Monthly Archives: January 2024

Truck drivers at Julius Silvert, a food delivery company in Savage, Md., recently voted unanimously to join UFCW Local 27. They are the first group of workers at the company to join the UFCW.

This vote marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of fair treatment and representation for Julius Silvert drivers.

“We are proud to welcome these new members to Local 27,” said UFCW Local 27 President Jason Chorpenning. “Together with the bargaining committee, we will work tirelessly to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that not only addresses their immediate concerns but also establishes a foundation for a better future.”

“This is a historic moment for the hard-working Julius Silvert drivers who are united to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions,” said Executive Assistant to the President Nelson Hill. “Local 27 stands with our new members as we work to negotiate the best possible collective bargaining agreement.”

“By standing together, we are a united force and we plan on bringing positive change to our workplace,” members of the organizing committee said. “We are confident that with the collective strength of the union, we can achieve the improvements we deserve!”

A recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling helped workers at the Shangri-La cannabis dispensary in Columbia, Mo., win union representation with UFCW Local 655.

Unfair labor practices (ULPs) had been filed with the NLRB against the company for anti-union tactics that included firing 10 workers without cause after the local filed for an election last April. The NLRB recently issued a ruling over how ULPs during organizing are resolved under the Cemex Construction Materials case. Now, when companies commit ULPs during campaigns, the NLRB will order companies to recognize and bargain with workers instead of rerunning elections. The NLRB further ruled that in these cases, the company’s obligation to bargain begins on the date workers demanded recognition. As a result of this ruling, the Shangri-La cannabis dispensary offered to settle with the workers and recognize UFCW Local 655 as the workers’ union.

The settlement includes:

• Offering five of the fired employees their jobs back with back pay and interest.
• Paying five other workers not wanting to return their back pay with interest plus paying each an additional $5,000.
• Paying damages to a terminated employee for the interest on a high interest loan he was forced to take out because of the termination.
• Immediately recognizing and bargaining with UFCW Local 655.
• Allowing workers to discuss union organizing on company property, and the company cannot remove union organizers from their facilities.
• Requires the company to read, post, email and send out via WhatsApp a statement to employees — with union staff present — acknowledging the right of workers to organize and promising not to engage in illegal practices in the future.
• Requires company managers and supervisors to attend mandatory training sessions on employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

“This settlement – with its more than $145,000 award to wronged employees — is the most sweeping and comprehensive win I’ve seen in my 37 years in the labor movement,” said UFCW Local 655 President David Cook.

“I am hopeful that this settlement will serve as a notice to other employers across the state, because the message is simple: We won’t back down, and we’ll fight for employees who are wronged,” Cook added. “Unions are about all of us, collectively, standing together and using our power. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder to fight back. The workers at Shangri-La can attest to the value of rolling with UFCW Local 655. Without paying a single penny in dues, without a finished union contract, they still had our support and our guidance.”