UFCW Continues to Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15- October 15^th is Hispanic Heritage month.  This week, we'll take a look at the labor movement in Chile and other parts of South America.

Globalization is not just for corporations.  As multinational companies expand across the globe, the labor movement finds ways to make sure that workers' rights are respected everywhere.

In Chile, Walmart operates under three brand names:  A Costo, Líder, and Ekono.  Earlier this year students in Chile started a movement to pressure the conservative government into agreeing to education reform.  After three months, their efforts led to a national strike asking for tax, social security, and labor reforms, as well as increased investments in health and education.

Walmart fired 22 Líder workers for showing their support for the strikes and participating in the protests.  Walmart claimed they had abandoned their posts, but the workers strongly denied this.  Together in their union the fired workers fought back.

Walmart quickly found out workers from all over the world were watching-standing in solidarity with the Chilean workers, and condemning Walmart's anti-worker behavior. UFCW's own Walmart Watch was a leader in this effort-alerting UFCW's activist membership base who responded with thousands of emails to Walmart's managers in Chile.  Under so much pressure and international scrutiny, Walmart rehired the union workers.

Despite this win, union workers often fight an uphill battle in Latin America.  Just over 34 per cent of the region lives in poverty, with 8.1 per cent living in extreme poverty. Unemployment hovers around 7.5 per cent.  Sindicato, the Spanish word for union is almost a curse word in many circles in Latin America (which is why the UFCW doesn't use that word in our organizing drives here).  And, much like in the United States, the role of unions in getting good salaries and workers protections is not clearly appreciated or understood.

Too often, the debate around jobs and the economy in Latin America is driven by "what's good for business" and nearly blind faith in trickledown economics.  Sound familiar?

Hispanic Heritage Month at UFCW: Sí se Puede!

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated between September 15 and October 15, recognizing independence from Spain for the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico.  In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson instituted this celebration in recognition of the growing Latino population.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the UFCW will be sending out weekly e-mails on key issues concerning Latinos and unions in the U.S.  This week, we explore the common goals and values of Latinos and unions.

Latinos workers are young (their median age is 27.7 years old) and have a strong participation in the workforce (68%), but they are also strongly affected by unemployment (13.2%) and poverty (25.3%).  Becoming union members is a critical step for Latino workers in achieving the American Dream. Compared to other workers, the "Union Difference" is most significant for Latino workers.  When Latino workers in the 15 lowest wage occupations join a union, their wages increase by 17 percent, they are 41 percent more likely to have insurance, and 18 percent more likely to have pensions.  This strengthens communities and the economy.

The UFCW is proud to be a national leading voice for civil and human rights.  We continue a long and rich legacy of standing up for immigrant rights on the job - a tradition we carry on today, thanks in part to the efforts of organizers and leaders like Emilio Emeterio "Red" Gomez.  Mr. Gomez passed away on April 16, 2011, after a long career, first as a meat cutter and later as an organizer with the UFCW.  He was a founder of the United Latinos of the UFCW, becoming its president in 2001. He supported political candidates who supported workers, and served all members equally, regardless of race, ethnic background, sex, or religion.

Working people, their unions, and the growing U.S. Latino community face strong challenges from a weak economy and hostile social and political movements.  In spite of the poverty and low wages Latinos experience, they remain optimistic.  A recent survey found that Latinos believe their children will have a better standard of living, and are optimistic about the future of the country, which is what the union movement is about.  To that we say, "Sí se puede!"

Bachmann's Bright Idea for Economic Growth: Roll Back Health and Safety Regulations

In her latest crusade against government “overregulation,” GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann paid a visit to a non-union meat packing plant in Iowa to talk about the evils of health and safety standards in the food industry. Ironically, she did not appear to be wearing a hair net or head covering at the time.

"We want to have safety," she told the press while strolling through slabs of beef. "But we also want to have common sense."

We couldn’t agree more, but we are a little baffled as to what Bachmann’s definition of common sense must be.

UFCW workers have been putting food on America’s tables for decades and we’re proud of the work we do. There is a good chance the beef you ate for dinner last night came from a cow slaughtered by a UFCW member. That’s why we’re not ok with the idea of it being acceptable to serve up tasty meats laced with fecal matter, deadly bacteria, hair, fingers, or any other non-cow, non-pig, non-bird body parts.

Bachmann’s publicity stunt comes a week after the Agriculture Department announced wider testing for E. coli in meat. Instead of testing for one strand of the bacteria, they’ll now be testing for seven, which they say will help officials identify more foodborne illnesses.

