UFCW Local 7 In the News
UFCW 7 IS PROUD TO SPONSOR THE WORKERS OF COLORADO PREMIUM! UFCW Local 7 IS SUPPORTING THE SOCCER LEAGUE BY COVERING THE COST OF THE INSURANCE PREMIUM AS WELL AS NEW JERSEYS FOR THE 2008 TEAM ________________________________________________ The UFCW Local 7 General Election Voter's Guide Is Available Online! To pull up the voter's guide, simply click on the Vote! link on the left-hand side of this page and go to the link under the headline Vote UFCW.
Salazar Blasts Amendment 47 at UFCW rally; calls it a “distraction.” WHEAT RIDGE -- U.S. Senator Ken Salazar and U.S. Representative Ed Perlmutter urged Coloradans to “Vote No On Amendment 47” at the campaign’s kickoff today at the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7’s headquarters. Salazar was introduced by Ernest L. Duran, Jr., UFCW Local 7 President. Salazar said he “sat next to the backers of 47 and asked them to get rid of 47 because it is bad for Colorado and they said no.” Salazar continued, “We need to band together to fight 47 and I’m going to be there every inch of the way. Amendment 47 is a distraction to the real issues affecting Colorado. It will weaken our economy if not defeated.” Salazar concluded his remarks by reading a quote from the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce that said “Colorado clearly has as strong or a stronger economy” than any of the Right to Work For Less states. Salazar and Perlmutter joined business organizations from across Colorado to meet with proponents of the amendment and urge them to pull it from the November general election ballot. “These people behind Amendment 47 don’t have the best interests of Colorado in mind,” Salazar said. Perlmutter added: “Most big businesses and chambers are standing with working men and women of Colorado to defeat this miserable piece of junk.” Amendment 47 “would continue to divide the very top from the rest of us,” and said it was “designed to hurt working men and women,” he said. Perlmutter concluded his remarks by saying “we can do better than this type of legislation and if we want to vote for real change, we need to vote no on 47.” Saturday’s labor rally drew hundreds of working Coloradans, many from various labor organizations, who were eager to sign up to volunteer to defeat Amendment 47. Kevin Hilton, Political Director of the Carpenter’s Union and also a pastor, was the final speaker at the Rally. Hilton said, “We are the working people and we forge the way. It is up to us to talk about what is best for working people because that message always wins.” Hilton said “Amendment 47 speaks against democracy and against democracy in the workplace."
Union campaign spends $4.6 million on media blitz, political stakes go even higher A Colorado labor union raised more than $3.2 million in the last two weeks for a campaign to support two ballot proposals regulating safe business practices and to oppose a “right-to-work” measure supported by pro-business interests. Nearly all of the money has been committed to purchase media advertisements across the state in what appears to be an unprecedented pull-out-all-the-stops campaign by the union. Coloradans for Middle Class Relief, a political committee backed by the Denver-based United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7, boasts an astounding haul to support its state ballot questions: Amendment 56, which would require certain employers to provide health insurance to their employees, and Amendment 57, which would provide workers injured on the job with stronger legal rights. “That $3 million is in addition to the $1.5 million we spent already on a media buy,” said Manny Gonzales, a spokesperson for the UFCW local. “I can’t say with any certainty whether we’ve spent this much on a past campaign. It’s a sizable amount now. It’s easily one of the largest media buys for a state campaign in Colorado this election cycle.” A recent contract report from cable company Comcast shows that the UFCW’s political committee has agreed to spend a net total of $671,558 to buy a whopping 6,022 television spots that began running in late August in the Denver, Grand Junction and Colorado Springs cable markets and will continue through Election Day. The 30-second ads will be seen in heavy rotation on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, ESPN, and a wide variety of sports and entertainment channels. And that’s just one cable provider among several in the state. Gonzales wouldn’t disclose what exact ads the union has in mind to broadcast, but he did confirm that the UFCW will use the ad space for spots against a measure that it opposes: Amendment 47, a “right-to-work” proposal that seeks to restrict the way labor unions in the state organize. Both Amendments 56 and 57 are considered to be counter-measures supported by labor in response to Amendment 47. The union is also planning ad spots supporting 56 and 57, according to Gonzales. To read the rest of the story: http://coloradoindependent.com/8248/union-campaign-spends-46-million-on-media-blitz-political-stakes-go-even-higher
Union: Swift reneged on a Ramadan deal Source: The Rocky Mountain News By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News Contact) Published September 12, 2008 at 12:05 a.m. This is company's second clash over Muslim holiday The union representing JBS Swift workers here said many of those involved in a prayer-break dispute had no advance warning they would be fired if they failed to return to work this week. In addition to filing grievances for each of the employees who wants his or her job back, the United Food and Commercial Workers also will challenge the slaughterhouse giant for allegedly leaving the union out of initial negotiations over Ramadan-related rituals. "The company went around the union a week ago and cut a side deal with some workers and then reneged," said Manny Gonzales, a spokesman for UFCW Local 7. "That was the cause of this whole mess." The controversy marks the second year in a row the meatpacking company has clashed with employees over the timing of Ramadan related rituals. A similar dispute erupted in 2007 at Swift's plant in Grand Island, Neb. Some cite earlier tensions At the plant