Monthly Archives: August 2015

UFCW locals launched a regional worker campaign aimed at Wakefern Food Cooperation’s PriceRite grocery store brand. As part of this regional effort, UFCW locals across Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are partnering with Jobs with Justice’s local affiliates, the New York Coalition for Economic Justice and Connecticut Central Labor Council and other community groups to engage and support a broad and growing coalition of local PriceRite workers. The coalition is joining together to fight for better wages and benefits, and a better life for all of America’s hard workers and working families.

“PriceRite must be held accountable to its workers and the communities they serve. Low-wage paying jobs in poor communities are part of the problem and America’s men and women deserve better because they earn it with their hard work,” said, Leo F. Alcuri, UFCW Local One Assistant Director of Organizing and lead in the Western NY region PriceRite worker coalition.

The campaign to change PriceRite, just like the fight to change companies like Walmart, will utilize a series of tactics and tools to mobilize and engage the local community. This regional effort is part of a national retail and worker movement fighting for higher wages, more hours, consistent scheduling, and respect on the job.

“We are joining a national movement aimed at changing companies for the better,” said Tom Clarke, UFCW Region 1 Director. “PriceRite workers will be lifting the voices of workers in food retail with the support of advocates that have been leading the retail and fast food worker movement.”

PriceRite runs 58 non-union stores across eight states. Among the issues affecting many of the workers in the area are low wages, inconsistent scheduling, unpaid sick leave, and other poor employment practices proliferated by stores like PriceRite.

Earlier this year, the Missouri legislature passed an anti-worker “right to work” bill. Fortunately, the bill was vetoed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, but on September 16, the legislature will convene a special session where they will attempt to override the Governor’s veto.

In order for the veto to be overridden, 17 House members and two Senate members will need to switch their vote on the “right to work” bill. UFCW members in Missouri are fighting hard to sustain the veto with an aggressive online and worksite campaign that informs people about the dangers of “right to work” legislation.

This week, 17,500 UFCW members in Missouri were called to participate in a teletownhall with Governor Nixon. While on the call, members from UFCW Locals  2, 88, 655, and 2008 engaged with the Governor over where this unfair law came from, why it’s bad for workers in Missouri, and how they can fight it.

All four UFCW locals are planning to go to the Capitol in Jefferson City next month to help show legislators that hard-working families in Missouri do not support a “right to work” law that will lower wages and benefits across the state.