Voting and Elections
UFCW voters matter for California.
Safe Prescriptions
UFCW is working to ensure pharmacists have the support to do their most important job: delivering the right medicines, in the right doses and protecting consumers against potentially deadly drug interactions.
Cannabis
The UFCW is the only union representing cannabis workers in California. We are committed to building a successful industry that offers consumers access to safe products and local communities jobs with better wages and benefits.
Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council applauded Governor Gavin Newsom for signing AB 2693 (Reyes) into law. AB 2693 will extend the sunset date for AB 685 (Reyes-2020), the COVID-19 Notification and Reporting Bill, and its subsequent clean up legislation AB 654 (Reyes, 2021), until January 1, 2024. 2022 has already seen several waves of COVID-19 across California, illustrating why the state must stay vigilant and maintain access to information needed to respond to emerging surges this winter. The following statement may be attributed to Joe Duffle, President, UFCW 1167:
“AB 2693 continues California’s leadership in workplace protections by ensuring we can react immediately to prevent the virus from spreading throughout our workplaces, infecting working people and their families. COVID cases will continue to surge throughout the rest of the year, and there will be more variants in our future. It’s essential that we save lives by keeping workers aware of COVID workplace outbreaks.
“However, AB 2693 provides us with only a one year reprieve. This requirement is essential to California’s endemic strategy to protect workers and the public and California needs a more permanent policy in place. We will continue working towards a future where all workers are confident they are just as safe clocking into work as they are in their home.”
# # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2022
Contact: Jenna Thompson, 949.246.1620, [email protected]
Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council applauded Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on AB 152 to extend COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave to essential workers until December 31, 2022. COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave was previously set to expire tomorrow on September 30 2022, leaving workers with only the state-mandated three paid sick days as the state faces the possibility of fall and winter surges of the highly transmissible virus. The following statement may be attributed to Todd Walters, President, UFCW Local 135:
“UFCW members are still dealing with the pandemic daily as workers come into our stores and pharmacies sick, and we’re staring down a fall and winter where viruses will be spread more easily throughout workplaces and our children’s schools. Because of this, UFCW members raised their voices to urge the California Legislature and Governor Newsom to extend this life-saving benefit until the end of the year and we’re glad they listened to us. Paid sick leave is absolutely essential for workers’ peace of mind so they don’t have to worry about paying the rent and buying groceries when themselves or a family member is sick.
“However, California has spent three years battling COVID-19 and scrambling to ensure workers have the ability to take time off when they’re sick every time the law is about to expire,” continued Walters. “We need a more permanent solution in place that workers can rely on year after year. UFCW commits to working with the new crop of Legislators and Governor Newsom to ensure workers have access to sufficient paid sick leave.”
# # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2022
Contact: Jenna Thompson, (949) 246-1620, [email protected]
Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council applauded Governor Gavin Newsom for signing AB 2530 (Wood) into law. AB 2530 will provide timely and affordable access to Covered California insurance for workers who lose health benefits due to a labor dispute. The following statement may be attributed to Mark Ramos, President, UFCW Local 1428:
“Workers know that when we stand up together and fight, we’ll win. That’s why our employers relentlessly try to push workers down and force us to take less at the bargaining table. Fed up, UFCW members channeled this energy and the California Legislature and the Governor listened. This victory on AB 2530 will provide UFCW members and workers across California the peace of mind that exercising their right to strike won’t compromise access to healthcare and medicine for their families.”
# # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2022
Contact: Jenna Thompson, 949.246.1620, [email protected]