It's Thanksgiving eve, and President Hansen has taken this opportunity to write an article for the Huffington Post about retail workers and the difference having a union makes when it comes to working over the holidays.
As he says,
"When retail workers are given a voice in holiday scheduling, they can respect the needs of their families; whether that need is a loved one's presence at home or the need to earn additional income over the holidays. Respect for the retail workers who are the heart of events like Black Friday means fair compensation for holiday hours and a voice in scheduling. When we support workers coming together to make positive changes in the workplace, we all win."
This holiday season, all of us here at UFCW are grateful to the grocery and retail workers who put in long hours to make our holiday shopping and eating possible. We're also grateful for the workers across the country who are sticking together and speaking up so that more Americans can have a voice on the job when it comes to issues like scheduling and holiday pay.
Brian Reddix over at the American Rights at Work's Blog at Work posted such a drool-worthy, and applause-worthy, guide to a union-made Thanksgiving, that we just couldn't resist shouting it out!
It's chock full of great food made by UFCW members and other union workers around the country - which means not only is it food you can trust, the workers who make it have the kind of wages and benefits that can support a family. That's something we are truly grateful for.
Take a minute to check out the full menu over at the American Rights at Work's Blog at Work. With UFCW-made classics like French's Fried Onions, San Giorgio macaroni, Butterball Turkey and Hormel or Farmland ham with Heinz gravy, and of course those impossible to resist Sara Lee and Breyers desserts, it's sure to impress!
Guest post by UFCW Assistant Director of Communications, Politics and Advocacy, Tim Schlittner:
“It will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement
available to the public before the committee’s deadline.”
That was the statement
last night from the 12-member committee charged with crafting a plan to reduce our
nation’s deficit. It’s the latest embarrassment for a Congress that has failed
miserably to address the needs of working Americans.
Now automatic spending cuts
of $1.2 trillion—many on the backs of ordinary families—are set to take
place. These cuts, combined with the turmoil this latest failure is likely to
cause in the markets, will make it even more difficult to usher in a true
economic recovery.
Congressional Republicans deserve the lion’s share of blame for this outcome.
They were unwilling
to raise taxes on the wealthiest American’s a single nickel, asking instead
for average Americans and seniors to pick up the tab for a mess they did not
create. It is unlikely that any major legislative achievement can occur until
Republicans show more loyalty to their constituents than Grover
Norquist.
With the Supercommittee process coming to an end, it is time
for Congress to focus on the jobs deficit, not just the fiscal deficit. It
should pass the American
Jobs Act which would put millions of people back to work rebuilding
America. More jobs mean more taxpayers. More taxpayers mean a lower deficit.
It’s pretty simple.
Guest post by UFCW Assistant Director of Communications, Politics and Advocacy, Tim Schlittner:
One of the best things to come out of the Occupy Wall Street
movement has been a growing public awareness about income inequality. The staggering gap between the super-rich and
everyone else was highlighted in a recent report
by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The report showed that
since 1979 the richest one percent of households have seen their income rise by
300 percent. The rest of us, meanwhile, saw our incomes rise by an average of
19 percent.
So it is little wonder that former Speaker Newt Gingrich was asked about this
important issue during a campaign appearance at Harvard’s Kennedy School of
Government. What did he propose in response? Higher wages for workers?
Repealing tax breaks for big corporations? A plan to put people back to work?
Nope. His answer was a head-scratcher—even
for this Republican presidential field.
“The core policies of protecting unionization and
bureaucratization against children in the poorest neighborhoods, crippling them
by putting them in schools that fail, has done more to create income inequality
in the United States than any other single policy,” he said.
So what is his plan to fix our broken schools? Fire the janitors and replace
them with children. Really.
“It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children
in child laws which are truly stupid,” Gingrich said. “I tried for years to
have a very simple model. These schools should get rid of unionized janitors,
have one master janitor, pay local students to take care of the school. The
kids would actually do work; they’d have cash; they’d have pride in the
schools. They’d begin the process of rising.”
