Monthly Archives: May 2020

As Congress considers passing its second CARES bill and its 4^th COVID-19 response bill, the UFCW’s Legislative and Political Action Department (LAPAD) is working hard to lobby members of Congress in both the House and Senate to ensure that our members in all sectors are protected during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Our priorities for the next bill include priority testing, OSHA standards that protect social distancing and slow line speeds in food processing plants, premium pay, pension reform, online SNAP safeguards, expanded sick leave, and a non-food retail stimulus package.

Despite not being able to meet in person, the LAPAD team has been engaged in countless numbers of calls and video conferences to promote the interests of our members to key congressional offices.  The department has also been encouraging people to sign our online petition to support essential workers.

UFCW International President Marc Perrone; International Vice President and Director of the Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division Mark Lauritsen; International Vice President and President of UFCW Local 2 Martin Rosas; and International Vice President and LAPAD Director Ademola Oyefeso have all been engaged in briefing members of Congress about what our members are facing daily during this pandemic, and Perrone gave testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee to stress how this health crisis has affected our members.

Locals across the country have been promoting online efforts to engage membership about these important issues, and the LAPAD is planning to launch an online campaign targeting specific U.S. Senators regarding the 4^th COVID-19 response bill. We will be calling on Senate Leader McConnell to take action to protect pensions during these turbulent times, as well as to ensure there are OSHA standards in place to protect our 12,000 meat processing members in Kentucky.

“What our members are facing during this pandemic was unimaginable a few months ago,” Oyefeso said. “And now, what we do is on the front page of every newspaper across the country and on the lips of all the politicians. We need to make sure we are getting more than lip service in this next federal stimulus package, which is why we are calling on our members to engage in grassroots advocacy in a deeper way than we have ever asked before. We know their lives are on the line and we will continue to go to the mat for them while they are keeping America safe and fed.”

The next CARES bill is expected to be introduced soon and could pass before the end of the month. For more information about this stimulus bill, contact Karen Gasper at kgasper@ufcw.org. You can sign the online petition here.

Region 8 International Representative Hevily Espinoza.

Region 8 International Representative Hevily Espinoza is using reflective engagement to make personal connections with workers in the El Super campaign.

Reflective engagement is an innovative approach to organizing and servicing that builds on decades of research on human engagement. Studies show that active listening, asking questions and reflecting back the response is the most effective way to connect with people. By using this technique, organizers are having more successful, open and high-quality conversations with members and potential members.

Espinoza, who was the second International Representative to become certified in reflective engagement, attended the Organizing Department’s reflective engagement training for certified trainers in Chicago last year. She spoke about using this approach to organize new members.

“In the El Super campaign, we are using reflective engagement to build relationships with workers at El Super and Fiesta Mart, Latino grocery chains owned by Bodega Latina Corporation, a subsidiary of Grupo Comercial Chedraui,” said Espinoza. “Developing these relationships is critical to our effort to organize these grocery workers across five states—Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas.”

“Organizing at this scale can be challenging as we are not building in one store at a time, but rather in every store across the chain at the same time,” Espinoza added. “We have been using reflective engagement to connect with workers and build a positive relationship with our union by listening to their workplace concerns, which include working six days a week, insufficient wages and raises, “on call” scheduling, and favoritism. These conversations have allowed us to understand the shared struggles among workers, and more importantly, allowed the workers to understand their own common struggles. Continuing to organize El Super and Fiesta Mart workers in the time of COVID-19 has meant using texting, phone calls, and social media to engage with workers and address their concerns. While the mediums with which we communicate have expanded, we continue to use the principles of reflective engagement in all of our conversations.”

UFCW locals from across the country have sent staff to reflective engagement trainings and are continuing to find success as they apply it to their organizing and outreach campaigns. If your local is interested in learning more about this innovative approach, contact Jenny Reed at jreed@ufcw.org.