Five Excuses for Opposing Revitalization Heard at the UFCW Convention
Last month, UFCW Revitalizers took to the convention floor to make their voices heard on a package of reforms that will revitalize UFCW. There were some important victories including: the creation of a new healthcare division, extension of strike benefits to workers newly organizing into UFCW, strike pay on the 8th Day (revitalizers fought for 1st day and will continue to fight to win), Constituency Groups having a form of Board representation, and most of all the beginning of real dialogue rather than just a “Show Convention”.
It was the beginning of the debate about whether UFCW will become a truly democratic union. This launching of the debate is huge! And you can tell that the Revitalization Amendments and Resolutions hit some raw nerves by peeking into some of the excuses heard for NOT adopting common sense reforms that other unions have already adopted.
This was completely expected. Revitalizing a union takes years, as we know from watching rank and file members of Teamsters and UAW take back their unions. Change can take time, but it’s worth fighting for!
One of the reasons this process takes so long is that the many who are in power now are afraid of change. Here’s some of the excuses we heard for not supporting revitalizing amendments at the convention last month. We break them down, and you can see why they just don’t make any sense.
Excuse # 1 “One Member One Vote is too expensive and will bring corruption.”
This is just complete nonsense. Over 20 International Unions currently have a form of One Member One Vote including Teamsters, UAW, USW, NSLC, and IWU. Technology makes direct elections less expensive than ever. And corruption? There’s nothing corrupt about members directly electing the people who speak for them. What’s corrupt is selecting officers at a convention that is 60% staff, which is what just happened in Vegas last month.
Excuse #2: “Striking workers don’t need first day strike pay because they get another paycheck. They can afford to wait.”
This is a bold claim coming from staffers and officers who make well above what the average rank-and-file worker makes. International strike fund expenditures, an fell from $931,000 in 2013, to $259,000 in 2022, an 80% drop after inflation. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck you can’t afford to wait. It’s time to listen to rank-and-file workers like Hayley Trujillo from UFCW 7 when they say that first day strike pay is a must! Without it, employers are less likely to take strike threats seriously because they know that their workers have to weigh the financial hardships that come with striking.
And speaking of highly paid officers…
Excuse #3: “We don’t need to restrict the pay of top officers because members approve officers’ salaries.”
Runaway officers salaries are a serious problem, especially as UFCW has cut the strike and organizing funds. Five local Presidents receive annual compensation over $400,000!
Top 5 UFCW Local President Salaries
John Niccolai at Local 464A (NJ) with $700,941
Steve Lomax at Local 1996 (GA) with $592,496
Max Bruny at Local 888 (NJ) with $505,588
Brian String at Local 152 (NJ) with $473,374; and
Harvey While at Local 1262 (NJ) with $426,343.
Pay increases are usually approved at the Executive Board which is often dominated by paid staff who owe their jobs to those top officers. We support and depend on paid staff. They are the best. But they are also in an impossible situation.
And even if pay increases are approved by membership, many members are experiencing hardships, including homelessness, and cannot attend these meetings. It’s not fair for top officials to have these obscene salaries set by insular processes while workers live paycheck to paycheck.
Excuse #4: “Per capita voting for all convention questions is unfair to small locals.”
Per capita voting just means that every member’s vote is equal to every other member’s vote, no matter the size of their local union. This is just an excuse to uphold an undemocratic system. Every member’s voice should count equally at the convention, regardless of how big or small their local is. Any structure that gives extra weight to some members over others is inherently unfair.
Excuse #5: “A requirement to spend 20% of the international budget on organizing just isn’t necessary because the international allocates adequate funds for organizing.”
At this point, we’ve heard every excuse in the book. But this one is just truly unbelievable! UFCW has lost 105,933 members over the last 8 years and its organizing budget budget has been cut in half over the last 10. In 2022, UFCW spent just 4.4% of its budget on organizing. This is considerably less than half of what unions with comparable budgets such as SEIU and UAW spend.
See UFCW Ten Year Financial Analysis
UFCW International is not investing enough in organizing, and the numbers prove it. With record high enthusiasm for unionization, now is the time to be investing to grow our membership and make UFCW the powerhouse union that it could and should be.