Monthly Archives: November 2015

This morning, UFCW staff joined several hundred federal contract workers to march on Capitol Hill as part of a “Fight For $15” national day of action. The national day of action took place in more than 500 cities and involved tens of thousands of fast food, retail, transportation, and other workers who are calling for $15 an hour and union rights.

The parade of workers and supporters held signs and led chants to call on our current members of Congress, President Obama, and the 2016 Presidential candidates to support workers in their fight for a living wage and the right to organize on the job. Many of them are on strike to highlight their struggle to survive on low wages.

Once the workers reached Upper Senate Park, they were joined by Senator Bernie Sanders, who spoke to the crowd saying, “People who work 40 hours in this country deserve a living wage, and workers in our city here, and all over this country, deserve the right to organize a union!” 

UFCW Locals in other regions of the country joined actions as well. UFCW Local 1000 held an action in support of Minyards workers in Irving, Texas, and UFCW Local 400 Kroger workers joined an action in Richmond, Va., to support workers fighting for a union and $15 an hour. UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, and 1459 also held actions at Price Rite grocery stores.

All Local Unions are encouraged to participate in the AFL-CIO’s National Survey of Working Women. This is another tool to help increase our dialogue and connection to UFCW members. The survey is available online from October 27- December 4 and the UFCW Women’s Network will be working throughout the country to help extend the reach of the survey amongst UFCW members and increase the power of the results.

While the survey is administered by the AFL-CIO, data will be collected so that UFCW will have the results of the surveys of UFCW members and those UFCW asks to complete the survey.  The survey is anonymous and focuses on broad issues of importance to working women.

The survey is designed to capture a multifaceted picture of the lives of working women across the country, both union and non-union.  It is an opportunity to educate advocates and the media on the challenges working women face, whether it is on the job, balancing work and family, or leading in our communities.  It is another tool to help us tell the story of our UFCW family and hard working families across the country.

To ensure UFCW members have a voice and are represented in the results of this important survey, Local Union leadership is encouraged to share the survey with the working women in their memberships through local union publications, e-mail lists, websites, and social media platforms.

Over the next month, please use the digital toolkit to help spread the word about the survey to your community. You will find sample tweets, Facebook posts, branded and graphics, and e-mail language.

The survey is available on the UFCW web page and online at www.ufcw.org/WWsurvey/ and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.