Sharing the past to protect our future
By Jim McLaughlin President, UFCW Local 99, and UFCW International Vice President

It is not unusual for me to discuss my family in my articles because it is an easy way to make a point.

I have three kids and have been married for 15 years, so I have some life experiences that help me do my job better and make me a better person. But I can also use some of my experiences to advise others (even if they don’t ask, I sometimes find myself there to give advice).

Recently, my good friend (Mark) and his wife (Cathy) had their first baby (Sofia). Sofia was born just before Christmas and is beautiful and healthy, and she has brought a lot of happiness and excitement into this young family.

I don’t think Mark and I have a conversation without an update on the baby or questions about “Did this happen to you guys?” coming up.

Lately, when we talk on the phone, it reminds me of how fun it was with our first, Kylie, but also how scared my wife and I were.

Now, Mark and Cathy are smart people who can probably get the answers they need by themselves, or at least they can check my answers against the opinions of their other friends, but it helps that I can be a resource.

We all enjoy helping other people. At our jobs we have new co-workers coming in all the time, and we watch them standing there with blank looks on their faces, some of them wondering what the heck they are doing there.

Whether it is bagging, stocking, cashiering, wrapping, etc., it does not matter. When we see that look, it reminds us of our own early days at work.

We have many people in the stores who see that look and have the natural instinct to give advice. That really is the role of union members.

We must make sure that future members get advice from those of us who care about the jobs we have, the industries we work in and the future of both. We must make sure that the jobs we have remain good jobs with adequate health care and wages to provide for a family. We must make sure our industries continue to respect the work we do.

To achieve these goals, we must fight to keep our union strong. That is one of the first things we should explain to our new coworkers. They should join, they should participate and they should be heard in our union.

In our explanations, we should share our own experiences as union members, including our most recent experiences in standing up and fighting for a contract. If our newest members don’t understand how hard we fought to protect them with this current contract, they won’t be prepared to fight the next time.

We have come a long way in the last year, and we have grown stronger as a union and as a movement. Many people have stepped up and recognized that they must participate. We have new stewards and activists in stores that never had either before.

More and more members are attending meetings and volunteering with the union, and more and more members are recognizing how strong they really are.

When we share our stories about the union, new members will understand what to expect, and we will be confident that future generations in our union will be stronger tomorrow.

Mark and Cathy are great parents. I know that Sofia will touch many people’s lives as she grows, and this world will become better because of her.

I also know our union will become better, stronger and more powerful because of you.

A Moment to Savor, a Time to Give Thanks
By Jim McLaughlin President, UFCW Local 99, and UFCW International Vice President

Now that our supermarket members have voted to ratify a new contract with Fry’s, Safeway and Smith’s, we can take a moment to savor our accomplishment and give thanks where thanks are due.

First comes the savor part.

The contract that our members ratified protects our members’ rights on the job. It includes wages that will enable them to provide for themselves and their families. They will not have to pay premiums for their health care. Their pension, including the Rule of 85, is protected. On top of all that, they will get a nice ratification bonus in the form of a merchandise card that can be used at either Fry’s, Safeway or Smith’s.

That would be an acceptable package in good economic times. Considering that we are enduring the worst recession since the 1930s, on top of persistently climbing costs for health care, our new supermarket contract is an impressive accomplishment!

Back in September, the companies offered proposals that included new health care premiums for all employees, inadequate employer contributions that would endanger the security of the pension fund and wages that fell far short of the needs and expectations of our members.

The final agreement includes significant changes by the employers on all fronts. As a result, we were proud to endorse its ratification by the members. The members agreed with our assessment.

Now, whom shall we thank?

Let’s thank UFCW Local 99’s Supermarket Negotiations Advisory Committee, composed of people who

work in the stores. From the beginning of our negotiations more than a year ago, these dedicated members let us know what they wanted to see in a new contract. They advised us on where to compromise and where to draw the line. They also added a communication link to all members.