here, Muslim workers wanted to break their Ramadan fast at 7:30 p.m., which required moving their "lunch" break. Swift officials offered to move the mid-shift respite to 8 p.m. from 9 p.m. But the compromise failed to satisfy many of the affected workers because their holy month obligations require them to break the Ramadan fast at sunset, which varies daily and falls earlier in the evening. The company terminated more than 100 workers after they had failed to report to the Greeley meatpacking facility for its second shift Tuesday night. Even more workers had walked off the job last Friday, prompting the company to suspend them initially for violating their collective bargaining agreement. On Thursday, fired Somali workers met at the Greeley Islamic Center for afternoon prayers and to talk about their next step. They said no action would be taken until today at the earliest, out of respect for the Sept. 11 anniversary. Some of the workers said tensions between the Somalis and their Hispanic supervisors had been simmering for months. "When they were firing me, one of the guys said, 'Screw you and your religion and your people.' And he was one of the head guys over there," said Ahmed Hirmoge, 20, who came to the U.S. in 1995. He speaks English fluently and worries about what will happen to Somalis who have been here a short time and speak English too poorly to find work elsewhere. "They came here for peace and freedom, and this is their first and last job," he said. "These people, how are they going to survive?" After prayers, Hirmoge and his cousin stood in a parking lot behind the Islamic Center and talked about moving to Canada, where they hoped they would find a job that would accommodate their religious customs. "They say these people are more faithful to their religion than the company," Hirmoge said. "My response: Swift ain't going to take me to heaven, right? So I'm going to choose God any day." Company defends decision Swift spokeswoman Tamara Smid said the company can't stagger breaks because all 1,500 workers per shift take their breaks at the same time as the assembly line shuts down. Smid also said it was up to the union to inform workers who walked off that if they didn't return to work, they would be fired. The UFCW's Gonzales said word didn't spread fast enough to all the workers that they needed to resume working or be fired. Immigrant-rights groups and advocates for Muslims have begun to intervene on behalf of the workers, either to help them find new employment or in hopes of resolving the break issue. "We have a lot of experience dealing with this kind of situation," said Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "In just about every case, we've been able to come up with a reasonable solution." Hooper said the sunset prayer break is "almost always the sticking point" because there is little flexibility in when it must take place. The dispute coincides with the announcement of a landmark settlement in Minnesota that gives Somali workers brief prayer breaks at the Gold'n Plump poultry plant following a year-long investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The federally mediated agreement is reportedly one of the first in the country that requires employers to accommodate the Islamic prayer schedule. Ramadan * The holiday is one of the most important on the Muslim calendar. * Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. * During the month of Ramadan, which is based on the Muslim lunar calendar, Muslims are required to fast from sunrise until sunset. The fast is a method of purification, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. At issue * Muslims working the second shift at Greeley's JBS Swift meatpacking plant have clashed with their employer over when they can take breaks to accommodate their prayer obligations during Ramadan. * The holy month requires Muslims to break their daily fast and pray at sunset, which varies daily and typically falls well before the usual mid-shift break at 9 p.m. * Workers protested after the company offered to move the "lunch respite" forward by an hour because sunset typically falls earlier in the evening and varies from day to day. About 220 workers walked off. * Swift said it can't stagger breaks because all 1,500 workers per shift take their breaks at the same time as the assembly line shuts down. * A majority returned to work Tuesday night at the company's request but 100 workers were fired for failing to report for their shift.
UFCW worker dies from burns in Pueblo accident UFCW member Johnny Joseph Encina, age 40, has died of burns covering over 60 percent of his body as a result of an on-the-job accident that occurred earlier this month, according to union representative Ronnie Lucero, Pueblo. Encina had worked at the Pueblo tortilla production plant for about four years. He is survived by his wife Lita, who also worked there, and several stepchildren. There will be a Rosary Service at 7:00 PM this Friday, August 21, 2008, at the Good Shepherd Church, Pueblo. His wake will be held Saturday at 1:00 PM at Elim Campground, Walsenberg, Colorado. The accident occurred August 4th while Encina was working on the second shift. He died of the burns and complications on August 12th. According to Lucero, Encina was “an all around great guy who was loved and respected by his co-workers,” and a person who “would do just about anything for anybody.” Lucero added, “We will all miss him and are struggling with the ‘why’ of this senseless tragedy.”
UFCW Local 7 qualifies two ballot measures 
UFCW interns and staff members held a brief news conference at the Secretary of State's offices in downtown Denver Monday, August 4th to announce that the Employer Health Insurance initiative (Amendment 92) and Safe Workplace initiative (Amendment 93) had gathered far in excess of the 76,000 signatures necessary to place them on the November General Election Ballot. A total of over 170,000 signatures were turned in to qualify the Employer Health Insurance measure and 150,000 were submitted backing the Safe Workplace initiative. Above, Stacey Lestina and another intern spoke about the health insurance initiative. 
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