Lisa Xu is an organizer with Labor Notes.
When United Food and Commercial Workers president Marc Perrone announced his retirement May 13, the union’s leadership immediately appointed his successor. This makes four presidents in a row first selected by UFCW leadership rather than by convention.
This spring, members looking to reform the United Food and Commercial Workers filed a lawsuit against their union, the fifth-largest in the country. The members hope that the case will result in changes that help democratize the UFCW.
Late last month, 500 grocery workers went on strike in Brainerd Lakes, Minnesota. The strike exemplified the growing militancy in the United Food and Commercial Workers, who mounted successful strike threats against employers across the state last year.
After supporting screenwriters and actors through their monthslong strikes, film and TV crew workers with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) are launching a reform caucus. The members say they want to democratize their union.
The UAW is calling on supporters to canvass car dealerships to educate customers about the strike. With scores of dealerships in every region of the country, it is an easy way to offer concrete solidarity to striking autoworkers.
The UAW strike just got bigger. The union announced this afternoon that workers at 38 GM and Stellantis locations would join the walkout — and the pressure tactics are already working, with Ford making significant concessions at the bargaining table.
The United Auto Workers are rapidly approaching a potential strike with the Big Three automakers. The companies want to minimize disruption by stockpiling inventory at their parts distribution centers — and staffing them with nonunion workers who may scab.