Let’s also thank our friends and allies in the community and in other labor unions for letting us know we weren’t alone. On the night of our strike-preparation meeting in Phoenix on Nov. 11, we were especially glad to see the big-rig trucks driven onto the parking lot by representatives of the Food & Drug Council, Teamsters Locals 63 and 630, and Teamsters Joint Council 42.

Inside the meeting at the Airport Marriott, we were proud to have the presence of UFCW Region 8 Director Shaun Barclay, Secretary-Treasurer Andy Marshall of Teamsters Local 104 in Phoenix, President Jacques Loveall of UFCW 8-Golden State in California, and Paul Kenny, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 630 and president of the Food & Drug Council. These fine unionists were accompanied by about 25 other labor leaders from Arizona and neighboring states.

Let’s not forget to thank the tens of thousands of UFCW members in Southern California who survived the brutal, 144-day supermarket strike and lockout in 2003-2004. These brave souls won the admiration of customers who refused to cross the picket lines. As a result, the companies lost an estimated $2 billion and were forced to rethink their strategy of trying to break the UFCW.

This helps explain why there hasn’t been a significant supermarket strike since then anywhere in North America. Specifically, it helps explain why the supermarket companies in Arizona were hesitant about forcing a similar strike here.

Finally and most importantly, let’s thank YOU, the members of UFCW Local 99, for displaying the courage, fortitude and solidarity that made our new contract possible. You stepped forward when your fellow members needed you to speak proudly of your union, to vote to reject the employers’ initial proposals, to give your union authority to call a strike and to stay united until the end.

The 15,000 picket signs we assembled, with more on the way, were all the proof the employers needed that we were serious in our intentions. As someone who worked for our union for more than 30 years observed when it was all over, “We have never been this close to a strike without actually going on strike!”

Ultimately, this contract was made possible by you. Thank you!

Where we stand on contract negotiations
By Jim McLaughlin President, UFCW Local 99, and UFCW International Vice President

Future chronicles of Arizona’s Labor Move­ment will reflect on our recent series of strike-authorization votes as an important moment when the members of UFCW Local 99 delivered to the supermarket employers a powerful message of unity, pride and determination.

Many of you were there, in locations around the state, to learn about the state of negotiations with the supermarket employers.

You heard from members of the Retail Food Negotiations Advisory Committee, people like you who work at the stores and care deeply about their coworkers, both union and non-union. And you also heard from me and other leaders and staff members of UFCW Local 99.

We presented the facts of the negotiations — not the selective and occasionally distorted representations that you read in memos from the company management, but an honest depiction of the companies’ intolerable proposals.

While the memos and fliers you see at work reflect the world as seen by the managers of a giant corporation, your union reflects the world as it affects the welfare of its members. We work for you.

Expressions of solidarity

We felt gratified when, at the conclusion of each meeting, you and your fellow union members responded with overwhelming expressions of solidarity. You voted to reject the company proposals and to give your union’s leadership the authority, should it become necessary, to call a strike against Safeway and Fry’s.

If we needed evidence that the employers’ attempts to drive a wedge between you and your union weren’t working, this was it!

Now that the employers are aware of the members’ strong rejection of their recent contract proposals, their wisest course would be to stop trying to propagandize the workers and to work with us on crafting an acceptable agreement.

UFCW Local 99 and the employers have important work to do on a number of important issues that affect thousands of union members. These members are counting on us to resolve those issues quickly at the bargaining table.

From the time our negotiations began more than 12 months ago, our goal has been to reach a fair and equitable agreement that you will be proud to ratify.

Some of the issues that separate us from the employers fall under the “non-economic” category. Safeway’s attempts to gut seniority and scheduling protections from the contract are not helpful in this regard, but the most intense discussions have involved the “economic” issues.

Here, in brief, are the economic issues:

Health care

It has always been the position of UFCW Local 99 that our members should never have to choose between paying for family health care and paying for food or rent.

