Greeley, CO – JBS Greeley workers are starting the first weekend of their strike strong, with over 1000 picketing outside the meatpacking plant on March 20.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 union members and JBS workers alike wrapped around the block outside the JBS factory on Friday. People crowded along the barrier on 8th Avenue and danced to music in Spanish and English, forming conga lines with supporters and strike marshals.

In December 2025, Haitian immigrant JBS employees, who comprise a large number of night shift plant workers, filed a class action lawsuit against the meatpacking company for dangerous working and living conditions, after being recruited under false pretenses.

When they were hired, JBS promised free housing and fair pay; instead, Haitian employees had to pay out of pocket to live with 20-30 people in a single motel room and get paid meager wages to meet dangerously high processing quotas.

Since the lawsuit was filed, conditions have only gotten worse. JBS has sped up production for members across the factory – so much so that employees aren’t getting the 40 hours of work a week that they were promised, according to a shop steward. Workers also must use dull knives to cut beef.

UFCW Local 7 has been negotiating with JBS since May 2025, and their contract ended in July. After nearly ten months of unsuccessful negotiations, over 90% of all workers in the plant voted to strike, which began on March 16.

Hundreds of non-workers and their families have also shown up to support the struggle against JBS.

“I was taught growing up, you pick a side and stand with it and that’s what I’m doing,” said one of the political coordinators of the strike, “fighting along my brothers and sisters who don’t have the support structure I have, but deserve a chance at the American dream.”

#GreelyCO #CO #Labor #Strike #UFCW

Greeley, CO – On March 16, 3800 members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 went on strike at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado. The union members walked out of their shift at 5:30 a.m. to picket the plant.

This strike marks the first time in over 40 years that workers at a major meat packer went on strike for a better contract. This came after management’s final offer of a 30-cent raise, with 22 cents going towards healthcare benefits. Workers were dissatisfied with all offers from the company’s side, and 99% authorized to strike.

At least 1200 members walked the picket line the morning the strike started. Chants were being yelled out to the crowd, including “When we fight, we win” and “Sí se puede.” Union staffers and organizers kept members in high morale with hand warmers and water, and kept the crowd organized with megaphones, directing members to strategic areas around the plant.

Leticia Avalos, a member of UFCW Local 7, said, “Most of all, the strike is to make a statement to the company, that their members are tired of the mistreatment that they get – because not only is it in the contract or some safety issues they [the company] have been doing, but also the treatment that [workers] get. They get yelled at, they’re told that they have to wait to go to the restroom, and when you have to go you have to go.”

Members also cited other issues of safety, including a short supply of safety equipment supplied by the company with members having to purchase it themselves to stay safe.

Katherine Draken, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, attended the event in support of the striking workers. Draken said, “These workers have shown incredible militancy rejecting JBS's pathetic contract proposal. Everyone who supports worker power and militancy should be out here to support this.”

Another supporter of the strike, Salem Chadwick, a member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, said, “The JBS fight is connected to our fights. When we see unions win big, it inspires workers all over to fight the boss and win too.”

At 1:30 p.m., members switched shifts, with the second shift of strikers holding the line until 10:30 that night. Spirits were high on day one of the strike.

#GreelyCO #CO #UFCW #Labor #Strike #Featured

Appleton, WI – Hundreds of workers, queer activists and community members flooded Houdini Plaza in Appleton, Wisconsin, on May 1, International Workers Day, kicking off a march that would face police repression before triumphantly returning to cheers of public support.

The action, organized by Hate Free Outagamie, Appleton Area NOW, Fox Valley Indivisible, ESTHER Fox Valley and other grassroots groups, sent an unmistakable message, that their solidarity is stronger than their oppression.

Opening call to action: “Defend your neighbors!”

Rev. Hannah Roberts Villnave of Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship opened the rally with a fiery challenge, stating, “Loving your neighbor means getting in the way of deportations, standing between trans folks and their attackers. They'll have to go through us first!” as the crowd responded with roars of approval.

Labor's fighting legacy

Jay Gibbs of UFCW Local 1473 grounded the day in Wisconsin's radical labor history, referring to events from the Bay View Massacre to current union drives. “May Day was born from blood spilled for the eight-hour day,” Gibbs said, “When we fight for the worker next to us, we fight for every worker.”

Highlighting the militant labor movement’s deep roots in Wisconsin, Gibbs slammed bosses and politicians who “prioritize profits over people” and cynically divide workers by race, gender or identity.

