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.

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.

UFCW member and shop steward Rob Switzer writes for the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC): ‘Are union dues expensive?’