Monthly Archives: October 2025

Members of UFCW Local 455 who work at Wayne-Sanderson Farms in Hammond, La., recently voted to retain their union representation after a months-long campaign by anti-unionists who sought decertification.

UFCW Local 455 has represented workers at the Wayne-Sanderson Farms plant in Hammond for over 40 years and secured strong contracts with safety protections, pay increases, and benefits. In 2016, when Hammond was hit by historic floods, UFCW Local 455 stepped in and provided disaster relief checks to its members.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation represented the employee who filed two decertification petitions at the plant in Hammond in 2025, after years of repeated attempts to get rid of union protections. Every time outside groups or management have attempted to eliminate union representation, workers have rejected it. UFCW Local 455 members will now turn to bargaining as their current contract is set to expire on Nov. 30, 2025.

“Having a union is one of the best parts of the job at Wayne-Sanderson,” said Carl Cummings, steward at the Wayne-Sanderson Farms plant in Hammond. “We have a contract that protects us and provides us with benefits like paid vacation, annual raises, and more. We’re proud to be UFCW Local 455 members and to have millions of UFCW brothers and sisters who’ve got our backs. Now we’re excited to use our power and start bargaining for our next contract and make it even better.”

“UFCW members at the Wayne-Sanderson Farms plant in Hammond stood firm and voted to keep their union representation because they wanted to preserve the guaranteed raises, safety protections, and benefits that come with it,” said UFCW Local 455 President W. Brandon Hopkins. “Their votes defeated a billionaire-backed anti-worker organization intent on silencing their voice on the job. We look forward to working with our members at Wayne-Sanderson to agree on a strong new contract that puts more money in their pockets to support them and their families.”

On Oct. 3, the UFCW urged elected leaders to put working families first and end the government shutdown.

“UFCW members expect their elected officials to do their jobs, but they’ve failed to do their simplest one: keep the government open,” said UFCW International President Milton Jones in a statement. “Republicans’ failure to fund the government only creates more uncertainty for Americans after the brutal cuts to key programs this summer.”

“Rising costs threaten families’ pocketbooks, and if Republican leaders fail to work with Democrats, they will slap working families with another devastating price hike, this time on health insurance. With Medicaid slashed and health care subsidies ended, workers across the country are facing a health care emergency.”

“A prolonged shutdown also threatens the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which has already been devastated by partisan cuts earlier this year. SNAP supports families in need and the workers in grocery stores, meatpacking plants, and food processing facilities who feed our country.”

“It’s not too late to change course and put workers first, but so far, it’s clear that the party in power in Washington has no desire to. It’s time to champion working people, fund the government, and prevent a manufactured crisis that leaves millions of workers without health care.”