“Solidarity is how we win,” Gibbs declared, “When we fight for the worker next to us, we fight for every worker.”

Queer and worker solidarity

Mary Bogen, chair of Hate Free Outagamie, spoke on the fundamental link between the labor movement and the fight for queer liberation. They cited the examples of the armed lesbians who defended auto workers from strikebreakers in the 1930s, as well as the queer activists who marched with British miners who resisted Thatcher in the 1980s.

As the Trump administration escalates its attacks on trans healthcare and educators, Bogen castigated the Outagamie County Board for its continued opposition to a Trans Sanctuary ordinance, flying in the face of the will of the people embodied in the nearly 2000 petition signatures from workers, union members and allies.

“Their silence abandons trans workers, youth and families,” Bogen said, “But we say: Not here. Not ever. When one of us is denied safety, when one of us is stripped of healthcare, when one of us is forced into the shadows; every worker is weaker for it.”

Police repression meets people's power

As the march arrived at the Outagamie County courthouse from Houdini, it was greeted by almost a dozen Appleton Police Department squad cars and officers. A wall of squad cars and officers blocked the second leg of the march from returning to Houdini plaza from the courthouse. Officer William Berens, who has a history of targeting the movement, particularly women and non-binary people shoved a security team member multiple times.

When chants of “Let us march!” were ignored, the crowd pivoted to sidewalk protest, drawing honks and cheers from passing drivers. “APD showed their true role as enforcers for the powerful,” said Hate Free Outagamie Co-chair Tanner Ziebell, “But we showed our power; disciplined, united and unstoppable.”

This marks at least the second time Officer Berens has physically harassed protest marshals, the first time being at a Palestine march, now at May Day. APD's pattern is clear. But Appleton’s activists will keep marching, organizing, and fighting back. “They tried to stop us, but we marched anyway,” said UFCW organizer and HFO member Jay Gibbs, “That's the spirit of May Day!”

#AppletonWI #WI #Labor #LGBTQ #ImmigrantRights #Trans #UFCW

Denver, CO – Early in the morning of February 6, grocery store workers at 77 King Soopers locations represented by United Food Commercial Workers Local 7 went on strike.

After months of little progress in negotiations with the billion dollar parent company, Kroger, the members have overwhelmingly voted to go on strike to fight for a contract that meets their demands.

Workers say their biggest focus is increased wages and staffing. Many workers on the picket line stated they are being forced to work harder because Kroger refuses to hire enough workers. This issue was repeated by workers from multiple departments including deli, dairy, bakery, grocery and frozen goods. Overnight workers expressed needing two or more people in their department on the overnight shift. Another issue that was raised was that the union members are not able to stock their departments by themselves or finish their work in the allotted time they are given by management.

The workers said that management has consistently refused to allow any overtime to get the work done, and that that is leading to unfinished work that is expected to be done the following day, on top of their regular work for that day, meaning that tasks like rotating the product and running backstock rarely happen.

Kroger has bought up many grocery chains and expanded dramatically in recent years, and the striking workers believe that this consolidation of the grocery industry has caused prices to skyrocket while wages in the industry have stagnated.

Employees across the store raised issues around low wages and say that some members are working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Long-term workers at King Soopers also spoke to how they felt like they are treated now compared to the time before Kroger’s takeover, saying that they used to be paid a living wage, the work was more enjoyable, and the culture of the job was significantly better.

The strike is set to continue for two weeks across the 77 locations, with workers maintaining a 24-hour picket. Members of Local 7 are striking for better staffing, treatment, and wages across the state.

#DenverCO #CO #Labor #UFCW #UFCW7 #Feature

Chicago, IL – An energetic crowd of protesters gathered in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago to celebrate Earth Day, April 21, and protest the construction of a mega-warehouse in South Tacoma, Washington. The mega warehouse is currently under construction by the Chicago-based real estate company Bridge Industrial.

Russel Dahlman, of Chicago and the Midwest Regional Joint Board of Workers United, explained, “We are proud to stand in solidarity behind our siblings in labor- the Teamsters Local 28 and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367- who are opposing environmentally racist practices in the form a mega-warehouse that would devastate the natural environment in the primarily Black and brown neighborhoods of Tacoma, Washington.”

Dahlman was one of several speakers who tied the fight for environmental justice at the Bridge Industrial mega-warehouse to the broader people's movements. The programming included speeches from organizers focused on students, labor and racial justice.

