union leader sept-nov 2010

ho are the real patriots run-ning for office on November2nd?

The Tea Partiers and theRepublican candidates they support claimthis word all for themselves. But when Ilooked up patriot inthe dictionary, I gotthis definition: “Onewho loves his or hercountry and supportsi ts authori ty andinterests.”

So what wouldyou call someone whohas said repeatedlythat he wants Presi-dent Obama to fail? What would you callpeople who cheered when Chicago’s bidfor the 2016 Olympics was rejected infavor of a foreign city?

You’d call them Republicans. But youwouldn’t call them patriots, because theychoose hyperpartisanship and ideologicalpurity over America’s best interests.

“The dirty little secret,” talk show hostRush Limbaugh said last year, “is thatevery Republican in this country wantsObama to fail, but none of them have theguts to say so; I am willing to say it.”

Limbaugh proved his point when only

a tiny handful of Republicans questionedhis statement—and all quickly apolo-gized profusely for daring to contradicttheir de facto party leader.

Then, their actions spoke louder thanhis words. Facing the gravest financial

crisis since 1929, didthe Republicans lift afinger to rescue us fromthe brink of depres-sion? When PresidentObama sought biparti-san cooperation to savethe economy, did theyheed his call to serveAmerica’s best inter-ests?

No.Not one Republican representative

voted for the American Recovery andReinvestment Act. Only three Republicansenators (one of whom soon switchedparties) voted to end a GOP filibusterblocking its consideration.

This was not due to policy disagree-ments. The bill included the largest middleclass tax cut in history—somethingRepublicans claim they’re for. They hadmany opportunities to shape the bill whenit was being crafted and to offer alterna-tives. Instead, they just said no—not just

to the president, but to working families.Had they succeeded, we would now be

mired in a second Great Depression andup to 4.1 million more Americans wouldbe unemployed, according to the Congres-sional Budget Office.

Then, there were repeated efforts byRepublican senators to block the exten-sion of unemployment benefits, denyingmillions of long-term jobless Americansmoney they needed just to survive.

In fact, in the first year of Obama’spresidency, Senate Republicans heldmore filibusters than had occurred in the50 years from 1919 to 1969. They bottledup more than 300 bills passed by theHouse. And now, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is threatening to prevent the Senatefrom considering any bill he doesn’t likefor the rest of the year.

After two years of the most irresponsi-ble behavior ever by an opposition party,they want to be rewarded by the voters.Instead, let’s “reward” them by turning outin droves to elect the real patriots—candi-dates who put our country first by workingto strengthen our economy, our standard ofliving, and our future. In virtually allcases, that means voting Democrat.

Thomas P. McNutt, PresidentInternational Vice President

2 UNION LEADER SEPT./OCT./NOV. 2010

WLet’s turn

out in drovesto elect the real

patriots.

Who Arethe RealPatriots?

SEPT./OCT./NOV. 2010 UNION LEADER 3

UNITED FOOD &COMMERCIAL WORKERS

LOCAL 400Thomas P. McNutt

PRESIDENT

Mark P. FedericiSECRETARY-TREASURER

Sue GonzalezRECORDER

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Mike BoyleJacqueline Bradley

Terry DixonLisa Gillespie

Nelson GrahamJoanne Grimaldi

Mikki HarrisJames HepnerMichele HepnerPhyllis Jackson

Neil JacobsJames M. Jarboe

Mary LaflinCalvin McGuire

Tony PerezKen PinkardOdis Price

Jerry RexroadW. Christian Sauter

Carolyn SheboraVivian SiguoinLarry Southern

Linda SykesD. Rex Trabue

Mary VinesRussell Wise

Carol WiszynskiEDITOR

Thomas P. McNutt

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Mark P. FedericiCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bill BurkeDESIGN AND LAYOUT

Evans DesignEDITORIAL CONSULTANT

Bruce KozarskyThe Union Leader is published by the United Food &Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 400. Officeof Publication: Kelly Press Inc., 1701 Cabin BranchRd., Landover, Md. 20785. Editorial Office: Metro 400Building, 4301 Garden City Dr., Landover, Md. 20785.Main Office: (800) 638-0800. Subscriptions to mem-bers only.

WEB SITES:www.ufcw400.org

F E A T U R E S

C O V E R S T O R Y

Re-elect Md. Gov. Martin O’MalleyO’Malley/Brown Ticket Earns Local 400’s Recommendation

Joe Manchin for SenateWest Virginia Governor Fights for Working Families

Guest Column by Vincent DeMarcoHealth Care Success in Maryland

Kroger Workers Ratify ContractMaintain Industry-Leading Wages, Benefits in Richmond,Tidewater Areas

Local 400 Voters GuideComplete List of Recommended Candidates in November 2 Election

Interview with LTC Jacqueline BradleyLocal 400 Activist and Kaiser Nurse Practitioner Takes Command

Member Activism Surges at Local 400Volunteers Fuel Organizing and Community Outreach Campaigns

46

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1820

16A L S O I N S I D E

14 Faces of Local 400

22 Stewards Spotlight

32 Financial Report

32 All in the Family

34 Local 400 Retirees

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2010

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lt.Gov. Anthony Brown (D) have earnedLocal 400’s enthusiastic recommendationfor their re-election because they haveconsistently fought for and won majorimprovements in the lives of the state’sworking families.

Facing a closely-contested campaignagainst ex-Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R),O’Malley has reversed his predecessor’santi-worker, pro-big business policies.O’Malley made Maryland the first state inthe country to guarantee a living wage tothe employees of all state contractors andrecently signed a law strongly backed byLocal 400 requiring retail employers toprovide shift breaks to their workers.O’Malley has fought back hard againstthe recession with strong economic lead-ership that has paid dividends for work-ers: Maryland’s unemployment rate is 25percent below the national average, thestate has retained jobs better than all butfour states, and 40,000 new jobs havebeen created in Maryland since January.

“Maryland’s working families have nobetter champion than GovernorO’Malley,” said Local 400 President TomMcNutt. “He has taken a series of boldsteps to raise our economic standing,

expand our rights and protections, secureour jobs and improve our quality of life.

“The O’Malley record is great by anystandard, but it’s even better compared tothe four years Marylanders suffered underBob Ehrlich,” McNutt said. “I don’t knowwhy anyone would want to go back to allthe big business giveaways, skyrocketingutility and college tuition rates, and theloss of health insurance coverage forMarylanders that defined life under BobEhrlich. With O’Malley at the helm, we’remaking real progress in the very difficultenvironment of the recession. We need tokeep moving forward, not go backward.”

After spending his first year cleaningup the Ehrlich administration’s messes,including the $1.7 billion deficit left by theoutgoing governor, O’Malley has foughthard to make state government work forworking families. In addition to the shiftbreak and living wage laws, O’Malley’smany achievements in improving Mary-landers’ lives include:! Signing the Job Creation and Recovery

Tax Credit, giving any business thathires an unemployed Marylander a taxcredit of $5,000.

! Enacting legislation extendingunemployment benefits to Maryland’s420,000 part-time workers if theyexperience temporary job loss.! Stabilizing the Unemployment

Insurance Trust Fund and reliev-ing pressure on small businesses

facing higher premiums dueto a law signed byEhrlich in 2005.! Cracking down

on employersthat fraudulentlymisclassify theiremployees as

independent contractors, leavingworkers unprotected from abusive prac-tices.

! Increasing the state Earned IncomeTax Credit by 25 percent, generatingmore than $190 million in tax reliefto 363,791 Maryland taxpayers andhelping to lift many working familiesout of poverty.

! Fighting to protect homeowners fromforeclosures by signing what TheWashington Post called “among themost sweeping [reforms] in the coun-try.” These include enacting mandato-ry foreclosure mediation legislationand requiring big banks to empowerMaryland families and provide home-owners with the information andsupport they need to avoid foreclosure.

! Leading the fight to pass landmarklegislation extending health coverageto more than 204,000 previously unin-sured Marylanders, including 100,000children.

