![](https://ufcw5.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Voter-Guide-495x400.png)
Your Vote Matters – and Your Involvement Multiplies its Impact
Local 5 union contracts are among the best in the country. They guarantee our wages, secure our health and retirement benefits, and establish our general working conditions. But many of the workplace standards that we enjoy, and indeed the very strength of our union, can be put at risk if we elect the wrong people to political office. Conversely, if we work to elect pro-worker and pro-union candidates to local, state, and federal office, we can continue to make progress for ourselves and for all working families.
Examples of the difference that we can make through political action are many. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our political efforts highlighted the role that Local 5 members play as essential workers in our communities and resulted in legislative victories that protected the health and safety of our members and in some cases, resulted in well-deserved hazard pay.
We have worked to pass laws that protect our members in the cannabis industry while enhancing their ability to secure union representation. And in our nation’s capital we have seen the difference that electing a pro-union President can make on issues like retirement security, affordable healthcare, rights on the job and the right to join a union. And more recently, we are using our political clout to oppose industry mergers that threaten the livelihoods of our members.
It’s simple – elections matter and your vote matters. Local 5 will continue to provide you with the facts and our recommendations to help you make the best decisions when you fill out your ballot.
Voting the first step – but you can do much more. Get involved, work on a campaign, talk to your co-workers and become not just a voter, but a political activist. There’s a lot at stake. Let’s get to work!
Active Ballot Club is the UFCW Political Action Committee (PAC)
Candidates come and go, but legislative issues are an everlasting constant concern for our members.
Why does ABC Matter?
Active Ballot Club, or ABC is a way that union members can use their dollars to build political power for workers. Elections matter because when we elect labor friendly people, we can influence laws that set a floor on issues like paid sick days, minimum wages, and worker safety. We do this by supporting worker-friendly candidates running for office at the Local, State & Federal level.
Where does the ABC money go?
ABC pays for member-to-member communication about the union’s political program and helps the union lobby for pro-worker laws in city halls and county government , at our state capital, and in Washington DC. It allows UFCW members to have a larger platform and get worker’s issues out in public. ABC gives your local union the resources necessary to stand up to corporate America and defend against attacks on organized labor.
Some Recent Local 5/UFCW Victories as of November 2023
- Passed SB 553, a bill that will require every retail employer in California to establish workplace violence programs and record all instances of violence in the workplace to report to OSHA.
- Passed SB 616, a bill that increased current paid sick leave from 3 to 5 days for all workers in California.
- Required drug companies to disclose to consumers any rise in drug prices 60 days in advance.
- Enacted legislation that ensures the cannabis industry in California provides good jobs.
- Worked with California cannabis regulators to ensure workers are represented by bon a fide labor organization instead of fake company unions.
- Enacted legislation that raised city, county, and state minimum wage laws.
- Enacted mandatory COVID-19 hazard pay benefits for grocery store workers in cities across California.
- Passed legislation that protects grocery workers in retail stores and distribution centers from being laid off when a grocery store chain is sold, merged, or acquired by a third party.
- Passed legislation that requires the Attorney General to assess the impact of food deserts when parties engage in the transfer or acquisition of a retail grocery store.
National Victories:
- President Biden fired the anti-worker National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel and installed a pro-worker majority on the board
- Biden-Harris administration created the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.
- NLRB dropped a challenge to neutrality agreements between employers and unions.
- Department of Labor (DOL) released new resources to combat retaliation against workers who inquire about their rights, pay, hours, working conditions, or file a complaint with or cooperate in a DOL investigation.
- DOL is ensuring warehouse workers are paid the required hourly wage and overtime pay, can take time off as prescribed by law, and aren’t retaliated against for exercising their rights..
Some of the advocacy we are supporting as of November 2023
- No tax breaks on the amount of money companies spend on anti-union activity
- The PRO Act which would make it easier for workers to start a union
- Increase funding for the Department of LABOR and National Labor Relations Board to enforce worker friendly law
- Reinstating the Child Tax Credit
- Student Loan Forgiveness
- Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights
- Expansion of Paid Sick and Family Leave
- Paycheck Fairness Act