Who we are
Essential Workers for Democracy is a pro-union, grassroots movement to revitalize and reform the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). We organize across the U.S. and Canada with rank and file grocery workers, meatpackers, retail workers, and more.
We help workers build power on the shop floor and build a transparent, democratic union from the bottom up.
Worker Power is built on 4 pillars
Union Democracy:
Workers controlling their own unions
Commitment to Organizing:
Big resources for organizing union and non-union workers.
Coordinated Bargaining:
Meeting giant corporations with coordinated power together.
Strike Readiness:
Robust strike pay, no obstacles to striking.
Know your rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and protect yourself from unfair discipline. Join the FMLA training on Wednesday, October 28th at 7 PM ET / 6 PM CT / 5 PM MT / 4 PM PT. Click here to register.
Kroger's new Walmart-style, points-based, AI-powered time and attendance policy being rolled out in Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and possibly more states is a violation of our union contract and of the National Labor Relations Act. Sign the petition now to demand Kroger respect our union contract!
Join EW4D on Wednesday, October 21 for a special book talk with author Ann Larson on her new book, Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register. Register here.
Join EW4D on Wednesday, September 30th to get the facts on Kroger’s new time and attendance policy, plus how union members can organize to fight back. Register here.
In some Kroger divisions, the company is attempting to roll out a new time and attendance policy. Read what to know and do about it, then print and share the flyer.
Originally published in Labor Notes by Caitlyn Clark
Ouano Tante worked the afternoon shift at the Tyson beef plant in Joslin, Illinois, for five years. But when she and hundreds of her co-workers arrived at work on August 14, they found the plant closed.
Nate Mann works in the sanitation department at JBS in Greeley, Colorado, one of the largest meatpacking plants in the country. Earlier this year, Nate went on strike with 3,800 of his coworkers for three weeks. Read Nate’s reflections on attending his first Labor Notes Conference with EW4D.
After more than 6 months, members of UFCW Local 700 in Indiana have reached a victory in the fight against Kroger’s use of non-union subcontractors. Members organized to enforce the contract, file grievances, and educate their coworkers. Then, in August, Kroger announced it would be ending the Retail Odyssey DSD program entirely.
Read the interview with Andrea Reynolds and Kristen Jackson, two shop stewards in Kokomo and Zionsville, about how they did it.