Our
Union completed a series of workshops for Stewards across the length
and breadth of our jurisdiction, from Redding in the north to
Bakersfield in the south and from Santa Rosa near the coast to Lake
Tahoe at the Nevada border.
It’s
always productive and informative to meet with so many of our key UFCW
8-Golden State activists. We were inspired by the stories they shared of
coworkers who were helped through personal struggles and
workplace-related problems by their Union.
At
the same time, the Stewards were given a thorough update on the
extraordinary value of Union membership, which delivers not only higher
wages, but also superior health care, retirement security through
defined benefit pensions (increasingly rare in today’s world),
vacations, sick leave, workplace protections and a host of other
benefits.
After
adding up the economic value of these benefits, we find the price of
Union membership to be one of the greatest bargains we’ll encounter in
our lifetimes. In fact, the ratio of value to cost is about 100 to 1!
In
the Summer 2017 issue of Voice of Action and in other Union
communications, we’ll share with you some of the information we provided
to the Stewards as well as some of the touching stories they shared
with us.
In
a time of deep divisions among people in our country and around the
world, it is comforting to meet so many good people who live in the
spirit of unity, of brotherhood and sisterhood.
When
so many are focused on tearing others down to build themselves up, we
as Union members dedicate ourselves to creating a world in which all of
our fellow human beings can lift their heads toward a brighter future.
Our
Stewards exemplify these Union values. They are selfless people who
volunteer their time and energies to helping their coworkers get more
and keep more for themselves and their loved ones.
Through
their dedication, these UFCW 8 Stewards are critical to our Union’s
success as we serve the needs and aspirations of 35,000 members across
thousands of square miles.
We
are proud of our full-time staff of approximately 100 District Union
Representatives, office staff and support personnel, but we can’t do the
job all by ourselves. Our Stewards assist every day by acting as the
eyes, ears, heart and soul of UFCW 8-Golden State.
Together, we commit ourselves to protecting and strengthening the value and values of our Union.
Solidarity Works!