Why Are UFCW Leaders So F#!@ing Stupid?
In his 1996 best seller, Downsize This, American writer, film maker and king of shitdisturbing, Michael Moore asked,
Why Are Union Leaders So F#!@ing Stupid?
Can you think of a more embarrassing sight than what passes for a union leader these days? These guys are the most pathetic bunch of losers I've seen since my ninth-grade remedial metal shop class.
I am convinced that, hundreds of years from now, when anthropologists dig up the remnants of our culture and study our behavior, they will not be able to figure out why most of the leaders of our major labor unions rolled over and let the company bosses destroy the lives of their members.
"Just how friggin' stupid were these guys?" the social scientists of the twenty-third century will wonder in amazement. Should future Americans run across a copy of this book, allow me to explain just how stupid.
Read more.
"Union leaders are so stupid," Moore explains, "that since the late seventies, they have continually agreed to cut their members' wages and benefits simply because the company asked them to".
Do we know it!
"The list of Union Leadership Stupidity could fill the rest of this book", Moore states and then goes on to describe some stunning acts of stupidity all done ... because some corporate guys said they'd like a break.
It would take more than a book the length of Downsize This to fully chronicle the extent to which North American labor leaders have been had. But a chronicle of the contributions of the United Food and Commerical Workers Union on the subject of shilling on and selling out for corporate interests would surely be encyclopedic. The great feats of bargaining of the union-that-can't are well documented and the exploits of its Canadian franchise, UFCW Canada, are especially noteworthy.
There Were Three In the Bed And The Corporate One Said, "Roll Over, Roll Over"
Sometime in the fall of 2002, three Canadian UFCW locals - with their National Office looking on - quietly climbed into bed with Loblaw Companies. About nine months later (no shit) they produced a deal that would allow the hugely profitable Loblaws to Wal-Martize wages and working conditions at its new chain of supermarkets called the Real Canadian Super Stores.
The secret deal was appended to the collective agreements covering tens of thousands of workers represented by the three locals at Loblaw Co.'s, Zehr's Fortino's and Loblaws supermarkets in Ontario. The scope clauses of those agreements were amended to capture all the new Wal-Martized members the UFCW would get at the new RCSS stores.
The deal was done in secret. UFCW leaders refused to put it to the members for ratification because ...the company wouldn't let them. If the UFCW locals insisted on letting the members vote, the concessionary deal would come off the table the company said and the UFCW listened, like having an employer withdraw a demand for concessions would be a bad thing.
In the summer of 2003, after being approved in secret, the secret deal was shoved down the members' throats. Each local got to decide how to shove it: 1000a had it approved secretly by a couple dozen committee members. Local 1977 had a vote to give its Pres - the legendary Brian Williamson - a man_date to say "yeah hell yeah". Members at Local 175 were advised that there was no need for a vote since the RCSS deal was added to their contract so it really didn't affect them. Yeah, hell yeah.
Three Blind Mice
The lower rates and management-friendly working conditions set out in the RCSS deal were necessary, the UFCW leaders said, becauce Loblaws had to fight the Wal-mart threat. It wasn't a good thing but made the best of a bad situation. The company had to be competitive. The company could just open the new RCSS's as a bunch of non-union stores and how bad would that be? The UFCW was just doing what it had to do to protect the jobs of existing members. What could be more honourable than that?
In bush league bombast, a message on Local 1000a's web site announced:
Loblaws Companies East has made a business decision to challenge the anticipated Wal-Mart Supercenter invasion by pre-emptively launching a similar type of combination department store/food supermarket. The new "banner" is to be called Loblaws The Real Canadian Superstore (RCSS). All new stores will be RCSS format. Some existing conventional Loblaws stores will be converted and expanded to RCSS format. Converted stores must meet strict square footage requirements in order to qualify as RCSS stores. Some existing stores will be closed. All of this will take place over the next 2-3 years.
Hey man, we're at war. The Wal-Mart invasion is going down. The honourable Loblaw Co's is making a pre-emptive strike. Now is not the time to challenge your commander-in-chief.
