Standing united

Union allies at Food & Drug Council convention pledge support

 As they prepared to enter contract negotiations, supermarket workers in Southern California received strong pledges of support from union allies attending the Food & Drug Council’s annual convention in December.

The FDC delegates met in Nevada to share ideas and coordinate strategies on behalf of workers in the food and drug industries. In his address to the convention delegates, Local 135 President Mickey Kasparian detailed the challenges he expected to confront in negotiations with the supermarket employers. “The issues are the same for all of us: pension, health benefits,  wages and working conditions,” Kasparian said. “These will be very difficult negotiations, but as always, we will work hard to get our members a contract they deserve.”

Kasparian noted that UFCW unions in Southern California are asking shoppers to pledge their support if a labor dispute becomes necessary.  He also described recent successes that include passage of a “big box” ordinance in San Diego. The new law prevents “big box” retailers from opening without first conducting studies on their potential impact on local economies.

 FDC President Paul A. Kenny, who also serves as secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 630, described how Teamsters came to the aid of UFCW members during the 2003-2004 supermarket strike and lockout in Southern California. Kenny pledged that the spirit of union solidarity would continue this year. “We know your negotiations are coming up, and we will support you,” Kenny told the UFCW delegates at the convention.

“We’re ready to stand along-side you.”

 Rapid growth of FDC in size and influence

 At a time when unions are confronting challenges in organizing, collective bargaining and market share, the FDC has been experiencing rapid growth in size and influence. The coalition now includes 45 local and regional labor organizations based in nine states. Among these organizations is UFCW Local 135.

FDC affiliates represent more than 375,000 members of the UFCW, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the Sprinkler Fitters and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers.

In her report, FDC Director Ellen T. Anreder noted that the FDC reflects the labor movement’s increasingly unified response to concentrated corporate power. “Our growth demonstrates the willingness of labor organizations to reach across old institutional, industrial and regional boundaries to build solidarity, organize more workers and win better contracts than they could accomplish on their own,” Anreder said. “The more affiliates we gain, the stronger we get.”

As she welcomed the delegates to Nevada, UFCW Local 711 President Roberta West provided a sobering description of the unemployment that grips the state. Nevertheless, she drew encouragement from the FDC’s support for her union in Nevada and Utah. West said the FDC’s assistance in picketing Fresh & Easy markets helped prompt the non-union chain to close its stores in Las Vegas.

Doug Dority, the UFCW’s former international president and the current president of America’s Agenda: Health Care for All, described aspects of health care reform legislation that disappointed him. Nevertheless, he said, activists have the power to define future developments in health care. “We can make positive changes,” Dority said. “It’s just a matter of getting started.”  Dority also praised the concept of union benefit trust funds forming co-ops to consolidate their strengths and become eligible for government funds.

In addition to guest speakers addressing a variety of topics, union leaders from across the country delivered “field reports,” sharing information about their respective challenges and successes.