UFCW770

🚨 Rally Alert! 🚨
Join us TOMORROW Saturday, August 24th, from 10 AM to 12 PM in Los Angeles as we come together with CVS workers fighting for a better contract! ✊

We’ve been on the frontlines, ensuring our communities stay healthy and safe. Now, we need everyone to show up and have our backs! Let’s unite for fair wages, better working conditions, and the respect we all deserve.
Your support matters—let’s make our voices heard! 🔊

REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/3MhW37v

"Kroger and Albertsons claim the merger is necessary to compete with Walmart and Amazon, but their true aim is to consolidate power and increase profits at the expense of workers and customers."



Read more 👇

The proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger would have serious impact on workers, customers, and communities alike This merger would almost certainly result in job losses, store closures, pharmacy and food deserts, and higher prices

Join us for the General Membership Meeting at our LA office. Voting requires in-person attendance at the LA location. If you can't make it to LA, our offices in Santa Clarita, Camarillo, Arroyo Grande, Santa Barbara, and Huntington Park will host Zoom viewing parties. Pizza will be available at all locations. Doors open at 5:30 PM for pizza, and the meeting starts promptly at 6 PM.

Register here:

General Membership Meeting — UFCW 770 September 10, 2024 General Membership meeting Join us for the General Membership Meeting at our LA office. Voting requires in-person attendance at the LA location. If you can’t make it to LA, our offices in Santa Clarita, Camarillo, Arroyo Grande, Santa Barbara, and Huntington Park will host Z...

🚨 URGENT: We Need Your Support! 🚨

A proposed merger is putting our jobs, benefits, and rights at risk. We can't let this go unchallenged. Stand with us by signing our petition to STOP THE MERGER. Every signature strengthens our fight to protect our livelihoods and secure our future.

Please share this post and encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to join us in this critical effort. Together, we can make a difference. ✊

Sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/.../petition-stop-the.../

Join us on September 10th for a critical discussion on reclaiming our democracy. The UFCW Minority Coalition is hosting a webinar to address the significant threats to our democratic institutions, including Project 2025.

Now, more than ever, it’s essential to understand the stakes and take action to protect our rights. This is not just a conversation—it's a call to action. Be informed, be engaged, and be ready to fight for the future of our democracy.

Register now at https://bit.ly/46YoYqx

"California’s grocery workers are on the front line once again as we face the challenge of automation. This time we’re pushing back by supporting State Bill 1446, which, among other things, limits the number of self-checkout stations grocery and retail drugstore workers have to oversee at any given time." –Aurora Hernandez, a cashier at Food 4 Less and a member of UFCW 770. https://loom.ly/q8fhVco

Opinion: The problem with self-checkout at the grocery store — and a way to fix it A proposed California bill would limit the number of self-checkout stations an employee must monitor at a given time.

Last Saturday, our community came together to celebrate Ventura County Pride with a day filled with joy, music, and solidarity. It was a powerful reminder that when we stand together, we create spaces where everyone is free to express who they are, without fear or hesitation.

The event was more than just a celebration—it was a statement. A statement that our community is strong, diverse, and united in the fight for equality. The day was a true reflection of the spirit of Pride: inclusion, love, and resistance against any form of discrimination.

Thank you to everyone who came out and made Ventura County Pride a day to remember. Together, we continue to build a world where everyone is valued for who they are. Let’s keep the momentum going as we fight for a future where equality and justice are a reality for all.

Strong unions mean union workers get better access to benefits and higher pay. Together, we achieve more! 💵🎉

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/03/20/union-workers-wealth-comparison-pay-difference

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her economic agenda, which includes a federal ban on "corporate price gouging" in the food and grocery industry. Her goal is to protect consumers from opportunistic companies that exploit crises and create a more competitive market for smaller food businesses. Harris also proposed new penalties for rule-breaking companies.
This announcement holds significant implications for grocery store workers, as many grocery companies are turning to automation to set prices. This shift towards automation could lead to reduced work hours and limited job opportunities for grocery store employees. https://loom.ly/OJh17xw

Harris unveils 'opportunity economy' agenda in 1st major policy rollout of her campaign Vice President Kamala Harris outlined her economic agenda in remarks from North Carolina on Friday, saying she would build an "opportunity economy."

🚨 URGENT: We Need Your Support! 🚨

A proposed merger is putting our jobs, benefits, and rights at risk. We can't let this go unchallenged. Stand with us by signing our petition to STOP THE MERGER. Every signature strengthens our fight to protect our livelihoods and secure our future.

