The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW)
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) formed in 1979 when the Retail Clerks’ International Union and the Amalgamated Meatcutters and Butcher Workmen merged. This merger, the largest in U.S. labor history, occurred during a period when unions were forced to consolidate because the meatpacking industry had amassed larger shares of the industry and eroded the effectiveness of unions.[1] As it stands today, the UFCW represents over 1.3 million workers, 250,000 of whom work in meatpacking. 5 companies own 80% of the profits of today’s meatpacking industry. In 2005, the UFCW, the largest private-sector union, left the AFL-CIO to join a new labor federation, Change to Win. The UFCW is the only union representing the meatpacking industry, in which 21% of all industry workers are unionized (down from 46% in 1980).[2]
The UFCW has been fighting for over 100 years for safe and healthy working conditions on behalf of its members. It opposed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2008 proposal to eliminate maximum line speeds and reduce federal regulation of food quality in meatpacking and poultry plants. The USDA held meetings in February and August of 2008 regarding its regulation of food safety as it pertained to the speed of the meatpacking line with the proposal, titled "Public Health-Based Slaughter Inspection System" (PHBSIS). In a January 31, 2008 statement, the UFCW wrote, “Worker safety will play no role under the PHBSIS proposal, and the new system will allow poultry slaughter establishments to run their lines with no maximum line speed—guaranteeing a rise in workplace injuries.”[3]
The UFCW criticized the alliance of OSHA and American Meat Institute (AMI) when these organizations claimed to work for ergonomic standards.[4]However, the UFCW is working to achieve a meaningful ergonomic standard because the UFCW is committed to improving working conditions to alleviate musculoskeletal disorders, the most significant health problems affecting workers in the meatpacking industry.
The UFCW opposes the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raids in meatpacking plants and the deportation of noncitizen immigrant workers. In calling for immigration reform, the UFWC writes, “Immigrant workers who have established themselves in the community, who are employed, and who have otherwise not broken the law should be able to earn legal status and citizenship if they work, pay taxes, and undergo background checks.”[5]
References:
1. Robert Bussel, “The United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union,” in Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working Class History, edited by Eric Arnesen, (CRC Press, 2006), 1425-1427.
2. Minnesota Public Radio “Mechanization has changed meatpacking industry” December 16, 2006
3. UFCW, “UFCW and Consumer Advocates Voice Concerns at USDA’s Public Meetings on Workers and Food Safety Regulations”
4. Sandy Smith, “Meat Industry/OSHA Alliance Infuriates Union,” EHS Today, Oct. 30, 2002.
5. United Food and Commercial Workers, “Principles on Immigration”