Yours Is Not To Question Why - Yours Is Just To Do And Pay
Workers at conventional Loblaws, Zehr's and Fortino's stores had nothing to worry about the UFCW assured them in the extensive propaganda effort that followed. Nothing was going to happen to them and, if it did, they could choose from a dizzying array of "transition options".
The UFCW had something for everyone. For the union there were the thousands of new members that it would get at the new RCSS stores. For the three locals there was $450,000 each for education and communications. For the members - there were a lot of promises.
If their store was closed - as a direct result of the opening of the new RCSS - they could bump other members at conventional stores, or take severance pay and take a hike or transfer to the new RCSS where they would get the Wal-Martized wages. They could even do the last two options together - quit their better paying jobs with a severance package and apply for a low wage job at an RCSS. What a deal.
If their conventional store was converted into an RCSS, there was truly nothing to worry about because nothing was going to happen to them. They'd keep working away at their higher wages and better benefits. Only the newly hired workers who would work in the department store merchandise section would get the RCSS appendix. A entire new web site - www.ufcwrealcanadian.ca - was launched to spread that good news.
Com_Promises
Some FAQ from the UFCW Local 1000a/Real Canadian web site:
What happens if my store is converted to a Real Canadian Superstore?
Workers in existing conventional Loblaws stores that are converted into a RCSS will see no changes to their wages, benefits, working conditions or any other contract rights changed. The food store side of the renovated RCSS will continue to operate as before. As noted above, part-time workers in the new DSTM areas will be covered by the part-time RCSS Appendix wage schedule. Any full-time union members assigned to the DSTM areas in renovated stores will continue to be covered by the wage scale and all other provisions, including benefits, in the Loblaws collective agreement.
No changes to wages, benefits, working conditions or any other contract rights. Since converting existing stores rather than opening new ones, would be a more economical option this would surely put a lot of workers minds to rest.
And for anyone who might be concerned that another romp in the labour-management sack might spawn further Wal-Martization, there was a commitment from the company that there would be no concession bargaining when the agreements expired in 2006. The "no more concessions" commitment was touted as the jewel in the UFCW's stunning feat of bargaining.
Has the union agreed to concessions in the Loblaws collective agreement?
No. The union has not agreed to concessions. No existing employee will be required to reduce their wages, benefits, seniority or other working conditions in order to keep their job. No one will be required to move to a Real Canadian Superstore. The Loblaws collective agreement remains fully intact until it expires in mid-2006. Even then, there is a No Concessions Guarantee for the full term of the next collective agreement. Moreover, the union has negotiated additional rights, over and above the collective agreement, that give Local 1000A members potentially very attractive options in the event they are affected by the RCSS program.
Not all the members got a warm feeling. Outraged members condemned the union and its great feat of rolling over and the UFCW flogged the "no more concessions" commitment like the dead horse that it would turn out to be.
What did the union get in return for agreeing to the RCSS Appendix?
First of all, the union saved thousands of jobs from going non-union with Wal-Mart-type wages and virtually no benefits.
Secondly, the union won from the company an agreement that the entire term of the next collective agreement (to be negotiated in 2006) would contain NO WAGE OR BENEFIT CONCESSIONS. The union, however, did not give up the right to negotiate higher wages and benefits. In other words, wages and benefits in both Loblaws and RCSS stores cannot go down for the next several years, but could go up.
This is an unprecedented agreement. No other union faced with such a major restructuring in its industry has been able to negotiate a No Concessions Guarantee for a collective agreement yet to be negotiated. The length of the term of the agreement itself will negotiable.
In MfD forum, I knew it said:
These guys keep telling the union to tell us that all as they want is a "level playing field" but the truth is they want a better deal than anyone else. They want a competitive advantage. And the UFCW keeps telling us that unless we fork it over, we will lose our jobs.
Some members weren't convinced that the deal was the end of the UFCW's strategy of representation through employer appeasement. Another screwed member wrote in MfD forum:
I was talking to my union rep and I had to ask the question as I was still trying to swallow that bitter pill that [Local 1000a President] Kevin Corporon had forced down all 1000a members throats, "Why have we taken wage concessions mid contract especially after Loblaws has reported record profits for years? His reply was the same brainwashing response that Kevin was forcing on all members minds that Walmart is coming.