! Making record investments inMaryland’s public schools for fourconsecutive years, leading to improve-ments in learning and student perform-ance that gave the state’s publiceducation system the number oneranking two years in a row byEducation Week and made the state awinner in President Obama's “Race tothe Top” education grant initiative.

! Increasing funding for higher educa-tion, enabling Maryland’s public col-leges and universities to freeze tuitionfor four consecutive years after it sky-rocketed by more than 40 percent dur-ing the Ehrlich years.

! Appointing pro-consumer members tothe Public Utilities Commission who


Re-elect Governor Martin O’MalleyO’Malley/Brown Ticket Earns Local 400’s Enthusiastic Recommendation

• LOCAL 400 POLITICS & LEGISLATIVE WATCH • LOCAL 400 POLITICS &

MarylandGov. Martin

O’Malley (left)with Local 400President Tom

McNutt

(Continued on page 30)


LEGISLATIVE WATCH • LOCAL 400 POLITICS & LEGISLATIVE WATCH • L

Jobs

Workers’ rights

Standardof Living

Public Schools

Health care

UnemploymentBenefits

FiscalResponsibility

HigherEducation

Utility Rates

Fought to create jobs by providing employers a$5,000 tax credit for every Marylander taken offthe unemployment rolls. Under his leadership,Maryland ranks in the top five states for retainingjobs and unemployment is almost 25 percent belowthe national average.

Signed legislation requiring retail employers to pro-vide shift breaks to their workers. Cracked down onemployers who fraudulently misclassify workers asindependent contractors.

Made Maryland the first state in the country to requirestate contractors to pay their workers a living wage.

Provided record funding for education all four yearsin office, helping Maryland schools gain EducationWeek’s top ranking two years in a row, and be awinner in the president’s “Race to the Top” educa-tion initiative.

Signed legislation expanding health coverage to204,000 Marylanders who would otherwise beuninsured, including 100,000 children. Prohibitedhealth insurance carriers from increasing individualpremiums more than once a year.

Made unemployment benefits available to part-timeworkers who are laid off. Stabilized the UnemploymentInsurance Trust Fund.

Became the first governor to ensure that all four of hisbudgets were below the Spending Affordability Limit,making Maryland one of only eight states to retain aAAA bond rating.

Helped make college more affordable by freezingtuition at Maryland’s public colleges and universitiesfour years in a row.

Appointed pro-consumer public utility commissionerswho secured more than $2 billion in relief for rate-payers, with another $1.6 billion in savings expectedthrough 2013.

Vetoed multiple bills to protect Maryland jobs from foreignoutsourcing. Since leaving office in 2007, Ehrlich hasworked at a law firm that advertises its services helpingemployers outsource jobs.

Vetoed the Fair Share Health Care Act requiring largeemployers to provide health benefits to their workers justmonths after Walmart held a $1,000/head fundraiser forhis campaign. Always sided with employers over workers.

Vetoed a state minimum wage increase, which was over-ridden by the General Assembly.

Refused to sign legislation enacting the Thornton Commis-sion plan and refused to fund the Geographic Cost ofEducation Index, perpetuating disparities between richand poor districts.

Did nothing while the number of uninsured Marylandersskyrocketed. Tried to cut health care for 4,000 pregnantwomen and cut payments to nursing homes by $42 mil-lion. Has said he plans to drastically scale back Medicaideligibility and reject federal dollars earmarked forMarylanders’ health care.

Made part-time workers pay into an unemploymentinsurance system that denied them benefits. Raised unem-ployment insurance premiums for small businesses.

Left office with a $1.7 billion deficit that Gov. O’Malleyhad to clean up. Increased the state’s regressive propertytaxes by 58 percent.

Slashed the higher education budget, causing tuitionincreases of more than 40 percent at the University ofMaryland and other campuses.

Appointed pro-industry public utility Commissioners whoraised rates by a record 72 percent after pocketing $27,000in campaign contributions from BG&E before taking office.

Issue Ex-Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R)Gov. Martin O’Malley (D)

O ’ M A L L E Y - E H R L I C H :MOVING FORWARD

VS. GOING BACKWARD

In the race to fill the remainder of thelate Robert Byrd’s term representing WestVirginia in the U.S. Senate, there is oneclear choice: Gov. Joe Manchin III (D).

In six years as governor, Manchin hascreated good jobs, raised the minimumwage, expanded health care coverage,strengthened worker safety, cut taxes onthe middle class and been a consistentchampion of West Virginia’s workingfamilies. By contrast, his opponent in theNovember 2nd general election, million-aire Republican businessman JohnRaese, is an anti-worker extremist whowants to end the minimum wage andopposes all public funding and federalinvolvement in education.

“Joe Manchin is a friend of Local 400,a fighter for our members, and a leaderwho works tirelessly to improve the eco-nomic standing of West Virginians,” saidLocal 400 President Tom McNutt. “He isexactly the kind of principled, progressiveelected official we need in the Senate.

“What we don’t need is an out-of-touch extremist like John Raese whotells Florida he’s a permanent residentof that state so he can get a property taxbreak on his Palm Beach mansion, whiletelling the people of West Virginia hedeserves to represent them,” McNuttcharged. “And for someone of his wealthto argue against the very existence ofthe minimum wage shows he has no clue

what life is like for workingfamilies.

“Fortunately, Joe Manchinis someone who has never for-gotten where he came from,never forgotten the people he

represents, and neverforgotten what

he stands for,”McNutt said.“That’s whywe’re proud

to give Joe Manchin our enthusiastic rec-ommendation for the Senate, and why weurge our members to get involved in thecampaign.”

Manchin’s achievements as governorinclude:! Helping to create good jobs by encour-

aging more than 240 companies toexpand or relocate in the state and byassisting in the generation of $13 bil-lion in new private investments.

! Raising the West Virginia minimumwage by 53 percent over two years.

! Increasing health care coverage forWest Virginians by expanding the StateChildren's Health Insurance Programand creating affordable health plansfor the uninsured.

! Cutting the food tax by half, from sixpercent to three percent.

! Fighting for and signing historic minesafety legislation.As senator, Manchin pledges to be a

strong advocate for West Virginia and itspeople, to work vigorously to get peopleback to work and get our economy mov-ing again, and to ensure that governmentworks responsively.


Joe Manchin for Senate

After his narrow upset victory over extremistRep. Virgil Goode (R) two years ago, CongressmanTom Perriello (D) could have ducked the toughissues and curried favor with big business at theexpense of working families. But unlike so manyother politicians, Perriello didn’t run to advancehis political career—he did it to make a differ-ence. And so on issue after issue, he has foughtfiercely for Virginia’s struggling working families,proving himself a profile in courage.

That’s why Local 400 enthusiastically recom-mends Perriello’s re-election in Virginia’s fifth con-gressional distr ict , which extends fromCharlottesville to Danville.

“If every Democrat from a swing district hadthe same principles, conviction and bravery asTom Perriello, working families would have wonmore victories and our economy would be in bet-ter shape,” said Local 400 President Tom McNutt.“His constituents were suffering from outsourcing

Congressman Tom Perriello: Profile in Courage


Local 400 Presi-dent Tom McNutt(left) with WestVirginia Gov.and Senatecandidate JoeManchin (D).

CongressmanTom Perriello (D)


Congressman Gerry Connolly:Northern Virginia’s Advocate

and plant closings even before the recession hit, and he hasbeen battling to bring back good jobs and stop the corporategreed and abuses that have hurt so many Virginia workers.

“Perriello consistently does the right thing for working fami-lies, and our members are mobilizing to do the right thing byworking for his re-election,” McNutt said.

Perriello has worked tirelessly to spearhead an economicrevival that creates good jobs with living wages. He voted forthe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includedthe largest middle-class tax cut in history and made urgently-needed, job-creating investments in schools, highways, and lawenforcement. He made sure residents of his district benefited,obtaining $29.8 million for the Robertson Bridge project in

Danville, $6.3 million for repairs to 17 bridges and culverts inNelson County, $6.8 million for repaving major roads in theCharlottesville area, and $5.5 million towards three bridge proj-ects in Pittsylvania County.

