WWW.UFCW.ORGDecember 18, 2012 Volume 17, Issue 3

Kentucky Smithfi eld Workers Vote to Join UFCW Local 227

Around 400 Smithfi eld workers voted for a UFCW voice on the job last week. The new members of UFCW Local 227 work in Smithfi eld’s Middlesboro plant in Kentucky. The workers voted in an election designed to give them a free choice without facing pressure or intimidation. Members are expected to begin contract negotiations right after the new year. According to Local 227 President Marv Russow, a core group of workers has been dedicated to organizing the plant for almost two decades. “It’s a long awaited victory for them,” he said.

“The smooth election in Kentucky is a sign of the UFCW’s evolving relationship with Smithfi eld,” said UFCW Executive Vice President and Director of Organizing Pat O’Neill. OP

Perdue Chicken Catchers in Maryland Say “Union Yes” Recently, Nipcam workers in Hurlock, Maryland voted for a union voice with UFCW Local 27. The 34 workers catch chickens for Perdue through a subcontractor. Workers decided to come together for a union voice on the job in October of this year. They wanted respect on the job, better wages, afford-able benefi ts, and to also have a system to resolve workplace grievances. Workers formed an organizing committee and through sticking together and talking with their co-workers, they had a successful vote. Negotiations with the company started last week. OP

Ahold Workers Calling for Respect on the Job Kept Out of Company Headquarters

Ahold workers were told that they could not enter Ahold com-pany headquarters when they arrived in Pennsylvania carrying a giant holiday garland made of thousands of signed “solidar-ity cards,” calling for the company to respect its workers with the same rights in all their stores. UFCW members from 12 different local unions collected the solidarity cards from mem-bers throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states.

The few dozens of the Ahold workers who participated in the action were from union stores Stop & Shop and Giant of Landover, Albert Heijn stores in the Netherlands, as well as non-union workers from Martin’s stores (Giant of Carlisle). Giant of Carlisle is the non-union wing of Ahold that is ex-panding in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

“I couldn’t believe how the company behaved when all of us showed up,” said Tina LaBonte from UFCW Local 1459 in Springfi eld, Mass. “We all work for the same company. There shouldn’t be double standards on how they treat their employ-ees.”

Ahold has 100,000 employees in the United States, and 70 percent of them are UFCW members. The company has been expanding its non-union side as it acquires regional chains and opens new stores.

“This is the fi rst time that we were able to confront the com-pany together,” said Jeff Horuath from UFCW Local 371 in Connecticut. “We represent all of Ahold’s workers, from the

UFCW members join Ahold workers at Ahold headquarters calling for the company to respect its workers.

Smithfi eld workers in Middlesboro, Kentucky voted to join UFCW Local 227.

WWW.UFCW.ORGDecember 18, 2012 Volume 17, Issue 3

U.S., from the Netherlands, from union stores and not-yet-union stores. We’re not backing down until all of us are treated fairly with the same rights.”

After being denied entry to the offi ces by Ahold executives and security, workers began caroling and decorating pine trees in front of the offi ce building and leaving the gift-wrapped boxes of more solidarity cards for the company.

For photos and how to get involved, go to facebook.com/iholdcampaign. Check out the video of the action at http://bit.ly/WjQMiC.

Members from the following local unions participated in the action: UFCW Locals 27, 328, 338, 342, 371, 400, 464A, 919, 1262, 1445, 1459, 1776, and FNV Bondgenoten, the Dutch union of Ahold workers. OP

Walmart Worker Protests Spread Across the Globe

Last Friday, Walmart workers in the U.S. were joined by Walmart workers in nine countries to call for an end to Walmart’s attempts to silence workers for speaking out for changes at the world’s largest em-ployer. As Walmart workers and com-munity supporters marched in front of a Walmart store in Miami, workers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua, Canada, the United King-dom, South Africa, Zambia and India held their own rallies, marches, and other actions at Walmart and Walmart subsidiary stores. During the protests, workers cited the negative impacts that the silencing is having on their families, the economy and the company’s bottom line.

At the Walmart protest in Miami, Walmart workers performed street theater in the tradition of the farm workers’ “Teatro Campesino.” Founded in 1965 on the grape vine picket lines

of Delano, California, Teatro Campesino developed short skits to illustrate the inhumane and illegal working conditions of farmworkers.

At the protests across the globe, workers held a moment of silence to honor the victims of the factory fi re in Bangladesh that tragically claimed the lives of 112 workers.

The global protests held last Friday build on the ongoing calls for change at Walmart. On Black Friday last Novem-ber, UFCW local unions, community members, and Walmart workers held more than 1,000 demonstrations, including strikes in 100 cities, in protest of the company’s unfair labor practices. In just one year, OUR Walmart has grown from a group of 100 Walmart workers to an army of thousands of As-sociates across 43 states. OP

UFCW Members Take Coordinated Action, Tell ConAgra: Stop Silencing Workers

Last week, UFCW members across North America who work at ConAgra foods distributed fl yers and led delegations to plant management to demand the company stop intimidating and harassing workers who are trying to form a union at the ConAgra plant in Troy, Ohio.

Workers at the Troy plant began speaking out for changes at their plant for over a year now. They are demanding safety precautions and training along with a real voice at work. But

UFCW Local 38 members who work for ConAgra foods called on plant management to stop intimidating and harassing workers.

WWW.UFCW.ORGDecember 18, 2012 Volume 17, Issue 3

ConAgra has responded by retaliating against some of the organizing workers. Management has tracked who workers talk to, moved a leader from one section of the plant to another building and even written up workers for “soliciting” for the union. Recently, the company has even begun hiring outside consultants to intimidate workers and discourage them from uniting for real change at work.

“I’ve been employed with ConAgra foods for fi ve years,” says worker Jan Haines. “Since the beginning of trying to organize this plant, I’ve been written up, harassed, and even moved to another building, all because I want to see the employees at ConAgra treated fairly, to be able to come back to work and feel safe in every way, and to leave today and return tomorrow with a smile on their faces and their dignity intact.”

There are more than 3,000 UFCW members in 13 locals who work for ConAgra, and all 13 local unions took part in the coordinated actions, including UFCW Locals 2, 38, 75, 191T, 315, 455, 501, 700, 938, 1189, 1529, 1996, 2008. OP

UFCW Local 1208 Members Feed the Hungry in North Carolina

UFCW Local 1208 participated in the latest Feeding the Hungry event in Fayetteville, N.C. last week. Partnering with Smithfi eld, thousands of protein servings were sent to the Sec-ond Harvest Food Bank of Southeastern North Carolina.

“We know there’s a real need out there in our community,” said UFCW Local 1208 President Keith Ludlum.

The Feeding the Hungry campaign is in its third year and will donate a total of 19 million meals to food banks across the country. OP