Monthly Archives: June 2019

On June 4, UFCW International President Marc Perrone praised action by Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pass bipartisan immigration reform legislation that would provide much needed stability to businesses and millions of workers across the economy. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) by a vote of 237-187.

The American Dream and Promise Act would protect workers from all TPS designated nations, as well as their immediate family members, who have had a continuous presence in the U.S. This legislation would also give these workers a path to legal permanent resident status, as well as eventual naturalization, and ensure that immigrants who came to the U.S. as children have a path to permanency. President Perrone’s statement reads as follows:

“Today’s House passage of the American Dream and Promise Act is a critical step to improving the lives of millions of hard-working men and women who already strengthen our nation’s economy, as well as the communities they call home.

“All of our elected leaders, from both parties, must embrace the truth that providing stability for those who have already passed intensive background checks, pay taxes, and work hard every day to build a better future for all of us is simply the right thing to do.

“Given that this nation was built by generations of immigrants who believed in the promise of this country and worked hard every day to build a better life for their families, it is time for the Senate to join the House and pass this commonsense immigration reform immediately.”

Members of the UFCW’s constituency groups, who are promoting diversity and inclusion in the labor movement for women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community, met in Philadelphia for a summit on May 13 to 15 to prepare for the 2020 election.

The “Winning 2020 for an Equitable Society: A Focus on African American, Latino, LGBT and Women Voters” summit was hosted by the International’s Civil Rights and Community Action Department and included members of the Women’s Network, Minority Coalition, OUTreach, and United Latinos.

With a focus on voter engagement, the summit featured a wide range of speakers highlighting ways our union can strengthen the voices of workers in the 2020 election. Pete Backof from Everybody Votes and Nse Ufot from the New Georgia Project shared their insights on voting trends and social justice issues. Shannon Talbert from Color of Change and Latoni Jones from Hustle spoke about mobilizing voters through digital and social media, as well as text messaging.

“Our UFCW constituency groups are an integral part of our union family with a robust and inclusive representation of the dynamic membership that exists across industries,” said International Vice President and Director of the Civil Rights and Community Action Department Robin Williams.

“The purpose of the summit was to bring our UFCW constituency groups together, build on their established programs, and work to further mobilize members into voter action and engagement,” Williams added. “The groups walked away with action plans and goals tailored to their specific programs in cohesion with the work of the UFCW voter engagement efforts across the country.”