“As organized labor, we stand up for our communities, and we fight for the resources we deserve, including education, healthcare, good-paying union jobs, clean neighborhoods and healthy foods. Our ability to live a safe and healthy life shouldn’t be determined by our zip code or tax bracket,” Dahlman continued, stressing the importance of solidarity between the labor and environmental movements.

Jimmy Rogers from Students for a Democratic Society at University of Illinois – Chicago (SDS UIC) discussed how solidarity around the globe is imperative. “As we celebrate this Earth, I am reminded of the Palestinians who loved this Earth and their land so much they'd rather be buried in it than to leave it to the hands of the Zionist war criminals.” Rogers went on to describe how environmentally destructive the Israeli occupation has been.

Chants of “We believe that we will win” echoed between the Chicago skyscrapers. This chant was characteristic of the rally – optimistic, energetic, and determined to fight environmental injustice with solidarity.

That rally closed with the crowd singing the classic labor song Solidarity Forever – with a verse altered to reflect the mega-warehouse:

“Bridge Industrial will destroy us if it means they’ll make a dime. But they’re running off our labor, stolen land and borrowed time. Tacoma and Chicago will defeat them when our power is combined! For the union makes us strong!”

#ChicagoIL #TacomaWA #Environment #Labor #EarthDay #Teamsters #UFCW #SDS

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday September 27, workers at Seward Co-op in South Minneapolis reached a tentative agreement on their next union contract. The agreement comes only one day after a strong majority of the co-op workers voted to authorize a strike by a near unanimous majority of ballots cast. The co-op workers are represented by Local 663 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW 663) union.

In the tentative agreement, the workers won a minimum of $5 raises for every worker with some workers we spoke to saying they will receive $6.50 over the three years. They also won language to address concerns held by multi departmental clerks, who previously could be sent all over the store, leading to issues at work. Under new language those workers will be able to go to the job knowing there are no more than two areas in which any given person can be made to work. Additionally new language was won to protect staffing levels when self-check-out machines are used. For workers who are hired in at the bottom of the scale with no experience, this agreement will move them from as little as $15.50 per hour, up to a new minimum of $20.50 per hour.

Olivia Crull is a facilities assistant at Seward Co-op, said, “We’re coming out of this with a TA that will raise standards across the grocery store industry. Grocery store workers deserve a livable wage and respect, and through collective action and bringing everyone into the fight, we were able to win what we were owed by co-op management and more. We’ve built our union tremendously in this fight, and we will continue to grow it and exercise our solidarity in the workplace, so that nobody is left behind.”

The contract still needs to be voted on in order to go into effect. That vote is scheduled for a quick turnaround time, with workers voting on Monday, October 2.

#MinneapolisMN #SewardCoop #UFCW663 #UFCW

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, September 26, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663 members at Seward Community Co-op voted by an overwhelming majority to authorize an Unfair Labor Practice strike as they head towards their September 27 bargaining session with management. This vote comes as a result of management’s harassment and intimidation of workers over the past three weeks after the expiration of the previous contract on August 22, which took with it the right to arbitration following grievance procedures.

Bargaining between UFCW and Seward has been ongoing since early August and has been a difficult struggle on the shop floor and at the bargaining table. While tentative agreements have been reached on issues ranging from parental leave to autonomy over the use of unpaid time off, as well as progress on wage equity, the company’s wage proposals still fall short of what workers are demanding. An increase of $1.50 was most recent company offer, which may sound decent if it were not for the fact that the base starting wage for employees is only $15.50, far less than the cost of living in Minneapolis.

With a powerful strike threat in hand, workers at Seward are declaring that they are ready and willing to fight for their needs. How Co-op management will respond to this remains to be seen. What is already known is that workers from Minnesota Workers United and unions in the Twin Cities have already pledged their support for the UFCW members, whether they end up striking or not, and that the solidarity of Seward workers is still standing strong in the face of management’s intimidation tactics.

#MinneapolisMN #UFCW663 #Strike #UFCW

Minneapolis, MN – United Food and Commercial Workers 663 workers at Seward Community Co-op have been working without a contract since their previous one expired on August 20 of this year, and in bargaining for a new agreement, management has fought against workers’ demands on nearly every issue.

The key demands from workers in bargaining have included increased pay, an additional week of paid parental leave, wage equity and cost of living raises, and pushing against automation, such as self-checkout lanes. Tentative agreements have been reached on most points, but wages and wage equity remain a contentious issue.