Notably, Perriello fought to include “Buy American” provi-sions in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and hasconsistently urged a new direction on trade to support goodpaying manufacturing jobs at home. By contrast, his Republicanopponent favors giving generous tax breaks to companies thatship jobs overseas, and was one of only nine state senators tovote against providing extended benefits for job training pro-grams for Virginia’s unemployed.


Finishing his first term in Congressafter serving as chairman of the FairfaxCounty Board of Supervisors, Rep. GerryConnolly (D) has proven himself to be aconsistent supporter of working families,an effective advocate for NorthernVirginia, and a worthy recipient of Local400’s recommendation for his re-election.

Serving the voters of Virginia’s 11thdistrict, which includes much of Fairfaxand Prince William Counties, Connollywas elected president of the freshmanclass by his colleagues, and he has pro-duced results for consumers, workers,commuters, senior citizens and veteranstime after time.

“Gerry Connolly gets things done,” saidLocal 400 President Tom McNutt. “Hestands up against the big banks to deliverprotections for consumers and he standsup against the for-profit insurance indus-try to expand affordable health care cover-age to tens of millions of Americans. Nowhe’s in a tough fight for re-election, andour members are standing up for him.”

Connolly’s strong pro-consumer, pro-working family record includes voting to

crack down on credit card company rip-offs, holding big banks receiving TARPbailout funds accountable, curbing preda-tory mortgage lending practices, andenacting needed Wall Street reforms. Hevoted for health insurance reform tolower costs, improve the quality of careand end insurance company abuses. Andhe co-sponsored the Employee FreeChoice Act.

Connolly has forcefully defendedSocial Security from attacks led by sup-porters and allies of his extremist

Republican opponent who want to priva-tize the system, shifting money awayfrom guaranteed benefits and into thestock market casino.

Another priority for Connolly is assist-ing veterans. He introduced and passedlegislation protecting service membersfrom cell phone and housing lease earlytermination charges when they aredeployed. He also co-sponsored a bill tolimit increases in TRICARE premiums,provide disability compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, and supportfamily caregivers.

In addition, Connolly has focused oneasing Northern Virginia’s transporta-tion burdens, securing federal funding tobring Metro to Dulles Airport, completethe Fairfax County Parkway project andwiden the Prince William Parkway.

“Control of the U.S. House is up forgrabs and this will be a pivotal race,”McNutt said. “Northern Virginia has acongressman who fights for workingfamilies in Gerry Connolly and if we re-elect him, chances are we’ll have anentire Congress that does the same.”

Local 400 PresidentTom McNutt (left)

and Rep. GerryConnolly (D-Va.)


Local 400 members won big victoriesin the September 14th primaries asVincent Gray defeated Adrian Fenty inthe race for mayor of the District ofColumbia and Rushern Baker easilyovercame four opponents in the contestfor Prince George’s County executive.

Both candidates were strongly recom-mended by Local 400 because of theirrecord of advocacy for working familiesand their commitment to creating goodjobs that raise living standards. In win-ning the Democratic nomination, Grayand Baker are expected to prevail in theNovember 2nd general election.

“We are creating a new culture ofactivism at Local 400, and the primaryelections showed how much we arealready making a difference,” said Local400 President Tom McNutt. “Our memberswalked door to door, made calls, got peo-ple out to vote, and played a central rolein the victories of Vincent Gray, RushernBaker and many other strong allies.

“Elections matter,” McNutt said.“Helping to place leaders who fight forworking families in key offices and hold-ing them accountable is how we win vitalpolicy changes that improve the lives ofour members and all working families.

“Now, it’s up to us to show the sameactivist spirit and devote the same hardwork for our recommended candidates inthe general election,” McNutt said.

In Washington, D.C., the entire labormovement propelled Gray, currentlychairman of the City Council, past anincumbent who had spent the past fouryears treating government workers andtheir unions with contempt. By contrast,Gray will bring an inclusive approach tothe mayor’s office, one focused on uniting

the District of Columbia on behalf of anagenda to bring good jobs with goodwages and benefits to all the neighbor-hoods of Washington, D.C.

In Prince George’s County, Baker simi-larly represents a break from an adminis-tration that rewarded big developers atthe expense of ordinary citizens and wasplagued by allegations of cronyism. Bakeris a uniter who will pull together labor,responsible businesses and communitygroups to advance development that bene-fits Prince George’s County residents.

Local 400 members won many otherbig victories in highly-competitiveprimary races. They include:! In the 14th state Senate district in

Montgomery County, Del. KarenMontgomery edged the incumbent,Rona Kramer, by approximately 100votes for the Democratic nomination.Kramer had voted against Local 400members by opposing the Fair ShareHealth Care Act that would haverequired all large employers to providehealth coverage to their employees andthe Healthy Retail Worker Act requir-ing retail employers to provide shiftbreaks for their workers. By contrast,Montgomery is consistently on theside of Maryland’s working families.

! In the 19th state Senate district inMontgomery County, Del. RogerManno ousted Sen. Mike Lenett for theDemocratic nomination. Manno hasbeen a champion of Local 400members for manyyears. He was a spon-sor of the HealthyRetail Worker Actand a longtimeleader on

improving access to affordable, qualityhealth care.

! In the 24th state Senate district inPrince George’s County, Del. JoanneBenson handily defeated the incum-bent, Nathaniel Exum, for the Demo-cratic nomination. Over 18 years in theHouse, Benson has been a strongsupporter of the Fair Share HealthCare bill, she helped enact the shiftbreak law, and she also helped passlegislation cracking down on meritlesscorporate lawsuits designed to stiflethe free speech rights of workers.

! In the 47th state Senate district inPrince George’s County, Del. VictorRamirez easily toppled Sen. DavidHarrington to win the Democraticnomination. In his eight years asa delegate, Ramirez was the leadsponsor of legislation tougheningenforcement of the statewide mini-mum wage law. He also enacted a lawthat will help Marylanders in bank-ruptcy proceedings keep their homes,and co-sponsored a bill creating a$5,000 tax credit for companies thathire unemployed individuals inMaryland.


Big Victories for Local 400 Membersin D.C., Md. Primaries


Local 400 President TomMcNutt (left) and the

Democratic nominee formayor of the District ofColumbia, Vincent Gray.



Control of the U.S. Senate and otherkey offices is at stake in the Novemberelections, with Kentucky and Ohio playinga pivotal role. In both states’ Senate racesand the Ohio governor’s contest, Local400 members have crystal clear choicesbetween leaders who fight for workingfamilies and politicians whoare beholden to the forces ofwealth and greed.

Kentucky: JackConway for Senate

In the campaign to succeedretiring Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), Democrats nominated acrusading attorney generalwith a record of standing up tothe special interests and shak-ing up business as usual. JackConway puts Kentucky families first andis a fierce advocate for taxpayers, recentlyuncovering tens of millions of dollars inMedicaid fraud.

Conway will focus on creating goodjobs in the Senate. He proposes a taxcredit for responsible businesses that cre-ate jobs at home. He will also fight tohold Wall Street and big businessaccountable for their actions. He doesn’tbelieve in “one set of rules forgiant corporations and anoth-er set of rules for the rest ofus.”

In addition, Conwaystrongly opposes privatizingSocial Security and he sup-ported the expansion ofMedicare that will give51,900 Kentucky senior citi-zens with high prescriptiondrug costs a $250 rebate.

By contrast, Conway’s Republicanopponent, Rand Paul, is one of the most

extreme candidates to ever run forstatewide office. He has called SocialSecurity a “Ponzi Scheme” and wants toprivatize it, a move that would reducesenior citizens’ guaranteed benefits andput their funds at the mercy of the stockmarket casino. Paul recently said that sen-

ior citizens should “bear moreof the burden” of Medicarecosts. He even opposes partsof the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Jack Conway is a fighterwho will always be in our cor-ner and we are proud to rec-ommend him for the U.S.Senate,” said Local 400President Tom McNutt. “Hisopponent is a radical whose

policy ideas are completely out-side the mainstream. Rand Paul

only cares about letting corporations dowhat they want free from regulations thatprotect workers and con-sumers, and free fromunions. If he ever got hisway, today’s economy wouldlook like good times com-pared to the collapse in mid-dle class living standards hewould cause.”

