Category: Labor

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.

Local 135 Members Act for Better Wages, Staffing, Security, and Benefits

By Brent E. Beltrán

Local 135 union members of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) at Food4Less gathered for a contract rally on Wednesday, June 5, at the Mission Valley Food4Less. With their current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Saturday, June 8,the rally was an important step in highlighting the workers’ fight for a new contract.

Baristas Join UFCW Local 135 to Bargain for Better Wages and Working Conditions

San Diego, CA – Workers at Better Buzz Coffee’s Hillcrest location have achieved an important victory in their pursuit of better wages, fair treatment and improved working conditions. In a decisive election held by the National Labor Relations Board on Friday, May 17, the baristas, trainers, and shift supervisors voted overwhelmingly to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 135.

This worker victory marks the culmination of a determined effort by the employees, who organized under the name Better Buzz United. The workers cited concerns about wages, benefits, scheduling, and overall workplace safety as primary reasons for seeking union representation.

It’s getting intense, this controversial confrontation between supporters of County Supervisor Nora Vargas and those who back Brigette Browning, the leader of the San Diego Labor Council. Even today’s U-T op-ed page was devoted to the controversy, with both sides sharing their view.

Now, we at the Rag and at the beach have our own problems with Brigette Browning — more on that at another time.

Part of the current flare-up is over the fact that Cindy Chavez has been passed over for the top job in the County, and the Labor Council supports her.

by MacKenzie Elmer / Voice of San Diego / April 22, 2024

The ongoing war between public power proponents and San Diego Gas & Electric looked more like a battle between the municipalization advocates and union labor Thursday [April 18].

Each team’s respective poster-bearing players – with signs that read either “fire SG&E” or “municipalization is union busting” — took turns encumbering the live feed webcast of the City Council Rules Committee’s public comment period. But almost no one from a labor union spoke in favor of the proposed government takeover of the energy grid. Proponents had hoped the City Council would consider putting up a ballot measure and spare them the burden of collecting signatures.

By Katy Jae Waldman

San Diego is a beacon of equality, progress, and acceptance that makes it unlike anywhere else in the world. It is a vibrant and lively place with a diverse and powerful
community. San Diego takes care of its people, and we are proud of it. But unfortunately, the people that keep us clothed, fed, and caffeinated are suffering at the hands of their employers.

Amidst their rapid growth, it has become clear that Better Buzz Coffee is no exception to this. It seems that their pitch decks and investor meetings left out how their wageworkers were to share the spoils of their achievement. Their profits are soaring, but their workers are hurting.

By Ken Stone / Times of San Diego / April 7, 2024

After a rally and brief march Thursday, a group of labor-union advocates at the University of San Diego entered the Hughes Administration Center and made their way to Room 222.

The office of James T. Harris III, USD’s president. They buzzed for entrance. No answer. “The door was locked,” Meghan Donnelly told fellow nontenure-track faculty and supporters after emerging from the campus HQ facing the stately Immaculata Church. She reported that an election plan had been slid under the door, so Harris would see it when he returns.