UFCW 8-Golden State️ 3 days ago

On Black Friday, Unions Are Striking For a Better Deal Retail workers are walking out during the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, leveraging a weekend of huge profits for retailers to demand better pay and working conditions. Amazon workers in more than 30 countries are striking this weekend as part of the worldwide “Make Amazon Pay” campaign, protesting the retailer’s labor practices, low wages, and high emissions. The strike would amount to “the largest day of industrial disruption in Amazon’s thirty-year history,” according to Amanda Gering, an organizer with the UK’s GMB union, which began strikes at Amazon earlier this month. This Black Friday marked the fourth year globally that Amazon workers have planned strikes for this shopping weekend—an effort that began during Covid, when Amazon made record profits as workers struggled and, in some cases, died. In Washington, about four hundred Macy’s employees from three different stores went on strike, beginning their picket at 3:00 AM on Black Friday. Their union, the United Food and Commercial Workers, says that Macy’s isn’t doing enough to address safety threats like violent shoppers and shoplifting, and that pay is not keeping up with the cost of living. “Workers don’t feel safe in our store, and now they are scared of retaliation so they’ve stopped calling for help when they see a threat,” explained sales associate Liisa Luick in a release from UFCW 3000. Azia Domingo, who has worked for Macy’s for 21 years, said, “Macy’s is making billions of dollars and paying their CEO $11 million a year, but most of us workers are struggling to make ends meet…We shouldn’t have to question whether we can afford to have health insurance and go to the doctor.” Source: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/amazon-black-friday-union-strike-retail-labor-walkout/ #UFCW #UFCW8 #1u

UFCW 8-Golden State️ 4 days ago

How Formula 1 accidentally helped Las Vegas workers land the 'best contract ever' When Formula 1 came to Las Vegas, it brought a level of glitz and glamor rivaled only by Monaco. It also seems to have inadvertently empowered tens of thousands of hospitality workers to secure better wages and benefits from the city’s famous casinos. Five days before the F1 opening ceremony on the Strip last Wednesday, the Culinary and Bartenders Union finished inking five-year contracts with MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts, which control 18 casinos in the heart of Sin City. The pacts ended a monthslong standoff and defused the threat of a mass worker strike timed to clash with race weekend, thus avoiding a nightmare scenario for casinos and hotels as thousands of tourists and high rollers from around the world were arriving. Now, as they aim to ratify the last of the deals Wednesday, union leaders are hailing it as “the best contract ever” for 40,000 workers, touting the largest-ever wage hikes, new limits on workloads, recall rights and even labor protections from AI technology. Ted Pappageorge, the Culinary Union secretary-treasurer and chief negotiator for contracts, said the addition of a Formula 1 race this year gave workers “leverage” in the negotiations. “That might have had some impact,” he said — alongside the unity of his workers in striking if their demands weren’t met. Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/formula-one-las-vegas-grand-prix-culinary-union-contract-casinos-rcna126165 #UFCW #UFCW8 #1u

UFCW 8-Golden State️ 5 days ago

'Red Cup Rebellion': The worker strike on Starbucks's most iconic day Thousands of Starbucks union members walked off the job on the coffee retailer's biggest promotional day of the year. Timing is everything. Starbucks's "Red Cup Day" is one of the biggest revenue-and-PR days for the global coffee retailer. Each year, its iconic white cups get their festive makeover, and Starbucks offers customers a free, reusable red cup with certain purchases of holiday drinks. Coffee lovers – especially fans of flavours such as gingerbread, pumpkin spice and apple crisp – turn up in droves, often posting their beverages on social media. But this year, on 16 Nov, thousands of unionised workers participated in a multi-state strike across about 150 locations, timed to coincide with Starbucks' biggest promotional event of the year. The Starbucks Workers United Union (SBWU) dubbed it the "Red Cup Rebellion", to fight for better workplace conditions regarding staffing, scheduling and contract negotiations. It's the second consecutive year workers have walked off the job on Red Cup Day, but the 2023 strike represents the largest in SBWU's active history, and included some stores that had never stopped labour before. In several locations, workers were joined on the picket line by union supporters. This year's Red Cup Rebellion also saw the SBWU coordinate with staff at on-campus Starbucks locations at colleges and universities across the country. Source: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231120-red-cup-rebellion-the-worker-strike-on-starbuckss-most-iconic-day #UFCW #UFCW8 #1u #Starbucks

UFCW 8-Golden State️ 2 weeks ago

No Frills workers have new contract in place A new deal is officially in place for workers at the Canadian-based No Frills within 17 stores. Over 1,200 workers ratified a deal with Canadian-based retailer Loblaw Companies Limited — one that will provide higher wages and an increase in the number of full-time jobs among other perks. Wages will go up between $3.20 and $4.50 an hour for all workers over the duration of the agreement and 30 full-time positions will open up over the course of one year. Part-time workers also will have a new benefits program. Over the next five months, full-time workers will earn $2 an hour more and part-time workers will receive an additional $1.50 an hour. “Our union’s fight is to improve wages and working conditions for grocery store workers. I am very proud of the work of our bargaining committee at No Frills who fought hard for this deal for their members,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Grocery workers across Canada deserve fair wages and work, and a union is the best way to get there. We have so much to do to achieve improvements for all retail workers, but our union will never stop this fight.” Loblaw is coming off a solid third quarter where it saw revenue increase 5% year-over-year and food retail same-store sales increase 4.5%. Adjusted gross profit stood at just over $5.1 billion. Source: https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/no-frills-workers-have-new-contract-place #UFCW #UFCW8 #1u

UFCW 8-Golden State️ 2 weeks ago

Please join us in thanking all of those working through the holiday season. Many of our members have been working overtime to stock shelves and take care of you and your loved ones. Please be patient, kind, and #thankful. • Healthcare Workers • Grocery Store & Retail Workers • Food Service & Farm Workers • Drivers and Delivery Service Workers • Firefighters, Police Officers and all other First Responders • Housekeeping & Janitorial Workers • Utility & Municiple Workers ... and so many more working in service to their community! You are appreciated! #UFCW #SolidarityWorks