Monthly Archives: November 2019

Members of UFCW Local 222 who are nurses currently bargaining with MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa, are working hard to engage their patients and  community members about why a better contract for nurses means better care for their community. A community-wide town hall was standing room only as nurses recently explained how time off with their families, better pay, and better nurse-to-patient ratios benefit everyone.

“Our nurses are overworked and underpaid and that’s not what you need when your loved one is sick,” said Alyssa Rusch, an emergency room nurse and member of UFCW Local 222. “Good pay keeps turnover down so that we can build experienced teams and work together better. Time off lets us rest so we’re sharp on the job. And staffing ratios ensure that there are enough caregivers for every patient that comes through the door.”

In addition to the meeting, nurses have organized community support through a Facebook group and using the International’s mass texting tool to sign community members on to a petition to help them get a new contract.

Keeping our communities strong starts with protecting good jobs like those in local grocery stores. With news that Amazon is launching a cashierless grocery store, there’s never been a more important time to stand up for these jobs and the hard-working families they support.

UFCW International President Marc Perrone is pushing back hard on the company’s job-cutting scheme. In a statement, Perrone made clear that “Amazon has one agenda – to eliminate as many jobs as possible to enrich one multibillionaire, Jeff Bezos. The takeover of Whole Foods was just the beginning of a ruthless strategy to fundamentally change our country’s grocery industry.”

We know customers don’t come to our stores to work; rather, they come for friendly service to help put food on the table for their families. A recent poll shows around two-thirds of consumers prefer staffed checkouts, not the cashierless model Amazon is pushing.

“Jeff Bezos is doubling down on the cashierless business model in food retail as he seeks to eliminate millions of good American jobs,” Perrone added. “Make no mistake, Amazon represents a clear and present danger to working and middle class Americans. It is long past the time for our leaders to wake up and act before Amazon and Jeff Bezos do long-lasting damage to America’s economy.”

You can read the complete statement from President Perrone here.