Essential Voice
an Essential Workers for Democracy newspaper to share with your coworkers!
Issue #7 - Summer 2026
Winning Big at River Valley Co-Op
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.
Reflections on the 2025 Contract Campaign: NorCal
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.
Reflections on the 2025 Contract Campaign: Colorado
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.
Essential Voice: News for Essential Workers - Issue #4, Summer/Fall 2025
Essential Voice, Issue #4 - Summer/Fall 2025
The 2025 UFCW $250k Club: 67 Union Officials See $2.7 Million Raise
In 2024, 67 UFCW officials were paid over $250,000 in total compensation — all the way up to $760,225. From last year, 7 new officials joined the $250k Club, and spending on the club went up by $2,686,582.
EWOC: ‘Are Union Dues Expensive?"‘
UFCW member and shop steward Rob Switzer writes for the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC): ‘Are union dues expensive?’
Union REI Stores Win National Bargaining Table
After months of campaigning, the 11 unionized REI stores represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) have reached an agreement for a national bargaining structure. This is a major win in the fight for bargaining big — fighting growing corporate power with coordination across local unions and state lines.
In Latest Attack on Unions, Trump Administration Cuts More Federal Union Rights
On Thursday, August 29th, President Trump issued an executive order axing union contracts for hundreds of federal workers, including workers at NASA and the National Weather Service. All in all, the Trump administration’s executive orders have terminated collective bargaining rights for more than one million union workers in the public sector.
What is Strike Readiness?
Eric Marcuz, a rank and file member of UFCW Local 8 and union activist in local reform group “At What Cost” shares what we mean when we talk about strike readiness. Watch and share the video here.