• Home
  • On Point
  • Member Engagement
  • Resource Center
  • Tools
  • Home
  • On Point
  • Member Engagement
  • Resource Center
  • Tools

Monthly Archives: August 2019

Displaying 2 of 15 Total Records

August 26, 2019

Helping Locals With Compliance to Strengthen Bargaining

The UFCW has created new guidelines to help locals comply with the part of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that requires unions to give written notice within specific time frames to bargain new contracts.

Specifically, the NLRA requires unions to:

• Give written notice to companies to bargain new contracts at least 60 days before the contracts expire.

• Send written notices to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) within 30 days of the notice to the company, and at the same time, to any state agency that provides mediation or conciliation services.

• Provide the reopener notice for health care companies 90 days before contract expiration and the FMCS and state agency notices within 60 days following the reopener notice.

A key point to remember: Neither the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) or the courts can order unions to pay damages to companies (such as lost profits) if unions fail to provide these notices within the required time frame. This is because the violation would be bad faith bargaining, not a violation that the NLRB might order a union to pay money for, such as an unlawful secondary boycott. For this kind of bad faith bargaining, the NLRB only orders the union to provide the notices when it reopens the contract in the future.

However, if unions fail to notify FMCS and the state mediation agency on time, companies can fire any worker who strikes for engaging in an unprotected strike. Companies can also fire any worker who strikes during the 60 days following the reopener notice or before the contract expires. Health care companies can fire workers for striking during the 90 days after the reopener notice or before the contract expiration. However, no company may fire a striker after the striker goes back to work or if the worker is protected by a back-to-work agreement.

To be safe, locals should err on the side of sending the notice to state agencies, even if the agencies don’t normally mediate private sector bargaining. To protect strikers, locals should provide a copy of the FMCS notice to all state agencies that might provide private sector mediation or conciliation services. If it’s unclear whether the state provides mediation or conciliation services, locals should send a copy of the FMCS notice to their state’s Secretary of Labor. Locals and their attorneys should also research whether their states have agencies that provide mediation or conciliation services.

For more information about this NLRA requirement, please contact Amanda Jaret at ajaret@ufcw.org or George Wiszynski at gwiszynski@ufcw.org.

August 26, 2019

Kentucky Auto Workers Join Local 227

On August 16, Processing Technicians at Yanfeng in Louisville, Ky., voted “yes” and won their election to be represented by UFCW Local 227. Yanfeng is a leading manufacturer of automotive interiors, and Local 227 has represented 650 workers at the company since 2007. The Processing Technicians were part of the original bargaining unit until the company outsourced that work. The company later decided to bring those jobs back, but did not initially allow those workers to join Local 227.

The Processing Technicians had to file a wage and hour lawsuit when they weren’t paid for overtime and recently, everyone was forced to take a 10 percent pay cut. The workers’ supervisor often reminded them that they could be treated like that because they weren’t part of the union. The workers approached Chief Steward Chuck Darius to find out what it would take for them to join our union, and it didn’t take long for Darius and UFCW 227 Organizer Dave Villegas to get all of them to sign authorization cards.

“We’re really proud to welcome the Processing Techs at Yanfeng to our union family,” said UFCW 227 President Bob Blair. “We’re also grateful to our Chief Steward Chuck who was able to tell his nonunion co-workers about all the benefits you get by joining our union. Without stewards like Chuck, the important work that we do couldn’t happen.”

  • « Older Entries

Sign Up for On Point

* denotes required field

Updates

  • Allies and Affiliates
    • AFL-CIO
    • ICWUC
    • RWDSU
  • Bookstore
  • Community
    • Community Outreach
    • Environment
    • Food Access
  • Education
    • Free College
    • Scholarship
  • Events
  • Health & Safety
  • Health Care
  • Industries
    • Cannabis
    • Chemical Workers
    • Distillery
    • Grocery
    • Packing and Processing
      • Food Processing
      • Meat Packing
      • Poultry
    • Retail
  • Lobby Day
  • On Point
    • Legislation and Politics
    • Negotiations
    • Organizing
  • Resources
    • Local Union Resources
    • Member Resources
    • Reports
    • Share Graphics and Memes
  • Survey
  • UFCW Canada

Pages

  • 2014 UFCW Attorneys’ Conference
  • Constituency Groups
  • Home
  • On Point
  • Resources
  • Right to Work Survey
  • Tools
    • Need a Website?
      • New Website Application Form
    • Translations

Recent News

  • Giant Eagle Workers in Pennsylvania Join Local 1776 May 19, 2025
  • Arizona Cannabis Workers Ratify a First Union Contract May 19, 2025
  • CVS Pharmacists in the DMV Secure Better Wages With New Contract May 19, 2025
  • UFCW Helps to Stamp Out Hunger in Communities Across the Country May 19, 2025
  • Milton Jones Is Elected to Lead the UFCW May 14, 2025