Please share this post and encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to join us in this critical effort. Together, we can make a difference. ✊ 🚫

Sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/.../petition-stop-the.../

🚨Rite Aid Bargaining Update

We’ve met with Rite Aid for two more days this week, and while the company has made some movement in wages, it’s not enough to account for inflation and the high cost of living here in Southern California. Meanwhile, when it comes to safety, they are still not interested in doing what needs to be done to keep us safe. They brought a safety expert to negotiations who discussed the company’s plans for improving safety, but we don’t see that their plans are sufficient to make our stores safer.

We have agreed to sign an additional contract extension through September 27, 2024, and we have more negotiation sessions scheduled on September 9, 19, 25, 26 and 27. But the reality is we’re still far apart on a contract. It’s clear that Rite Aid needs to hear from all of us if they’re going to get serious about negotiating a fair contract that reflects our work and the value we bring to Rite Aid and our customers.

Delegations have begun to deliver the petitions we signed demanding a fair contract that respects our essential work, reflects our vital healthcare role and provides the staffing and store safety required to improve customers’ shopping experience. If you haven’t already, our Stewards, Union Reps, and fellow Bargaining Committee members have been circulating a petition in every one of our stores – make sure you sign and make your voice heard!

Rite Aid Bargaining Update # 3 — UFCW 770 Rite Aid Negotiations Update| August 15, 2024

📺 Breaking News! 📺 As self-checkout machines become more common, so are the concerns. Workers claim severe understaffing is on the rise and that self-checkouts make cashiers easier targets for theft and violence.

"A few days ago I had a customer that got violent. She pepper sprayed me but I got the chance to move away," said supermarket cashier Aurora Hernandez. "She wanted free stuff."

Hernandez says there's simply not enough cashiers to keep up with customers.

"Sometimes they scan things but want to take the rest of the stuff for free," said Hernandez. "We've seen that and we also see customers get mad and violent."

A new California bill is aiming to change that. SB 1446, the Retail Theft Prevention and Safe Staffing Act, would require safe staffing levels at grocery and drug stores, and better supervision at self-checkout machines.

New California bill sheds light on self-checkout safety for workers Shoplifting and violence is increasing inside grocery stores as more workers have been cut due to self-checkout. A new bill in California is working to regulate staffing levels.

‘A customer got violent’: Self-checkout proposal aims to help retail workers.

Aurora Hernandez says only one employee would be in charge of six self-checkouts at the same time. She explained customers would try to get items for free, and when they couldn’t, they would become violent towards employees.

“A few days ago, I had a customer who got violent. She pepper-sprayed me, but I had the chance to move away. She wanted free stuff. It’s hard for us as cashiers, as employees, to have no safety for us. We need more cashiers, more personnel,” she expressed. “It’s too much.”

‘A customer got violent’: Self-checkout proposal aims to help retail workers FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – As technology advances, many stores have introduced self-service checkout stations— however, California lawmakers worry that self-checkout is actually putting workers in danger rather than just reducing costs. Los Angeles Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas talked Wednesda...

CVS Workers are banding together in solidarity, fighting for the contract we deserve against one of the most profitable healthcare companies in the country that doesn't care about the wellbeing of their overworked, overstressed, and underpaid workers! It's true what they say, 💔 But we won't stop until we get the contract we deserve!💪

🚨 Rally Alert! 🚨We need everyone to show up and show out for us on Saturday August 24th, from 10 AM to 12 PM at the CVS at 4030 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90062 and tell CVS that workers deserve fair pay, safe staffing and *we can't believe we have to say this to a healthcare company* affordable healthcare!

RSVP HERE: https://bit.ly/4fIjTH0

🚨 UFCW 770 Workers’ Lobby Day🚨

Today, UFCW 770 grocery and drug retail members joined forces in Sacramento for Workers’ Lobby Day! 💪 We met with California legislators to garner support for Senate Bill 1446, which aims to protect workers and the public by ensuring safe staffing levels at grocery and drug retail stores and regulating the use of self-checkout machines and new AI-enabled workplace technology.

Let’s keep up the fight for workers’ rights and better working conditions! ✊

🚨 Rally Alert! 🚨

Join us Saturday, August 24th, from 10 AM to 12 PM in Los Angeles as we come together with CVS workers fighting for a better contract! ✊

We’ve been on the frontlines, ensuring our communities stay healthy and safe. Now, we need everyone to show up and have our backs! Let’s unite for fair wages, better working conditions, and the respect we all deserve.

