A New UFCW Begins to Take Shape at 9th International Union Convention

Your UFCW 3000 delegation to the 9th International Union Convention.

Every 5 years, the UFCW International Union holds a convention where union leaders from across the country meet to discuss the future of our union and help set its direction for growth. The 9th UFCW International Convention was held in Las Vegas last week. UFCW 3000’s delegates, elected directly by the membership of our union, proposed a slate of amendments and resolutions to create a stronger UFCW.  

The purpose of any union is to build collective worker power to improve safety, wages, working conditions, and to amplify the voices of workers in our workplaces and communities. To do this on a local and national level UFCW must be accountable to its members- the essential workers who showed up every day so our communities could get the prescriptions, groceries, medical care, and of course toilet paper they needed during the lockdowns of the pandemic. 

Our diverse slate of member delegates were able to make their voices heard by taking to the podiums and addressing the convention directly about the importance of reforming our UFCW union. At a convention known for speeches by top union officers, UFCW 3000’s speakers were exclusively workers in our local from a spectrum of work locations and background including Grocery Stores, Hospitals and Clinics, Cannabis industry, Retail clothing and Drug Stores, Food Processing, Laundry, and Textile workers.

UFCW 3000 Delegates Zion Grae-El, Maggie Breshears, and Jeff Terpening at the mics addressing the convention on proposed Amendments and resolutions.

Together, and with other reform minded UFCW locals, we proposed: 

• The need for direct elections for members of the International Executive Board; one member, one vote! 

• Having rank-and-file representation on the International Executive Board, just like our Executive Board here at UFCW 3000. 

• Committing more resources to organizing workplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and the healthcare industry. 

• Capping staff salaries to free up more money for member representation.  

• And 1st Day Strike Pay!  

UFCW 3000 Delegates at the Mics adressing the convention. From Left to right and then Top to Bottome, Jeff Smith, Andy Dusablon, Monalisa Bauman, Sam Dancy, and Rob Shauger.

It was a long week, but our delegation and the delegations from other reform-minded locals won important victories including: 

• Stop the Merger: After six months of many UFCW Locals, including UFCW 3000, opposing the Kroger/Albertsons mega-merger, UFCW International has filed a complaint with the SEC to stop the merger. 

• Strike Pay Reform: Newly organized workers can now get strike benefits and UFCW Union strike benefits for workers will start on the 8th day instead of the 15th day of a strike. This is significant progress towards our 1st Day Strike Pay goal.

• Health Care Division: UFCW will finally be forming a health care division to ensure that these workers have a stronger voice in our union! 

• Prioritize Safety: Making the safety of essential workers a priority in all contract negotiations so we can win and enforce strong safety regulations and safeguards. 

• A Voice on the E-Board: Constituency groups such as UFCW Women’s Network, Minority Coalition, OutReach, and United Latino’s, will now have a liaison on the international Executive board. 

• Resolutions were passed in strong support of: Medicare for All, rights to reproductive health care, gender-affirming healthcare, affordable housing, racial justice, taking action on climate change’s affects on our members, and other important issues to all workers.

At the end of the convention our delegation believes we were able to build unity and solidarity with members from other UFCW locals, and many more are willing to join with us to help make UFCW a member-focused organizing powerhouse! Strong unions are only possible with strong members. Because when we fight, we win!

Interested in learning more about your rights at work? START HERE!

Online trainings are open to all UFCW 3000 members looking to build a strong union in their workplace. We'll review our basic contractual and legal rights as union members and learn about special rights that apply when we are acting as Shop Stewards.

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Meet Naomi Oligario, UFCW 3000 Delegate to the 2023 UFCW International Convention

Naomi Oligario, one of your UFCW 3000 delegates to the 2023 UFCW International Convention

Every 5 years, the UFCW International Union holds a convention where union leaders from across the country meet to discuss the future of our union and help set its direction for growth. The 2023 UFCW International Convention will be held in Las Vegas, beginning today, Monday, April 24, 2023 and concluding Friday, April 28, 2023, or until all business is completed and the Convention is adjourned.

Naomi Oligario is an elected delegate to this convention and believes the UFCW International Union must be accountable to its membership and build real power for workers in all essential industries, including grocery, retail, cannabis, packing and processing, and healthcare. The purpose of any union is to build collective worker power to improve safety, wages, and working conditions, and amplify the voices of workers in their workplaces and communities. As a rank-&-file member, she knows how important this fight is.

Naomi Oligario has worked at Port Orchard Safeway for over 37 years! She started as a courtesy clerk before working her way up to produce & front end. Throughout the years, she has trained countless other grocery store workers, all while getting to know customers as they’ve grown up and built families of their own. Naomi is a respected workplace leader, which is why she ran on a slate of candidates from our local committed to fighting for a better UFCW!