*Photo not intended as fact

Is Bachmann honestly arguing that our health and safety standards, the ones we’ve been working so hard on since The Jungle, are a burden on the poor companies forced to make sure the meat they are selling isn’t hazardous to human health?

What about the 3000 people who die each year from foodborne illnesses? Or the 1 in 6 the CDC reports get sick every year?

In Bachmann’s radical libertarian utopia, packing houses must feel called upon to voluntarily test their products out of altruistic love and respect for the consumer. If we are going to live in reality, we need laws and regulations to manage the pressure to put profits over public safety.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WORKERS REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT WITH GROCERS

Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union working at Ralphs (Kroger), Vons (Safeway) and Albertsons (Supervalu) in Southern California reached a tentative agreement today with the companies. The tentative agreement was reached after 8 months of negotiating and strong involvement and activism by the 62,000 grocery workers and widespread support of customers and allies across the region.  The UFCW is grateful to Scot Beckenbaugh, Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, for his guidance through the bargaining process.

UFCW members will vote on the proposals in meetings over the coming week. The agreement increases wages, protects health care and pension benefits throughout the life of the 3-year contract.

The new contract, once ratified, will cover 62,000 UFCW grocery workers, the largest bargaining unit in the UFCW.  An additional 28,000 grocery workers at regional chains like Stater Brothers, Food 4 Less, Gelson’s Market and other markets are covered by the successful resolution of the Southern California contract.  The contract covering 45,000 grocery workers in Northern California expires in October.

The Problem with Mitt Romney's Economic Plan

In my letter in today's Wall Street Journal, I point out that Mitt Romney's economic plan further highlights the GOP's obsession with protecting corporate interests at the expense of the poor and the middle class. As I stated in the letter:

As the nation's unemployment rate registers at 9.1%, it is clear that we need to take bold steps to lift Americans out of poverty and rebuild the middle class. Instead of engaging in antiworker rhetoric, Mr. Romney and his fellow Republicans should focus on creating economic policies that generate and sustain good jobs with decent wages and benefits, with the end goal of giving America's middle class the purchasing power it needs to revive the economy.

UFCW President Joe Hansen on President Obama's Plan to Put Americans Back to Work

Last night, President Hansen released the following statement in support of President Obama's jobs plan:

“President Obama’s plan for job creation, including a private fund to rebuild our roads and schools, a tax cut for companies that hire workers and help for the long-term unemployed, is a good start. The nation’s job crisis demands leadership from President Obama, but he cannot revive the economy alone. Bold leadership is also needed from Republicans in Congress and the business community in order to create jobs that can support a family and rebuild the middle class.

 “We will never win the future by turning a blind eye to the devastating impact of unemployment and underemployment on our country. It is time for Republicans in Congress to put our country ahead of politics and support the president’s plan to put Americans back to work. It is also time for America’s business leaders to make a patriotic commitment to invest in good jobs in America and provide their employees with decent wages and benefits with the end goal of giving the middle class the purchasing power it needs to revive the economy.

 “The wasted economic potential of the millions of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed is a national tragedy. But the tragedy goes deeper than statistics alone. In all this turmoil, many Americans believe they will never achieve the American dream of owning a home, sending their children to college or retiring comfortably. If Republicans in Congress and America’s business leaders continue to put corporate profits ahead of job creation, our country will never fully recover from this downward economic spiral.”

Starting this Labor Day, Let's Make Job Creation a Priority

This Labor Day, as the national unemployment rate hovers around 9 percent and the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow, it is clear that we need to think big and create a bold jobs plan that will lift Americans out of poverty and rebuild the middle class.

But as the country waits for President Obama’s jobs speech next week, the national conversation is still focused on cutting the deficit at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens—a tactic that will do nothing to create new jobs.

It is time to make job creation—good jobs with benefits that can support a family—a priority over a politically manufactured debt crisis. It is time to announce a bold infrastructure investment plan to fix our roads, bridges, schools, airports, railways and seaports, and invest in a WPA-type jobs program to clean up abandoned and vacant properties to alleviate blight in distressed and foreclosure-affected neighborhoods; staff emergency food programs to reduce hunger and promote family stability; work in Head Start, child care, and other early childhood education programs to promote school readiness and early literacy; and renovate and maintain parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces.

If the national conversation continues to be manipulated by those who put their own interests ahead of the poor and middle class, our country will never fully recover from this downward economic spiral. It is time to think big.