“Wear Your Wage” campaign

Seward Co-op has employees with a wide range of experience in the industry, some having one to two years, some up to 15 or more. According to Anthony Taylor-Gougé, a Seward employee and member of the union bargaining team, under the previous contract Seward is supposed to compensate workers for relevant work experience when hired. However, employees later discovered that management did not hold up their end of the agreement, and often handed out only one or two experience credits for employees with several years of experience, while new hires with only one or two years of experience were given three or four credits, to make their starting wage seem more competitive in the industry.

Despite the Co-op’s lip service to values such as equity, the base starting wage for employees has only grown 50 cents since the previous contract was signed in 2020, now totaling only $15.50, far less than a livable wage in Minneapolis in 2023.

Cub Foods, Lunds and Kowalski’s are also grocery stores represented by UFCW 663 and in their newest contracts [see Fight Back News April and July articles] set a standard $4 per hour wage increase over two years. Seward workers have demanded their wages be brought up to the new industry standard, but management has continued to refuse, and all the while workers are struggling to pay rent, utilities and for other necessities. Instead of paying their employees more, management has decided to put $2.5 million into remodeling their Franklin Avenue location.

After a complete lack of progress with management in bargaining, rank-and-file employees decided to take action on the shop floor. “We started wearing our wages on our masks and name tags to let shoppers know what's going on, and we've had lots of great conversations with people who are shocked at how little people are making, especially those of us with many years of experience,” said Olivia Crull, a UFCW 663 member and employee at Seward Co-op. “Management on the other hand would like to pretend these numbers don't exist.”

Management walks out of bargaining

The two previous bargaining sessions between UFCW and Seward on Thursday, September 7, and Friday, September 8, saw management walk out of the room and refuse to return to the table for the rest of the day, despite a federal mediator being present during their Friday session, and are now trying to move the bargaining location.

“We have been holding bargaining at our Friendship location, because it is accessible to our workers, especially those who walk or bus to work,” said Taylor-Gougé. “On Friday, after management refused to continue bargaining, they made us aware that they would like to move bargaining to on offsite location in Northeast Minneapolis. Despite what bogus reasoning the bosses claim to have, it is clearly about trying to make attending bargaining inaccessible to workers, as we have had upwards of 20-plus workers attend a given bargaining session.”

On Saturday, September 9 workers gathered outside the Franklin location of the store to leaflet customers, asking them to call Seward Co-op management and demand that they come back to the bargaining table. On Sunday workers did the same at the Co-op’s 38th Street Friendship location. They were joined by supporters from Minnesota Workers United as well as other unions in the Twin Cities.

“Management should welcome transparency and equitable conditions for the people who make the co-op run, but instead, it’s getting harder and harder for workers to make ends meet, and many of us aren’t even making a livable wage,” said Crull. “We know the co-op members and community are behind us, and we’re all waiting for management to get back to the table and do the right thing.”

#MinneapolisMN #UFCW

Minneapolis, MN – 2500 grocery store workers who work at Lunds & Byerlys grocery stores in and around the metro area of Minneapolis are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663. They had built and authorized a strike at 22 grocery stores, which was set to begin on the morning of Thursday, June 29. Instead, late Monday, June 26, management blinked at the bargaining table and a tentative agreement was reached which the members will vote on for their next contract.

Throughout bargaining, management had been demanding a major concession around healthcare benefits. The workers healthcare plan has long been a union-run plan. Management was proposing to switch from the union-run plan to a plan run by management. The workers understood that to give up control of their healthcare plan would open them up to the potential for changes and decreases in coverage over time or increases in costs, so keeping control over their plan was a key priority for the workers. Additionally, the workers were proposing significant raises to keep up with rising costs and reflect the key role that essential grocery store workers play.

“We won a lot of the raises and benefits that we’re fighting for,” said Sarah Dike, cheese specialist at the Maple Grove Lunds & Byerlys, “I look forward to talking more with my coworkers at the informational meetings we are holding so that we all understand what we will vote on later this week.”

The grocery store workers’ union contract expired on March 7, and since then they have been working without a contract. On Friday, June 23 they voted to authorize a strike which was scheduled to begin on June 29, and go on for three days in the leadup to the July 4 holiday weekend, which is a particularly busy time for grocery stores.

The UFCW 663 bargaining committee plans to hold informational meetings for members as a chance to review the tentative agreement. The union then plans for a ratification vote to occur on Saturday, July 1.

