Right now, Congress is considering slashing funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, by as much as $230 billion or 20 percent over the next 10 years.

SNAP is a vital program that helps families struggling with food insecurity and provides jobs for grocery store and meat processing workers. In fact, 80 percent of SNAP dollars are spent at traditional grocery stores where UFCW members work.  But SNAP doesn’t just keep business coming into our stores and plants, it also helps to reduce poverty and keep our communities fed.

The UFCW is urging all locals and members to oppose any efforts to cut SNAP benefits, apply work requirements, place stricter requirements on who can qualify for benefits or further limit what foods can be purchased with this benefit.

Click here to send a letter to Congress urging them not to cut SNAP benefits and share this letter with your network. Together, we can protect this important benefit for low-income Americans and safeguard UFCW jobs.

On April 28—Workers Memorial Day—the UFCW honored workers who have been killed, injured, disabled or harmed in the workplace.

“Protecting America’s workers in the workplace should be a core American value,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement. “Every worker in the United States should be able to go home at the end of the workday with their health, dignity, and well-being intact.”

“This Workers Memorial Day, our union stands with the families, communities, and co-workers who have lost loved ones to workplace tragedies. And we honor their legacy by fighting in the halls of government and on the shop floors against attacks on workplace safety and by continuing to organize more workers, negotiate stronger union contracts, and raise standards for all workers in this country.” 

The ICWUC/UFCW held a Workers Memorial Day event on April 28 at their headquarters in Akron, Ohio, to honor the memories of ICWUC/UFCW members and all workers who lost their lives, were injured or contracted a disease because of needless and preventable workplace tragedies. ICWUC/UFCW President Lance Heasley and Perrone spoke at the event, along with local government officials.

If your local attended or hosted an event to observe Workers Memorial Day, please share that information, along with photos, with Julie Anderson at janderson@ufcw.org.