Monthly Archives: August 2020

UFCW International President Marc Perrone and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (Calif.) called on the CEOs of the country’s largest grocery store chains to reinstate hazard pay in a CNN op-ed published on August 7. The op-ed is part of the UFCW’s national campaign to restore hazard pay for frontline workers as COVID-19 cases continue to climb nationwide.

As of last week, the UFCW confirmed that among its members, there have been at least 97 grocery worker deaths nationwide, with 7,188 grocery workers infected and at least 6,122 grocery workers exposed to COVID-19.

Excerpts from the CNN op-ed are as follows:

Grocery store workers are putting their lives on the line every day that they walk into the store. This pandemic is far from over and the health threats that grocery workers face are just as real now as they were when this crisis began.

While top grocery chains rake in billions in profits during this pandemic, these frontline workers cannot choose to work from home like the corporate executives of these companies. Without these frontline workers, our families would not have the food we need to get through this public health crisis.

Given the seriousness of this pandemic, and the essential jobs they do, the time has come to reinstate hazard pay for all of America’s grocery workers. For these brave men and women who continue to be on the frontlines of this crisis, our country should demand nothing less.

The UFCW has been a national leader in the effort to strengthen protections and support for America’s 3 million grocery workers and other frontline workers during the pandemic. On July 17, the UFCW held a national press conference with U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), to pressure top grocery and retail companies to reinstate hazard pay. During the press conference, Senators Brown and Warren talked about a letter they led with Senate Democrats, including Senator Harris, which called on major grocery store CEOs to restore pandemic pay and implement CDC recommendations for workplace safety for the duration of the pandemic.

You can read the full text of the CNN op-ed here.

Nursing home workers at Genesis Abington Manor in Clarks Summit, Pa., recently joined RWDSU/UFCW Local 262 for the better wages and benefits that come with a union contract. The 57 licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants won their union voice via an NLRB election, and join hundreds of their Genesis colleagues in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who are RWDSU/UFCW members.

The workers at Abington Manor began organizing after years of stagnant wages, unaffordable health care coverage, and losing benefits.

“When I started the union campaign, it was because I saw where the facility had weaknesses and how this was affecting the floor staff,” said Kacey Walsh, a licensed practical nurse at Genesis Abington Manor. “The workers here do an amazing job together and truly love the residents, and it shows in the care they receive. In order to best serve the residents, we knew we needed a voice on the job, and the dignity and respect that comes with joining a union.”

“The organizing committee of workers at Abington Manor truly did an amazing job,” said RWDSU/UFCW Organizer Paul Bazemore. “They organized in a matter of weeks during the difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. They deserve a strong contract, and that’s what they are going to get.”