I had to stop him in his tracks before I was about to knock him out for trying to feed me that kind of bullshit. I told him why doesn't the union itself scale back their wages and benefits as our union dues don't reflect the level of service they are providing to the long standing members of 1000a? He stood there turning red as I popped him with the question that he wasn't trained to answer by Kevin.
I also told him that the union was preaching to all of us that Walmart was this big bad company paying minimum wage, but Loblaws was even worse for following the same wage scale that Walmart has in place. The union should be ashamed for agreeing to these concessions as they are not looking out for the best interest of all current members and future members as I gave him a scenario, if a new employee is hired under RCSS agreement and starts at the $7.10/hr. and gets 28 hours a week, that employee will make $198.80/ week, minus union dues and taxes. How is that individual supposed to survive on that kind of income?
The rep responded to that question thinking he was out of the woods by saying the individual could supplement their income by getting another part time job. As I stood there with so much anger because these guys did not do their homework and didn't put themselves in these individuals position for one minute to think that how can an RCSS part time employee get another part time job when they have to make themselves available one shift from Monday to Thursday , one shift on Friday, one shift on Saturday and one shift on Sunday. How many companies out there will schedule an employee around Loblaws availability.
How can an employee find another job if they were to be scheduled all 4 and 5 hour shifts every day for 6 or 7 days a week. Think about it: at $7.10/hour x 5 hours is 35.50 per day minus union dues taxes and $2.25 one way for transportation on the TTC because at these competitive wages how can this individual afford a car.
I told the rep that they didn't do their job to represent or protect that was rightfully the current and future members rights to fair wages and benefits. They cracked and fell apart in the negotiations by threats the company made in regards to opening under a different name and will open these stores non-union.
I understood that the law prevents a company from threatening a union with such demands, if so why not file a grievance with the labour board? Instead they figured it would be cost effective to guarantee themselves more membership with this new format and they would also save on court fees if they were to sue on the threats the company made. All this at a cost to the members and as the rep had said," there is always room to renegotiate these RCSS contracts in the future". I responded by saying with UFCW 1000a in the last 20 years its one step forward and three steps back for the worker in regards to contracts the union has fought for us.
I left off by telling him the union has no problem justifying Kevin Corporon's $146,000 /year salary and Tony Soares $130,000/year Salary as secretary Treasurer as well as raising our union dues while our quality of life is deteriorating. It's funny how quickly these guys had forgotten where they came from.
Some members even wrote to the UFCW's Canadian national office to voice their dismay with their union's secret deal. They were assured by the highest of the mighty that there was nothing to worry about. Here's a letter from David W. Watts, Executive Assistant to the Canadian Director in response to a member's concerns.
Dear Mr. Delio:
The RCSS accord, which does not affect any current employees, any current collective agreements, or any current retail or wholesale locations, was made in anticipation of what is believed by many to be the threat that Wal-Mart and other similar foreign discount combination retailers coming to Canada to set up operations that will almost certainly substantially undermine the business of the traditional retailers that have employed UFCW Canada members for decades. These traditional retailers could choose to do nothing, or respond to the anticipated threat.
In the case of one large system of employers, Loblaws, the choice is to respond by mounting retail operations that will compete head to head with Wal-Mart-like operations, rather than doing nothing. Loblaws could have either opened the future RCSS locations as non-union stores at whatever low rates of pay and benefits they could get away with, or negotiated with the union that represents the majority of Loblaws employees to try to reach an agreement on the pay and benefits of future locations. Somewhat to our surprise, Loblaws chose the latter.
It has nothing to do with voluntary recognition for us. We believe that workers are always better off with union representation, whether we have to organize them from scratch, such as we are trying to do with Wal-Mart workers, or not. We know that we can do a better job for retail workers in these tough times than they could do for themselves, individually, without a union.