Ohio:Lee Fisherfor Senate

With Sen. George Voinovich(R-Ohio) retiring, the race for hisseat is wide open. Local 400recommends Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher(D), a longtime champion ofOhio’s middle class. “I am astrong proponent of unions,”Fisher says, and he has always

supported collective bargaining and work-ers’ rights. Fisher will bring to the Senate a

deep dedication to creating good jobs andraising living standards. He wants to endtax breaks for companies that move jobsoffshore, support companies that expandhiring at home and give workers the helpthey need.

His opponent, Rob Portman (R), failedin two key jobs in George W. Bush’sadministration. Under Portman’s directionas head of the Office of Management &Budget, the government ran up massivedeficits. Previously, he served as U.S. traderepresentative, where he negotiated job-destroying trade deals and worsenedtrade deficits. Both then and now, hedefends tax breaks for companies thatship jobs overseas.

“The last thing Ohioans need is areturn to George W. Bush’s policies, butthat’s exactly what Rob Portman will tryto do if he’s elected to the Senate,”McNutt said. “Instead, we need Lee

Fisher because he will put goodjobs first.”

Ohio: Re-electGov. Ted Strickland

Since his election four yearsago, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D)has compiled a remarkablerecord of achievement for thestate’s working families, despitethe harsh impact of the nationalrecession. He signed a $1.57 bil-

lion dollar stimulus package aimed at cre-ating tens of thousands of new jobs inrebuilding Ohio communities, producingadvanced energy and spurring life-savingmedical research. He greatly expandedOhioans’ collective bargaining rights. Healso signed legislation guaranteeinghealth care access for all Ohio children.

Strickland’s Republican challenger,

Pivotal Races in Kentucky andOhioConway, Fisher and Strickland Strongly Recommended

Ohio Gov.Ted Strickland

KentuckyAttorney GeneralJack Conway

Ohio Lt. Gov.Lee Fisher




Since January of 2007, under theleadership of Gov. Martin O’Malleyand Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown,Maryland has made tremendousprogress in improving public healthand making health care more acces-sible and affordable. We haveexpanded health care coverage tomore than 200,000 parents, childrenand senior citizens, and our state hasshot up from 44th to 16th in thenation in health care coverage forlower-income adults.

The O’Malley-Brown Admin-is t rat ion and the Mary landGeneral Assembly achieved thesebreakthroughs with smart, fiscallysound policies that work, and that have been replicated andtaken nationwide by the historic federal health care reformlaw enacted this year by President Obama and the U.S.Congress. This success was made possible by our broad-based grassroots coalition that includes over 1,200 labor,faith, community, health care, and business groups fromacross Maryland—and in which UFCW Local 400 has alwaysplayed a critical role.

Most importantly, the governor and General Assembly enact-ed the landmark Working Families and Small Business HealthCare Coverage Act of 2007, which expanded health care cover-age to more than 65,000 uninsured adults and provided grantsto help hundreds of small businesses afford health care for theiremployees. This was funded by a life-saving one dollar increasein the state tobacco tax, savings from a reduction in uncompen-sated hospital costs, and federal matching dollars. The new fed-eral health care reform builds on this platform by providing taxcredits right away to small businesses to help them provideemployee health benefits and by expanding health care cover-age to over 32 million Americans, including hundreds of thou-sands of Marylanders, in 2014.

In 2007, Maryland also enacted legislation sponsored by Del.Heather Mizeur (D-20) that allowed dependents up to age 25to stay on their parents’ health care plans, keeping thousands

of young Marylanders insured. Thefederal law improves this further byincreasing the age to 26 and remov-ing the requirement that they bedependents.

In 2008, a bill introduced byHouse Health Committee Chair PeterHammen (D-46) closed the notori-ous Medicare prescription drug“donut hole” for more than 23,000Maryland seniors, enabling them toafford the drugs they need. Now,federal health reform will graduallyphase out the “donut hole” for allseniors.

Finally, the O’Malley/BrownAdministration, including Secretary

of Health and Mental Hygiene John Colmers, has focused tena-ciously on improving children’s health. They strengthened den-tal benefits under the Medicaid and Children’s Health InsurancePlan (CHIP) programs so we never repeat the tragedy of a fewyears ago when a young Prince George’s County boy diedbecause he did not get adequate dental care. In addition, theadministration reached out to and enrolled nearly 100,000 chil-dren who were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP benefits but hadnot yet joined.

Now, with federal health care reform enacted, Lt. Gov. Brownand Secretary Colmers are co-chairing the Governor’s HealthCare Reform Coordinating Council to ensure swift, effectiveimplementation of the new law in Maryland that builds on ourprevious successes and makes quality health care affordable forall in our state. We encourage readers to visit their website tojoin in this process, www.healthreform.maryland.gov. Pleasealso check out the Maryland Health Care For All! website atwww.healthcareforall.com to help advocate for these goals.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that, “Of all the formsof inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking andinhumane.” If Dr. King were alive today, I imagine he would bepleased with what we have accomplished over the past fewyears in Maryland, but he would also tell us to “Finish the joband achieve health care for all!” Together we can do it!

HealthCareSuccess InMarylandGuest Column by Vincent DeMarco

President, Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative

While the conventional wisdom holdsthat voter anger over the economy andrecord unemployment will translate intobig electoral victories for right-wingextremist candidates on November 2nd, arecent poll commissioned by the UFCWInternational Union finds that mostAmericans support labor’s agenda of cre-ating good jobs with living wages andquality benefits.

Conducted by Lake Research, thenational poll found that:! Nearly nine in ten voters agree that

economic development should result injobs with good wages and benefits thatcan support a family.

! Eighty-four percent of voters agree thateconomic recovery means creating jobswith good benefits so people can affordto take care of their families, not lowwage jobs with no benefits.

! Eighty-four percent of voters favorrequiring that government contracts goto companies that provide good payingjobs and benefits so that their employ-ees don’t end up on welfare programslike Medicaid and food stamps.“The middle class is shrinking, the

American dream is vanishing for many,and good-quality job creation is the onlyway to undo the economic damage of thepast decade,” said Local 400 PresidentTom McNutt. “What voters need to under-stand is that this is what our agenda is allabout. This is what Local 400 and the can-didates we recommend are fighting for.

“By contrast, the Tea Party extremistswant to return to the same policies thatnearly drove our economy off a cliff two

years ago—policies that would continueto deny workers their fundamental rightsand drive down their standard of living,”McNutt said. “Not one Tea Party leader orcandidate has said he or she sees anythingwrong with a Walmart economy in whichworkers earn sub-poverty wages and getno benefits. In fact, they want to repealhealth care reform, which would denyhealth care coverage to more than 30 mil-lion people by 2014. Theyoppose living wage laws.They’re against givingworkers a free and fairchoice about whether tojoin a union—the numberone way to raise wagesand benefits. And theywant to privatize—oreven phase out—SocialSecurity and Medicare,which would throw mil-lions of senior citizens into poverty, too.

“The American people want our agen-da, not the Tea Party’s,” McNutt said. “Butit’s up to us to get out there and make thiscase before election day, so that the under-standable anger voters feel doesn’t trans-late into a result that makes life worse forworking families.”

The poll results emphasize the impor-tance the UFCW must play in addressingvoters’ needs and helping to revive theeconomy. That’s because the manufactur-ing jobs that have often been the ticket tothe middle class for working families arenot likely to come back in large numbersanytime soon, but the retail sector can fillthis void.