The recent proposals from the supermarket companies included a requirement that workers pay regular out-of-pocket premiums for their health care. This would be in addition to any deductibles and co-payments that already come from our members’ pockets.

The employers insist that these premiums wouldn’t be too much to pay for health care, but we know differently. While those premiums may not seem like a lot to a multimillion-dollar company, they mean plenty to working people who are already having a tough time making ends meet.

Members who are single parents have told me that if they have to pay these premiums for their families, they will go broke. That is neither fair nor equitable.

Besides, if these premium amounts are so small, why are the companies so keen on pushing them into the contract? The answer is that these premiums would add up to a lot of money over time, and the companies know this.

We are urging the employers to reevaluate their health care offer and remove these premiums from the table.

Wages

Our position is that you have gone long enough without meaningful wage increases. In previous contracts you were willing to make sacrifices to ensure that the employers remained profitable and could compete with non-union outfits like Walmart and Bashas’.

Two employers reaped significant savings from the last contract, in which concessions were given amounting in the tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars. Now it is time for you to get a reasonable share of the profits that your hard work has made possible.

It’s a simple matter, really: People who do an honest day’s work should be able to earn a decent wage. The employers seem to be satisfied in offering employees minimum-wage rates. We are not. You deserve more than that.

Pensions

Pensions represent the third jewel in the crown of a successful union contract. Just as you deserve good, affordable health care, and just as you deserve decent and fair wages, you deserve a strong pension that is adequately funded so you can retire with dignity after a long career of service.

In the current contract negotiating process, the employers have launched an attack on the third jewel of the crown. A positive outcome will require adequate funding of the pension fund and protection of the “Golden 85” rule, which lets workers retire at an age when they can enjoy their well-earned retirements.

Once again, it’s about fairness and dignity. When you give the best years of your life to an employer, you deserve to be treated well in return. nnn

This is just a broad portrait of some of the big issues in these enormously detailed and complicated negotiations. But one more thing needs to be said:

It might be understandable if a company asks for concessions because it is on the ropes. But the supermarkets are not on the ropes. They are hugely profitable corporations.

They already have their profits. They just want more profits, achieved on the backs of their workers.

There’s a word for that attitude. It’s called “greed.”

Neither the employers nor your union wish to initiate a labor dispute at this time. Both sides are interested in continuing negotiations. But to achieve our legitimate goals, we will need to keep all of our options open.

Your union stands strong and proud with you. Thank you for standing strong and proud with your union.

Scholarship winners inspire hope for the future
By Jim McLaughlin President, UFCW Local 99, and UFCW International Vice President

When I originally wrote this column, my lovely wife was very pregnant with our third child. (Born July 16, mom and baby are doing fine.)

With two beautiful children already speeding around my house like caffeinated terriers, I definitely have some experience with being an expectant father. But the nervousness and introspection of those last couple months before the child arrives never really go away, no matter how many children you have.

I have a theory that most expectant fathers briefly become philosophers, pondering the world into which their children will be born. With the madness going on in the world today, some would think that this would be a somewhat depressing process, but I beg to differ.

For the last 13 years, UFCW Local 99 has provided scholarships to members and their dependents. Aside from being a great benefit of belonging to our union, the scholarships provide a glimpse of how each generation might handle the world when it is passed to them.

Local 99’s award winners represent the best of our future teachers, engineers, politicians, scientists and, yes, union activists.

Each year’s crop of candidates include a few standouts who command our attention and inspire our imaginations. Choosing among them for the highest honors is always a challenge.

This year, however, our scholarship committee had its most difficult job ever, because every one of our applicants was extraordinary.

We weren’t simply impressed by their scholastic achievements and skills. We were floored by the positive, constructive manner in which these individuals approached their world. They are focused on giving back to their communities.

During the interview process, the winners expressed their thankfulness for the opportunities they had been given in life and wished to provide similar opportunities so that others could succeed in the future.

