Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Western States Council released their 2020-2021 Year in Review and 2021 California Legislative Scorecard, which evaluates how legislators voted on issues important to UFCW members in the past legislative session. Crucial policies that promote workplace safety, advance workers’ rights, professionalize the cannabis industry, and protect our communities’ health were among the key issues considered as UFCW evaluated California’s elected official’s legislative voting records.
Demonstrating the effectiveness of UFCW members in communicating their values and priorities, 70 legislators scored 100% on issues important to California’s workers. See each legislator’s scores here: ufcwwest.org/scorecard.
Amber Baur, executive director, UFCW Western States Council, released the following statement:
“Grocery work, meatpacking, and delivering goods were never meant to be death-defying jobs, but they became so in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was these workers’ very survival – and their families’ future — that UFCW Western States Council has been fighting for over the past two years. We worked tirelessly with our locals, the Governor, and elected officials statewide and locally to give our members — and all California workers — a fighting chance against the COVID-19 crisis and strengthen the critical benefits and protections they need to do their jobs while remaining healthy and safe.
“When legislators look at this scorecard as they return to Sacramento to start a new legislative year today, I hope they will take to heart how their decisions affect workers across California and work to ensure they receive the critical benefits and protections they need to do their job while remaining healthy and safe.
“As the past two years have shown, California’s workers need safer worksites and stronger enforcement of health and safety laws. They need hazard pay, exclusion pay and supplemental paid sick leave so they can continue to provide essential services without jeopardizing the lives and health of themselves and their families. California’s workers deserve standards of living increases like higher wages and increased healthcare and pension benefits, especially in the cannabis industry, and industries known to exploit workers, like Amazon and alcohol delivery services, need increased regulation.
“In 2022, UFCW will continue to work closely with the Administration, legislators, and local leaders to continue to ensure our members are protected and can build upon the successes we’ve had in the past two years.”
See how each legislator scored here: ufcwwest.org/scorecard.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2022
Contact: Jenna Thompson, 949.246.1620, [email protected]