Monthly Archives: December 2025

Workers at the Fresh cultivation facility in Somerset, N.J., recently voted to join UFCW Local 360.

These workers joined UFCW Local 360 because they were concerned about wages, health care, and job security. The campaign to organize these workers included the utilization of a Labor Peace Agreement, which gave the organizers access and an opportunity to speak with the workers without intimidation or interference during the organizing process.

“Working with the union means security in my job and in my daily life,” said Fresh cultivation employee John Edwards III. “Having people who are on my side, to support my needs in the background, is reassuring. The relationship I have with UFCW Local 360 has been great so far, and I’m looking forward to what’s to come.”

“Cultivation workers are the backbone of this industry,” said Hugh Giordano, director of organizing for UFCW Local 360. “It’s their skill, care, and commitment that determine product quality, consistency, and safety. By choosing to unionize with UFCW Local 360, these Fresh employees are reminding us that organizing is about partnership, about helping businesses succeed while ensuring that workers can build stable, family-sustaining careers.”

“The progress we’re seeing across New Jersey’s cannabis industry shows that workers know their value,” said UFCW Local 360 President Sam Ferraino, Jr. “They’re rejecting anti-worker narratives and coming together to secure their futures. At every level of this industry, from seed to sale, UFCW Local 360 stands ready to help employers and employees work together to build long-term success, safe workplaces, and strong communities.”

This vote marks the third Fresh cannabis site in New Jersey to join UFCW Local 360. The company’s dispensaries in Eatontown and Elizabeth previously voted in favor of union representation, highlighting the continued success and expansion of UFCW Local 360’s targeted labor organizing movement across the state’s growing cannabis industry.

Members of UFCW Local 8-GS who work at the Foster Farms poultry processing facility on Lamona Avenue in Fresno, Calif., ratified their first union contract on Oct. 29.

This historic contract marks a major milestone in the workers’ journey to secure the rights and protections which come with a union contract. The newly ratified agreement includes wage increases during each year of the three-yearcontract, a ratification bonus, and crucial grievance and arbitration procedures—cornerstones of every union contract that ensure fairness, accountability, and due process on the job.

This was a hard-fought victory for the workers, and the path to victory was neither quick nor easy. Beginning with the successful National Labor Relations Board election in June of 2023, these workers faced and won numerous challenges by the employer and stood together through months of rigorous negotiations. Through every challenge, they were united, driven by a shared vision for a better, more secure future in the workplace.

“This victory is a powerful example of what workers can achieve when they stand together with purpose and resolve,” said UFCW 8-GS President Jacques Loveall. “The unity shown by the workers at Foster Farms—throughout the organizing campaign and negotiations—has delivered real results. They now have a contract that provides dignity, fairness, and a voice on the job.”

By aligning with their unionized workers across the Central Valley, this group is now part of a larger movement of Foster Farms employees who are actively shaping a safer and more equitable poultry industry.