On Point - Page 406 of 1265 - For Local Unions

In 2021, the UFCW continued to advance workplace health and safety protections and support legislation aimed at protecting and improving the lives of our members.

Earlier this year, the UFCW hosted a virtual town hall meeting on COVID-19 safety measures and vaccine access for essential workers with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to President Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. During the event, Dr. Fauci addressed questions from UFCW members while providing the latest updates about the vaccine and why we need to keep taking the necessary precautions to slow the spread of the virus.

Our union partnered with state leaders and industry employers to expand COVID-19 vaccine access to thousands of essential meatpacking workers. We also opened up our union halls as vaccination sites.

We partnered with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and FORWARD, the national databank for rheumatic diseases, to launch a long-term, national Essential Worker Study to help our union understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our members. The new study is focusing on rates of infection, which types of workplaces have had the most infections, and vaccination rates. To date, over 15,000 members have signed up for the study. Our union also launched a series of COVID-19 educational Q&A events to provide our members with an opportunity to have their questions about the COVID-19 disease and life-saving vaccines addressed by top doctors and public health specialists.

And this holiday season, our union launched a new holiday shopping #ThankAWorker campaign with health and safety shopping tips to show support for the men and women keeping stores open and our economy strong as the pandemic continues.

On the political front, the UFCW supported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mask policy recommending that vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans resume wearing masks indoors and our union also called for a national mask mandate. Our union also supported the Biden Administration’s guidance for essential worker COVID-19 hazard pay to be prioritized as governors and mayors distribute the $350 billion in state and local COVID relief aid from the American Rescue Plan.

The UFCW testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis about COVID-19 safety risks meatpacking workers have faced as frontline workers. Our union highlighted findings from a new report from Rep. James Clyburn, who serves as chairman of the subcommittee, which showed that meatpacking COVID-19 cases were significantly underestimated and non-union plants had some of the biggest safety failures. Our union also called on Congress and the USDA for immediate action to strengthen protections for meatpacking workers to keep them safe on the job and ensure this never happens again.

Our union supported the passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that supports good-paying union jobs, and urged Congress to invest in working families by passing the Build Back Better Act. The UFCW also announced support for the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act, new legislation from U.S. Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey) and U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (California) that will strengthen worker safety, help increase transparency, and support American jobs. Our union also called the Biden Administration vaccine mandate and Emergency Temporary Standard on workplace safety from OSHA an important first step to keeping frontline workers safe and emphasized the need for workers to have a voice in how these policies are implemented.

Here are the articles about the UFCW’s effort to protect our members that appeared in OnPoint this year:

UFCW Launches Holiday Shopping #ThankAWorker Campaign

Help Highlight UFCW Member Voices in Essential Worker Study

Help Us Recruit More Participants for the Essential Worker Study

UFCW Launches COVID-19 Educational Q&A Events

UFCW Launches New Study to Understand the Impact of COVID-19 and Strengthen Workplace Safety

UFCW Hosts “Ask Dr. Fauci” Town Hall Meeting

UFCW and Partners Expand Vaccine Access to 12,000 Meatpacking Workers

UFCW and Cargill Announce COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Plan Across Midwest

UFCW Highlights Urgent Need for Vaccine Access and Hazard Pay for Essential Workers

Locals Host COVID-19 Vaccination Sites for Members and Communities

Here are the articles about our union’s effort to protect our members through stronger legislation and oversight from government agencies:

UFCW Supports New Legislation Aimed at Protecting Meatpacking Workers

UFCW Applauds House Passage of Build Back Better to Support Workers and Families

UFCW Condemns Smithfield Federal Settlement as COVID Risks Continue

UFCW Applauds Biden Infrastructure Investment in Good Union Jobs

UFCW Responds to Biden Vaccine and Workplace Safety Rule

UFCW Applauds New Build Back Better Framework

UFCW Testifies Before Congress About Meat Plant COVID Safety and New Report

American Rescue Plan Hazard Pay Reaches Members in Southern California

UFCW Wisconsin Frontline Workers Urge Congress to Pass Biden’s Economic Agenda

UFCW Ohio Frontline Workers Urge Congress to Pass Biden’s Budget and Infrastructure Plan

UFCW: FDA Pfizer Approval a Big Step in Fight Against COVID-19 Delta Threat

UFCW: Stronger OSHA Workplace Safety Guidance Needed to Protect Essential Workers

UFCW Applauds Pro-Worker Agriculture Reform in Congress

UFCW Supports National Mask Mandate to Protect Essential Workers

How Biden Child Tax Credit Helps UFCW Members

UFCW: New Cannabis Bill in Congress Is Key to Supporting Good Jobs

Help Pass the PRO Act to Strengthen Workers’ Rights

UFCW Applauds Passage of Hazard Pay Measure in Southern California

UFCW: Biden’s Executive Order Levels Playing Field for American Workers

UFCW Urges Congress to Pass Biden Jobs Plan

Biden’s Historic Labor Board Nominee Applauded by UFCW

UFCW Applauds California Leaders for Allocating Funds to Essential Workers

UFCW: OSHA Fails to Protect Frontline Workers

UFCW Applauds USDA for Putting Meatpacking Worker Safety First

UFCW Applauds Biden’s Premium Pay State Guidance in American Rescue Plan

UFCW Raises Concerns About New CDC Mask Policy

UFCW Meets With OMB to Underscore Importance of OSHA Standard

UFCW Applauds Biden’s Vaccine Tax Credit and Calls on Employers to Guarantee Paid Leave

