Posts Tagged: UFCW Local 75

UFCW members across the country have been busy phone calling and canvassing to help ensure our union family turns out to vote.

Despite being an “off-year” election, the 2015 ballot was filled with issues and races that matter to UFCW members and their families.

In Kentucky, a closely watched race for Governor between Attorney General Jack Conway and Matt Bevin could decide whether or not an anti-worker right to work law comes to the “Bluegrass State.” For months, UFCW members have been helping to mobilize support for Conway. If he becomes Kentucky’s Governor-elect on November 3^rd, UFCW members from Locals 227 and 75 will be a big reason why.

In Ohio, UFCW Locals 75, 880, 1059, RWDSU, and ICWU are supporting Issue 3, a ballot question that will ensure the Buckeye State chooses smart regulation over failed prohibition when it comes to marijuana. If it passes, Issue 3 will create 3,000 new union jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars of new tax revenue to support Ohio communities without raising taxes on hard-working men and women.

For the first time in over 300 years, Pennsylvanians will be choosing three judges to sit on the state supreme court. UFCW members are working hard to ensure that all three openings are filled by qualified judges who will fight to stop gerrymandering and defend the rights of workers.

Numerous UFCW Locals have also played important roles this election season in helping to pass local laws that will raise the minimum wage and provide people with paid sick and family leave. Our election efforts help to ensure that UFCW members have both better laws and legislators.

Here’s what some UFCW members working to get out the vote this election season had to say about the importance of voting:

“I vote for a better world for all of us. As a gentlemen told me in a grocery store today, we are all about supporting the troops but by not voting we are stepping on the rights they are fighting for on our behalf,” said Will Reynolds Young, UFCW Local 23.

“It’s important for people to vote because elections do affect our lives. The sad fact is that there are candidates who want to destroy our rights and reduce wages because they care more about corporations than the rest of us. If we don’t vote, we’ll lose,” said Abigail Shake, UFCW Local 227, Kroger.

“We have to vote this year because I want to maintain our voice in the workplace. If this election goes the wrong way, Kentucky could easily become a right to work state. If that happens, my family and my friends would all be hurt by it. Voting is our way to fight back to help make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Chawan Morgan, UFCW Local 227, Kroger.

“I’ve been doing everything I can since August to make sure working people vote. There are candidates running this year who are blatantly attacking us and our rights. People need to understand that we can make our lives better by voting and being involved,” said Shajuan Cook, UFCW Local 227, JBS Swift.

“We are stronger in numbers. If more of us vote and understand the issues then we’ll be able to have better lives. If you sit home and don’t vote, you don’t have a voice. It’s scary, but by not voting our wages, benefits, and health care can be put instantly at-risk,” said Sharon Bayens, UFCW Local 227, Kroger.

“I think we all have a stake in this year’s election. Health care, education, and wages in Kentucky are all at-risk if this election goes the wrong way. When I talk to people in the community, I try to make them understand that by working and standing up together we can earn better lives,” said Samantha Cole, UFCW Local 227, Kroger.

More than 35 UFCW delegates from UFCW Locals 75, 400, 655, 881, and 1546, along with international staff, attended the Coalition for Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) convention where they were keynote speakers and lead convention panels. The CBTU convention was in Chicago from May 2st – May 24th. The conference was opened by UFCW Civil Rights and Community Action Associate Director Robin Williams and the UFCW Minority Coalition took the opportunity to hold their executive board meeting during the convention. On the second day of the convention, UFCW International President Marc Perrone was the keynote speaker and Mannie Pratt from UFCW Local 881 led the women’s luncheon panel that honored women in the labor movement.

“Looking ahead, the work you all do as part of the CBTU has impacted so many. Through education, community involvement, and political empowerment, you are giving a voice to the otherwise voiceless. Everyday, it is changing lives, and it will help change the UFCW and other unions for the better. By helping African American workers unite, you not only make our union families stronger, you make every member’s family – whether they are African American or not – stronger,” said UFCW International President Perrone.

This year’s CBTU convention focused on how the labor movement can form stronger relationships and work with local communities and young activists. Panel discussions covered low-wage workers, politics, massive incarceration, and education. There were also workshops that focused on leadership, community organizing, representing the new faces of the workforce, and understanding racism. Following the convention, UFCW and CBTU chapter delegates were encouraged take the tools that they received back to their locals and communities in order to better serve current union members and help organize more workers.