Category: Labor

There’s been some very recent wins by unions both within the giant Rite Aid and in the local cannabis industry.

First, and most significant, members of United Food and Commercial Workers voted to ratify a new three-year contract with Rite Aid. The agreement was reached after months of negotiations and active participation from thousands of pharmacists, pharmacy clerks, and technicians in Southern California. The contract provides the largest monetary increases ever for over 3,500 workers at Rite Aid, and includes UFCW Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442.

From 7SanDiego

Thousands of patient care and service workers at UC San Diego Medical Center and other University of California campuses across the state will stage a two-day strike starting Wednesday, alleging unfair bargaining tactics, allegations the UC system denies.

According to the AFSCME Local 3299 union, the strike will include roughly 37,000 UC workers “at every UC campus and medical facility across the state.” The strike began at midnight Wednesday and continues until midnight Thursday. Picketing both days will be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Striking mental health care workers at Kaiser Permanente were back on the picket lines this week, beginning Monday, November 11 at one site in San Diego as well as others at multiple Southern California medical centers in a continuing dispute with management.

Union officials said workers would be picketing be at the San Diego location all week – Monday through Friday at San Diego Medical Center, located at 9455 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Picket lines will begin at 8 a.m. and run through 2 p.m.

The union’s contract with Kaiser expired Sept. 30. No bargaining sessions are scheduled for this week.

According to the union, the key issues remain “Kaiser’s unwillingness to provide its nearly 2,400 mental health professionals in Southern California the same amount of time for critical patient care duties that can’t be done during appointments as their counterparts in Northern California — as well as the same wage levels and retirement benefits as comparable workers throughout the Kaiser system.”

On November 8th members of a raft of locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) voted to ratify a new three-year contract with CVS Pharmacy.

The 8 locals — Locals 5, 135, 324, 648, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442 — representing CVS pharmacists, clerks, and technicians  — reached the agreement after months of negotiations, a 3-day unlawful labor practices strike in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and active participation from thousands of California pharmacists, pharmacy clerks, and technicians.

Union actions and labor solidarity events have been happening in San Diego of late and here’s an update and summary.

United Food and Commercial Workers unions in San Diego are getting ready to act in solidarity with their compatriots up in LA and Orange Counties, plus today, Monday, Oct. 21, thousands of Kaiser Permanente mental health workers in Southern California, including more than 300 workers in San Diego, went on strike. Then a week ago, Hilton San Diego Bayfront workers overwhelmingly ratified a new contract following a 38-day strike.

Last Friday, Oct. 18, UFCW Locals 770 and 324 in Los Angeles and Orange Counties launched Unfair Labor Practice strikes at 7 CVS Pharmacy locations and although UFCW Local 135 in San Diego is not yet on strike, the union stands in solidarity with those on the picket lines and is preparing to take similar actions.

UFCW Local 135 Intensifies CVS Boycott with Triple Actions This Wednesday

UFCW Local 135 continues to amplify customer pressure on CVS Pharmacy with a series of three boycott actions this Wednesday, October 16, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at three nonunion CVS locations in Downtown San Diego: 402 Fifth Avenue, 645 Market Street, and 101 Park Plaza.

Union members, alongside labor allies, will be engaged in informational picketing at the pharmacies, urging customers to boycott CVS, transfer their prescriptions to unionized grocery pharmacies, and cancel their CVS ExtraCare+ memberships. The boycott actions come after CVS workers across California overwhelmingly voted to authorize an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike.

Support CVS Workers Boycott Action this Wednesday

UFCW Calls for Boycott of CVS Until a New Contract Deal is Reached

UFCW Local 135 is ramping up pressure on CVS Pharmacy with a boycott action this Wednesday, October 2, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the nonunion CVS location in Ocean Beach at 4949 Santa Monica Avenue. Union members will be out encouraging customers to boycott CVS, transfer their prescriptions to unionized grocery pharmacies, and cancel their CVS ExtraCare+ memberships. This action follows last week’s overwhelming vote by CVS workers across California to authorize an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike if necessary.

By Mat Wahlstrom

Across the country today, October 1, a National Day of Action is being held by the U.S. Postal Workers Union. The sole event for this in San Diego will be at the Hillcrest Post Office, 3911 Cleveland Ave, from 10:00-1:00. This event and this location are significant, and the public is encouraged to sign their petition and to attend to show their support.

Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott Workers Spend Labor Day on the Picket Line Amid Strike Over Wages, Workload, COVID-Era Cuts

UPDATE AS OF SEPT. 3, 2024: 9,376 workers remain on strike in seven cities (Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose). Strikes have concluded in Baltimore and Seattle.

Baltimore, Md. – Thousands of U.S. hotel workers are on strike this Labor Day.

Approx. 200 hotel workers walked off the job in Baltimore this morning. After months of unresolved negotiations, over 10,000 hotel workers with the UNITE HERE union were on strike at 25 hotels in nine cities: Baltimore, Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle.

On July 3, members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) voted to ratify a new three-year contract with Food 4 Less/Foods Co. The contract was reached after months of negotiations and active participation from thousands of Southern California grocery workers. The members are from Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442.

This contract will go into effect immediately for over 6,000 essential grocery workers in Food 4 Less/Foods Co. locations across Southern California.

On Friday, June 14, Food 4 Less workers across California, announced an overwhelming membership vote in favor of authorizing their bargaining committee to call for an unfair labor practice strike should one become necessary. They’re represented by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442, together representing more than 6,000 Food 4 Less/Foods Co.

Bargaining resumes today, Monday, June 17.

Food 4 Less/Foods Co. Workers Announce Strike Authorization Votes as Contract Expires

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442, together representing 6,000 Food 4 Less/Foods Co. workers across California, released the following statement on the day of their contract expiration to announce scheduled strike authorization votes following numerous labor violations by their employer throughout negotiations that have prevented them from getting the fair contract they deserve.