Monthly Archives: October 2021

On Sept. 27, Pindar Vineyards employees made history as the first-ever New York agricultural workers to unionize, joining RWDSU/UFCW Local 338 after receiving certification from the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). This historic union certification in Peconic comes after the 2019 passage of the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, which grants agricultural and farmworkers workplace protections, including the right to join a union. RWDSU/UFCW Local 338 first filed to represent the vineyard’s 12 agricultural workers on May 28, 2021.

“My coworkers at Pindar and I joined Local 338 because we want dignity and respect,” said Rodolfo M. “Our work should be valued and only by receiving equal treatment and things like sick days and paid time off to spend with our loved ones will it be. We know that being a union member will help us get the recognition we deserve for all of our efforts.”

“When New York passed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, there was a fundamental understanding that agricultural workers needed key protections that they have lacked for decades, including the right to join a union,” said RWDSU/UFCW Local 338 President John Durso. “PERB’s historic certification is the next step in securing dignity and respect for the essential workers who ensure we have food and beverages on our tables. We are incredibly proud to represent the workers at Pindar Vineyards and are looking forward to securing a strong collective bargaining agreement.” 

“For the first time we can call farmworkers in New York State union members,” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. “For far too long, farmworkers have worked to nourish our communities without necessary workplace protections for themselves or their families. It was a decades-long struggle to win farmworkers’ right to organize in this state, and now workers at Pindar Vineyards are seeing the seeds they planted come to fruition by becoming the first in the state to be recognized as a union. Now they can begin negotiating the first-ever union contract for farmworkers in New York. The workers at Pindar Vineyards have made history and are the beginning of what we are sure will be a growing union presence for the state’s farmworkers.”

After successfully lobbying the Calabasas City Council in Calabasas, Calif., to use American Rescue Plan state and local funding to support frontline workers, members of UFCW Local 770 are receiving hazard pay.

The city of Calabasas was inspired to pass this hazard pay measure in July after months of advocacy by UFCW Local 770 members, who shared their experiences with council members and sent over 100 postcards asking for American Rescue Plan money to be used for frontline workers in Calabasas. This victory in Southern California is part of the UFCW’s national effort to support the Biden Administration’s guidance for essential worker COVID-19 hazard pay to be prioritized as governors and mayors distribute the $350 billion in state and local COVID relief aid from the American Rescue Plan.

The city of Calabasas is providing hazard pay of up to $1,000 based on average weekly hours worked from March 2020 to March 2021, which benefits a total of 454 union and non-union workers. About 250 of these employees are UFCW Local 770 members who work at grocery and other retail stores, including Erewhon, Ralphs, Gelson’s and Rite Aid. In some instances, the hazard pay is being distributed by the employers directly to the workers.

“The city of Calabasas did the right thing,” said UFCW Local 770 President John Grant. “Essential grocery and drug retail workers have demonstrated their commitment and dedication to serve their communities during the worst global pandemic in recent history. We appreciate that the city of Calabasas is moving forward on this gratitude premium pay for our members.”

UFCW Local 770 is currently lobbying other cities in Southern California to use state and local American Rescue Plan funding to help frontline workers, including Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria and Moorpark.