Posts Categorized: Legislation and Politics

UFCW Local 1000 members recently hosted eight endorsed Dallas candidates for city council and mayor at local Kroger stores for tours and one-on-one discussions with workers ahead of the city’s May 4 election.

Each candidate spent an hour walking through a store and talking with UFCW Local 1000 members one-on-one about the issues affecting their lives. Candidates learned about the issues our members care about, as well as how critical our union is in representing those members at the workplace and why it’s so important to have a union grocery store in their communities. The events were a way to make sure that local elected officials heard directly from the workers they hope to represent.

Anthony Elmo, political and communications director for UFCW Local 1000, asked that any candidate seeking the union’s endorsement take the time to visit an area worksite so they could hear directly from their membership.

“Elected officials should campaign for votes where hard-working families bring home the bacon,” Elmo said. “They need to meet us on the shop floor and understand our issues.”

Chad West, who won the open seat in Dallas City Council District 1, left the visit with a deeper understanding of our union and the workers we represent.

“It was great getting to talk with people in my district who live and work in this community. The majority of the people in my district are working people and it’s good to know that they have a union like UFCW Local 1000 looking out for their best interests and engaging them in the political process,” West said. “I look forward to working with Local 1000 and representing your membership as a member of the Dallas City Council for years to come.”

One of the most important issues was the paid sick leave ordinance that the Dallas City Council passed by a 10 to 4 vote on April 24, which requires employers to credit their employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work. Members at every stop let the candidates know how they felt about this important issue in advance of the election, and UFCW Local 1000 member Candice Oglesby, who works full-time as a florist at Kroger in Oak Cliff, was interviewed by ABC News 8 about the ordinance.

Local 1000 members played an integral role in pushing for the Dallas ordinance over the last year, working with coalition partners from local unions and community groups. The ordinance is likely to face legal challenges, as well as an attempt by the state legislature to nullify the law, but the hard-fought victory was a huge win for working people in Dallas.

“Paid sick time in Dallas is an amazing victory for grocery workers. Our members will directly benefit from this policy as the new floor for future contract negotiations,” said Elmo.

The UFCW has a proud history of negotiating strong contracts that protect workers from discrimination and help them obtain equal pay for equal work. Over the past few weeks, the International’s Legislative and Political Action Department has taken action on the federal level by urging members of Congress to narrow the gender pay gap by supporting and passing the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7) so that all workers have an opportunity to advance in the workplace. On April 2, their hard work paid off when the House of Representatives passed this legislation, which was sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). This legislation will provide women with the necessary tools to challenge pay gaps and gender-based discrimination.

For women who don’t belong to a union, gender pay discrimination is a persistent problem in the workplace. Women are typically paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, and the pay gaps are even larger for women of color. The Paycheck Fairness Act updates and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by closing loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work. It prohibits employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay and requires them to prove that pay disparities are based on factors other than gender. It also protects employees against retaliation for discussing salaries with colleagues and removes obstacles to participation in class action lawsuits regarding pay discrimination.

The passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the House of Representatives is an important step toward ending gender-based discrimination. While belonging to a union is still the surest way to guarantee equal pay on the job, with unionized women making approximately 27 percent more than their nonunion counterparts, the Paycheck Fairness Act would provide new and important tools to close the wage gap. The UFCW applauds the men and women of the House prioritizing the passage of this important bill and urges the Senate to pass this legislation immediately and ensure that women don’t go another day without making equal pay for equal work.

To learn more about what the Legislative and Political Action Department is doing to level the playing field for women and all workers, contact your region’s legislative point person in the department. If you are unsure about who your assigned representative is, reach out to Shannon Harris at sharris@ufcw.org.