They described how they want to help find cures for horrible diseases and repair the damage we’ve done to the environment.

One applicant even spoke about helping others by giving them joy through her talent for making desserts and baked goods – not helping herself make money, but helping others be happy!

Thinking about our scholarship winners gives me a peculiar feeling in an era of difficulty and despair. That feeling is called “hope.” It gives me confidence that my children will belong to a generation of Americans who are up to the challenges that will confront them. With people like these running the show, the world of the future might be a place that cares less about corporate greed and clawing one’s way to the top on the backs of others. It might be a place where helping others is considered normal and not exceptional. That would be a world I’d be happy to leave to my kids.

Negotiations 2009:
Union strength through union solidarity!
By Jim McLaughlin  President, UFCW Local 99, and UFCW International Vice President
May/June 2009

At our recent membership meetings in Glendale, Mesa, Tucson, Show Low, Willcox, Prescott, Yuma and Bull Head City, I had a chance to meet with more than a thousand of our members to discuss the state of contract negotiations, the pension and other issues, including Safeway’s layoffs and reductions of full-time employees.

I was blown away by the unity and solidarity I witnessed at the meetings and in the stores afterward. I received calls from members who told me how inspired they are to engage in the fight for a fair and equitable contract.

The meetings demonstrated a true sense of unionism. There were no questions about “me” issues; they were all about “we”: “How are we going to fix the pension issue?” “How can we help build this union?” And many of our members at Fry’s asked, “What can we do to help our brothers and sisters who are being reduced in hours and laid off from Safeway?

The message I heard from our members is: “If one Safeway member is hurt, it’s not just that person’s fight; it’s a fight for our members at Fry’s, too. In fact it’s a fight for all union members!”

Our members understand that an injury to one is an injury to all. Our collective voice must be heard and our ability to engage all of our members in every piece of this fight will be necessary.

We’re not afraid of this fight. We all have a vested interest in our industry and we want to make sure it succeeds, but we also know that the industry won’t be successful if it ignores the needs of its employees.
Sometimes we must fight to remind management that it needs us and it needs to treat us fairly.

That message was heard and repeated over and over at those meetings. We want — we deserve — to be treated fairly and with respect!

Another message we took from those meetings was about solidarity and building our union. We left those meetings with a mission —  a mission to build a stronger union, a more powerful union, a union that speaks for everyone who works in our stores.

Those who attended these meetings are committed to the idea that nobody gets a pass from participating in our union. We recognize that our success will depend on our speaking with one voice and our commitment to fight for all of our members.

An injury to one is an injury to all.

Solidarity!

For real change, hitting the streets beats clicking the mouse
By Jim McLaughlin, President , International Vice President
January/February 2009

One recent morning, my wife told me she had joined with nearly 2,200 other people to stop the Arizona Legislature from cutting a billion dollars from our state’s schools.

That’s a lot of people. When 2,200 people speak, someone should sit up and take notice. But those 2,200 people likely protested from the comfort of their homes, maybe between “Oprah” and “American Idol.”

This form of armchair activism looked like a cool concept, so I thought I would try it.

Through a social networking website I joined with 2.6 million of my compatriots to stop global warming and 2.5 million of my closest friends to fight for animal rights. A few less showed up to protest against child abuse.

That was just a warm-up. With a click of my mouse and a sip of my morning coffee, I was off.

It turns out there are more than 21,000 causes to get behind. I joined with 20,000 others who support auto industry jobs in the United States. I joined with 30,000 other like-minded networkers who wanted to save the Oompa Loompas.

Save the Oompa Loompas? Thirty thousand people? Really?

I started to wonder what would have happened to civil rights in this country if the marches of the 1960s were replaced by online petitions — if, instead of being arrested for his protests in Alabama and elsewhere, Martin Luther King Jr. just had to reboot his computer. Would our country now have a black president?

What about 40-plus years before? Would women now have the right to vote?