We hope that at whatever point in time Loblaws opens any new RCSS locations, that the employees at those locations will take a positive interest in their union so that we can all work together to improve the conditions for all future unionized RCSS workers.
Thanks for writing.
Yours truly,
UFCW Canada
David W. Watts
When a complaint about the secret deal was filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the UFCW defended the secret deal on the basis that Wal-Mart was coming and the deal protected workers and that there would be no further concessions.
As 2004 dawned, the UFC-dubyas continued to flog the concessionary deal. Local 1000a was at the forefront of the PR campaign, singing the praises of the latest advance in labour-management fusion in glossy new publications and on its web site.
Some tidbits from the "UFCW 1000A Special Report January 2004":
"We needed assurances that any changes made to the Loblaws agreement only applied to new sites." - Local 1000a President, Kevin Corporon
An FAQ asks and answers a question that was big on the minds of many members:
What does "no concessions in 2006" mean? Are we stuck with what we have for another six years?
As part of our deal, Loblaws cannot ask for wage or benefit concessions in our post -2006 contract. But the union still has the right to negotiate improvements in the agreement and we retain the right to strike. The number of years the agreement will run is subject, as always, to negotiation.
No one in Canada has ever before negotiated such an agreement. We simply cannot lose anything in wages or benefits, even it there's a Wal-mart Supercentre on every other corner.
See How They Run
While we won't quibble with the claim that "no one in Canada has ever before negotiated such an agreement", the bit about how workers "simply cannot lose anything in wages or benefits, even if there's a Wal-Mart Supercenter on every other corner" is shaping up to be the crock of crap that some of the more cynical members thought it was.
In September 2004, a contributor from Local 1000a reported that at a membership meeting in April, President Corporon stated that "I expect the no concessions to be challenged in court"
At the same time, an activist member of Local l977 shared this report:
There is "talk", supposedly confirmed by a local UFCW rep, that UFCW Local 1977 and Zehrs have entered into "secret negotiations" (again) to remove all full time positions in both the dairy and produce departments of the two stores in St. Catharines, Ont., namely Geneva St. and the Pen Centre stores. This because the new RCSS store location in St. Catharines is lagging badly in sales.
The Geneva St. store location (overall the busiest store in the Niagara peninsula) has been pressed into a "downward spiral" as far as service and commitment is concerned. Witness: addition of six self-serve scanning tills; reduction in express tills; reduction in "open tills"; reduction in front end staff; reduction in hours allocated in all departments; general disregard for condition of store appearance, etc. All this "supposedly to "increase" the appeal of the new RCSS store.
The affect so far. Customers complain daily of lack of service, of being 'forced or solicited' to chose the self-scanners, general appearance of store and fact that all past service levels have fallen due to cutbacks and less staff trying to cope with more work.
The staff is stressed out, the customers are bitching, service is at an all time low and the RCSS is still not receiving increased sales!
If these full time jobs are lost, what prevents the company from going company wide with it's demands for wholesale full time job cuts? Where does that leave the membership going into contract negotiations in 2006?
My guess is that we will be faced with major concessions (regardless of the company's promise not to seek concessions nor local 1977 "leadership's" assurance of a "no concessions contract" promised at the last secret negotiations sell out!). We will face, yet another, two-tier or more wage structure, job loses, benefit reductions and loses and "parity" with the lower end of the RCSS/Wal-Mart wage and benefit structure.
Less than a month later on October 3, 2004, Local 1977's nicely revamped web site announced:
Zehrs wants union to scrap Real Canadian Superstore agreement signed last year
"Lower wages and benefits or we'll close the store."
Sunday, October 3, 2004
Zehrs management has threatened to close its Strathroy, Ontario store in early January unless UFCW Local 1977 ignores a key provision of the Real Canadian Superstore agreement reached last year to protect the wages, benefits and job security of existing Zehrs supermarket workers.
If the company goes ahead with its threat, 175 full-time and part-time workers would be affected. Many would lose their jobs and others would be forced to commute every day or relocate to work at other Zehrs stores.
"I have never seen a worse breach of good faith collective bargaining in my life," says Local 1977 President Brian Williamson.
