Workers at Springfield Food Co-op in Springfield, Vt., recently joined UFCW Local 1459. Springfield Food Co-op is a member-owned store that has served the Springfield community for nearly 30 years, and the 25 new members are employed as office and produce clerks.
![](http://forlocals.ufcw.org/files/2021/08/Organize-1024x1024.jpg)
These workers initially expressed interest in joining our union through the UFCW’s “How to Start a Union” webpage because they wanted a voice in the workplace and the better wages and benefits that come with a union contract. The new members of UFCW Local 1459 are enthusiastic about being a part of our union family and look forward to negotiating their first union contract.
“Individually we had been feeling unheard during and following the stressful time of essential work during a pandemic,” the Springfield Food Co-op workers said in a joint statement. “We spoke out together as to what we wanted our co-op to be like. When our unified voices were unheard, we moved forward with formal organizing efforts with UFCW Local 1459. Now that we have recently relocated to a new store, we hope to overhaul and rewrite worker benefits to reflect a progressive workplace culture we expect from a co-op.”