As UFCW International President Joe

Hansen wrote in an opinion piece pub-lished on HuffingtonPost.com, “At somepoint, we may see the restoration of high-paying manufacturing jobs, but in order tomake jobs better for Americans now, wemust look to the retail industry whereimmediate job growth will occur. A recentDepartment of Labor study confirms thatthe service sector will see the greatest jobgrowth in the next decade. That means

jobs for cashiers, clerks,and salespeople, amongother service-sector posi-tions.…

“If retail jobs aregoing to be a crucial partof America's future, thenretail jobs need to be thekind of jobs that supportAmerican families andcommunities,” Hansenwrote. “They must be the

kind of jobs that Americans can be proudto work at—the kind that give more of usa shot at the American Dream.”

That’s why the more success theUFCW has helping retail workers gainunion representation, the more our econo-my will create the good-paying, high-bene-fit jobs the American people want.

“I can’t emphasize strongly enoughhow important it is that our membersbecome activists and spread the messageto their co-workers, neighbors and friendsthat unions have the solutions to our eco-nomic troubles,” McNutt said. “That’s trueof our efforts to make our voices heard inthe upcoming elections, and it’s true of ourefforts to reach out to unorganized workersabout the benefits of union representation.”


Voters Support Labor’s Agenda,Poll Finds

Voters Want Policies that Create Jobs with Good Wages and Benefits


“The Americanpeople want ouragenda, not the

Tea Party’s.”— Local 400 President

Tom McNutt


Kroger Richmond-Tidewater WorkersRatify New Contract

Local 400 membersworking at Kroger

vote on their collec-tive bargaining agree-ment at the Richmond

ratification meeting.

Approximately 3,000 Kroger workersnow have the potential to receive hourly payincreases twice a year, their comprehensivehealth coverage is maintained andimproved, while employer pension contribu-tions are increasing to protect their bene-fits and retirement security. Thenegotiations, while not contentious, wereprotracted and difficult, due largely to thechallenges of adjusting the health benefitsplan to comply with the new federal healthcare reform law and ensuring that the pen-sion plan is fiscally sound in the aftermathof the 2008 stock market collapse.

The contract was approved by a five-to-one margin and its terms proved so popularthat within one week of ratification, 75Kroger workers became members of Local400.

“In the midst of the worst recessionsince the Great Depression and facingaggressive competition from non-unionchains, our members at Kroger were able tosustain their standard of living andstrengthen their health and retirementsecurity,” said Local 400 President TomMcNutt. “This is an impressive achieve-ment by any measure. It’s testimony to theirSolidarity and activism, and to Kroger’srecognition that our members are the mostproductive workers in the industry.

“This shows that at a time when themiddle class is shrinking and wages aredeclining for many working families, hav-ing union representation is the one sureway to keep the American dream alive,”McNutt said.

“Clearly, many Kroger workers who hadnot previously joined Local 400 now recog-nize this,” McNutt said. “This contractmakes clear to them that being a unionmember is the best investment anyone canmake, one that pays off in financial, healthand retirement security unavailable to the93 percent of private sector workers whoare unorganized. That’s why the number ofnew Local 400 members has skyrocketedsince the agreement was ratified.

“I’m equally pleased that Krogerappears committed to taking on the non-

Local 400 members working at Kroger in the Richmond and Tidewater areasoverwhelmingly ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement on

September 8, maintaining their industry-leading wages and benefitsand setting the stage for an aggressive effort to

increase the union market share ofthe retail food sector inVirginia.

Maintains Industry-Leading Wages and Benefits

Local 400 President TomMcNutt explains the new

collective bargain-ing agreementcovering Kroger’sRichmond andTidewaterworkers.

union Ahold/Martin’s, Farm Fresh, FoodLion and Walmart chains,” McNutt said.“Our member activists are playing anindispensable role in speaking with ourcompetitors’ workers about the benefitsof union membership and in spreadingthe message throughout their communi-ties that the best way to revive the econ-omy and improve our quality of life is toshop union.”

Key provisions of the contractinclude:

! Wages: Employees earning underthe maximum hourly wage willreceive annual pay increases eachOctober. All employees, including thosealready at the cap, are eligible forPersonal Performance/Rate Reviewincreases each April. As a result, manyLocal 400 members will receive twowage increases a year providing theopportunity to significantly boost theirstandard of living. In addition, specialprovisions were put in place to ensurethat workers did not lose ground duringthe six-month period between the expira-tion of the last contract and the ratifica-tion of the new agreement with a lumpsum wage distribution to all workers.

! Health care: An enormous amount oftime was spent in bargaining adjustingKroger employees’ health coverage toensure compliance with the new healthcare reform law. The lifetime maximumon benefits was eliminated and, mostsignificantly, the company agreed that ifthe changes result in lower costs, mem-bers will share in the savings. In addi-tion, a key contract provision waschanged to calculate benefits eligibilitybased on six months of hours, ratherthan the three-month timeframe in theold agreement. Previously, if an employ-ee’s hours in any rolling three monthperiod fell below the minimum, he orshe could lose health care coverageentirely—something that ironicallycould have happened to someone whohad to miss a lot of work due to serious

illness or injury. By calculatinghours on a rolling six-monthbasis, this problem should beeliminated. As a further im-provement, any full-time workerfalling below the minimumhours over the course of sixmonths may elect the health carebenefits provided to part-timeworkers and will not lose cover-age entirely. Moreover, Krogerefforts to move bargaining unitemployees out of their current health &welfare plan and into management’s—which would have resulted in fewer ben-efits—were defeated by Local 400.

! Pension plan: Employer contributionswill increase by up to 67 percent, from12 cents per eligible hour to a maxi-mum of 20 cents per hour. This is whatwas needed to maintain the retirementsecurity of Kroger members.With a new wage and benefit structure

in place that maintains the high produc-tivity of Kroger’s union workforce andenhances corporate profitability, the com-pany is poised to continue expanding itsshare of the highly competitive Virginiamarket. Kroger is currently in the midst ofinvesting $81 million in the Richmondmarket to renovate stores, build two newones and open fuel stations.

Of note, Kroger recently opened anearly 90,000-square foot store inWestern Henrico County that is the

largest supermarket in the Richmondarea. The store, which is providing jobsto 300 workers, includes a bistro diningarea where customers can sit down toeat their meals, a wine department thatsells wine by the glass, providing a safeenvironment for social networking in thestore, and expansive natural foods, meatand seafood sections.

In a market that includes aggressivenon-union competitors such as Walmart,Food Lion, Ahold/Martin’s and FarmFresh, Kroger is establishing a growingunion beachhead, powered by the hardwork of Local 400 members.

“The key to our members’ futures isexpanding market share,” McNutt said.“We are now in a position to acceleratethese efforts even further, with our grow-ing volunteer army of member activistsleading the way.”

——————To see a video of the Kroger ratification

meeting, go to http://vimeo.com/ufcw400.


Local 400 members workingat Kroger listen as their newcontract is discussed at theRichmond ratification meeting.


AllenShanholtzMeat ManagerGiant #152Colesville, Md.

Maria CisnerosBakery ClerkShoppers #2366College Park, Md.

Phil DickersonFirst Cutter

Safeway #1395Washington, D.C.


SikhaBharMed TechKaiser RegionalLaboratorySpringfield, Va.

RachelOliver

ChanelMacy's #33

Bethesda, Md.

PaulDavis

Meat ShopKroger #778Charleston,

W.Va.

ACTIVISMMEMBER

SURGES ATLOCAL 400

This revitalized member activism isthe key to Local 400’s strategy to expandthe union’s market share of the retailfood and other core industries in theregion. That’s because the more workerswho are union members, the greaterLocal 400’s clout is at the bargainingtable to win better wages, benefits andworking conditions.

“Local 400 must grow because every-where we look, we are being challengedby non-union operations, some of themdivisions of mega-companies that alsoemploy our members,” said Local 400President Tom McNutt. “In Virginia,Ahold’s Martin’s chain and Supervalu’sFarm Fresh chain are desperately tryingto stay non-union and take business

away from Kroger, even though Aholdalso owns Giant/Landover andSupervalu owns Shoppers Food &Pharmacy. These corporations’ double-breasting is a clear and present dangerto our membership. The way to combat itand increase our strength is throughactivism—because no one is more per-suasive about the benefits of the unionthan a Local 400 member.

