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On Jan. 17, grocery workers at four Gourmet Garage stores in New York City joined UFCW Local 1500 for a better life.

Gourmet Garage stores have provided local chefs, restaurant buyers and New Yorkers with high quality groceries for more than 30 years, and these 98 hard-working men and women are employed as grocery, produce, dairy, meat, deli, seafood and coffee department clerks and cashiers. They voted to join our union via card check because they wanted a voice in the workplace, especially with regard to job stability, and the same wages and benefits that other unionized grocery workers in the area have. With this organizing win, all Gourmet Garage stores in New York City are now unionized.

These workers realize the benefits of belonging to our union family and are looking forward to making the most out of their first union contract.

“All we were looking for is to be equal in this industry,” said José A. Ramirez. “We wanted wage increase guarantees and benefits that companies like D’Agostino, Fairway, and ShopRite have through a union contract. We do the same work and wanted to be on the same playing field as them and that’s why we chose to unionize. Now we are proud to say that we are members of the largest grocery store worker union in New York. When we saw the union walk through our doors, we knew who they were and we are excited to work with them.”

On Feb. 3, the UFCW announced its support for the reintroduction of the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act.

This legislation, introduced by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Representative Ro Khanna (Calif.-17), would provide essential protections to meatpacking workers across the country by strengthening worker safety provisions, increasing transparency, and supporting American jobs in an industry that continues to feel strains resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Meatpacking and food processing workers risked their health and safety as essential workers every single day during the height of the pandemic to ensure American families had food on the table,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone in a statement. “While our union was able to fight for and secure many protections for our members, every single worker in this industry deserves the essential protections that meat and poultry processing companies are still failing to provide.”

“The UFCW stands firmly with Senator Booker and Representative Khanna as they reintroduce the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act,” Perrone added. “This critically important legislation will be instrumental in protecting workers, holding the industry accountable, and making our food system more resilient. Americans should be able to trust that the food they put on the table comes from American workers who are protected on the job.”