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Protecting Our Members During a National Crisis

As the country grapples with the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, the UFCW is working hard to communicate with our locals and members with the goal of keeping the hard-working women and men we represent safe during a national crisis.

The Communications Department is holding weekly COVID-19 Response Communicators Calls so that locals in each region can share communication strategies and best practices, as well as what actions they are taking with state and local governments, to protect the health and safety of our members. Over 200 people participated in the first communications call, which was held on March 23.

The department has provided locals with materials to help them refine and amplify their communications with our members during the outbreak, including “Top 12 Things Locals are Doing and Communicating During COVID-19,” as well as digital media tips; tele-town hall media tips; and a sample communications calendar. The department also put together a folder that includes breakroom posters, social media graphics, and other resources for locals here.

“Our members are looking to us as a source of information and reassurance during these challenging times, and the communicator calls are an important resource for locals to hear everything that the UFCW is doing to meet that challenge,” said UFCW Local 152 Director of Communications Mike Thompson. “Our members need to know we are all in this together and they deserve that.”

The Digital Department is also working non-stop to communicate with our members and potential members online during the outbreak. Over the last two weeks, the department has reached more than 2.9 million people on Facebook and Instagram. Together, the team has monitored all UFCW-owned social media accounts, growing our audiences by more than 10,000 people and fielding over 35,000 comments from members alone.

The department also launched a new website for laid-off grocery and health care job seekers during this crisis and is working closely with the communications team on the updated www.ufcw.org/coronavirus home page to field health and safety incident reports from members.

If you’re interested in participating in the COVID-19 Response Communicators Calls or want a copy of the materials available to locals, please reach out to Jessica Raimundo at jraimundo@ufcw.org or Amy Ritter at aritter@ufcw.org.

If you have any questions regarding digital media, please reach out to Rachelle Netzer at rnetzer@ufcw.org.

What You Need to Know About COVID-19 and the NLRB

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19), the NLRB has announced several changes that will affect how UFCW locals organize and handle unfair labor practice cases.

The most significant change is that all union elections are postponed until at least April 3. This includes both manual and mail-ballot elections. Earlier last week, the NLRB was still allowing mail-ballot elections if both the union and the employer agreed, but now all elections are postponed. There is a chance that elections will be postponed further as the situation develops.

In addition, as you may remember reading in an OnPoint article in February, the NLRB decided to adopt new rules for union elections at the end of last year. The new rules would allow for more delays and give employers more opportunities to interfere with workers’ rights to join unions.

The new rules were originally scheduled to go into effect on April 16. The AFL-CIO filed a lawsuit to challenge the rules in federal court. Last week, after a discussion with the judge, the NLRB agreed to postpone implementing the new rules until May 31.

Because of the uncertainty about when elections will start again and the delay in the implementation of the new election rules, it is probably best not to file new election petitions at the moment. But, if you were planning to file for an NLRB election in the next few days or weeks, please contact the Organizing Department and the Legal Department for more advice and the latest updates.

COVID-19 is also affecting unfair labor practice cases. All unfair labor practice hearings are postponed until at least April 3, though unions and employers may request to hold hearings or settlement discussions by phone. You can still file unfair labor practice charges and seek injunctions to prevent employer interference with union organizing. To file charges and seek injunctions online, visit the NLRB’s website.

NLRB staff are working remotely and will continue investigating unfair labor practice charges, evaluating objections to union elections that have already happened, and taking affidavits by phone. In addition, most NLRB regional offices remain open to the public between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. You can find out whether your regional office is open by visiting this website. All NLRB decisions and orders will be delivered through E-Service.

If you have any questions about how COVID-19 is affecting organizing, NLRB elections, or unfair labor practice cases, please contact Amanda Jaret in the Legal Department at ajaret@ufcw.org.