Judge rejects anti-Union vote at Fresh & Easy supplier

Fresh & Easy thought it was buying a non-Union company when it purchased 2 Sisters Food Group, a meat supplier based in Riverside, Calif., in June.

Now it appears that Fresh & Easy, which has been hostile to Unions, might have jumped to conclusions prematurely.

On July 21, an administrative law judge in Los Angeles invalidated last year’s vote by 2 Sisters employees against joining the UFCW.

The judge noted that the company had intimidated its employees by improperly firing Xonia Trespalacios, an outspoken pro-Union worker, prior to the election.

Administrative Law Judge Lana Parke ruled that 2 Sisters must offer to reinstate Trespalacios to her former job and compensate her for lost wages and benefits.

A successful organizing drive at a subsidiary of Fresh & Easy would be a significant step toward bringing the benefits of Union membership to other workers at the company, a Union spokesperson said.

Fresh & Easy parent company Tesco recently purchased 2 Sisters Food Group and fellow meat supplier Wild Rocket Foods. The companies, based in facilities adjacent to Fresh & Easy’s distribution complex in Riverside, supply meat, fish, poultry and produce.

Shaw’s warehouse workers ratify contract, end strike UFCW members at the Methuen, Mass., distribution center of Shaw’s Supermarkets ratified a media to recommended settlement on July 8, ending a strike that began March 7.

A Shaw’s spokeswoman said the  

Retired UFCW 8 District Union Representative Joe Daly, third from right, participated in a one-day nurses’ strike in Minnesota, where he now lives. The action involved 12,000 nurses at 14 hospitals.

four-year agreement includes wage increases and higher contributions to the employee health plan from workers and the company.

Shaw’s is owned by Minnesotabased Supervalu, Inc., which also owns Albertsons, Inc.

Supermarket worker arrested for talking about her Union

UFCW Local 23 member Deb Wieloch was arrested over Labor Day weekend for speaking to her co-workers at the Giant Eagle supermarket chain on the East Coast.

Wieloch was not on the clock at the time of the arrest and was speaking to her co-workers in the store’s café while they were on break.

When asked to leave, Wieloch pointed out that her Union contract protected her right to be there and that she was not being disruptive.

Management then called the police and had her escorted from the store. UFCW Local 23 represents approximately 7,000 workers at Giant Eagle Stores in Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia, but some Giant Eagle franchise stores in the area do not afford their workers the same rights and benefits.

Police arrest Local 23 member Deb Wieloch for talking about the UFCW to workers at a non-Union Giant Eagle store on the East Coast.

“I see it as my responsibility to make sure all of my coworkers have the chance to talk about the workplace and how a Union contract makes our Giant Eagle community stronger,” Wieloch said.

Labor Rights Week focuses on Mexican nationals

UFCW 8 participated in Semana de Derechos Laborales, or Labor Rights Week, in the beginning of September.

UFCW Local Unions joined Mexican consulates in 13 cities across the nation to present educational and outreach programs in celebration of Labor Day.

Workshops focused on the inclusion of Mexican nationals in American workplaces and communities.