As a new employee in the bargaining unit, you are represented by United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 75. If you are like many new employees, this may be the first time you have been represented by a union, and you may have some questions as to what this means to you. Union representation means that Local 75, on your behalf and with your full and active participation, negotiates and administers a legally binding contract, known as a collective bargaining agreement, with your employer that sets forth your wages, benefits, hours and all your working conditions. Because all employees negotiate together through the Union, union members receive higher wages and better benefits than non-union workers doing similar jobs. Strength in numbers makes this possible!
Local 75 is part of the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union which represents workers in many similar occupations throughout the United States and Canada. The UFCW has 1.4 million total members. There are approximately 500 local unions in the International. Because the International is so very large, it provides a highly trained and motivated staff to help local unions. Local 75 can also draw on the other immense resources of the International, including modern technology and research departments.
Through various mergers, Local 75 has been in existence since the 1940s and, today, has approximately 30,000 members working in various industries and for various employers.
The officers of this Local Union are: President, Secretary-Treasurer, Recorder, and up to 35 Vice Presidents. Your contract is administered by the Local Union under the supervision of the Director of Representatives. Should you have any questions or problems regarding your job, you should contact your Steward or Union Representative. Stewards are available to assist you in your work location; however if there is no Steward available, contact your Union Representative. You can reach your Union Representative at the Local 75 office by calling toll free at 877-665-0075. The officers of Local 75 are elected by the membership in secret ballot elections. As a member, you will have the opportunity to participate in these elections. Local 75 is a democratic institution governed by our members under a written constitution and bylaws.
All Local 75 members are encouraged to attend Quarterly General Membership Meetings in order to be informed about Union business. These meetings are held in January, April, July and October. The time and place of these meetings can be found in Rally, the Local 75 news magazine, and posted on the union bulletin board in your workplace. As a new member, you also should plan to attend the New Member Orientation Meetings. The time and place of these meetings can be found posted on the union bulletin board in your workplace or by contacting your union representative. At this meeting, you will have an opportunity to learn a great deal about the operation of your Local Union. Eligible members will receive a partial rebate on their initiation fee for attending.
A union contract provides numerous advantages not found in the non-union workplace. Without a legally binding contract, the law allows an employer to fire you for almost any reason or no reason at all, or change your wages or hours without your consent. There are virtually no restrictions set by law regarding what your employer can do. Our Local Union contract provides a legally binding agreement that is enforceable.
As a member of Local 75, you can enjoy all the benefits of the union contract. A copy of the contract can be obtained by completing and mailing a Contract Request Card, a copy of which is included in your new member packet or available at your workplace. As new and better contracts are negotiated, a copy will be sent to you. As an employee represented by the Union, you can enjoy all the benefits of this contract. This contract establishes your wages, hours, benefits and working conditions. The contract also does much more. Every contract is different, please read yours carefully. However, your contract may provide the following:
THE CONTRACT protects your seniority which will become increasingly important to you the longer you are working for this employer;
THE CONTRACT prohibits discipline or discharge by your employer, except for just cause, once you have completed your probationary period;
THE CONTRACT provides for paid vacations negotiated by the Local Union and paid for by your employer;
THE CONTRACT provides for health and welfare and pension benefits negotiated by the Local Union and paid for by your employer;
THE CONTRACT establishes a grievance procedure with binding arbitration to resolve your complaints in a way that gets results; and,
THE CONTRACT provides many more benefits, all of which are negotiated by the Local Union and detailed in the written agreement.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of being covered by a Local 75 contract is the knowledge and security that the provisions of that contract cannot be changed whenever the employer decides. No change can be made without the Local Union’s agreement. The Local Union and the employer negotiate new contracts when the old ones expire. At that time, the Local Union seeks various improvements, including better wages and working conditions.