There is something stupid here and it’s not the “child laws.” Forget for a
second that Gingrich hates unions so much that he’d rather have child labor
than organized labor. What about all the janitors that would be fired under his
plan? Does he really want the hard-working men and women who clean our nation’s
schools to collect unemployment checks instead of paychecks? What about their children?
Will they replace their mother and father at work?
“You’re going to see from me extraordinarily radical proposals to
fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America,” Gingrich said.
Clearly.
In 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act
which placed limits on many forms of child labor. This wasn’t to protect
unionization or bureaucratization—it was to protect children from exploitation
and injury. The low-income kids Newt Gingrich is claiming to care about should
be learning in their schools, not cleaning them. Education is the key to their
future in an economy where you earn what you learn.
But in Newt Gingrich’s world, child labor isn’t just a chapter in a history
book. It’s a work-study program. And a plan to close the gap between the rich
and the rest. Ladies and gentleman, this is your Republican
presidential front-runner. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Here's the video - you have to see it to believe it!
Black Friday has finally become Black Thanksgiving, leaving retail workers with no time for turkey - or to spend with their families.
Retail
workers go above and beyond to provide great service for their customers during the holiday
season, and take pride in their work. But with stores like Walmart moving up Black Friday opening times to 10pm on Thanksgiving, and
Target calling in workers at 11pm, retail workers will be unable to sit
down with their families for Thanksgiving dinner this year.
Concerns over hours and scheduling constantly fall at the top of the list of problems for retail workers. That's why workers should be able to stick together and have a say over their hours and scheduling, and compensation for holiday work. After all, retail jobs are the fastest growing jobs in the country, and millions of retail workers have the power to make these jobs good middle class jobs. That's good for our economy, and good for all Americans. UFCW members who work at stores like Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Modell's, and H&M know the power of sticking together and speaking with one voice. They know that we can improve our jobs and our lives by standing up with one another for what's right. By sticking together in a union, these retail workers earn higher pay for work on holidays. They also have more control over their schedules.
Management pressure on workers and their unions continues at Nestlé, the world's largest food company. At the Nescafé factory in Panjang, Indonesia, union members have been dismissed following industrial action in response to a collective bargaining deadlock. The company has failed to show up for mediation and refused admittance to the occupied factory with a committee from the local parliament, preferring mass dismissals to good faith negotiations.
In Pakistan, ever since the company expanded its Kabirwala plant, management has attempted to undermine the union, interfering in elections and harassing its president. Now that the union is energetically defending the right of hundreds of contract workers at this state-of-the-art facility to permanent employment, Nestlé is responding with provocations and dismissals and has suspended the union president.
Click here to send a message to Nestlé, telling them to stop Nespressure and respect trade union rights!
Statement from UFCW International President Joe Hansen on Election Results in Ohio
"The repeal of Senate Bill 5 is bigger than just one law or one state. It sends a message to all those who would try to silence the voice of American workers: you do so at your own peril. It shows that the right to bargain collectively for a better life is fundamental—not some perk that can be stripped away on a whim. The votes cast today in Columbus and Cleveland and everywhere in between will have aftershocks in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Washington D.C.
"America’s working families want a good job that pays a fair wage, decent affordable health care, access to a quality education for their kids, and a little money left in the bank so they can retire with dignity. They also understand that the economic mess we find ourselves in today was caused by Wall Street, not Main Street. They know the guilty parties are speculators and predatory lenders, not teachers and first responders. Extreme politicians like Governor Kasich are waging war on the middle class.
"Today’s vote shows that we are fighting back. And better yet, we are winning. I am proud of the UFCW and its members for their great work in Ohio. We understand that an attack on one worker—whether public or private sector, union or non-union—is an attack on all workers. We are proud to be part of diverse coalition of activists, including the entire labor movement, who dedicated countless hours to the fight for workers’ rights in Ohio.
"Tonight we know that America’s middle class will no longer sit idly by. The silent majority is silent no more. Every elected official that would do us harm should take notice."
UFCW Local 1059 members Juanita Smith and Jason Taylor canvass for No on 2.
