UFCW 3000 Urges Washington State Congressional Delegation To Call on Joe Biden to Step Aside For A New Generation of Leadership

July 18, 2024

Dear Washington State Congressional Delegation,

As the largest private sector Union in Washington State, representing 55,000 members in grocery, healthcare, cannabis, processing, and retail, UFCW 3000 is dedicated to our members in their workplaces, in their communities, and at home.

The accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration are nothing short of historic; from investing in public infrastructure, taking on corporate monopolies, appointing pro-worker appointees to the NLRB and FTC, and being the first President to join striking workers on a picket line. While President Biden has a record of accomplishments we can all be proud of, we cannot afford to go backwards when it comes to the rights of workers to organize, and the important protections we’ve won during President Biden’s term in office.

What’s at stake in this election is the future of our middle class. In Donald Trump’s war on Unions and on our democracy, working people across the country stand the most to lose.

If President Biden continues to demonstrate that he is unable to effectively campaign, and subsequently loses in November, the advances workers have made will be at immediate risk in a second Trump administration.

Unions cannot sit on the sidelines while working people are under attack. Working people need a leader who can effectively deliver a strong message between now and November, and then implement that vision over the next four years. We call on President Biden to pass the torch to the next generation. He has much to celebrate over his career of accomplishments fighting alongside working people, but it is time for him to retire with dignity, and campaign as hard as we all will for an alternative candidate. The stakes are simply too high to do otherwise.

We urge you, members of our Washington State Congressional Delegation, to call on President Joe Biden to step aside for a new generation of leadership.

Faye Guenther, President UFCW 3000
&
Joe Mizrahi, Secretary-Treasurer UFCW 3000

UFCW 21 Endorses Bernie Sanders and Medicare For All

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2020
Contact: Joe Mizrahi, jmizrahi@ufcw21.org , 619-955-2970

UFCW 21 Endorses Bernie Sanders and Medicare For All

WASHINGTON— United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 21 (UFCW 21), the largest private-sector union in the state and the largest UFCW local in the country, is announcing endorsements of Bernie Sanders for President and Medicare for All. UFCW 21 has long been at the forefront of advancing the rights and dignity of working people, and our democratically elected member executive board voted Tuesday night (1/28) to make these endorsements because our members understand what is at stake for workers in the upcoming election.

“Bernie Sanders has by far the most pro-worker labor agenda of any candidate, and we have already seen him use his platform during this campaign to support organizing in the industries we represent,” said Faye Guenther, president of UFCW 21. “As a union, our fundamental goal is to expand worker democracy and power. We are so excited to see a candidate committed to expanding the electorate and inspiring even more people to engage with the democratic process, both in their workplaces and in this election.”

“Bernie understands that even health care workers don’t always have good health care plans,” said Jose Hernandez, UFCW 21 executive board member and emergency department assistant at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. “As someone who works in an ER, I see the effects of our broken health care system every day, as patients skip getting the care they need because they can’t afford it, leading to worse health outcomes and higher costs for everyone. And as a union member, Medicare for All relieves us of the burden of long, drawn-out fights to maintain our health care plans, freeing working people from the crushing consequences of getting sick and opening doors for wage increases and other benefits.”

“We know what it’s like to go up against big corporations and win—and we know Bernie doesn’t back down from a fight,” said Kyong Barry, UFCW 21 executive board member and front-end supervisor at Albertsons in Auburn. “Union workers are facing an uphill battle at the federal level as corporations are attempting to systematically dismantle the protections the union movement has fought for. We’re supporting a candidate who understands the structural change needed to rebuild the union movement.”

This election cycle, issues and candidates on the ballot will determine the long-term health and future of the labor movement. We also see Senator Warren as another strong candidate. In the Washington Primary, you can only vote for one person and we feel that Sanders has a strong track record and set of policy proposals to support union and not-yet-union workers.

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ABOUT UFCW 21

UFCW 21 is working to build a powerful union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and our communities. We represent over 46,000 workers in retail, grocery stores, health care, cannabis, and other industries in Washington State.