS IN ADVANCE OF ONE NATION RALLY

As activists, advocates and working families from across the country prepare to rally for good jobs in Washington on October 2, 2010, a new national poll conducted by Lake Research for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) shows that the American public is overwhelmingly in favor of government action that addresses income inequity and that seeks to level the playing field for all American workers.

At a near universal level of agreement, voters strongly believe our economy needs to be defined by jobs with benefits and wages that can support a family. It is exactly this message that families from across the country are coming to Washington on Oct. 2^nd to deliver to Congress.

UFCW President Joe Hansen had this to say about the poll:

The only way to achieve lasting economic recovery and to ensure future prosperity is to address the wage inequity crises that is plaguing our nation’s workers. If our elected officials fail to address this issue, our nation can never fully regain its financial footing.

With so much of the cable television debate focused on the noisy fringes of our society, it seems that the aspirations and needs of the vast majority of hard-working Americans are getting drowned out by the noise and the nonsense of the extreme elements of the political debate.

The reality, as this poll shows, is that the American people want pragmatic government solutions and sensible legislative actions that address job creation and that ensure a foundation for secure and stable communities.

Voters have a clear vision of what kind of economy they want, and while they understand the current economic situation is difficult, they still believe that all jobs should pay a living wage, come with affordable, quality health care, and offer real retirement security.

The poll, taken among 700 randomly selected registered voters nationwide, shows:

1. Concern about the economy goes beyond the present; voters are deeply questioning the types of jobs America will have in the future. Eighty-seven percent of voters are very or somewhat concerned that America's future jobs will be low-wage and low-benefit -- including 65 percent who are very concerned.
2. Eighty-nine percent of voters agree that economic development should result in jobs with good wages and benefits that can support a family.
3. Eighty-four percent of voters agree that economic recovery means creating jobs with good benefits so people can afford to take care of their families, not low- wage jobs with no benefits.
4. Eighty-four percent of voters favor requiring that government contracts go to companies that provide good paying jobs and benefits so that their employees don't end up on welfare programs like Medicaid and food stamps.

In addition to pushing for economic policies that address income inequality and quality job growth, the UFCW, NCLR and other civil rights organizations will be using the One Nation Working Together rally to push for comprehensive immigration reform as a key component of economic recovery and prosperity.

Find a full presentation of the poll data here.

Find the UFCW's press release on the poll here.

October 2nd. One Nation, Working Together. Marching Together for America.

Worker organizations. Civil rights leaders. Educators. Community organizers. Ordinary working people, coming together to build a more united America – with jobs, justice and education for all.

Americans need an economic recovery that's all about jobs – creating new ones and making sure they come with good wages that can support a family. We need good jobs that make our country strong.

But extremists groups are pushing an agenda of distraction and hate speech in an effort to divide our country and turn us away from issues that really matter.

We can't let them have their way. We have to stand together, all of us as good Americans, and say, no more hate. No more fear. Let's work together to put Americans to work in good jobs.

As UFCW members across the country know, we are stronger when we speak together. So let's make our voices heard on October 2nd--let's make America strong again.

Join One Nation. Go to: http://www.onenationworkingtogether.org/.

In Her Own Words: Giant Eagle Worker Nicole Opielowski

My name is Nicole Opielowski and I am both a proud member of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 23 and a proud Giant Eagle employee in Braddock Hills, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. With the economy in bad shape, and with retail jobs on the rise in this country, more and more workers in my generation are facing lifelong careers in retail, which means we need to make these jobs work for us. That’s exactly what my Giant Eagle coworkers and I are doing by taking an active role in our union.

I am energized to be part of our union and to contribute to a movement to make our jobs better for ourselves and our coworkers, just like our great grandparents did in the steel mills not so many years ago. However, the company is telling us we can’t talk to each other about union related subjects – not even off the clock or during our breaks – without the threat of being incarcerated. In fact, they arrested one of my coworkers, Debbie, just last week!

