Southern California Supermarket Bargaining Update

Negotiations between UFCW Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442 and the three major supermarket chains continue, aided by the work of the federal mediator. Safeway, Kroger and Supervalu have made demands that would undermine working standards and threaten affordable health care coverage for tens of thousands of workers. Among the employer proposals are health & welfare contributions that cover less than half the amount needed to continue to fund the current level of benefits, inadequate pension funding, and untenable work rule language. Wage rates have not yet been discussed. The health care language alone would shift $450 million to our members over the next three years.

UFCW local unions are committed to the bargaining process while preparing their members and customers to stick together for good jobs in the supermarket industry. Picket captain meetings are scheduled this week.

For updates, go to:

http://www.march2011.org/

UFCW Local 8GS: http://www.ufcw8.org/

UFCW Local 135: http://www.ufcw135.org/
UFCW Local 324: http://www.ufcw324.org/
UFCW Local 770: http://www.ufcw770.org/
UFCW Local 1167: http://www.ufcw1167.org/
UFCW Local 1428: http://www.ufcw1428.org/
UFCW Local 1442: http://www.ufcw1442.org/

Round Up: Valley Stream Target Workers Stand Strong for Better Jobs

Workers at the Valley Stream Target in New York recently came together to organize a union at their store, in order to address issues they're facing, including not getting enough hours to make ends meet (or, as Gawker put it: "The workers would like to work enough hours to survive, please."). Now that a majority of the workers at the Valley Stream store have said they want to join UFCW Local 1500, they are preparing for an election in the coming weeks. In their words:

We love Target. But Target has not treated us fairly. They need to change their view of the associates. When they grow, we should share in that growth. But despite record earnings, management 'Expects More, Pays Less.' 

To hear a little more about the workers' efforts to organize, Target's reaction, and the stakes of the campaign, take a minute to listen to this great radio segment from WYNC, featuring Crain's reporter Danny Massey, who has been following the campaign since its early stages.



The Valley Stream workers have been standing strong in the face of incredible pressure from Target and its corporate allies (for more details, take a look at this American Rights at Work blog post on how Target is starting to look more and more like Walmart). The UFCW is proud to stand with these workers and support them as they seek to join UFCW Local 1500. To show your support for the Target workers, you can like the Target Change page on Facebook.

Bonus track: here's an ad that was set to run in Times Square this week, but was banned at the last minute by CBS:



Why is CBS so afraid to let a pro-worker ad run on its Times Square jumbotron? Do you think it's OK for big corporations to be in the business of censoring workers' voices?

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UPDATE: Since Gawker published its post on the Valley Stream workers' efforts to organize, they've been hearing from Target workers around the country about how tough it is to work at Target and the vicious anti-union campaign the company is waging. One worker's account of the unsafe conditions at his workplace led him to conclude, "Target NEEDS to unionize." Check out the full story here - and if you're a Target workers, click through to the Gawker post to share your story!

UFCW President Joe Hansen's Statement in Response to President Obama's Immigration Reform Announcement

UFCW International President Joe Hansen released the following statement yesterday in response to President Obama's immigration reform announcement:

“The UFCW supports President Obama’s effort today in El Paso, Texas, to make immigration reform—an important part of our country’s path to economic recovery—a priority. The United States has successfully established border security, which is an important part of solving our nation’s immigration challenge. But, it is only a piece. We have a moral and economic obligation to move forward on a path that brings the 11 million immigrant workers out of the shadows and into the full light of our democracy and our economy. 

“President Obama’s speech today provided a platform for elected leaders from both parties to build an immigration system that secures our borders and strengthens our laws while honoring our country’s history as a nation of immigrants. The UFCW supports the president’s vision for commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform that is grounded on the principles of responsibility and accountability. 

“As Americans, it is imperative that all members of our society have an opportunity to be a part of the American dream—including working for decent wages and benefits, owning a home and sending their children to college. The UFCW represents workers from all parts of the world working side by side together in our nation’s meatpacking, food processing, and poultry plants, as well as supermarkets and retail stores. We are proud of the diversity of our 1.3 million members, and we will continue to work with community partners and lawmakers to make immigration reform a reality.”

To learn more about the UFCW's work in support of comprehensive immigration reform, visit UFCWAction.org.

Retail Workers Need Safe Workplaces, Too

Retail workers can be safer with a union voice on the job.

With Workers Memorial Day just behind us, I've been thinking lately about work safety. The most high profile on-the-job tragedies usually involve those working at jobs we all know are difficult and dangerous: miners, firefighters, police officers, truckers, commercial fishing workers, plant employees. But we often forget that retail jobs, too, can be difficult and dangerous—and that considering retail workers’ safety on the job is no laughing matter. 

It’s safer now than it used to be, since murder is down across the nation—but working the overnight shift in retail is still a dangerous job. As a prime target for robbery, the clerk’s job puts him or her in the way of violence more often than many other workers. And retail workers in malls, shopping centers, fitness centers, and other places are at greater risk of being injured or killed by random violence. They can be the victims of spree attackers – or, as the recent murder at a yoga store in Bethesda, Maryland, shows, of their own co-workers. In 2007, 167 people were killed working retail, according to a study by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And most retail workplace deaths occur as a result of homicide.

Of course, random violence is still extremely rare—but retail workers do encounter many on-the-job threats to their physical safety and well-being. Retail workers are often asked to stand in place for long periods of time, sometimes hours or more. This puts lots of stress on the legs, feet, back, and circulatory system, and over time, permanent injuries and disabling conditions can occur. Retail workers are often asked to set up displays, stock merchandise, and perform other tasks that often see them lifting heavy equipment, boxes, and display units without aid of a harness and without being shown the proper way to handle heavy lifting. They may be asked to climb up ladders in stockrooms or even operate machinery which they have not been trained on properly. 

And injured workers don’t always receive the proper treatment or advice from management or HR. I worked at several retails jobs over the years, and at some of these places if you were hurt on the job, no one told you about workers’ compensation. It was always your fault that you got hurt, no matter than you’d been asked by your manager to lift a heavy display case over your head or carry a table by yourself. If the injury was very bad, you might be allowed to go home or to the hospital or doctor’s office—but frequently workers with head injuries or bleeding wounds would be told they needed to finish their shift before they could go home. The people I worked with (including me) had no idea what kind of safe environment we were entitled to at work, so we kept our mouths shut, put a bunch of band-aids on that bleeding gash, and went back to our counters and customers with a (somewhat strained) smile on our faces. At most of these places, the stores’ safety procedures were good, but managers often overlooked or ignored them, or created shortcuts that shouldn’t have been acceptable.

I’m sure that my store wasn’t the only place where such incidents occurred. I’ve heard horror stories from many non-union retail workers about injuries they received on the job and how they could have been prevented beforehand, or better managed afterwards. We need better awareness, too, of how repetitive stress injuries, back neck and foot injuries, and other injuries can develop over time with unsafe working conditions. These working conditions are often seen as silly or ignored (you can stand for six hours! You don’t need a stool.) because they aren’t life-threatening, but they take their toll on the body over time and can cause all kinds of problems later. 

So as we remember workers who’ve lost their lives on the job, and consider how to make workplaces safer, let’s not forget to include retail workers in the conversation. From protecting workers from violence to the more mundane safety concerns that still have very serious impacts, retail workers deserve a safer, more comfortable work environment, too.