"Last year, the company asked the union for the Real Canadian Superstore (RCSS) agreement and the Zehrs membership voted to accept it by more than 90 percent."
"Now management doesn't want to live up to that agreement. They are prepared to toss long-service workers on the scrap heap even though the store remains a profitable location in the Zehrs chain."
The 2003 RCSS agreement provided for a different wage and benefit scale in newly-built Real Canadian Superstores designed to compete with Wal-Mart and other large combination grocery-department stores.
The agreement also allows existing Zehrs stores to be converted to Real Canadian Superstores by enlarging the floor space in accordance with an agreed-upon formula. The wages and benefits of the grocery side employees are not affected in such converted stores although a different wage schedule for new part-time employees in the department store side of the business would be allowed.
The company wants to convert the Strathroy store to an RCSS without meeting the expansion requirements and wants to lower the wages of the existing employees, all in violation of the 2003 agreement.
On Friday, September 24, company officials visited the Strathroy store and announced that unless the workers there could convince the union to ignore the RCSS agreement, they would be laid off on January 8, 2005 and the site would be converted to a No Frills store with new employees.
"The message from the company couldn't be clearer," says Williamson. "They are saying, in effect: 'We will only live up to our agreements until we no longer feel like doing so. If that disrupts the lives of long-service employees and their families, that's not our problem, higher profits are more important."
The union is mounting a major legal challenge of the company's actions at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
"This company's actions will have serious repercussions on labour relations at all Loblaw-owned companies throughout Canada," warns Williamson.
"The entire Zehrs membership voted as one to accept the RCSS Appendix. We will not conduct votes on a location-by-location basis. That would defeat the whole point of having a union - strength in numbers," said Williamson.
"But we are nonetheless prepared to talk with the employer about any situation involving our members' welfare. We have contacted the company in order to find an alternative to the threatened closure."
Zehrs Markets is wholly-owned by Loblaw Companies, Canada's largest retailer. Loblaw's net profits have soared by 45% over the past two years.
Wow what a surprise. After screwing the UFCW over a few months earlier - seeing that its willing union partner was willing to roll over, deal behind its members' backs and shove secret deals down their throats without regard to how they felt about it - the company was now looking for more of the same. It's just what we, and some of the more worldly members predicted.
Here's another prediction: The UFC-dubyas will make some noises, file some labour board complaints and quietly get the members ready to get screwed over again - with their more sophisticated communications apparatus - which the company is funding.
A backgrounder on the Local 1977 web site, about the "Zehr's/Loblaw RCSS Dispute", provides a really big clue about just how serious the UFCW is about fighting the Loblaw Co.'s flagrant flouting of their secret deal. It appears that Local 175 has already agreed to the company's "side deal" at a Zehr's store in Chatham. Instead of telling the company, "we'll kick your ass", the UFCW has said "we'll kick ourselves in the ass".
Spin That Shit!
The new improved Local 1977 web site, is full of tough talk about the Zehr's/RCSS Dispute but the whole thing has a sort of scripted reek about it. Media releases following the initial October 3rd bomb, sounded like the UFCW was brokering peace in the Middle East.
No resolution yet to Strathroy Zehrs closure threat after discussion between UFCW Canada leader and senior Loblaw management
Thursday, October 7, 2004
TORONTO - A discussion on Wednesday between UFCW Canada National Director Michael J. Fraser and Loblaw Companies Industrial Relations Vice President Roy Conliff ended without a resolution to Strathroy Zehrs crisis. Both parties agreed to continue discussions.
UFCW Canada/Loblaw meeting planned to discuss Strathroy Zehrs fate
Friday, October 15, 2004
The leaders of UFCW Canada and Loblaw Companies Inc. will meet next week in an effort to resolve the company's threatened post-Christmas closure of the Zehrs Strathroy store. UFCW Canada National Director Michael J. Fraser will sit down with Loblaw President John Lederer to discuss key issues surrounding the company's demand that the union ignore the Real Canadian Superstore (RCSS) agreement it signed last year. Zehrs is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Loblaw.