Debbie, who has been a Giant Eagle for 36 years, was talking to her coworkers (while they were on break in the cafeteria) at the Waterfront Giant Eagle about trying to bring workers in some of the non-union stores owned by Giant Eagle into our union, so they can enjoy the same opportunities and benefits we do. The manager called the police on her and had her arrested for trespassing and put in jail.

Debbie’s arrest is just the latest attack Giant Eagle has waged in an ongoing smear campaign against our union, a campaign that includes intimidating letters from Giant Eagle’s CEO Dave Shapira to employees and management claiming there are “dangers” in joining our union. As far as I can see, Giant Eagle management is the real source of these dangers – dangers like being arrested and thrown in jail for having a peaceful dialogue with coworkers about better pay, better benefits, and improved working conditions.

This undertaking, pursued by people like me and the every day people in small towns across our region, is not just about shedding light on these kinds of intimidation tactics. Our cause is about ensuring that there will be good jobs for people my age who cannot afford college. It’s not like I can go work in a steel mill. The family-sustaining jobs of the mills are a thing of the past, instead replaced by service industry jobs that pay a fraction of what my grandparents and great grandparents made back then. Jobs like mine are all we have right now.

One of society's best-kept secrets is this: the most power, pay, and prestige go to those with the easiest jobs. But the people being forced to work two jobs to make a living are the heartbeat of our society. They are child-care workers and nursing home workers, janitors and security guards, sales people and stockers. They have the most hazardous jobs, the late-night jobs, the jobs that rarely include benefits.

Unless you are a CEO like Dave Shapira, you don’t have a lot of leverage to demand benefits at your workplace. As an individual, you can’t do much about what hours you work, what health benefits you receive, or how your retirement benefits are structured. Our union gives workers like me that kind of leverage because together we speak with one collective voice, and we have a say in the decisions that affect our jobs. We are stronger when we speak together.
"United we stand," goes the slogan, "divided we fall." Our cause is about little people uniting to take on giants. It's about fighting to keep our nation an egalitarian one, whose people all remain strong, economically as well as physically and mentally. Dave Shapira and Giant Eagle call people like us criminals and have us thrown in jail. I call us the heartbeat of America, working to keep our families fed, our communities stable, and our country just.

UFCW & Mexican Consuls Celebrate Semana de Laboral

Johnny Rodriguez, Local 540 President

The UFCW was proud to participate in “Semana de Derechos Laborales," or Labor Rights. Semana de Derechos Laborales focused on the inclusion of Mexican nationals in American workplaces and communities.

Programming included workshops and informational sessions on labor, immigration, and human rights.

Participating UFCW Locals include: 1996, 881 & 1546, 540, 5, 770, 99, 8-GS, 135, 7R, and 789.

Find more info here on what UFCW locals did and events taking place.

Mott's Workers Featured on PBS and CBS

Watch the video first. Then go here to take action on behalf of the striking Mott's workers.

UFCW President Hansen on Huffington Post, On Good Jobs

President Hansen has a Labor Day message for all Americans--a message about why we need to make sure the jobs of the future are good jobs. A new poll by Lake Research, sponsored by the UFCW, shows that Americans are concerned about the jobs of the future, and want to make sure that those jobs are the kind of jobs that can support a family and make America's economy strong and competitive.

It's up to all of us, workers, shoppers, community members, and political leaders, to ensure that economic policies provide the opportunity to make all retail jobs good, career jobs. According to the Lake poll, a majority of voters believe job growth must be good job growth. In a number of polls Lake Research has found that a key economic frame for Americans is to have good-paying job no matter what the sector. To make that happen we must actively engage in the policy decisions that guide economic growth and job creation, and we must correct the current wage gap so that as worker productivity increases paychecks also increase.

Read the oped--and preview of the poll results, which will be released soon--at the Huffington Post today. And Happy Labor Day to you and your families!

BREAKING: Giant Eagle Worker Arrested for Talking to Other Workers on Her Own Time

This is just outrageous. Why does Giant Eagle seem to want to take away their own employees' right to free speech? Watch the video below and comment to send your support to this worker (and UFCW member) and other Giant Eagle workers who now feel threatened by the company they work for.