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Unions Must Grow to Counter Strength of Giant Corporations

The rights and living standards of working people are under attack from many directions.

The key to their defense is consolidating and concentrating the strength of Labor Unions.

Only bigger, stronger and more effective Unions can meet the challenges of the new economy and counter the strategies that corporations use to silence the voices of working people.

 When you vote to approve a merger, you make your Union bigger, better and stronger. You ensure that your new Union will bring more strength to the bargaining table to more effectively confront corporate power.

In the days when companies were local, and regional negotiating contract settlements were based on local conditions, it made sense to have small Local Unions. It made sense to have separate units serving different kinds of workers. But those days are gone.

Employers have grown into national and international corporations with billions in annual revenues, and company bargaining positions are now handed down from corporate headquarters.

In this new environment, Unions have to get bigger and stronger in order to stand up to bigger and stronger corporations.

With the backing of tens of thousands of members in a variety of industries, UFCW 8-Golden State has more power at the bargaining table than ever before.

A bigger and stronger Union means workers are able to take more effective political action. With more resources available, UFCW 8 is able to keep the public and legislators informed about issues that are important to working families.

As one Union with one voice, UFCW 8-Golden State is leading the movement to revitalize worker power and restore the American dream for working families.

Merger Offers Potential for Greater Strength Through Unity

Today, a new opportunity presents itself to build strength through unity: the merger of UFCW 8 and Locals 45D, 181D and 188D.

When the UFCW was formed by merging the Retail Clerks and Meat Cutters Unions in the late 

The basis of any Union is building an entity of great strength out of elements that might be weak and easy to defeat independently.

That’s why anti-Union forces invest so much time and effort in their strategy of “divide and conquer.”

The new Union will span more than half of America’s most populous state. With a membership of more than 30,000, it will be one of the largest — and certainly one of the strongest — Unions in the entire world.

Official publication of UFCW 8-Golden State Jacques Loveall, President