When someone asks you to describe your union, how do you respond?
Is it a building in Phoenix? An office in Tucson? A union representative visiting a packing plant in Utah? An affordable health plan?
We’re all these things and so much more. Above everything else, our union is YOU.
As a member of Local 99, you are a vital part of a respected and influential organization representing more than 25,000 members and their families. Together, we are a powerful force for the benefit of working people in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The contracts we negotiate with employers set the highest standards in the industries we serve. These contracts mean better wages and working conditions for you and your co-workers. They also provide sick pay, health care with low premiums, retirement plans, life insurance, death benefits and even access to discounts at theme parks and sporting events.
It all adds up to a better quality of life for your family and for others in your community.
To achieve our potential, we need all elements of our union working together for a single purpose. Those of us who work in grocery stores, food processing facilities, cannabis shops, business offices, doctors’ offices, parking lots, airports, museums and more have a crucial role in moving ourselves forward.
This goes beyond paying your membership dues, as important as that is.
For example, when our retail food members at Albertsons, Fry’s, Safeway and Smith’s are in negotiations, our members at Waste Management and Southern Arizona Legal Aid are called upon to turn out in support of their union sisters and brothers. And when our members at Copper Queen Hospital or JBS’ meatpacking facilities need assistance, they can rely on their union sisters and brothers at the grocery stores to do the same.
In a union, we’re all in it together.
Here are some specific ways you can step forward to make your union stronger:
- Attend union meetings.
- Volunteer for an action or activity – we have them all the time! Ask your union representative for details.
- Encourage new hires at your workplace to sign up as union members.
- Inquire about becoming a union steward at your workplace. (See President Jim McLaughlin’s column on page 3.)
- Volunteer for candidates who advocate pro-worker laws and policies. (We don’t care if they have “D” or “R” attached to their names. As long as they support workers and their families, they will have our support.)
- Protect good union jobs, including your own, by shopping where you work and shopping union whenever possible. When you shop union, your money doesn’t go to a competitor that takes good-paying jobs away from your community.
- At work, at home and online, say positive things about your union and the value of worker solidarity.
In all these ways and much more, the members of UFCW Local 99 show that we are all responsible for our success — together.
YOU are UFCW Local 99!
