Posts Categorized: Legislation and Politics

From defeating work for less Proposition A in Missouri to knocking on doors to get out the vote to traveling to Washington, D.C., to lobby for safer working conditions, UFCW members made their voices heard during this important election year. This year, the UFCW also supported the revival of the Poor People’s Campaign to demand economic and social justice for the nation’s poor.

In the months and weeks leading up to the midterm elections, many members took time out of their schedules to help get out the vote by calling voters from their local or talking to friends and neighbors about issues that matter most to hard-working families, including stagnant wages, insufficient health care, income inequality and the shrinking middle class. Our members also talked about the value that union membership brings to workers and their families, and let voters know that electing local officials who support the rights of workers to join a union of their choice leads to higher quality jobs that provide health insurance, paid vacation, retirement security, holiday and sick leave, fair scheduling, overtime protection and other benefits.

Here are a few examples of the role our members played in helping our union build political power this year:

Conversations With Thousands of Members Makes a Difference in Midterm Elections

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/12/03/changing-the-political-environment-to-benefit-our-members/

Winning With Worksite Conversations

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/11/13/winning-with-worksite-conversations/

UFCW Lost-Timers Get Out the Vote

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/11/13/ufcw-lost-timers-get-out-the-vote/

UFCW Retirees Make Their Voices Heard on Election Day

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/11/05/ufcw-retirees-make-their-voices-heard-on-election-day/

UFCW Women’s Network Gets Out the Vote

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/10/29/ufcw-womens-network-gets-out-the-vote/

UFCW Leads Effort to Restore Voting Rights

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/10/15/ufcw-leads-effort-to-restore-voting-rights/

Pork Processing Workers Go to Washington

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/10/01/ufcw-organizes-lobby-day-for-pork-processing-workers/

UFCW Members Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by Getting Out the Vote

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/10/01/ufcw-members-celebrate-hispanic-heritage-month-by-getting-out-the-vote/

UFCW Shines Spotlight on Best Market Workers, Inspiring New Legislation

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/09/10/struggles-of-best-market-workers-inspire-new-legislation/

After Missouri, UFCW Prepares for More Victories This Election Season

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/08/13/after-missouri-ufcw-prepares-for-more-victories-this-election-season/

UFCW Hosts Political Conference Ahead of 2018 Midterms

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/07/31/ufcw-hosts-political-conference-ahead-of-2018-midterms/

UFCW Members Attend Poor People’s Campaign Rally in D.C.

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/06/25/ufcw-members-take-over-d-c-for-poor-peoples-campaign/

Poor People’s Campaign: Week 6

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/06/18/poor-peoples-campaign-week-6/

UFCW Responds to Partisan Farm Bill

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/06/25/ufcw-responds-to-partisan-farm-bill/

Poor People’s Campaign: Week 5

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/06/04/ufcw-helps-ramp-up-poor-peoples-campaign-nationwide/

UFCW and Allies Launch Poor People’s Campaign

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/05/14/ufcw-and-allies-launch-poor-peoples-campaign/

UFCW Pork Plant Workers Tell USDA to Keep Line Speeds Safe

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/05/07/ufcw-pork-plant-workers-tell-usda-to-keep-line-speeds-safe/

UFCW Responds to Federal Court’s Ruling on DACA

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/04/30/ufcw-responds-to-federal-courts-ruling-on-daca/

UFCW Opposes Farm Bill’s Work Requirements for SNAP Recipients

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/04/30/ufcw-responds-to-farm-bills-work-requirements-for-snap-recipients/

UFCW Endorses Poor People’s Campaign Revival

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/04/13/ufcw-endorses-poor-peoples-campaign-revival/

UFCW Locals in Ohio Endorse Rich Cordray for Governor

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/03/26/ufcw-locals-in-ohio-endorse-rich-cordray-for-governor/

UFCW Advocates COOL During Seventh Round of NAFTA Talks

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/03/05/ufcw-responds-to-seventh-round-of-nafta-talks/

Local 1208 Marches in HKonJ Rally in North Carolina

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/02/26/local-1208-marches-in-hkonj-rally-in-north-carolina/

UFCW Responds to White House Request to Test Harvest Box Plan

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/02/20/ufcw-responds-to-white-house-request-to-test-harvest-box-plan/

UFCW Applauds Decision to Reject Push to End Poultry Line Speed Limits

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/02/05/ufcw-applauds-usdas-decision-to-reject-poultry-industrys-push-to-end-line-speed-limits/

Local 1000 Hosts Oklahoma Political Conference

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/01/29/local-1000-hosts-oklahoma-political-conference/

Local 400 and Allies Call on Virginia Legislators to Expand Medicaid, Increase Minimum Wage

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/01/29/local-400-and-allies-call-on-virginia-legislators-to-expand-medicaid-increase-minimum-wage/

UFCW Responds to USDA Decision to Eliminate Line Speed Limits at Pork Plants

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/01/22/ufcw-responds-to-usda-decision-to-eliminate-line-speed-limits-at-pork-plants/

Working Families United Protests Termination of Salvadoran TPS

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/01/09/working-families-united-protests-termination-of-salvadoran-tps/

UFCW Local Unions Endorse Steve Dettelbach for Ohio AG

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/01/08/ufcw-local-unions-endorse-steve-dettelbach-for-ohio-ag/

UFCW Calls on NCC to End Forced and Exploited Labor in America’s Poultry Plants

http://forlocals.ufcw.org/2018/01/02/ufcw-calls-on-ncc-to-end-forced-and-exploited-labor-in-americas-poultry-plants/

This year, the International’s Legislative and Political Action Department committed its resources to reaching out to thousands of members of our union family at their homes, worksites and through texts, digital ads and member-specific mail so that the voices of the hard-working women and men we represent were heard loud and clear during the midterm elections.

In addition to campaign contributions, the Legislative and Political Action Department invested resources in 157 races. Ninety-five of those races were won and three races are still in runoffs or recounts. Our union supported candidates up and down the ballot from the U.S. Senate to County Commission races. These were competitive races that needed investments to win, and the candidate we supported in one race in Kentucky won by just one vote. Our union also invested in five ballot initiatives, all of which were successful.

Our 190 member organizers had 20,805 worksite conversations, knocked on 68,952 of our members’ doors and had 9,729 door conversations.  In Arizona, with IE partners and the AFL-CIO, we knocked 44,343 doors and had 11,513 conversations with union and community members. Overall, we contributed 5,958 door and phone shifts in the AFL-CIO’s program on top of the robust internal program we ran reaching our members directly.

The Legislative and Political Action Department also used the Hustle app to reach our members this election cycle. The cell phone numbers collected during conversations with our members will be used to complement the other work that we do year-round to support our union family.

“We now have opportunities to work with new governors and state legislators to put forward legislation that supports workers and enables us to organize,” said International Vice President and Legislative and Political Action Department Director Ademola Oyefeso. “And with the gains in Congress, we can now stop the anti-worker legislation at the federal level. This is the model we will continue to build from as we look to opportunities in 2019 and 2020.”

For more information about our union’s mobilization efforts in 2019 and 2020, contact your political coordinator. If your local is interested in learning more about reaching members through the Hustle app, contact Moira Bulloch at mbulloch@ufcw.org.