Essential Voice
an Essential Workers for Democracy newspaper to share with your coworkers!
Issue #7 - Summer 2026
VOTE NO! Indy Local 700 Kroger Members Face Concessionary TA
Over 8,000 Kroger workers in UFCW Local 700 across Indianapolis and central Indiana are set to vote on a concessionary tentative agreement on Friday, May 30th, and Saturday, May 31st. After months of secretive negotiations, the contract “highlights” were brought to the membership on Tuesday, May 27th.
Rank & File Bargaining Exchange Program Brings Solidarity, New Ideas
Thirteen rank and file grocery bargaining committee members from UFCW Locals 7, 770, and 3000 participated in the first-ever Rank & File Bargaining Exchange Program this month. The Program brought together bargaining committee members from Colo., Calif., and Wash. to exchange ideas by visiting each other’s bargaining tables.
UFCW International Appoints New President Without Vote From Members
The UFCW International Union officially announced the retirement of Marc Perrone and the coronation of the next president of the UFCW, Secretary-Treasurer Milton Jones, in an undemocratic process that excluded 1.2 million rank and file members.
WATCH: UFCW Presidential Candidate Forum
The UFCW International Executive Board appointed a new president on May 13th, 2025, with no input from rank and file members. The International could have opened this process up to members, but they chose not to — so, we did it ourselves. Watch the recording of our Candidate Forum.
WATCH: UFCW Members Demand the Right to Vote!
Watch the recording from our webinar, “UFCW Member Demand the Right Vote.” . Rank and file UFCW members from across the country came together for an emergency webinar to call for the right to vote in the next UFCW presidential election. Learn how UFCW elections work now, and hear from members on what one member, one vote would mean to them.
Who is the UFCW International Executive Board?
The UFCW International Executive Board is set to appoint the next president of the UFCW. What is the International Executive Board, and who is on it?
UFCW Int’l President to Announce Retirement — Essential Voice Strike Ready Edition #6
UFCW International Executive Board set to meet May 13-14 to appoint President Marc Perrone’s successor in private, closed-door meeting.
BREAKING: UFCW President Reportedly Stepping Down, Members Demand the Right to Vote NOW!
With UFCW International President Marc Perrone gearing up to announce his retirement, the UFCW International Executive Board is reportedly planning to hand-select a new president of our union.
In These Times: ‘Grocery Workers VS Goliath’
Originally published in In These Times
by Sarah Lazare
Kroger and Albertsons tried to merge; union organizing stopped them. But the fight for grocery workers is just beginning.