Local movement and national fights

By DAVID A. COOK
President

One of the most uplifting things about being part of a union family is a sense of friendship and solidarity anywhere you go. It’s always a thrilling feeling to meet a UFCW leader or member from another place for the first time and immediately have a sense of kinship. When we say that our fellow UFCW members are our brothers and sisters, we mean that sincerely.

Ask anyone on staff, or any member who has worked out of town with another UFCW local and they’ll confirm the same thing: an instant bond with your fellow members no matter where you are from. It’s the core of the union movement and the true meaning of “solidarity.” Together we are strong, and we have to always have each other’s backs.

The past few months have seen a flurry of activity for UFCW locals across the county, and Local 655 is no different. We’ve had numerous members of our staff traveling out of town on union business to help our brothers and sisters across the country, and if Local 655 is ever in need, we know those same brothers and sisters will soon find their way to St. Louis to answer the call.

We had staff spend weeks in Houston, Texas to help prepare for a strike vote at a UFCW Local that is fighting to keep its benefits and pay intact in a tough negotiation with Kroger. When our sister local in Chicago reached a card-check agreement on an organizing campaign for a large number of nursing home facilities in the area, we sent several staffers to the windy city to help them sign up workers so they could welcome them into a union family.

STRIKE IN HOUSTON, TEXAS
For the first time in my entire career at UFCW I found myself asking something I’ve never had to before: I asked our staff if there was anyone willing to head back to Houston and spend their Christmas out of town on a possible picket line. I’ve missed many holidays and birthdays, but I’ve never missed a Christmas. I am humbled to say we had several volunteers, because your union staff knows how important solidarity is to the movement.

I am also happy to report that the Houston strike came to an end and none of the staff in Houston missed Christmas with their family.

At this very moment, there is a large strike taking place in Denver with UFCW Local 7 and King Soopers, a subsidiary of Kroger. We made arrangements to send some staff to Denver to help work those picket lines, but were asked to stand down at the last minute due to the COVID surge across the county. However, I would not be surprised if we end up needing to send some help to Colorado before the strike is through.

ALABAMA AMAZON VOTE
At this very moment, several members of our organizing staff are in Alabama working on a union campaign at a massive Amazon warehouse facility.

You may remember that this was the same facility that rejected a union vote last year. However, the National Labor Relations Board reviewed the election and found that Amazon violated labor law and organizing rules a number of times to rig the election in their favor. A new election was called for if enough workers signed new union cards. I’m happy to say that our organizers, working with many other UFCW staffers from across the country, achieved their card-signing goal and a new election will be held soon.

UNION MEMBERS NEVER FIGHT ALONE
What’s the point of all this? First, I want to demonstrate to you that union members never fight alone. Sometimes our fights for a better life can feel daunting or hopeless. Sometimes it feels like the wrong people are winning and workers continue to lose. Sometimes it feels almost lonely to fight, even if it’s for a good cause.

Make no mistake: your UFCW brothers and sisters around the country will always have your back, and we will always have theirs.

CANNABIS WORKERS RISING
Despite our investment in out-of-state projects, we’ve also begun to see real movement right here at home. As many of you know, the legal cannabis industry across the country has seen a strong push toward unionization for the past few years. UFCW is by far the leading union representing cannabis workers, and as the industry grows, so does our interest in ensuring that these jobs will be high-quality.

Medical marijuana is new here in Missouri, and as dispensaries open, UFCW Local 655 has kept a watchful eye out of any workers that might want to join our union family. As of earlier this month, I am happy to say that UFCW Local 655 filed a petition for a union election for a medical marijuana facility here in St. Louis. This is the first medical marijuana facility in the state of Missouri to hold a union election, and we are excited about what this might bring.

Even better: a few days after word broke in the media that we were helping cannabis workers organize, we were approached by workers at a second facility owned by a different company. As of this writing, we are actively pursuing organizing campaigns at multiple medical cannabis facilities and we anticipate holding several union elections in the coming weeks and months.

This industry is going to continue to grow, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one day soon recreational marijuana was legal in the state of Missouri. As this industry grows, so will the number of jobs it provides. The question remains: what kind of jobs will they be? Will the men and women working in this industry be paid good wages? Will they have good benefits? Will they be able to care for a family, retire with dignity, and be treated with fairness on the job?

We stand ready to ensure those workers can decide whether or not to form a union and ensure that the answer to all those questions is “yes.”

Across the country, we’ve seen many UFCW locals have incredible success with large and small organizing campaigns in the cannabis industry. If a time comes here in Missouri where we believe we can organize large numbers of workers, you can rest assured that our fellow UFCW locals across the country will provide us with the manpower we need, just as they have always done.

Together is the way we win. Together is the ONLY way we win.