Political Action
UFCW 951 and its members are politically active because politics has such a strong impact on workers and their families. Michigan workers have been under attack. With their union, UFCW 951 members are fighting back and working hard to protect the middle class and improve the livelihoods of all Michigan workers.
All that unions have fought for can be erased by the single stroke of a politician's pen. Which is why UFCW 951 and its members are politically active.
UFCW 951 fights to protect workers and their families by opposing anti-worker legislation and supporting pro-worker bills at the local, state and national levels. The union also supports political candidates – regardless of party affiliation – who promote workers’ rights. It’s not the politician’s party that is important, it’s how he or she will vote on issues affecting the middle class.
UFCW is Hiring Political Member Organizers for 2020 Election Cycle
During this critical election year, the UFCW International will be hiring members to educate, engage and ultimately turnout the vote for Joe Biden on election day. This work will be done from members’ homes via phone calls, texts and social media utilizing UFCW-provided equipment and members’ personal social media accounts. These are full-time positions. Selected members will be released from their employer and put on union leave for the duration of the assignment.
You can view the job descriptions here: Member Organizer | Member Organizer Lead
The UFCW Active Ballot Club — Working America's Political Voice
Union dues can't be used for political contributions, so UFCW 951 raises these funds separately through its Active Ballot Club (ABC). The ABC generates money through voluntary membership contributions and fundraisers. UFCW 951 uses these monies to support candidates, regardless of party affiliation, who support workers' issues. The ABC is the only political action committee dedicated to advocating for, and protecting the interests of, UFCW members.
Anti-worker politicians and their wealthy corporate donors are spending billions to silence workers' political voice, making your donation to the ABC more important than ever. Pro-workers candidates don't have the financial support of billionaires, but they do have millions of middle class Americans whose combined efforts through the ABC and similar political action funds can have the same or even greater results. A $10 donation from every middle class family would raise over $1 billion.
Right to Work
A lawyer shows up to a "Right to Work" hearing....and cue the laughter:
Right to Work Really Means Lower Wages and Benefits for Michigan Workers.
Fact: Right to work laws reduce wages by $1,500 a year, for both union and non-union workers.*
Fact: Right to work laws lower the likelihood employees have access to health care or pensions
through their jobs for both union and non-union employees.*
Fact: Right to work laws have no impact whatsoever on job growth.**
*The Compensation Penalty of Right to Work Laws (Gould and Shierholz, 2011)
**The Compensation Penalty of Right to Work from Oklahoma (Lafer and Allegretto, 2011)
Right to Work Weakens Unions
Unions are strong because, as the saying goes, there's strength in numbers. Right to work laws attempt to lower the number of workers who belong to a union by requiring unions to represent every worker in a bargaining unit, regardless of whether or not a worker joins the union. That means workers can get all the services and benefits of union membership for free.
When workers choose to take the benefits of union membership without joining the union, membership declines as does the union's strength.
Right to Work Helps the Wealthy One Percent and Anti-Union Politicians
When you cut through the political spin and misinformation surrounding Michigan's right to work law, the law's goal is crystal clear - to weakens unions' power at the bargaining table and in the political arena. Both actions benefit wealthy CEOs and anti-worker politicians.
Employers benefit when unions have less clout during contract negotiations. They're able to pay workers less, provide fewer benefits and spend less money creating safe workplaces. And, when unions have less power in politics, anti-worker candidates win more elections.
Passing Immigration Reform -- Creating a Roadmap to Citizenship
UFCW 951, along with unions from around the country, is calling for our government to adopt comprehensive immigration reform. The U.S. immigration system, broken for decades, is hurting American-born workers and aspiring citizens alike. UFCW 951 believes our country needs an immigration process that works for working people, not a system that benefits employers at the expense of everyone else.
Fact: Every day, more than 11 million immigrant aspiring citizens contribute to our communities, our economy, and our country — yet are denied a voice in the workplace and essential rights in our society.
Fact: Undocumented workers are vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who take advantage of their status to avoid paying them prevailing wages or fulfilling basic health and safety standards.
Fact: Enforcement-only approaches to dealing with the nation’s immigration crisis have proven expensive, ineffective and lethal, and have disastrous effects on workers’ rights.
UFCW 951 supports the AFL-CIO's framework for bettering the immigration system. Built on the idea that working people are strongest when we work together, and that the labor movement is strongest when we're open to all workers, regardless of where they come from.
Organized labor advocates for keeping families together, creating a road map to citizenship and halting the race to the bottom in wages and worker standards by employers who are taking advantage of our failures in immigration policy. The framework proposes a data-driven approach to immigration that would determine future visas based on labor market needs, as well as the improvement—not expansion—of guest worker visa programs that too often deny basic civil rights to immigrant workers. The framework also recognizes that a new immigration system must include rational operational control of our borders supplemented by effective work authorization mechanisms that hold employers accountable.
Email today to learn how you can get involved with immigration reform.
Sources: www.afl-cio.org and www.fairimmigration.org
Register and Vote!
UFCW 951 is working to ensure labor's hard fought gains are not eliminated by the stroke of a politician's pen. But, we need your help too. By casting your ballot in local, state and national elections, you have an opportunity to elect candidates who will protect workers' best interests. And, by voting, you hold your elected officials accountable for their actions.
Register to vote!