“That’s why I am thrilled that so manymembers are getting involved in theirunion and helping us form a vibrant,powerful volunteer army,” McNutt said.“It’s our members who make Local 400great. The more active they are, the morewe unleash our potential to raise every-one’s economic standing.”

A rapidly growing number of Local 400 members are volunteeringtheir time as activists to increase the union’s membership andstrength, reach out to the community, help elect candidates who willfight for us, and improve the lives of their brothers and sisters.

DOMINIC MCGEEDominic McGee is just one of Local

400’s many member activists. A shopsteward at Kroger #520 in Chester, Va.,he somehow manages to juggle work atthe store as assistant drug and generalmerchandise manager while attendinggraduate school at Virginia StateUniversity pursuing a counselor of educa-tion degree, serving as a musician andjunior deacon at his church, and volun-teering countless hours for the union.

“I don’t want to see any of my co-workers taken advantage of—I refuse tolet that happen,” McGee said, in explain-ing why he became a steward. “I felt Icould bring change and I could help. Thismade me realize how beneficial our unionis and how much unions are needed intoday’s labor force.”

Much of McGee’s boundless energy isfocused on signing up members at hisstore. “I tell people they should joinbecause the union gives you job security,protection, benefits, health and safety,and the knowledge that someone hasyour back 100 percent of the time,” hesaid. “I explain how valuable the union isto Kroger. I also bring up the fact thatKroger in the Richmond area has the bestfull-time to part-time ratio of any chainand the reason why is because we are agreat union shop.”

McGee is nothing if not persuasive—he increased Local 400’s membership inhis store by more than 30 percent overthe past 14 months!


Volunteers Fuel Organizing and CommunityOutreach Campaigns in Virginia, Washington, D.C.

Local 400Steward and

activist DominicMcGee at a

recent stewardsseminar

in Williamsburg

McGee and 20 other Kroger memberactivists also participated in a Local400 outreach program for workers atFarm Fresh and Ahold/Martin’s stores,where Local 400 members talked withworkers to explain how they canimprove their lives by choosing unionrepresentation. These efforts are espe-cially timely because Ahold/Martin’sacquired the family-owned Ukrop’schain earlier this year.

“Many of the Martin’s workers I’vespoken with say that things havechanged for the worse,” McGee said.“People who’ve been there for 25 or 30years had their hours cut. Others were letgo. Benefits have changed. The full-time/part-time ratio has gotten worse.They’re not happy with the way newmanagement treats them. Many realizethey would benefit with a union, becausetoday, the company can do whatever itwants at the expense of employees. Butsome of them fear that their job would beat stake if management ever saw themtalking with us.”

McGee said he is going to keep pluggingaway and answering the call wheneverthere is an organizing outreach program, acandlelight vigil, a rally, a campaign tohelp or anything else that needs to be done.

PEGGY BILLIE“I’m a firm believer that there’s

strength in numbers—without it, we arenothing,” said Peggy Billie, a three-yearveteran at Kroger #500 in Richmond.

This conviction first motivated Billie tobecome a steward and then to get evenmore involved as an activist and organizer,devoting many hours to growing the union.

When Billie was first hired by Kroger,she worked in the fuel center and was dis-turbed at how she and her fellow employ-ees were treated. “It’s like you’resurrounded by a moat,” she said, and itwas impossible to get breaks. So sheworked to improve the conditions offuel employees, even after she wastransferred inside the store. And she suc-

ceeded. Today, management is required toprovide breaks to fuel center employees,and they are now eligible to transfer insidethe store after one year on the job.

Like other Local 400 stewards inVirginia, Billie works hard to sign upmembers, and reports great success talk-ing with new hires at their training cen-ters before they are placed in a store. Shealso notes that even those employees whodon’t join right away usually becomemembers as soon as they see co-workershave an issue with management.

Billie has participated in Farm Freshand Martin’s outreach programs, andjoined Local 400 at various politicalevents and rallies, including the October2nd One Nation Working Together marchin Washington, D.C.

“You have to fight for what you believein,” Billie said. “You can’t let anyone rail-

road you. You and management are ona level field. You’re the one who makesthe business the way it is. If it wasn’tfor you as an employee, they wouldn’thave their job either.”

LOLA WHITFIELDLola Whitfield knows first-hand

why Local 400 must grow and expandits market share. The Virginia Beachresident originally worked for a non-union chain, Hannaford, and then sawthe difference it made when Krogerpurchased her store in 2000 and she

became a Local 400 member.“The union is the greatest thing ever in

this area and I’m its biggest fan,”Whitfield said. “It means that I can standup for myself and I can stand up for myfellow associates. I’m not afraid to standup to management, and managementknows they can no longer walk all over us.

“That’s why I try to get people tounderstand that all the grocery stores inthe area need to become union, so every-one can have good wages and benefitsand job security,” Whitfield said.

A steward for the last six years,Whitfield has been a leader in efforts tohelp Farm Fresh workers organize. “A lotof people are interested but many areafraid,” she said. “Management warnedthem not to talk to us, and even workerswho signed union cards said they werescared of losing their job.”


Local 400Steward

and activistPeggy Billie

Lola Whitfield, right, with fellow Stewardsand activists Felicia Mayes (left) and CherylBrown (center)


2 0 1 0Local 400 Voters Guide



HOWCandidates AreRecommended

Local 400 recommends candi-dates for office only after anexhaustive process of getting toknow the candidates, analyzingtheir records, and reviewing theirpositions on issues affecting mem-bers’ lives, such as jobs and theeconomy, workers’ rights, healthcare, retirement security and others.Candidates who have stood up forLocal 400 members and workingfamilies, and those who are judgedto have your best interests in mindare listed here as guidance.

Here is how the process works:

1. Local 400 compiles a list of allcandidates running for officewithin their jurisdictions.

2. Letters and questionnairesare sent out to all who arerunning.

3. The candidates who completeand return their question-naires are contacted for per-sonal interviews.

4. Based on the questionnairesand interviews, recommenda-tions are made to the execu-tive boards of the respectivecentral labor councils.

5.After acceptance, the recom-mendations are communicat-ed to Local 400 members.

VIRGINIAU.S. House ofRepresentatives

1st No recommendation2nd No recommendation3rd Bobby Scott4th Wynne LeGrow5th Tom Perriello6th No recommendation7th Rick E. Waugh, Jr.8th Jim Moran9th Rick Boucher10th Jeffrey Barnett11th Gerry Connolly

MARYLANDGovernor/Lt. Governor

Martin O’Malley/Anthony Brown

Attorney GeneralDoug Gansler

ComptrollerPeter Franchot

U.S. SenatorBarbara Mikulski

U.S. House ofRepresentatives

4th Donna Edwards5th Steny Hoyer6th Andrew Duck8th Chris Van Hollen

State Senate

Montgomery County:14th Karen

Montgomery15th Rob Garagiola16th Brian Frosh17th Jennie Forehand18th Richard Madaleno19th Roger Manno20th Jamie Raskin39th Nancy King

Prince George’s County:21st Jim Rosapepe

(includes AnneArundel County)

22nd Paul Pinsky23rd Doug Peters24th Joanne Benson25th Ulysses Currie26th Anthony Muse27th Thomas V. Mike

Miller (includesCalvert County)

47th Victor Ramirez

Calvert, Charles& St. Mary’s Counties:

28th Mac Middleton29th Roy Dyson

House of Delegates

Montgomery County:14th Anne Kaiser

Eric LuedtkeCraig Zucker

15th Kathleen DumaisBrian FeldmanAruna Miller

16th Bill FrickAriana KellySusan Lee

17th Kumar BarveLuiz SimmonsNo recommendationfor third seat

18th Al CarrAna Sol GutierrezJeff Waldstreicher

19th Sam AroraBonnie CullisonBen Kramer

20th Sheila HixsonTom HuckerHeather Mizeur

39th Charles BarkleyKirill ReznikShane Robinson

Prince George’s County:21st Ben Barnes

Barbara FrushJoseline Pena-

Melnyk(includes AnneArundel County)

