Grocery Workers

The 1950s stereotype image of the store worker as a teen trying to make extra spending money after school by bagging groceries at the local A&P definitely no longer applies. Grocery workers are people who are supporting full-fledged families, frequently on poverty wages earned on difficult work schedules that don't amount to full time because corporations are trying to avoid giving them benefits. We see them every week when we buy our groceries. But they remain among the least visible workers in our region, without unions to represent them before powerful corporations.

At CLUE, we believe grocery workers deserve the dignity of a full-time, 40-hour schedule and a living wage with benefits that allows them to support their families and provide them the medical care they need. Over the years, we have worked with our partners at United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) on campaigns to unionize workers at Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons, Walmart and El Super, among others. Many of those who benefited from those campaigns have joined us at the picket lines to help achieve full representation for their fellow workers.