#MinneapolisMN #UFCW

The tentative agreement reached between the union and King Soopers was ratified by the membership on Monday, January 24. According to UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova, the agreement contains “the most significant wage increase ever secured by a UFCW local for grocery workers.”

The agreement contains wage increases of over $5 per hour for some workers, improved healthcare, and new paths to full-time employment for part-time employees.

After the ratification vote, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders held a virtual town hall with UFCW leadership and King Soopers workers to share their experiences during the strike. “I’m glad we went out. As a worker, I’m glad that we got the strike vote and that everyone came out with me,” said Andres Becerril, a King Soopers worker and strike picket captain.

The successful conclusion of the strike represents a victory for Colorado King Soopers workers and the entire working class. With many more UFCW contracts set to expire this year, this early victory may prove to be a catalyst for other grocery workers’ strikes in 2022. As Andres Becerril noted, “Everyone that’s in a union or wants to be unionized, they’re seeing the power of a union and of a strike and the support that the rest of the world has for them, and I think it’s just going to get better.”

#DenverCO #PeoplesStruggles #strike #UFCW #Strikes #KingSoopers

Franklin, WI – On the morning of August 7, a crowd of around 80 people marched outside a Strauss Brands meatpacking facility located in the small town of Franklin just south of Milwaukee. In the crowd were workers from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1473 (UFCW 1473) and their families, and members of other unions and community groups; most visibly immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera.

The crowd was gathered to call for justice for 31 line workers who had been fired for organizing for better COVID-19 protections. Strauss fired these Latino workers with Social Security No Match letters from the Social Security Administration, calling it proof that these workers can’t legally work in the U.S.

A no match letter from the SSA is used to let a worker know they may not be filing taxes correctly. It is not legal proof of immigration status, and UFCW’s contract with Strauss protects workers from firing under a No Match letter. This was an obvious racist attack on working class self-defense during a global pandemic.

The rally called for plant human resource director Cheryl Wisman to be fired, for the fired workers to be rehired, for CDC recommended safety measures to be taken, and for any fired worker who chooses not to come back to be fairly compensated and covered with a six-month insurance extension. The workers reached out to Voces to organize the rally on behalf of the workers after the UFCW grievance process failed to win the fired workers their demands.

After marching, the crowd gathered around the plant entrance to hear messages of solidarity from the presidents of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 and Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, endorsements from public officials, and firsthand stories from some of the fired workers. For now, Voces is following up with a public petition built around these demands.

#FranklinWI #Protest #meatpacking #UFCW #COVID19

Workers at Farmer John, which is owned by Smithfield, have pressed the company for increased safety measures, workplace protections and information about infections at the plant. Information has been incomplete and safety measures insufficient. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is currently investigating the plant.

“Working conditions inside the plant are similar to what we are seeing nationwide in Smithfield plants,” said John Grant, president of UFCW Local 770. “Workers are still too close together on the line, in the breakroom, the bathrooms and other such hubs. Smithfield has not provided full information about what is really going on inside the Vernon plant. Without information we cannot make an informed decision about workers’ health and safety. Therefore, we are calling for Smithfield to continue paying workers while they close the plant for a complete and thorough investigation and cleaning and to ensure the company is complying with Cal/OSHA and Department of Public Health guidance.”

“We need to feel safe on the job and we do not,” said Rina Chavarria, who works at the Farmer John plant. “We work hard every day. Smithfield has not taken steps to make sure workers are protected and now so many of us are getting sick. We can’t go to the plant under these conditions. We are paid too little not to work so we call on Smithfield to do the right thing and close the plant while we keep our pay and benefits.”

#LosAngelesCA #PeoplesStruggles #UFCW

Green Bay, WI – While Wisconsin business owners and their political allies claimed local COVID-19 cases were on the decline and pressed to repeal Governor Ever’s Safer at Home order, manufacturing plants in Brown County were experiencing a huge outbreak of the deadly viral disease amongst the workers. Cases at three meatpacking plants – JBS Packerland, American Foods Group, and Salm Partners – have accounted for over half of the county’s cases, even as the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union fought for and won vital hazard pay, safer working conditions, and personal protection equipment (PPE) for its members, following concerns raised by the immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera.

However, these measures came too late. Brown County now has the highest infection rate per capita in Wisconsin, and fourth highest among counties nationwide. This disaster is not limited to only the workers of the meat packing plants: the workers at the plants unfortunately spread the virus to their families and other close acquaintances.