22nd Tawanna GainesAnne HealeyJustin Ross

23A James HubbardGeraldine

Valentino-Smith23B Marvin

Holmes24th Tiffany Alston

Carolyn HowardMichael Vaughn

25th Aisha BraveboyDereck DavisMelony Griffith

26th Veronica TurnerKris ValderramaJay Walker

27A James ProctorJoseph Vallario(includes CalvertCounty)

47th Jolene IveyDoyle NiemannMichael Summers

Calvert, Charles& St. Mary’s Counties:

27B Sue Kullen28th Sally Jameson

Peter MurphyC. T. Wilson

29A No recommendation29B John Bohanan29C No recommendation

MontgomeryCounty Executive

Ike Leggett

MontgomeryCounty Council

A-L Marc Elrich

Nancy FloreenGeorge LeventhalHans Riemer

1st No recommendation2nd Craig Rice3rd No recommendation4th Nancy Navarro5th Valerie Ervin

Montgomery CountyState’s Attorney

John McCarthy

Montgomery CountyClerk, Circuit Court

Loretta Young

Montgomery CountyRegister of Wills

Joseph Griffin

MontgomeryCounty Sheriff

No recommendation

Prince George’sCounty Executive

Rushern Baker

Prince George’sCounty Council

1st Mary Lehman2nd Will Campos3rd Eric Olson4th Ingrid Turner5th Andrea Harrison6th Leslie Johnson7th Karen Toles8th Obie Patterson9th Mel Franklin

Prince George’sCounty Judge,Circuit Court 7

Beverly WoodardLeo Green, Jr.Michael PearsonPhilip Nichols

Prince George’sCounty State’sAttorney

Angela Alsobrooks

VOTE NOVEMBER 2nd!



Prince George’s CountyClerk, Circuit Court

No recommendation

Prince George’s CountyRegister of Wills

CeretaLee

Prince George’sCounty Judgeof the Orphans’ Court

Wendy Cartwright

Prince George’sCounty Sheriff

No recommendation

Calvert CountyCommissioner

Kelly McConkeyKimberly MackallWilson ParranBarbara Stinnett

Calvert County Boardof Education At Large

Cliff Savoy

Charles CountyCommissioner President

Candice Kelly

Charles CountyCommissioner

1st Ken Robinson2nd No recommendation3rd Reuben Collins4th No recommendation

Charles CountyState’s Attorney

Tony Covington

Charles CountyRegister of Wills

Loraine Hennessy

Charles County Judgeof the Orphans’ Court

Frank Lancaster

Charles County SheriffRex Coffey

St. Mary’s CountyCommissioner President

Jack Russell

St. Mary’s CountyCommissioner

1st Elfreda Mathis2nd Arthur Shepherd3rd Bill Mattingly4th Mary Washington

Anne ArundelCounty Executive

Joanna Conti

Anne ArundelCounty Council

1st Daryl Jones6th Chris Trumbauer7th Torrey Jacobsen

Anne ArundelCounty Sheriff

Ron Bateman

Anne Arundel CountyJudge, Circuit Court 5

Ronald JarashowLaura Kiessling

WEST VIRGINIAU.S. SenateSpecial Election

Joe Manchin III

U.S House ofRepresentatives

2nd Virginia Graf3rd Nick Rahall

Supreme Courtof Appeals

Thomas E. McHugh

State Senate1st Orphy Klempa2nd Larry Edgell6th H. Truman Chafin9th Mike Green10th Ron Miller10th Mark Wills12th Joe Minard14th Steven Shaffer16th John Unger17th Brooks McCabe

House of Delegates1st Randy Swartzmiller2nd Tim Ennis

Roy Givens3rd Shawn Fluharty

Erikka Storch4th Michael Ferro

Scott Varner5th Dave Pethtel9th Jim Marion10th Dan Poling

John Ellem12th Jo Boggess Phillips13th Dale Martin

Brady Paxton

14th Cathy Larck15th Jim Morgan

Matthew Woelfel16th Dale Stephens

Doug Reynolds17th Don Perdue

Richard Thompson18th Larry Barker19th Greg Butcher

Josh StowersRalph Rodighiero

21st Harry Keith White22nd Daniel J. Hall

Linda Goode Phillips23rd Clif Moore25th John Frazier

Bill Moorefield27th Virginia Mahan

Mel KesslerRicky MoyeSally SusmanBill Wooton

28th Thomas CampbellRay Canterbury

29th David PerryMargaret Staggers

30th Bonnie BrownDoug Skaff JrNancy GuthrieBobbie HatfieldMark HuntSharon SpencerDanny Wells

31st Meshea Poore32nd Scott Lavigne33rd David Walker34th Brent Boggs35th Sam Argento36th Joe Talbott37th Denise Campbell38th Peggy Donaldson

Smith39th Bill Hamilton40th Mary Poling41st Ron Fragale

Richard IaquintaTim Miley

42nd Michael Manypenny43rd Mike Caputo

Linda LongstrethTimothy Manchin

44th Barbara FleischauerCharlene MarshallSteve CookAnthony Barill

45th Larry Williams46th Stan Shaver49th Charles Messick50th Ruth Rowan52nd Mike Roberts53rd Robert V. Mills55th Donn E. Marshall56th Terry L. Walker58th Tiffany Lawrence

DISTRICTOF COLUMBIADelegateto Congress

Eleanor Holmes Norton

MayorVincent Gray

City CouncilChairman

No recommendation

City CouncilA-L Phil Mendelson1st Jim Graham3rd Mary Cheh5th Harry Thomas, Jr.6th Tommy Wells

KENTUCKYU.S. Senate

Jack Conway


4th John Waltz

State Senate18th Robin Webb

State House ofRepresentatives

84th Fitz Steele87th Rick Nelson90th Tim Couch91st Teddy Edmonds93rd W. Keith Hall94th Leslie A. Combs95th Gregory S. Stumbo96th Jill York98th Tanya Pullin99th Rocky Adkins100thKevin P. Sinnette

OHIOGovernor/Lt. Governor

Ted Strickland/Yvette McGee Brown

AuditorDavid Pepper

Attorney GeneralRichard Cordray

Secretary of StateMaryellen O’Shaughnessy

TreasurerKevin Boyce

Ohio Supreme CourtEric Brown—Chief JusticeMary Jane Trapp—Justice

U.S. SenatorLee Fisher


6th Charlie Wilson18th Zach Space

State Senate17th Justin Fallon


89th Ron Hadsell93rd Linda Secrest

Ohio Court of Appeals5th Kristine Beard7th Gene Donfrio

Ohio State Boardof Education

8th Deborah Cain

TENNESSEEGovernor

Mike McWherter


1st Michael Clark


2nd Nathan Vaughn3rd Scotty Campbell4th Kent Williams6th Dale Ford

LTC Bradley Takes CoLongtime Local 400 member and activist

Jacqueline Bradley took command of the U.S.

Army’s 7202nd Medical Support Unit, based in

Richmond, Va., on August 14, 2010. Lieutenant

Colonel Bradley has served in the U.S. Army

Reserve for 18 years, has worked as a nurse prac-

titioner with Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic for

17 years, and has served

as a member of the

Local 400 Executive

Board for seven years.During her long and distin-

guished career in military serv-ice, LTC Bradley has received

numerous awards, includ-ing the Meri tor iousService Medal, ArmyCommendation Medaland Army Reserve Com-ponent AchievementMedal.

She recently sat downwith the Union Leader foran interview about hernew responsibilities andher continuing activismwith Local 400.

Q. Please tel l usabout your recentpromotion and whatyour new responsibili-ties are.A. I’ve been granted thehonor, privilege and dutyof commanding the 7202nd

Medical Support Unit. We provide combat service support world-wide and we provide soldier readiness assistance to preparethem to deploy. My role as commander is to make sure my citi-zen-warriors are trained, that they’re professionals and thatthey’re ready to deploy. It’s an enormous responsibility and I amvery proud to have this opportunity.