UFCW: Biden’s American Jobs Plan Puts Power in Workers’ Hands

UFCW Members Stop Dangerous Pork Line Speeds With Legal Victory

UFCW Urges Congress to Pass Line Speed Bill as COVID-19 Risks Continue

UFCW Applauds Biden’s COVID-19 Relief Legislation

UFCW Members Help Introduce New Workplace Safety Legislation

UFCW Applauds Biden’s Actions to Support and Protect America’s Workers

UFCW Supports Biden Administration’s COVID-19 Relief Plan That Puts Essential Workers First

UFCW, Meat Producers Urge Governors to Prioritize COVID-19 Vaccine for Meatpacking Workers

UFCW: Election of Warnock and Ossoff Is a Powerful Victory for Working Families

UFCW Applauds CDC Guidance, Calls on States to Guarantee Free Vaccine Access for Essential Workers

Local 1996 and U.S. Senate Candidate Call for Stronger Protections for Frontline Workers

Growing Our Union Family

This year, workers from around the country, in a variety of industries, joined our union family for a better life. A list of organizing victories is included in this article.

Bambidawn Santiago, along with about 200 of her colleagues who are produce workers at Twin City Foods, Inc., a frozen vegetable processing company in Pasco, Wash., joined UFCW Local 1439 on Jan. 25. Twin City Foods workers are the first in the area to successfully win a vote for union representation.

“The pandemic has made it clear that if we don’t stand up for ourselves, no one else will,” said Bambidawn Santiago, who is a crew lead at Twin City Foods.

These hard-working men and women joined our union family because they were concerned about health and safety issues that were magnified during this pandemic, including the lack of personal protective equipment, being forced to work sick and around others who were infected with the virus, no paid time off to quarantine, and the fact that some of their colleagues lost their lives due to COVID-19.

“The pandemic has made it clear that if we don’t stand up for ourselves, no one else will,” said Santiago, who is a crew lead at Twin City Foods. “I missed two months of work when my husband, my five children and I got sick. Twin City Foods didn’t even offer to help. The company made the situation worse by telling us we couldn’t wear our own masks and leaving many workers to work without health insurance because it takes so long to qualify. I voted for the union so we can get the protections that the company has not provided and to try to make sure that my coworkers do not experience the frustrating situation I faced. I know that a union contract will help protect all of us tremendously.”

Will Inglis and his 22 colleagues at Mariposa Co-op in Philadelphia joined UFCW Local 1776 on March 3. These workers joined our union family because they were concerned about the lack of proper COVID-19 health and safety protocols at the store, as well as a lack of respect for worker concerns and issues from management and human resources.

“Mariposa is something of a neighborhood institution and we want to make it a great place to work,” said Inglis, who is a stocker and receiver at Mariposa Co-op. “We’re doing that by creating a real voice for those who work here.”

On Sept. 14, Andrew Bove and his colleagues at Bull Moose in Salem, N. H., joined UFCW Local 1445. This organizing victory came after Bull Moose fired workers this May for speaking out about COVID-19 safety risks on the job after the store removed its mask mandate. Customers and members of the local community stood with the workers and Bull Moose responded to the backlash by offering to rehire the workers in early June. Bull Moose workers also cited workplace harassment as one of the major reasons for joining our union family. Bull Moose is a retail chain that carries music, movies, and video games in a variety of formats, as well as books and gifts.

“This vote is about justice and security,” said Bove. “Before we got fired, we went weeks without adequate staffing or any kind of increased compensation. When we brought up our concerns to management, the company demonstrated that it considered us completely disposable. Our customers and community stood with us in calling on Bull Moose to do the right thing and the company rehired us. While we have seen some improvements, we want to make sure there is the lasting change that comes from a strong union contract. This vote to unionize with UFCW Local 1445 is our first step to create a better workplace where we have a true voice and can negotiate the better pay and benefits we have earned.”

Here are the organizing victories that appeared in OnPoint this year:

Fred Meyer Grocery Workers Make History in Washington by Joining Local 1439

Wine Sales Representatives Join Local 2D

CVS Workers in California Join Local 1167

FreshDirect Workers Join Our Union Family

Zara Workers in Massachusetts Join Local 1445

More Massachusetts Cannabis Workers Join Local 328

New York Bookstore Workers Join RWDSU/UFCW

New York Agricultural Workers Make History by Joining RWDSU/UFCW

CVS Workers in California Continue to Join UFCW

New Hampshire Retail Workers Join Local 1445

Cannabis Workers in Seattle Join Local 21