UFCW International has decreased spending on critical organizing campaigns and discouraged coordination on our most important bargaining campaigns. This, combined with a large amount of investment in the stock market has been one of the factors that have contributed to the shrinking number of members in the UFCW year after year. This is why our delegation is proposing a set of reforms to invest in organizing, coordinating bargaining with national employers, and modernizing strike authorization so that bureaucracy doesn’t prevent workers from holding their employers accountable at the bargaining table.

Our delegation believes the UFCW must change in five fundamental ways: 

1. UFCW members must have a democratic voice in their International Union.

2. UFCW must be a powerhouse union that fights for all essential workers. 

3. UFCW must prioritize new organizing and invest in organizing campaigns, organizers, and new winning strategies.

4. UFCW must commit to coordinated bargaining across the USA and Canada.

5. UFCW must engage in strategic planning to counter corporate power and meet the challenges that face our movement and our democracy.

“We believe that union leadership should be accountable to the membership – the only way for that to happen is to have leadership be democratically elected from members themselves. We do this as a local union and our democratically elected executive board of over 40 members who work in our diverse industries is part of what makes us strong. We believe that the same should be the case for the UFCW International. The International should be held to the same democratic standard as we are at the local.” – Naomi Oligario, Port Orchard, Safeway, and Ana Alverez, Grandview, Washington Beef

National Leader to Testify At Senate Hearing On Coronavirus Deaths and Infections Among Food Workers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 12, 2020

**TODAY, May 12 at 2:30PM ET**

National Leader to Testify At Senate Hearing On Coronavirus Deaths and Infections Among Food Workers

Marc Perrone, International President of Largest U.S. Food Retail and Meatpacking Union, to Testify on Growing Threat To American Workers and Food Supply, Urge Congress to Put Worker Safety First

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, May 12 at 2:30PM ET, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, which represents 1.3 million workers in food and retail, will testify in a U.S. Senate hearing on the growing number of deaths across the food industry from COVID-19 and the threat to America’s food supply. The U.S. Senate hearing will highlight the push to exempt businesses from liability for ensuring the safety of their employees during the ongoing pandemic.

The following are excerpts from prepared remarks UFCW International President Marc Perrone will deliver today at 2:30pm in front of the U.S. Senate hearing on employer liability: 

“UFCW supports measures to make workers safer and rejects calls for employer immunity, which would only exacerbate the current crisis. It is not just wrong for workers; it will endanger the very food supply we must all strive to protect. The best way to keep our essential businesses up and running, and to reopen additional businesses, is to ensure that workers have essential protections they need.

“This virus does not care whether you are Republican or Democrat, and when it comes to such a national crisis, neither should we. Without standardized and uniform protections, and when no one at the federal level is holding these companies responsible, I can promise you that these workers will continue to get sick and die.”

“Protecting these workers is not about dollars and cents, it is about life and death. It is about this simple fact – we can’t protect America’s food supply unless – and until – we protect America’s food workers.”

**Livestream: Click here to watch today’s 2:30pm U.S. Senate hearing on employer liability**

Background:

During the testimony, President Marc Perrone will discuss the conditions grocery workers and meatpacking workers face on the frontlines of the outbreak, share best practices and safety standards that must be followed, and talk about how to protect America’s food supply. 

Since the beginning of this pandemic UFCW has been proactive in advocating for the best and necessary safety standards to protect America’s food supply, grocery workers and meatpacking workers. The below is a summary of measures UFCW has urged employers and elected leaders to immediately implement:

• Prioritize Essential Workers for Testing: To protect grocery and meatpacking workers and the food supply, these essential workers must be prioritized for testing.

• Immediate Access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): All grocery, meatpacking and food processing workers must have priority access to the critical personal protection equipment necessary to do their job and reduce the risk of exposure. 

• Immediate Halt On Line Speed Waivers: USDA’s recent approval of 11 regulatory waivers for poultry plants to increase line speeds shows a reckless disregard for worker safety during this pandemic. The USDA must immediately cease granting any new waivers and suspend all existing waivers that allow plants to operate at faster speeds.

• Mandate Social Distancing Where Possible: Companies must enforce and practice six-foot social and physical distancing to the greatest extent possible, even if it slows production. When not possible, companies should use plexiglass barriers and/or ensure all workers have masks that can safely be used. 

• Isolate Workers Who Show Symptoms or Test Positive for COVID-19: It is critical to identify and isolate workers who test positive or exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. These workers must be allowed to quarantine at home, with pay, per CDC recommendations. 

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 The UFCW is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.3 million professionals and their families in grocery stores, meatpacking, food processing, retail shops and other industries.

Our members help put food on our nation’s tables and serve customers in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at www.ufcw.org.