Meat processing plants are known for their demanding and dangerous working conditions, and have long relied upon immigrants, and other oppressed peoples to perform the difficult work required to provide meat to people across the country. Workers operate “elbow-to-elbow” in temperatures near freezing in order to prepare meat products for sale. These conditions have spread the viral infection COVID-19 at an alarming rate among workers in the plants.

These working conditions alone did not cause the drastic infection rate among employees. Reports from inside the plants in early April describe a failure to provide PPE to employees, as well as a lack of hygiene supplies such as soap and hot water. Workers were pushed to arrive for their shifts even if they were exposed to a case of COVID-19, and even told to hide their symptoms and keep working or they would be fired.

Meanwhile, rich Wisconsin business owners, their politicians, and their allies have constantly called for a “return to normal”. Their profits have been disrupted by attempts to contain the pandemic, and despite the toll it has taken on those called “essential workers”, they want their comfortable lives to return. A rally in Madison, WI drew thousands of people, calling for the end to the Safer at Home order, and the State Supreme Court is currently debating whether the order is “unconstitutional”.

During the recent State Supreme Court discussion on the order, a justice remarked that the virus is mostly present in meat packaging plants and isn’t affecting “regular folks” – a racist callout to the separation between the Black, brown, and immigrant workers who are deemed “essential” and forced to work in dangerous and life threatening conditions, versus the rich that profit off their labor, allowing them to live safely and more comfortably.

The JBS Packerland plant, after reporting a massive amount of infections among the workforce, announced an indefinite closure of the facility in order to test for the virus. The results were shocking: almost 300 workers, or 25% of the workforce, tested positive. But we will have to wait to discover whether that number will improve or get worse: in late April, the health department announced they would comply with requests from the three meat packing facilities and stop reporting cases of COVID-19 at the plants in the county and state totals.

Adding to this disaster is President Trump’s executive order for meat processing plants to reopen, so that the meat supply chains will not be disrupted. On Tuesday, May 5, JBS Packerland resumed operations despite the number of infected in the workforce. This only serves to benefit the company. The UFCW International Union had negotiated 32 hours of pay per week for their members during the plant closure in order to protect their livelihoods while essential testing was being performed. This was a short-lived protection and workers are now again being exposed to potential infection.

Asked for comment, Northeast Wisconsin-based refugee advocate Wess Roberts responded, “These events prove two things. First, the initial suppression of information and protective measures by private actors illustrates just how essential unions remain in protecting modern workers, and by extension, the greater well-being of the public.”

Roberts continued, “Second is that, even with union protections, the vast, intersecting federation of vulnerable minority groups employed by the food production industry – racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, refugees, asylees, migrant workers, etc. – continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of the risks and consequences of an inaccessible, profit-driven decision making apparatus. The case for the existence and reinforcement of our unions practically makes itself.”

#GreenBayWI #Labor #OppressedNationalities #US #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #meatpacking #UFCW #DonaldTrump #COVID19

Los Angeles, CA – Over 40 supporters picketed outside of Ralphs grocery store on Sunset Boulevard, July 31. The store’s United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization in June.

Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons grocery employees have been without a contract since March of 2019. In March, the corporations wanted to slash checker pay by 25%, eliminate payouts of unpaid sick days, give no overall wage increases, nor contributions to health care and pension plans, among many other unacceptable contract setbacks. Negotiations for 60,000 workers in Southern California are coming to a head and it looks like workers will have to go on strike to get their demands met.

“When 10% of Ralphs employees are homeless, and when 60% of Ralphs employees are working more than one job because of how low wages are, we got a problem,” says Ralphs employee Ryan Oakley. Oakley has been an employee for three years, he started as a cashier, and now works in the meat department. “Even if a Ralphs employee works full time,” continued Oakley, “because our wages are so low, we would only be making $26,000 a year!”

Chanting, “What do you want? A contract! When do you want it? Now!” “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!” “Si se puede!” and “We’ll be back!” the picketers sent a delegation into the store to hand-deliver a signed letter by all who participated in the picket. The letter urged supervisors at the Sunset Boulevard Ralphs to support a fair contract.

Ralphs is one of the largest grocery chains mainly located in Southern California. It is owned by Krogers, which is the largest grocery chain in the United States. Albertsons, which owns Vons, is the second largest grocery chain in the United States. Both Albertsons and Krogers are among the largest corporations in the country, and collectively represent about 40% of the grocery market in Southern California. While these companies get richer, workers are forced to work for lower wages.

