|
Management
believes in partnership with union: Retail grocery workers at Gigante Supermarkets in Arleta, Pico Rivera and Covina voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first Union contract April 24. This is a historic first for both Uni Commerce affiliate United Food and Commercial Workers Union UFCW and one of Mexico's largest and most powerful corporate giants. Gigante, the second largest retail grocer in Mexico, has a history of working with unions outside of the United States. Adopting this same philosophy here, the company informed the UFCW that it would not interfere with any organizing drive by the union. Greg Conger, secretary-treasurer of UFCW Local 324, based in Orange County, said this decision had a very positive effect. "By allowing workers free access to information about the UFCW, the company demonstrated a sincere desire to do what is best for its employees. Once those employees were allowed to learn about the union, they quickly decided that union representation was in their best interests,'' Conger said. President Joe F. Barragan of UFCW Local 1428, based in Claremont, echoed these sentiments: "This new contract is a historic first for our union as well as Gigante's workers. We hope that it will be the beginning of future gains for workers at retailers who have been targeting Latino consumers and hiring predominately Latino workers.'' Fair prices can be
combined Following the ratification vote, Justo Frias, president of Gigante Supermarkets USA, spoke with Ricardo Icaza, president of Local 770, based in Los Angeles, about the effect of this cooperative approach on the two organizations. "Gigante plans to quickly open several stores in the burgeoning Latino communities in Southern California. With the union as our partner, we intend to demonstrate that it is possible to sell quality products at fair prices while paying our employees union wages and benefits,'' said Frias. Icaza agreed, adding that the campaign would send a signal to other non-union grocery retailers that the UFCW is committed to preserving a high standard of living for workers in the industry. The UFCW, with 1.4 million members in the United States and Canada, is the largest private sector union in North America. |
