Posts Categorized: Industries

On Oct. 1, over 4,000 members of UFCW Local 8-GS who work at Raley’s, Bel Air Markets and Nob Hill Foods across Northern and Central California ratified a new contract that strengthens wages and benefits. Bel Air Markets and Nob Hill Foods are Raley’s brand stores.

The three-and-a-half-year contract includes the following provisions:

•           Wage Increases: $4.00 per hour in raises over the contract term for Experienced Clerks, Journeyman Meat Cutters, and above.

•           Step Progression Gains: Increased wages for many workers in step progressions, effective upon ratification.

•           Ratification Bonus: $1,100 for full-time and $750 for part-time members (paid no later than November 7, 2025).

•           Premium Pay Increases: Additional Sunday premium pay for workers with 20 plus years of service, and increased premiums for Managing Clerks, Sr. Head Clerks, Sr. Produce Clerks, and Night Crew Managers.

•           Retirement Security: Strengthened funding for the Lifetime Income Security Account Pension Plan.

•           Health Care and Sick Leave: Continued health care protections and improvements to sick leave payouts.

•           Scheduling and Job Protections: Enhanced scheduling practices, seniority-based holidays, bereavement leave, and stronger job protection language.

“This victory belongs to our members,” said UFCW Local 8-GS President Jacques Loveall. “Their solidarity helped secure a contract which recognizes the essential role they play in the workplace and their community. They are the backbone of the company’s success, and our strength and unity make all the difference.”

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.”