A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Companies Owe Workers for Success
UFCW 8’s contract with the major supermarket employers is, without question, the finest deal for food workers in the entire country. We have always led the way in wages, benefits and working conditions.
We have historically set the industry standard and we are going to do it again together.
Our members are well aware of the threat that Wal-Mart and other non-Union retailers pose to our Union market share.
We also know about the health care crisis in which spiraling costs are squeezing Union-negotiated benefit plans from coast to coast.
Employers constantly complain of these twin devils whenever they negotiate with UFCW local Unions across the country. They insist that competition and health care costs are forcing them to hold wages and benefits in check.
Annual Profits Skyrocket
That’s what they tell us. But the facts that these companies report to their shareholders tell a different story. Their annual profits are
skyrocketing, increasing at rates above 60 percent.
In California — thanks in part to UFCW-backed campaigns to raise public awareness — Wal-Mart is frustrated in its efforts to smother the landscape with Supercenters. Nationally, companies like Kroger, Safeway and Albertsons are fighting back successfully, often gaining market share in competition against Wal-Mart.
It won’t be easy. In recent years many employers have attempted to slash wages and benefits, not raise them.
Getting more from employers will require more from all of us — more preparation, more discipline, more energy and absolute unity.
We Are Ready
We could have a fight on our hands. In order to prevail, we must be prepared to wield every weapon in our arsenal, including our weapon of last resort: the strike.
“Strike” is an ugly and scary word. We know what happened in Southern California almost four years ago. Nobody wants a strike, but in the context of labor negotiations, the best way to avoid one is to be ready for one.
We need to prepare for any possible contingencies. Please do your part by saving as much money as you can. Postpone unnecessary purchases until these negotiations are over.
This is not a time for gossip or any kind of divisive talk. We must be united as ever.
This fine Union is the largest and strongest local Union in the Western United States. We are getting larger and stronger all the time. We have the resources, innovation and determination to prevail. We will do whatever it takes to secure the wages and benefits you deserve.
Working together, speaking with one proud and strong voice, we will prove once again that ...
“Solidarity Works!”
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