Beginning November 1, 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as “food stamps,” are set to go without benefits. Among them are union members in underpaid industries like grocery and retail. Originally published in Labor Notes.

Click here to check out EW4D’s first-of-its-kind web tool for comparing union grocery contracts across UFCW locals and employers. See how your contract stacks up!

Kevin Flynn has worked as a meat cutter at Albertsons in Marysville, Wash., for the last 18 years. He is a shop steward and was a member of the 2025 Bargaining Committee for UFCW Local 3000. In Essential Voice, Kevin writes about what went right — and what could be done differently in the future.

After being shut out of contract negotiations, members of UFCW Local 700 in Indiana voted down a concessionary tentative agreement with Kroger twice in a row. Andrea Reynolds, a DSD receiver in Kokomo, IN, shares how they did it in Essential Voice.

Each time we go to the bargaining table, everyone asks: Did we get a good contract? We all want to know, because a good contract can make our lives better, and a bad contract…sucks! But another important question is: Did we build our power to get an even better contract next time?

Karl Folz is a shop steward at River Valley Co-Op in Northampton, Mass. and member of UFCW Local 1459. Read how Karl and his coworkers at the co-op fought for — and won — a strong contract with an immediate $2 raise, featured in Essential Voice.

Eric Marcuz is a receiver at Safeway in Redding, Calif. and a rank-and-file member of UFCW Local 8-GS. Eric shares his experience organizing with his coworkers to prepare for contract expiration, featured in Essential Voice.

William Anthony Cox is a floral manager at King Soopers (Kroger) in Highlands Ranch, Colo. and a shop steward in UFCW Local 7. Read his takeaways from being a bargaining committee member in 2025.