Loblaw execs rebuff union attempt to find cooperative solution to ZEHR'S CLOSURE
Thursday, October 23, 2004
A meeting in Toronto earlier this week between UFCW Canada National Director Michael J. Fraser and senior management at Loblaw Companies Inc. failed to find a solution for the plan to close the Strathroy Zehrs and convert it into a No Frills store.
"The failure to find a resolution is extremely disappointing," said UFCW Local 1977 President Brian Williamson, who was briefed by Fraser shortly after the meeting ended. "Director Fraser made it clear to [Loblaw president] John Lederer that we, Local 1977, were open to cooperatively finding a reasonable solution to keeping the store open. Regrettably, he was not able to achieve this."
A "crisis" is upon us and the great ones have been summoned. We have never seen such an act of bad faith! (Not since the last time we engaged in one anyway.) We're going to engage the oppressors in discussion and in the hopes of cooperatively finding a reasonable solution - because of course, we need to look out for the welfare of the members. Our lawyers are massing at the borders and will file complaints at the Labour Relations Board - the very place where just a few months ago, we lined up to justify the need for concessions because Wal-mart is coming - sometime, somewhere.
It's hard to imagine how the UFCW can take itself seriously less than a year later:
If you threaten to close a profitable store even before the competition has opened its doors, that is clearly blackmail. It also shows your lack of respect in the ability of our members to continue to competitively serve their loyal customers in Strathroy, as they have since 1978.
But if you do close the store, no matter when, we will enforce all our members' rights, to the fullest extent of the contract and the laws of Ontario.
A successor rights application to the OLRB is being prepared. If the Zehrs store is closed and converted to a No Frills, the union will ask the board to declare that under the Labour Relations Act the existing collective agreement, which runs to mid-2006, continues to apply in the new operation. Such an application has a high likelihood of success.
It's actually a good argument. Too bad Local 1000a is saying it sucks on its Real Canadian web site:
How can a unionized company get around the union by simply opening up stores under different "banners?"
In Ontario, this is the law. Under the Conservative government of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves, labour law has been changed to the disadvantage of workers and unions. In most cases, opening up your business under a different name at a new location is enough to get rid of both your employees and any union. What you've heard about Conservatives being the political party of big business is true. Remember this at election time.
With Local 175 already agreeing to the company's breaking the secret deal and Local 1000a saying things that undercut whatever legal arguments Local 1977 might be planning to make, the UFCW's righteous indignation at its management partner's latest demands sounds scripted and choreographed.
Once again we got screwed by our own union. First they see to it that 85% of the employees of Zehr's remain in the part-time ranks . Then they brag about all the benefits they managed to get for us (benefits that you get only after 650 hours a year, pretty hard to achieve when the average per week hours have now dropped down to 10 hours per week). I believe therefore that means you don't have benefits if you are part-time. Then they compare what we have with what the Wal-mart people have. The only difference being they don't have union dues taken off their pays.
Now we get this package of crap that they handed us, explaining of course that they will get us the best deal they can. Bull Pucky!!!! Part timers will get $10,000.00 max with 85% of the employees part-time Zehr's is going to save a bundle and the union will have aided the company in achieving what they wanted all along. NOBODY LEFT AT TOP RATE and with the contract we last signed there isn't a snowball's hope in Hades that anyone will ever reach top rate again. I wonder if the union honchos will take a cut in pay matching what they expect us to take. not likely, they will instead belly up to the trough and slap on the feed bag again
If we had a brain in our head the employees should hold another vote to decertify the bunch of company cronies and this time not let them scare us into giving up
Local 1977's backgrounder has the company asking: Isn't there some compromise that can be made, in everyone's best interests?
And Local 1977 responds: Yes. It's called the RCSS Appendix. That was a good compromise that gave something worthwhile to both our members and the company. Now you want more. No way.
No way. The RCSS Appendix was a lame effort to give Loblaw Co's a significant competitive advantage over Wal-mart (forget about levelling the playing field) and push it down the members' throats with a minimum of gagging. It set the stage for an even bigger screwing which is now upon tens of thousands of members. How stupid do you think we are?