Essential Voice
an Essential Workers for Democracy newspaper to share with your coworkers!
Issue #6 - Spring 2026
Register: EW4D’s Stewards’ Summer School
So, you just became a steward...now what? Sign up for EW4D’s Stewards’ Summer School training series this August to learn skills for shop stewards and union activists.
Kroger to Purchase Giant Eagle—What Members Think
24-year Giant Eagle worker Marc Mancini of UFCW Local 1776KS and Kroger worker Amy Reynolds of UFCW Local 700 share how the merger might impact workers, and what to do about it.
The Checkout: “What To The Grocery Worker Is The 4th of July?”
Shop steward and EW4D International Organizing Committee member Kathleen Scott and Teamsters for a Democratic Union leader Frank Halstead write for The Checkout by Errol Schweizer.
In Defiant Move, Rank-and-File Plaintiffs Appeal Lawsuit Against UFCW International
UFCW International leads court to say: “Rank-and-file UFCW members have no voting rights at all.”
EW4D Members Gather at Labor Notes Conference
EW4D helped bring more than 25 rank and file UFCW members from 12 local unions to the Labor Notes Conference, where nearly 100 UFCW members gathered to build union power — the largest UFCW showing in Labor Notes history.
Party With the Rank & File at Labor Notes!
Join EW4D, UAW Member Action, and IBEW-CREW for an after-hours party at Labor Notes! We'll have a cash bar and a silent auction featuring labor movement art and mementos.
Denver Processing Workers Were Denied Strike Sanctions. What Does That Mean?
The UFCW International has denied strike sanctions to 300 members of UFCW Local 7, after they voted by 97% to authorize a strike at Denver Processing, a meatpacking plant in Denver, Colo. What are strike sanctions, and how do they work?
How We Staged a Button Action
Contract negotiations coming up? Read how Mason Wyss and his coworkers in UFCW Local 75 (Cincinnati-Dayton, Ohio), organized a button action to supercharge their petition before contract bargaining. Read more in Essential Voice.
Essential Voice: News for Essential Workers - Issue #6, Spring 2026
Essential Voice, Issue #6 - Spring 2026
Essential Voice is EW4D’s print newsletter, designed to be shared with your coworkers to start conversations about issues at work and what you can do to fix them together. This is our sixth issue.