Wow. What an amazing eight months. From gathering signatures to helping fill out absentee
applications to registering new voters, I have had the experience of a lifetime
I will never forget, and I will be forever grateful. I made a difference by helping to
give voters a voice. I came to them and put a face on the issue. Now, no matter what the outcome, they have been able to use their voices to speak up for good jobs. To speak up for Ohio workers.
I
registered my grandson, his best friends and a young lady in high school just
waiting for the opportunity to be able to vote. The future of Ohio will be okay
in the hands of these young people. Registered another eighteen year old young
woman who was balancing an infant on her hip while taking care of her
handicapped mother in a poverty stricken neighborhood. Went away with the
thought she was going to improve her corner of the world, starting with her
signature.
I was in Circleville the last day of voter registration and
talked to a seventy year old first time voter who had a date with her son to go
to the polls. My high school government teacher came to a drive thru petition
signing and never had to leave his car. I've had conversations with people from
18 to 98, some I will never forget. So many stories.
The new friends I've
met, again - wow. My partner in this venture has literally picked me up, dusted me
off and inspired me to go on. We can just look at each other and burst out
laughing. We are starting to finish each others sentences, a little scary. And
lastly I am inspired by my union leadership and will be FOREVER grateful that I can be involved in this effort to help working families across Ohio.
I made a difference.
Juanita Smith is a UFCW member and works as a meatcutter in Chillicothe, Ohio.
A majority of the 2,500 workers at National Beef’s Dodge City, Kansas beef slaughter and processing facility voted to join UFCW District Local 2, in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, on Thursday and Friday, November 3 and 4, 2011.
The workers’ campaign began when several National Beef workers contacted the UFCW seeking a union voice on the job. At that time, National Beef and the UFCW agreed on a fair and balanced process that allowed employees to vote on whether or not they wanted union representation. UFCW represents the workers at a neighboring Cargill beef slaughter and processing plant in Dodge City.
“Helping to organize my co-workers into a union was a life changing journey,” said Rebecca McGary, a worker in the fabrication department at National Beef.
“We know that workers at Cargill, just down the street from National Beef, have had a contract with Local 2 for many years – and that means they have always had a say in their wages, benefits and working conditions,” said Ramon Prieto who works on the kill floor at National Beef and who took a leading role in organizing his co-workers. “That’s why I voted to join the UFCW, so that we all will have a chance to negotiate benefits and salaries, job security, and a better life for our families.”
The National Beef workers are the latest in a series of meatpacking workers to join the UFCW at locations across the country. On October 19, approximately 1,000 workers at a JBS beef kill facility in Plainwell, Michigan joined UFCW Local 951. On October 25, 125 workers at a Farmland Foods facility in Carroll, Iowa joined UFCW Local 440. And in late September, 300 workers at Nebraska Prime in Hastings, Nebraska joined UFCW Local 293.
The Occupy Supply Fund, a program of FireDogLake, is working to raise money, purchase, and deliver supplies to the Occupy protesters. And it comes as no shock that what they need right now is cold weather gear!
OccupySupply is buying 100% union-made, American manufactured clothes to help outfit the protesters. And UFCW is proud that our members make so many of the items on the list.
Check out this blog post on how OccupySupply came to be, and the principles they're following. And if you're inclined to donate to the fund, you can do that here. Rest assured - 100% of your donation will be used to distribute union made, American manufactured items via our union supply chain to the occupations.
Just out: numbers showing the U.S. added 80,000 jobs during the month of October. And while that's an improvement, it's not nearly enough. Not even close. With such high unemployment in this country, we need a real jobs plan to put Americans back to work, and making American jobs good jobs again.
But what is Congress doing? Republicans in Congress just shot down yet ANOTHER part of Obama's jobs plan, blocking 60 billion in funds for roads and other infrastructure improvements. And why? Clearly, Republicans are bound and determined to see this country fail in order to try and take down President Obama. What other reason could there be for Republicans in Congress to vote down legislation that's extremely popular with their own constituents? The majority of Americans support the President's jobs bill and especially money for roads, bridges, and the like in their own cities and states. These kinds of jobs would put people back to work and would improve our communities and public safety, too. But Republicans are determined to act irresponsibly, determined to wreck our country's future if it means they can make President Obama a one term president.