This is not the first time these corporate giants have tried to cut employees’ wages and benefits. In October 2003, workers at these chains went on strike to stop the cut-backs. Workers were eventually locked out, and the strike lasted four months. Wages were cut and a two-tier system was put in place for new hires. The 2003 strike was the largest and longest grocery worker strike in U.S. history. It cost the companies over $1.5 billion. Without the strike, these corporate giants would have gotten away with shamelessly robbing employees.

In early July, over 10,000 supporters took to multiple Ralphs locations and began fighting back. Their demands included proposals to increase minimum hour guarantees, stop the two-tier system, and protect employee schedules. These demonstrations forced Ralph’s corporate owners to withdraw their efforts to slash checker pay as well as bring back payouts for unpaid sick days.

UFCW and the companies are at the negotiating table July 30 through August 1. Along with a better contract, the workers need support.

UFCW employees are asking people not to shop at any Ralphs, Vons, or Albertsons if they go on strike. If customers currently shop at any of these grocery stores, picketers are asking these customers to look at the bottom of their receipts. At the bottom of the receipt are both the phone number to the store as well as the name of the store’s supervisors. Supporters are being asked to organize call-ins demanding each supervisor support a fair contract, and to remind supervisors that they will not cross the picket line if the employees go on strike. If supporters attend a UFCW event, they are given reusable grocery bags with the words, “Support grocery workers! Hard work, fair pay!” Other ways to support are to attend pickets happening all around Southern California or visit http://hardworkfairpay.org for more information.

#LosAngelesCA #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #strike #UFCW #Strikes #RalphsGrocery

Northampton, MA – On Friday night, April 12, over 20 Stop & Shop employees were gathered outside the King Street store for the second day of a strike called by United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) at stores across New England. Currently there are over 31,000 UFCW workers protesting proposed cuts to health care, take home pay and customer service.

According to the UFCW, “The proposed cuts by Stop & Shop, whose parent company earned $2 billion in profits in 2018, would devastate health care benefits, significantly increase health care costs, and decrease take home pay. Stop & Shop’s proposed cuts would also have a negative and severe impact on customer service, including the very cashiers, stockers, bakers, deli clerks, and butchers that Stop & Shop customers rely on.”

Employees and supporters stood in front of the main doors at sundown with signs reading, “Stop & Shop: Do what’s right” and “Unfair labor practice: Strike!”

Solidarity with the strike spread quickly, as the usually packed parking lot was almost empty. Potential customers were turning away one by one as the workers explained their situation.

Earlier in the day, one woman stood in solidarity at the picket line with a sign offering to drive people to the nearby Big Y for those unable to access another grocer by foot. Community members brought food and coffee to the picket line throughout the day.

“They’ve already started bringing scabs in through the warehouse,” a woman union member said. But in this same warehouse, trucks from Peapod (a non-union grocery service owned by Stop & Shop) have been sitting full for 24 hours while there are no experienced workers to unload the trucks.

A union cashier who is 18 and still in high school full time, explained that she works 30 hours per week at minimum wage ($12 per hour) to raise money to attend college without a scholarship. She and others expressed frustration at corporate management’s decision to cut hours for employees, to the dismay of customers who had to face longer lines and slower service.

“Despite being understaffed, all the work is done by us,” she said. “They paid $30,000 to put new robots in the store and all they do is alert us to spills in the aisle, but there are no spills. We’ve already cleaned them up. It was a waste of money that came from our paychecks.”

Lisa Rogers, another union cashier at the King Street location, complained that management says the workers are “overpaid.” “I’ve been here 18-and-a-half years and I make $14 an hour,” she said.

“Our hours have been so cut back that we have long lines, customers complain. But they’re the only hours we’re allowed to have.” She explained that sick time too has been cut, and unused time no longer rolls over or is paid back but instead disappears at the end of each year.

“We don’t want to be out here, we’d rather be in there working,” one union member, Shelby, said. “This is about fair wages, healthcare, benefits, the pensions they’re trying to cut. It’s not just affecting the people who’ve been here for ten or 20-plus years. It’s affecting everybody who’s going to be hired in the future. So the next generation, when they’re trying to get their first job, we’re fighting for them too.”

