Monthly Archives: February 2024

The International’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Office recently held lifesaving skills training sessions for members of UFCW Local 5 in California. The training sessions included first aid techniques, how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and when and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Throughout eight training sessions held across four locations in Northern California, 69 UFCW Local 5 members received training on lifesaving practices, such as CPR and AED, so that they can swiftly tend to accidents and injuries as they happen and prevent them from getting worse. The training sessions included presentations on emergency situations ranging from sudden cardiac arrest to choking infants. The training sessions also emphasized both the rights and legal liabilities of good Samaritans who provide critical aid to those in need.

“This training provides lifesaving skills that members can use to help their co-workers, family members, and members of the public during medical emergencies,” said OSH Office Director Roy McAllister. “The response by our members who have requested and taken the training has been positive.”

These CPR/AED/First Aid training courses are just a small part of the health and safety training sessions that are available to all UFCW locals. If your local is interested in working with the OSH Office to hold a training session, have your Region Director contact Roy McAllister at rmcallister@ufcw.org, Caleb Willard, assistant director of the OSH Office, at cwillard@ufcw.org, or Nazareth Henry, occupational safety and health specialist, at NHenry@ufcw.org.

On Feb. 12, the UFCW International hosted its annual program in celebration of Black History Month, which centered around the theme “Black Life: Labor History and Culture.”

UFCW International President Marc Perrone and Director of the Civil Rights and Community Action Department LaQuita Honeysucker opened the program and additional remarks were provided by International Secretary-Treasurer Milton Jones. Speakers included Dr. Marcia Walker-McWilliams of Tulane University, who talked about the critical civil rights history of the UFCW through the specific lens of Charlie Hayes and Addie Wyatt, two African American labor leaders who championed civil rights in the UFCW and predecessor unions.

“Wyatt and Hayes were constantly in pursuit of dignity, fairness, and a better world, and what they had in common was that they saw organizing and they saw the union as the best vehicle to do that,” said Walker-McWilliams. “It is from their contributions, it is from their struggles, their toils and their efforts that I hope you all feel empowered to continue to move this movement forward.”

The program also featured UFCW leaders Willie Baker, Jr., who served in various leadership roles in the UFCW, including as an International Vice President and Director of the Civil Rights Department, and Latoya Mathis, who is a servicing union representative at UFCW Local 75. Mathis obtained her associate degree through the UFCW’s education benefit program and is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree. Both Baker and Mathis talked about their individual paths within the UFCW during a panel session that was moderated by Marc Bayard, who is an associate fellow and the director of the Institute for Policy Studies’ Black Worker Initiative.

During the panel discussion, both Baker and Mathis underscored the value of union membership.

“I grew up in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and as a kid I had asthma. My father worked for the PJ Ritter Company and therefore had (union) health insurance. Because of that health insurance, I am alive today,” said Baker.

“I did not come from a background of a lot of resources, so being in a union has really changed my life,” said Mathis, who also spoke about the benefits of having union-provided health care when she underwent cancer treatment.

Please visit our website to find more information about Black History Month and this year’s theme “African Americans and the Arts.”