Archives

  • May 2025 (12)
  • April 2025 (17)
  • March 2025 (19)
  • February 2025 (16)
  • January 2025 (16)
  • December 2024 (12)
  • November 2024 (12)
  • October 2024 (16)
  • September 2024 (20)
  • August 2024 (16)
  • July 2024 (20)
  • June 2024 (16)
  • May 2024 (16)
  • April 2024 (20)
  • March 2024 (16)
  • February 2024 (16)
  • January 2024 (20)
  • December 2023 (8)
  • November 2023 (16)
  • October 2023 (20)
  • September 2023 (16)
  • August 2023 (16)
  • July 2023 (20)
  • June 2023 (16)
  • May 2023 (20)
  • April 2023 (12)
  • March 2023 (15)
  • February 2023 (15)
  • January 2023 (20)
  • December 2022 (8)
  • November 2022 (20)
  • October 2022 (16)
  • September 2022 (15)
  • August 2022 (20)
  • July 2022 (16)
  • June 2022 (20)
  • May 2022 (16)
  • April 2022 (16)
  • March 2022 (16)
  • February 2022 (16)
  • January 2022 (20)
  • December 2021 (8)
  • November 2021 (19)
  • October 2021 (16)
  • September 2021 (16)
  • August 2021 (19)
  • July 2021 (16)
  • June 2021 (20)
  • May 2021 (16)
  • April 2021 (16)
  • March 2021 (20)
  • February 2021 (15)
  • January 2021 (16)
  • December 2020 (8)
  • November 2020 (19)
  • October 2020 (16)
  • September 2020 (16)
  • August 2020 (20)
  • July 2020 (16)
  • June 2020 (20)
  • May 2020 (16)
  • April 2020 (16)
  • March 2020 (20)
  • February 2020 (16)
  • January 2020 (16)
  • December 2019 (12)
  • November 2019 (12)
  • October 2019 (20)
  • September 2019 (16)
  • August 2019 (15)
  • July 2019 (20)
  • June 2019 (16)
  • May 2019 (16)
  • April 2019 (20)
  • March 2019 (16)
  • February 2019 (12)
  • January 2019 (16)
  • December 2018 (13)
  • November 2018 (12)
  • October 2018 (20)
  • September 2018 (16)
  • August 2018 (16)
  • July 2018 (20)
  • June 2018 (17)
  • May 2018 (17)
  • April 2018 (16)
  • March 2018 (16)
  • February 2018 (16)
  • January 2018 (20)
  • December 2017 (13)
  • November 2017 (16)
  • October 2017 (20)
  • September 2017 (18)
  • August 2017 (18)
  • July 2017 (23)
  • June 2017 (18)
  • May 2017 (21)
  • April 2017 (14)
  • March 2017 (20)
  • February 2017 (16)
  • January 2017 (21)
  • December 2016 (13)
  • November 2016 (23)
  • October 2016 (17)
  • September 2016 (17)
  • August 2016 (21)
  • July 2016 (15)
  • June 2016 (20)
  • May 2016 (21)
  • April 2016 (22)
  • March 2016 (28)
  • February 2016 (15)
  • January 2016 (13)
  • December 2015 (13)
  • November 2015 (16)
  • October 2015 (16)
  • September 2015 (26)
  • August 2015 (18)
  • July 2015 (22)
  • June 2015 (31)
  • May 2015 (25)
  • April 2015 (22)
  • March 2015 (31)
  • February 2015 (22)
  • January 2015 (14)
  • December 2014 (14)
  • November 2014 (26)
  • October 2014 (22)
  • September 2014 (28)
  • August 2014 (20)
  • July 2014 (32)
  • June 2014 (26)
  • May 2014 (21)
  • April 2014 (31)
  • March 2014 (12)
  • February 2014 (3)

Categories

  • AFL-CIO (27)
  • Allies and Affiliates (4)
  • Bookstore (13)
  • Cannabis (161)
  • Chemical Workers (6)
  • Community (103)
  • Community Outreach (4)
  • Distillery (12)
  • Education (4)
  • Environment (2)
  • Events (8)
  • Food Access (2)
  • Food Processing (75)
  • Free College (1)
  • Grocery (371)
  • Health & Safety (94)
  • Health Care (76)
  • ICWUC (30)
  • Industries (10)
  • Legislation and Politics (398)
  • Lobby Day (30)
  • Local Union Resources (187)
  • Meat Packing (59)
  • Member Resources (52)
  • Negotiations (511)
  • On Point (2,388)
  • Organizing (511)
  • Packing and Processing (125)
  • Poultry (24)
  • Reports (89)
  • Resources (145)
  • Retail (291)
  • RWDSU (114)
  • Scholarship (6)
  • Share Graphics and Memes (2)
  • Survey (14)
  • UFCW Canada (28)

© 2025 For Local Unions.

All rights reserved.

Find us online

Back
to
top