Monthly Archives: January 2016

From left to right: Agueda Arias UFCW Local 888, Karina Rosado, UFCW Local 400, Angela Johnson UFCW Local 1000 and Kimberly Mitchell UFCW Local 400, attend a session at the MLK Conference.

The AFL-CIO held its annual Martin Luther King (MLK) Conference last week in Washington, D.C., where UFCW members from across the country attended and participated. The conference, titled “Change The Rules, Be The Power,” revolved around organizing, politics, and other issues, openly discussing race, and activism — including the in-the-neighborhoods activism by its 1,000 delegates. At least one speaker urged the federation to openly endorse and back the Black Lives Matter movement, which has pushed the discussion about racial justice to the forefront of U.S. consciousness. A special AFL-CIO race and justice commission, co-chaired by UFCW International President Marc Perrone, is holding a series of hearings nationwide to get that discussion going.

The MLK Conference also covered issues ranging from ending mass incarceration of minorities and immigrants, to the looming U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would make every state and local government a right-to-work fiefdom. One speaker noted that the right-to-work ruling would disproportionately harm minorities and women.

The conference’s big secondary theme was the need to greatly increase organizing, both by the labor movement and its allies (faith groups, community groups, women’s groups, civil rights groups, environmentalists and others) in order to increase membership and supporters and marshal resources and people to call out and fight against the issues that would harm hard-working men and women in the 2016 election and beyond.

UFCW Executive Vice President Esther Lopez was honored with the distinguish, “At The River I Stand” Award.

The conference agenda was packed with incredible speakers from union presidents, to community activists, representatives from worker centers, young workers and more. UFCW Executive Vice President Esther Lopez was honored with the distinguished “At The River I Stand” Award at the Sunday night awards dinner. During the conference, UFCW activists participated in many dynamic plenaries, workshops sessions, awards, events and community service projects. Some of the community service projects included cleaning the homes of senior citizens and preparing meal kits and food bags at food pantries. The conference ended on Monday with conference participants joining community members from Ward 8 in Washington, D.C. for their MLK parade.

UFCW Local 400 members help with cleaning and doing minor repairs to senior citizens’ homes during Senior Service Project Day.

During the service day, Agueda Arias from UFCW Local 888 prepares bags for potatoes and other food goods at a local food bank.

Kellie from UFCW Local 655 cleans windows during Senior Service Project Day.

UFCW activists march in the D.C. Ward 8 MLK parade.

Since last year, the UFCW has actively engaged and reached out to its 1.3 million diverse members about the issues they care about, and the positions they believe the next President of the United States should embody. Based on the collective opinion of our members, the UFCW is announcing today its endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.

Today’s announcement reflects a yearlong commitment made by the UFCW to pursue a thorough presidential endorsement process. As part of this effort, the UFCW conducted a series of nationwide meetings with current members and Local UFCW officers, internal polls of our union members, as well as focus groups with working and middle class non-union families from across the country who currently work or have worked in retail, to determine the issues that matter most to UFCW members and the workers the UFCW fights for every day.

Based on these results, as well as additional discussions with UFCW Local Presidents and the UFCW Executive Board, the collective decision was that Hillary Clinton is indeed the best qualified and positioned candidate to win in 2016 and fight for the issues – such as job security, fair scheduling, paid leave, raising wages, immigration and health care reform – that matter most to our diverse union family.

Marc Perrone, International President of the UFCW, released the following statement about the endorsement of Hillary Clinton.

“For our union family, the 2016 Presidential election is about electing someone who will fight every single day for the issues that matter most to our 1.3 million hard-working members and their families. And, as one of the most diverse unions in the nation, we believe it is critical to select a candidate who is not just ready to be President, but who best understands that the strength of this nation is our unity and diversity.

“It is our members’ strong belief that Hillary Clinton is not just the strongest presidential candidate, but the right one. By working together, we believe our incredible members can help Secretary Clinton create the better America that our union family and all middle- and working-class families have earned and deserve.

“We announce this endorsement with the full belief that the frustrations felt by the American people are real, and that they deserve an America where better wages and better benefits are enjoyed by all who help make this nation great.

“For us, these incredible retail and non-retail workers, who help feed and serve this nation, deserve a president like Hillary Clinton who will fight to make sure that paid leave, stable schedules, and higher wages become more than an election promise – they’ll become a reality.

“We would like to thank our members for their input, and are proud to have taken the time to make a thoughtful decision about this presidential endorsement. These decisions are always difficult, especially when we have good and committed candidates who have dedicated their lives to fighting for America’s families.

“To Sen. Sanders and Gov. O’Malley, we would like to thank them and acknowledge their passion and commitment to the better America we all believe in. Their voices have made a difference in this race, and we hope they will continue to speak out for the issues that Secretary Clinton and all our families care about.

“Looking ahead to the fall, we are dedicated to mobilizing all our 1.3 million members across every state to help make Hillary Clinton the next President of the United States.”