Teamsters Local 404 in Western Massachusetts and Northampton Firefighters Local 108 are supporting the striking workers. The strike is ongoing and solidarity is growing.

#NorthhamptonMA #PeoplesStruggles #UFCW #Strikes #StopShop #NewEngland

UFCW and King Soopers, a subsidiary of the Kroger supermarket chain, negotiated for almost three months before the company walked out of negotiations on March 8. This wasn’t the first time the company had shown bad faith during the bargaining process, having previously walked out of negotiations numerous times in the past month. Additionally, management has engaged in union-busting tactics such as encouraging union members to resign their membership, as well as calling the police on union leaders for communicating bargaining updates to fellow members.

Throughout negotiations the union had been asking for increased base pay, first day paid sick leave, and an elimination of the two-tier system which discriminates against workers hired after 2005 by providing them with less pay and fewer benefits.

The company has ignored UFCW’s proposals and instead made a derisory counter-offer that would result in no pay raises for nearly half of its 12,200 workers. It would also mean decreased benefits and increased cost for healthcare, no pay raises or equal access to healthcare for courtesy clerks, who are disproportionately disabled, and inadequate funding of the company pension fund, putting retired workers’ pensions at risk. The company made this meager offer despite the fact that Kroger, King Sooper’s parent company, made more than $122 billion in profits nationwide last year.

The union membership has voted to authorize a strike, but workers won’t walk of the job until UFCW leadership officially calls the strike. The strike vote, backed by a large majority of the membership, may have strengthened the union’s position in any future bargaining.

“Please be advised that the King Soopers Meat and Retail Denver Bargaining Unit membership has overwhelmingly authorized the union to call a strike and reject King Soopers’ concessionary proposals. I encourage you to return to the bargaining table and seriously consider the workers’ proposals for a fair and livable contract,” stated UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova.

The overwhelming support for a strike authorization comes at a time of resurgence of union militancy all over the country. Just last month, Denver teachers stuck for better pay and conditions and had many of their demands met after only three days on the picket line. The authorization of a strike for King Soopers workers continues the fight for better pay and conditions in Denver and is a part of the struggle to maintain working class living standards across the country.

#DenverCO #PeoplesStruggles #strike #UFCW #Strikes #DenverKingSoopers

The proposed two-tier system would have prevented new hires from gaining and using sick time like current employees do, instead only offering them short-term disability. With the new tentative agreement, employees would be offered a choice of the current sick time system or short-term disability. The tentative agreement received unanimous union board approval.

#LawrenceburgKY #PeoplesStruggles #strike #UFCW #Strikes #FourRosesBourbon

The workers are members of Local 538 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. The longstanding local represents workers at three meatpacking plants in the Madison area.

Tyson Foods bought out the Jefferson plant in recent years. Tyson has an agenda of driving down wages in the meatpacking industry. Its stated goal in these negotiations is to bring the wages at the Jefferson plant down to the level of other Tyson plants around the country.

Work in meatpacking is hard. Because of union militancy, it used to be an industry that offered relatively good wages and benefits. Meat packers were organized as part of the communist led organizing drives of the 1930s and 1940s. Times changed, and in the late 1970s and 1980s, large meatpacking corporations, such as Hormel, set out to bust the unions and drive down wages. For the most part, the union bureaucracy went along with this agenda, allowing wages to be driven down to poverty wages. When local unions, such as Local P9 in Austin, MN resisted and went on strike, they were sold out and undercut by the international union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Now the industry is a low-wage industry, mainly employing immigrant workers with horrible safety conditions and poor working conditions.

The UFCW workers in Jefferson, WI are refusing to go along with management's renewed agenda to push down wages. Driving into town, to attend a support rally or walk the picket line, one sees homemade signs stating, “Stop Tyson's greed,” and supporting the striking workers. Local businesses are supporting Tyson-free foods, for example, by not putting Tyson pepperoni on the pizza.

The problem the union faces is that employers no longer fear the traditional strike. The government has put so many restrictions on workers that the workers in a traditional strike are fighting with their hands behind their backs. To win this fight will require aggressive tactics in stopping the company from operating with scabs. Whatever tactics the workers choose, however, they will need support from all workers.

For more info on how to support the Tyson workers, check out their website at www.tysonfamiliesstandup.org or send donations to: UFCW Local 538 Strike Fund, 2228 Myrtle St, Madison, WI 53704

#JeffersonWisconsin #JeffersonWI #News #TysonFoods #meatpacking #UFCW