The United Food and Commercial Workers Union

Published on September 1, 2004 By acohen843 In Politics

I am a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union (www.ufcw.org). The UFCW represents workers in the following industries: health care, meat packing, chemical trades, textiles, and retail food. Their goals are workers' rights, better wages, benefits, and safer work areas.

Members of this union comprise workers from the following stores. (This is a partial list.)

Shaws, Pathmark, Fry's, Zehrs Markets, Stop & Shop, and Kohl's
Bloomingdale's, Sears Roebuck, and Value City
Allen Memorial Hospital, Horizon HealthCare, and System Comprehensive INC
Barton Brands, Mogen David, Molson, and Seagram
Levi Strauss & Company, and Osh Kosh B'Gosh
Washington State Liquor Board, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Maryland National Park and Planning Committee Trades

Unions are important. Employers still take advantage of employees. Obviously there are bad employees but I still believe employers, when given the opportunity, will take advantage of their employees.

Layoffs and outsourcing are employee abuse. Unions need to protect employees from outsourcing especially when their jobs are going overseas. Unions need to protect employees from layoffs.

It is ironic. When a company's sales are down, sales people are laid off. Why not replace the vice president of sales? When a company is not doing well, employees are laid off. Why not replace the executive team?

Unions also play a role in politics. They influence legislation to pass laws that benefit workers. Some of the issues my union is concerned with are:

health care
overtime pay, and
safe workplace environments.

Certainly any union is not always right. However, unions are important. We live in a political environment where corporate greed rules. We live in a political environment where the minimum wage doesn't come close to making ends meet. Unions help those that may not be in a position to help themselves.

Comments

Gideon MacLeish

on Sep 01, 2004

I'm going to offer a differing view. You mention Oshkosh B'Gosh. The majority of their clothes are made overseas, and NONE are made in the namesake city, Oshkosh, Wisconsin...in large part because unions made operating costs prohibitively expensive.

I was a member of Teamsters and watched as the union did nothing for the miners at American Borate Company's Billie Mine in Death Valley California. We worked long hours, for nine bucks an hour in one of the most dangerous trades there is. There were numerous safety violations, and we were not given the opportunity to speak with union representatives. The collective bargaining agreement was not voted on by the union members; the shop steward approved it, and he had a vested interest in keeping the wages low, as it was his family and friends that were coming across the border from Mexico illegally that he wanted to find gainful employment. So, needless to say, I have no respect for unions anymore whatsoever. I pray your union doesn't betray your workers as bad as they did the B'Gosh workers in Oshkosh, or the Teamsters continue with the miners in California.

acohen843

on Sep 02, 2004

Hi,

Thanks for the insightful comments. It is wrong what your union did; they sold you out.

I am new to unions. I was originally working in the computer field and due to the economy I am working minimum wage at a supermarket. This is a new area for me and I hope that my union does its job. I also plan to become active in the union.

I also teach English as a Second Language part time. I have adult students who work minimum wage jobs. It bothers me that they and I make $6.75 per hour with the lowest rents starting at $1,000 per month.

Let's keep in touch. I appreciate your knowledge.

Alan

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