Workers across the nation are rising up and demanding better conditions and compensation. Check out some recent organizing wins for grocery store and food service employees below:
1. Grocery Workers at Food 4 Less Rejected a Substandard Contract Offer in Southern California
Workers at Food 4 Less, a chain of grocery outlets owned by Kroger’s, in Southern California have rejected a substandard contract offer from their employer. The Food 4 Less employees are part of 7,000 worker strong bargaining unit of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 135, 324, 770., 1167, 1428, 1442, and 8-GS.
The worker-led Bargaining Committee has been pushing for better wages, safer working conditions, more hours, and benefits that equal those received by Ralphs workers. Food 4 Less and Ralphs are both Kroger owned companies, yet the Ralphs workers receive higher wages and better benefits for doing the same work. Food 4 Less workers are calling for equal pay for equal work.
Food 4 Less Workers Reject Company’s Offer
Food 4 Less was offering a 50¢ ($0.50) wage increase for approximately 38% of its workers and no wage increase for the remaining 62% of workers; a paltry increase despite Kroger – Food 4 Less’ parent company – making record profits in FY 2020 ($2.56 billion net profit, versus $1.66 billion in FY 2019)!
2. Over 2,000 Delivery Workers in NYC Organized Successfully and are on the Verge of Winning Their Demands!
Over 2,000 food delivery workers organized and rallied on bikes through Manhattan to call for improved work conditions. Their organization, Los Deliveristas Unidos, joined forces with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 32BJ, perhaps the largest service employees union in NYC, to demand increased pay and better work conditions!
Organizing to improve working conditions, the workers at Los Deliveristas Unidos demanded:
- The right to access restrooms from the restaurants.
- The right to a living wage and a hazard pay.
- Essential protections from e-bike robberies, wage theft and health and safety hazards.
- The right to use a physical public space to eat, rest and be protected from extreme weather.
- The right to organize.
Responding to Los Deliveristas Unidos’ organizing and demands, New York City Councilmembers Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan), Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) and Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn) are introducing a set of bills which will immediately improve working conditions for delivery workers in NYC.
3. PCC Community Markets’ Workers in the Seattle Area Protest for Fair Representation After Winning Hazard Pay!
In the Seattle Area grocery workers with PCC Community Markets, who are represented by the 46,000 member strong UFCW Local 21, are protesting over a lack of representation on their cooperative governing board. This protest was a result of allegations against PCC Community Markets’ cooperative’s board “discouraging members from voting for two board candidates who are also PCC grocery workers.“
Earlier in February 2021, PCC Community Markets workers successfully negotiated an additional $4/hr in hazard pay.
4. Colectivo Coffee Workers in Wisconsin and Illinois are on the Cusp of Successful Unionization!
328 bakery, cafe, and warehouse workers for Colectivo Coffee are in the midst of a tightly contested election but it looks like the union,
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Locals 494 & 1220, is going to pull out with a victory, making Colectivo the largest retail coffee chain union in the country!
5. Imperfect Foods’ Delivery Drivers Unionized Successfully in California.
Workers at Imperfect Foods, a San Francisco-based grocery startup, recently unionized successfully with UFCW Local 5 as well!
5. Over 70 Delivery Drivers for Shaws Supermarket in Maine Are Striking for a Better Contract.
Grocery delivery drivers for Shaw’s Supermarket in Maine with Teamsters Local Union No. 340 are currently on strike, after months of failed negotiations around the contract renewal.
The delivery workers demands in the new contract are focused on how much work can be subcontracted and the increases to contributes to retirement accounts. With over 100 supermarkets in the New England region affected by the strike, Shaw’s already has a proposal to offer that includes contract improvements to the workers.
Workplace organizing is the most tried and tested way to win improvements at any workplace. If you are interested in organizing your workplace to securing better working conditions, as well as higher compensation and other benefits for yourself and your fellow workers, please reach out to us today.
Share with us the problems you are encountering at your workplace and the changes you want to see. A trained volunteer will reach out to you within 48 hours. We will connect you with the resources to help you win the changes you want to see at work.
