UFCW Local 99’s Young Workers Program encourages union participation among its younger members.

The program is a resource for young union members under the age of 35 who want to learn more about their union.

“Our goal is to involve and empower our younger members,” President Jim McLaughlin said. “The future of our union and the Labor Move­ment depends on educating and motivating our members to become more involved.

“In San Francisco, the Young Worker program independently helped raise the minimum wage in the city to $8.50 an hour,” he said.

As part of its outreach effort, Local 99 has created a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000777547476.

“It is important to have a union presence on Facebook,” McLaughlin said. “America has the world’s largest Facebook population and 60 percent of them are younger than 35 years old,” he continued. “The page gives our members an opportunity to connect with others and learn about union activities, some of which will be designed especially for them.”

McLaughlin said the Facebook page will help the union become more responsive to daily events and develop feelings of solidarity among the members.

“This can be much more than just a social networking site. It will help us to mobilize our members for any cause that helps our union and the community."

• Unionized young workers earn 12.4 percent more in wages or $1.75 more per hour than non-union young workers.
• Unionized young workers are 17 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance than non-union young workers.
• Unionized young workers are 24 percent more likely to have a pension plan than similar non-union young workers.