Dear Brothers & Sisters,
On behalf of the local 2013 Staff and the Bargaining Committee, I’m happy to announce that the Ratification Vote held on July 11th for your Successor Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) resulted in the tentative Memorandum of Agreement passing, and your Successor CBA is in now full-force; CONGRATULATIONS on achieving a STRONG Agreement that you should all be proud of. These negotiations are the result of UNION members (ALL OF YOU) standing UNITED and pushing for important issues to be addressed; it’s members coming together in SOLIDARITY that make the company respect & respond to your concerns and proposals. It was as a result of hundreds of members participating in the Contract Surveys; engaging in ZOOM mtgs.; and participating on committees; that’s how we were able to develop comprehensive and sound proposals that were important to you, the members.
Although neither side ever gets everything they want out of a contract negotiations – (just to name a few things) *we made MAJOR improvements to the CBA and won REAL limitations on the use of third party contractors like Reef; we achieved significant wage increase – especially within this first year of the CBA (totaling at least $1.40 over the course of the first year) along with a financial component for recognition in seniority ; we achieved a significant 4% match to the 401K savings plan; we gained in accessing additional vacation time at a faster pace in your seniority; we controlled the cost exposure of H&W benefits; we improved/increased the minimum hours paid to members that have been most affected by cuts in available work hours; we limited the number of “Forced 6th days”…. these are BIG GAINS that you should all be proud of.
As we have said in the past, having a STRONG CBA and/or making STRONG improvements to a CBA does not happen overnight… it takes time; it take effort; and it takes sacrifice It’s like building a foundation – you do it one row of blocks at a time – but, over the course of time – you have built something STRONG that benefits you but, more importantly – it benefits everyone that comes after you into the future of that UNION CONTRACT…. THAT IS WHAT BUILDING A STRONG UNION AND A STRONG UNION CONTRACT IS ALL ABOUT !!
Finally, I want to recognize and thank all of those Shop Stewards who participated in the many meetings and various committees – especially the Bargaining Committee…. a round of applause should go out to Tim Clinton; Wilfredo Chapel, and Augusto Flores for their participation, despite the months of long and arduous hours of negotiations. It’s THAT kind of UNITY & DEDICATION that help our Local move forward and stay UNION STRONG !!
In Solidarity,
Louis Mark Carotenuto, President
UFCW Local 2013