Posts Categorized: Member Resources

Scholarship recipients celebrate at the 2019 Creating Change Conference, which was held in Detroit earlier this year.

UFCW OUTreach is offering scholarships for members to attend next year’s Creating Change Conference in Dallas.

The Jan. 15 to 19, 2020 conference is organized by the National LGBTQ Task Force and is the foremost political, leadership and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ+ social justice movement.

Scholarship recipients will learn more about a broad range of social justice issues and develop skills to bring back to their workplaces and local unions. Past session topics have included labor, gender equality, community organizing, criminal justice, immigration and more.

In recent years, UFCW OUTreach Executive Board members have served as a key voice for working class and labor issues at this conference. In a time where the labor movement and everything we have fought for is under attack, UFCW OUTreach is dedicated to strengthening social and economic justice. With collaborations like these, our union family is able to advance full equality for LGBTQ+ workers at work and in their local unions. This effort reflects the UFCW’s commitment to building a resilient working class, united in strengthening economic opportunities for all workers.

The submission deadline for the scholarships is Friday, Nov.15. For more information about these scholarships or to apply, visit the new UFCW OUTreach website here.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about UFCW OUTreach, please contact Michele Kessler at MKessler@ufcw1776.org, Kim Frost at kim@local1102.org or Jean Tong at jean.tong@ufcw770.org.

The UFCW is hosting 2020 presidential forums in Michigan on Sept. 29 and in Iowa on Oct. 13 to make sure presidential candidates are addressing issues that matter most to our members and their families. These forums will give presidential candidates the chance to speak to our members about their vision and plans to address critical issues, such as the 36 million American jobs threatened by automation and companies like Amazon.

The Sept. 29 Michigan forum will take place in the Detroit area, and the Oct. 13 Iowa forum will take place in the Des Moines area. Confirmed presidential candidates include Senator Michael Bennet, Senator Cory Booker, Governor Steve Bullock, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Each of the forums will feature three or more presidential candidates who will answer questions from UFCW members in attendance and via video.

“Hard-working Americans deserve an economy that creates good jobs now, and in the years ahead,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone. “Every candidate who wants to be president of the United States has a responsibility to share their vision and ideas, and how they will address major threats to the future of work, like automation, and the companies that are pushing this vision, like Amazon.

“Our 1.3 million members and their families will play a major role in the 2020 election, and as we have heard from our members, they want to know exactly where these presidential candidates stand on the issues that matter to them and their families,” Perrone added.

Locals are encouraged to host watch parties during the forums and watch party promotional materials are available by contacting Karen Gasper in the Legislative and Political Action Department at kgasper@ufcw.org.

The forums will be live streamed on Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. Central Time here.