On-line petitions can be fun, that’s for certain. A petition can even be the spark that launches a movement. But no on-line petition will singlehandedly change the world for the better.

That’s why, on March 4, hundreds of union members stood with thousands of their fellow citizens at the State Capitol to demand that Arizona stop leveraging our children’s education and future.

Members from our union gathered at the local headquarters, made their own signs and marched with friends and allies through the streets of Phoenix. Many of them brought their children to teach them the values of community action and solidarity.

At the Capitol they stood together to say that a state at the bottom of every national school funding list cannot afford to cut education further and that, to turn our economy around, we need a strong public schools system.

This event demonstrated that the voice of the people must be heard — and that important social causes shouldn’t be thought of only between commercial breaks.

Only time will tell if we will be successful. I am sure we will have other rallies and events to continue this discussion. And when we do, you need to be one more UFCW Local 99 member who stands up to be counted.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t join on-line petitions for your favorite causes. In fact, we urge you to join the on-line community with the many bloggers, activists and websurfers who support the UFCW and our causes. But if you really want to change things and want the world to take you seriously, you need to do a lot more than click a button.

You need to show up in person and raise your voice, loud and clear, and be heard!

‘Daddy, what is a union?’
By Jim McLaughlin, President , International Vice President
January/February 2009

My daughter loves to come home from the grocery store and tell me how many people she saw with “Daddy’s work” (union pins) on their aprons. But she wasn’t clear, exactly, about what I did for a living. So a few weeks ago she took out her notepad and asked me about my job.

I jumped at the opportunity to explain to her the many experiences of the president of an important labor union. My wife was nearly crying with laughter as I talked about how I changed clothes in a phone booth and had an “S” on my chest.

About 10 minutes into my explanation, she interrupted me: “No, Daddy, what is a union?”
Here my daughter was trying to get information about unions for her class and I was preparing her for “Take Your Dad to School.”

So I sat down with her and started to talk about unions. I discussed workers and a community of interest. I spoke of health care and pensions.

Then I remembered the best explanation I ever heard of what a union is all about.
It came from a movie.

I remember being in the sixth grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim, Calif., and my teacher came in and asked us the same question:

“What is a union?”

We were given the chance to go to a movie and give a report on it for extra credit. The movie was Norma Rae. It was 1979.

The main character was named Reuben Warshovsky and he started:

“On Oct. 8, 1970, my grandfather, Isaac Abraham Warshovsky, age 87, died in his sleep in New York City. On the following Friday morning, his funeral was held. My mother and father attended. My two uncles from Brooklyn attended. And my Aunt Minnie came up from Florida. Also present were 862 members of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers and the Cloth, Hat and Cap Makers Union of America — also members of his family.

“In death, as in life, they stood at his side. They had fought battles with him, had bound the wounds of battle with him, had earned bread together and had broken it together.

“And when they spoke, they spoke in one voice and they were heard. And they were black and they were white and they were Irish and they were Polish and they were Catholic and they were Jews — and they were one. That’s what a union is — one.”

When we sit at the bargaining table or speak at the Legislature or vote, we must always remember that an injury to one is an injury to all. We can’t, as a union or a Labor Movement, allow them to pick us off one at a time.

The union is grocery clerks, meat cutters, bakers, health care providers, legal assistants, packing and processing workers, and on and on. We have to remember that our union extends past the doors of our stores, the ranks of our members and the borders of our state. When there is a fight for workers, it’s our fight.

Thousands of new members of our union have never seen the tough fights. But we also have thousands of members who have seen those things. They have to share those experiences so we can speak with one voice when we need be heard.

We must represent all that is good for working people. We must speak to the new employees and let them know we are one.

The speech in the movie ended with Reuben Warshovsky saying these words:

“Yes, it comes from the Bible, according to the tribes of your fathers: ‘Ye shall inherit.’ But it also comes from Reuben Warshovsky: ‘Not unless you make it happen.’”

We have to make it happen.