In addition to the specific benefits of the Local Union contract, when you become a member of this Local Union, you will be able to: VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE on acceptance or rejection of proposed contracts that would set your wages, benefits and working conditions; FULLY PARTICIPATE in the development of contract proposals, election of officers and union activities; and, BENEFIT from other programs such as Union Plus, Membership Assistance Foundation, scholarship programs, discount plans, discount coupons, and other services available only to union members.
When you become a member of Local 75, we hope that you will take advantage of your membership and become an active, involved member of your Union. Strong, active and informed members are essential to the strength of your Union. In the long run, your participation will benefit both you and your co-workers by helping the Union gain improved benefits and working conditions. Following is a membership application. After you read this letter, we urge you to fill it out, sign and date it, and submit it. Do it today so that you can start enjoying the full benefits of membership in Local 75. Also following is a dues checkoff authorization. This permits your employer to automatically remit your dues, fees and/or assessments directly to the Local Union. This saves you from having to pay the dues on a monthly basis by direct payment. Virtually everyone in the Union uses this system, and we encourage you to take advantage of it. If you are an employee working under a UFCW contract containing a union security clause, you are required, as a condition of employment, to pay dues or fees to the Union. If you are an employee working under a UFCW contract that does not contain a union security clause, you are not required, as a condition of employment, to pay dues or fees to the Union.
Individuals who are members pay dues. You have the right to become and remain a non-member. Individuals who are non-members working under a UFCW contract with a lawful union security clause, pay an equivalent fee. This fee, which is authorized by law, is your fair share of sustaining your Union’s broad range of programs in support of you and your co workers, but non-members may file objections to funding expenditures that are non-germane to the collective bargaining process, and, thereby, be obligated to pay fees representing representational costs. If, as a non-member fee payor, you wish to file objections and request a reduction in the service fee, or to resign membership, you must do so in writing. Objections and requests for reductions should be submitted to: 7250 Poe Avenue, Suite 400, Dayton, Ohio 45414, and must include the employee’s name, Social Security number, home address, home and work telephone numbers, department, job title, employer’s name, and work location. You should be aware, however, that exercising this option of choosing to be a non-member means you would not have the right to vote on your contract or to participate in the development of contract proposals or local union elections. You will also lose other benefits of union membership.
Local 75 hopes you will choose to become an active member and strengthen the Union’s ability to represent you and your co-workers, rather than weakening the Union and making it more difficult to represent you. In our democratic Union, the decision is yours. Calculations of the equivalent fee have been made and a breakdown of the expenditures and calculations for the last fiscal year will be furnished to you if you object. Based on those calculations, your fee would be reduced by a specific, defined percentage from the normal dues or equivalent fees, which in recent years has ranged between 13% and 17%. The fee represents only that portion of Local 75’s expenditures devoted to collective bargaining, contract administration, grievances and arbitration and other matters affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment. These are called “chargeable” expenditures and may include, for example: the costs of negotiations with employers; informal meetings with employer representatives; communication of work-related issues with employees; handling employee’s work-related problems through the grievance and arbitration procedure; lobbying on matters directly related to your conditions of employment; and union administration. Examples of “non-chargeable” expenditures are those made for: community services; lobbying on issues that benefit represented employees and their families as citizens rather than as workers; political purposes; certain affiliation fees; and member-only benefits. The fee reduction will represent these expenditures. The fee will be reviewed annually and adjusted if necessary. Service fee payors have the right to contest the calculation of the fee and to obtain a review of the calculation. This procedure is initiated by submitting: (1) a request for a further reduction in the fee and the amount of the reduction sought; and (2) requesting a hearing to determine the accuracy of the reduction. Such a challenge must include the employee’s name, Social Security number, home address, home and work telephone numbers, department, job title, employer’s name, and work location. The request for reduction and hearing request must be sent to the Local Union at: 7250 Poe Avenue, Suite 400, Dayton, Ohio 45414.
If you have any questions about any of the matters covered in this letter, please contact the Local Union office.
WELCOME! It is our pleasure to have you as a member of Local 75. Please call the Local Union toll free at 877-665-0075 if there is anything we can do to help you. We look forward to serving you.