Your support matters—let’s make our voices heard! 🔊

770's Women's Network supplied over 400 backpacks to our members as they prepare their kids for back to school!

When we band together to support each other, we build a stronger UFCW 770. 🎒🏫💪

You can follow the UFCW 770 Women's Network on Instagram to stay informed and get involved. https://www.instagram.com/ufcw770.wn/

Back to School Backpack Drive!

As the 2024-2025 school year approaches, the UFCW 770 Women’s Network is proud to support our union families by distributing free backpacks and school supplies to 400 children of Local 770 members.

This initiative helps cover rising back-to-school costs while fostering solidarity among workers. Supplies are being distributed across our offices in Los Angeles, Southern California, and the Central Coast. Together, we’re ensuring every child has the tools they need to succeed.

Speaking to Random Lengths, UFCW 770 member Kim Sisson, who works at the Vons in Montrose and has been with the company for 11 years, nine of those as a supervisor, shared that she has already seen what a corporate merger can do to the people who work to keep our grocery stores running. She was an employee during the 2014 Safeway-Albertsons merger and saw the impact on her colleagues when the Haggen grocery stores were shuttered in 2015.
“It was horrible,” Sisson said. “So now with this Kroger Albertsons merger, that’s the first thing on our mind. Could this be another Haggen situation? That ruined lives. So it’s really terrifying to think that could happen.”


Read full article here:
https://www.randomlengthsnews.com/archives/2024/08/08/merger/56453

DID YOU KNOW?
🗳️ Vote by mail ballots drop October 7th!

Voting by mail takes the stress out of:
✅ Getting time off work to vote
✅ Transportation to the polls
✅ Childcare

MAKE SURE YOU’RE REGISTERED TO VOTE!
👉 Register to vote here: registertovote.ca.gov

CVS Bargaining Update

CVS is wasting our time and refusing to discuss fair wages and affordable healthcare. They are one of the most profitable healthcare companies, yet many of us struggle with the high cost and inadequate coverage they offer.

We have more bargaining dates on August 27 and 28. Stay tuned for actions you can join to help secure the contract we deserve.

Monique Hightower, a store clerk and member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, which represents thousands of grocery workers in Southern California and has actively opposed the merger, emphasized the severe consequences for employees and customers. “If Kroger and Albertsons were allowed to become one big company, it would result in store closures, food and pharmacy deserts, layoffs, and higher prices, especially since the company’s plan to divest 579 stores, including my Albertsons store, to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The potential closure of our stores would be disastrous for employees like me, who rely on our jobs to support our families, and customers who depend on us for their daily necessities,” she said.

Five L.A. City Council Opposes Kroger-Albertsons Merger, Citing Community Impact Council Members Warn of Potential Store Closures, Job Losses, and Higher Prices Five Los Angeles City Council members introduced a...

You give your all on the job. So, we think you deserve an extra something to enjoy those hard-earned days off. As a member, enjoy these ticket discounts for your next night out or day at the park with family.

Purchase tickets here:
https://www.ufcw770.org/members

When we band together in solidarity, we are guaranteed better job security. 🔒

Monique Hightower, an Albertsons clerk and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 Union, which represents grocery workers, joined the city leaders to highlight the challenges supermarket employees face.

"If Kroger and Albertsons were allowed to become one big company, it would result in our stores, food and pharmacy-layoffs and higher prices," she said.

LA councilmembers introduce formal opposition of proposed Albertsons-Kroger merger Five L.A. councilmembers introduced a resolution Friday intended to formalize the city's position against the proposed Albertsons-Kroger merger.

CVS Workers!
As we continue our campaign to secure a fair new contract, it’s important that we show unity and make our presence known. Wear your union buttons at work every day to show our solidarity and determination. Our collective strength is our greatest asset in these negotiations. Let’s demonstrate our commitment to fair treatment and respect by proudly displaying our union buttons. Together, we can achieve the contract we deserve!

Join us for the General Membership Meeting at our LA office. Voting requires in-person attendance at the LA location.

If you can’t make it to LA, our offices in Santa Clarita, Camarillo, Arroyo Grande, Santa Barbara, and Huntington Park will host Zoom viewing parties.

Pizza will be available at all locations. Doors open at 5:30 PM for pizza, and the meeting starts promptly at 6 PM.