How We Organized a Union at Whole Foods
There were six of us at the first meeting to form a union at Whole Foods in Philadelphia: too many to fit around the coffee shop table, a good sign, so we moved to a restaurant around the corner. We talked about disrespectful managers, low pay, and the loss of paid breaks and health care for part-timers. “I’ve seen many wonderful people come and go” in a decade at the store, said produce worker Ed Dupree.
In 2022, inspired by the success of the #AmazonLaborUnion and #StarbucksWorkersUnited, a handful of New Seasons workers came together in the backyard of a longtime activist, April St. John, and decided to form the #NewSeasonsLaborUnion. St. John has worked at New Seasons since 2005.
https://labornotes.org/2026/01/portland-grocery-workers-score-big-first-contract-win
#Groceryworkers #labourmovement #organize #solidarity #unions
Portland Grocery Workers Score Big First Contract Win
Workers at the upscale grocery chain New Seasons have won a first contract, after more than three years of organizing. The contract covers 850 workers at the 10 stores in Portland, Oregon, that have joined the New Seasons Labor Union. The chain has 22 stores in Portland and Vancouver, Washington. The union won major raises. The lowest-paid members will see an immediate raise of 16.5 percent. More than 95 percent of members will make more than $20 an hour, with the median wage rising to $23.37. New hires will start at a minimum of $19, which will rise with annual cost-of-living adjustments.
SNAP Axe Could Fall on Grocery Shoppers and Workers Alike
Beginning November 1, 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as “food stamps,” are set to go without benefits. Among them are union members in underpaid industries like grocery and retail. SNAP keeps millions of Americans and their families from going hungry. Due to the government shutdown, new SNAP funding has not been allocated by Congress, and existing funding has run out. This would be the first time in the program’s 61-year history that SNAP benefits have not been paid.
Grocery Workers VS Goliath
Kroger and Albertsons tried to merge; union organizing stopped them. But the fight for grocery workers is just beginning.
Unionized Grocery Workers Are a Sleeping Giant
Colorado Kroger workers are striking this week, and 130,000 union grocery workers are bargaining contracts this year. Reformers see it as a chance to transform the UFCW from America’s largest private sector union into a fighting force.
First Skirmish: Ten Thousand Grocery Workers Strike Kroger
Ten thousand members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 are on strike all across Colorado. They work for King Soopers grocery stores, owned by Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the U.S. When their contracts expired January 16, they voted by 96 percent to authorize a two-week-long unfair labor practice strike, including high-traffic Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day weekends. Even with scabs staffing the stores, these holiday weekends should give the boss a headache.
Unionized Grocery Workers Are a Sleeping Giant
In the first six months of 2025, grocery contracts covering over 130,000 union workers are set to expire. The contracts span five states, a dozen local unions, and several employers — namely the grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons.
Unionized Grocery Workers Are a Sleeping Giant
Colorado Kroger workers are striking this week, and 130,000 union grocery workers are bargaining contracts this year. Reformers see it as a chance to transform the UFCW from America’s largest private sector union into a fighting force.
Portland Grocery Workers Strike Together
Over Labor Day weekend, 5,500 grocery workers in Portland, Oregon, went on strike across 38 stores—and two unions. A thousand workers at 10 New Seasons Markets, members of an independent union seeking a first contract, struck for one day on September 1, in their first union-wide strike. And 4,500 members of Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 walked out of 28 Fred Meyer supermarket-department stores August 28 on a seven-day strike. This month they reached and ratified a tentative agreement.
Rank & File Democracy is coming to UFCW ?
The #UFCW is the fifth-largest #union in the U.S. after the #NEA, #SEIU, #AFSCME, and the #Teamsters. It represents 1.2 million members, who are largely in grocery, meatpacking, retail, and health care.
https://labornotes.org/2024/07/grocery-workers-file-union-democracy-lawsuit
Revolt in Aisle 5 ? https://inthesetimes.com/article/revolt-aisle-5-ufcw-grocery-workers-union
#retailworkers #groceryworkers #union
Grocery Workers File Union Democracy Lawsuit
Members seeking to transform the United Food and Commercial Workers have added a new weapon to their arsenal: legal action. Grocery workers Kyong Barry (Local 3000 in Washington) and Iris Scott (Local 1459 in Massachusetts) sued the UFCW April 19 over the undemocratic representation of members at the UFCW Convention, which takes place every five years. There are several charges, but the crux of the lawsuit is that delegates are apportioned across locals in such a way as to deny members equal voice. A favorable ruling would enable reformers in other unions to sue on the same basis.
Peter Riley
Steve Dustcircle 🌹