Q. What is your approach to commanding the unit?A. I want to instill in my soldiers three basic tenets. First, alwaysdo your very best. Like the generations of soldiers before us, weowe it to them and to future generations. Doing our very bestwill ensure that America’s freedoms persist.

Second, I want the citizen-warriors under my command toprepare themselves for mobilization. Whether America calls youas an individual or as a unit, you must be ready. It’s our obliga-tion to maintain 100 percent status in administrative readiness,warrior and professional skills.

Third, I want them to know, understand and lead by the war-rior ethos. America’s parents entrust their sons and daughters tothe institution of the U.S. Army because they trust us. Our war-rior ethos is the basis of that trust. That means always placing themission first, never accepting defeat, never quitting, and neverleaving a fallen comrade.

Q. Does this command philosophy affect your workas a nurse practitioner at Kaiser?A. Absolutely. It doesn’t matter whether I have my uniform on oroff—this is how I try to live every part of my life. I always try to domy best, to be prepared and to be worthy of trust. When I’m treat-ing patients at Kaiser, I’m going to provide them with the samequality of care, the same professionalism and the same passion Ibring to my command in the military.

Q. And how does your leadership in the militaryaffect your work as a leader of Local 400?A. Each one helps the other. For example, in my role as a com-mander, the civilian employees under my supervision are unionmembers, and that makes me a better boss, because I know whatit’s like to be on the other side of the table. In my role as a Local400 Executive Board member, I find that my command philoso-phy—to do my best, to be prepared and to be worthy of trust—applies every bit as well. The more that all of us follow this credo,the more dynamic and effective Local 400 will be in serving our


LTCJacquelineBradley.

kes Commandmembers, improving their quality of life, upholding their rights,and winning social and economic justice.

Q. You’re the commander of an Army unit, a nursepractioner at Kaiser and a member of Local 400’sexecutive board. How are you managing to juggle allof these roles?A. It would help if they changed the clocksto add a few hours to each day, but short ofthat, I am working as hard and being asefficient and focused as I can. It’s like I havetwo full-time jobs. But I feel very blessed,because I love what I do, both when myuniform is on and when it is off. And I feelvery fortunate to be able to serve—servemy patients, serve my brothers and sisters atLocal 400, and serve my country.

Q. Has the extra time you’ve hadto spend commanding your unitcaused any problems at Kaiser orwith Local 400?A. None whatsoever—in fact, just theopposite. I was deeply touched that notonly were my family and close friends atmy promotion ceremony in Richmond, buta number of my colleagues at Kaiser andat Local 400 attended, as well. I feel hon-ored and supported on every front.

Kaiser Permanente is a very military-friendly organization. It is even working toestablish a military association within thecompany for veteran and reservist employees. Local 400 andPresident Tom McNutt have been strongly supportive as well. Iam very gratified that I am able to do my small part for my coun-try, my employer and my union all at the same time.

Q. Will you be deployed overseas?A. For the upcoming year, we will be focused on training for apotential mobilization or deployment in 2012. We don’t knowyet if it will happen or where, but we will be ready. I’ve previous-ly served in Italy, Germany and Panama, and will gladly go wher-ever the Army says we’re needed. And I’ve got the security of

knowing that Kaiser and Local 400 willaccommodate this if it happens.

Q. What does Local 400 and its mis-sion mean to you?A. It means everything. At Kaiser, Local400’s leadership has made our Labor-Management Partnership work well, creat-ing a collaborative environment thatempowers our members while continuallyimproving the quality of care we provide,and at the same time, negotiating strongcontracts that pay us industry-leadingwages and benefits.

We pride ourselves at Local 400 asbeing one of the few unions in the cur-rent economic environment that possess-es the strength, the smarts and themember activism to stand up to corporatedemands to lay workers off, lower wagesand reduce health and retirement bene-fits. We’ve said we will not do that, we’vestood firm and we’ve negotiated con-tracts that continue to improve our mem-bers’ economic standing and maintaintheir security. That’s a remarkable

achievement and one we need to keep building on as we workto expand our membership and market share in the yearsahead.


LTC Jacqueline Bradley, a Local 400activist and Executive Board member,speaks at the ceremony where she tookcommand of the U.S. Army’s 7202ndMedical Support Unit.

“…In my role as a commander, the civilian employees under my supervision are union members,and that makes me a better boss, because I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the

table. In my role as a Local 400 Executive Board member, I find that my command philosophy—to do my best, to be prepared and to be worthy of trust—applies every bit as well. “

—LTC Jacqueline Bradley.


Yvonne ArcellCase Manager, MD InpatientKaiser/Holy Cross Hospital,Silver Spring, Md.

Years in Union: 7

Years as Steward: 1-1/2

Family: Married with two sons

Enjoys Most About Job: Helpingothers in difficult times

Enjoys Most About Being aSteward: The opportunity to meetother KP employees

Hobbies: Making jewelry

“ The union builds Solidarityto promote change for abetter workplace.”

Rick HowellFront End SupervisorKroger #375, Roanoke, Va.

Years in Union: 2

Years as Steward: 1

Enjoys Most about Job: When Iknow I’ve done my level best

Enjoys Most about Being aSteward: Being the face of theunion in the store

Hobbies: Reading, history, politics,news

Favorite Place on Earth: The OuterBanks of North Carolina

“ The union gets everyoneworking together for thecommon cause of betteringour lives.”

Karshena BrooksGM HBC ManagerSafeway #1689, Herndon, Va.

Years in Union: 10

Years as Steward: 2

Family: Four children

Enjoys Most about Being aSteward: Helping others

Hobbies: Bowling, swimming,cooking, entertaining my family

Favorite Place on Earth: Bahamas

“With the union, we careabout each other.”

Spotlight


Scarlett CresselBookkeeperShoppers #2357, Leesburg, Va.

Years in Union: 19

Years as Steward: 4

Family: One daughter

Enjoys Most about Job: The people

Hobbies: Scrapbooking, cooking,fascinated by forensic science

Favorite Place on Earth: WaltDisney World

“ The union givesus protection.”

Wilford G. “Jerry”RexroadFile Maintenance ClerkKroger #688, Clarksburg, W.Va.

Years in Union: 39

Years as Steward: 31

Family: Married with two childrenand three stepchildren

Enjoys Most About Being aSteward: Being able to help peoplewhen they are in trouble

Hobbies: Helping various causes inthe community

Future Plans: Retire and enjoy myfamily

“ The union gives us a sayon the job and the job securitya union contract provides.”

Timothy P. TutsockMeat CutterGiant #106, Rockville, Md.

Years in Union: 5

Years as Steward: 5

Enjoys Most About Job: Making acustomer smile

Enjoys Most About Being aSteward: Helping associates withissues

Hobbies: Fishing, camping, going tothe beach

Favorite Place on Earth: My easychair

“ The union providesjob security.”

But Whitfield is undeterred. “I enjoyedit,” she said, “and I’ll participate whenwe do it again. I’m a talker and I’m notafraid to speak up.”

She brings this same approach tosigning up members at Kroger #532.“I start out explaining to them howwe’re a union store and what theunion does for us, how they fight forour benefits and health plan, andhow any issues we come acrossthat’s unfair, the union can help uswith that,” Whitfield said. “I tellthem that the more people we have inthe union, the stronger we can be asa team and I need every hourly work-er to be an active member of Local400. I love being a part of the unionand I think that comes across to people.”

With membership in her store up 20 per-cent in the last year, that seems apparent.

Whitfield credits much of her successwith the training Local 400 providesstewards and the constant support unionstaff provide. “They teach us everythingwe know,” Whitfield said. “The training is

awesome and we can get them on thephone anytime.”

ALLEN GRAVESAllen Graves has been a Local 400

member for nine years and a steward foreight, and he is deeply dedicated to grow-ing the union. “The more members you

have, the better able you are to negotiategood contracts,” he said.

Graves became a steward and memberactivist because, “I have a strong sense ofjustice, to treat people the way they shouldbe treated, with decency and respect, so Ilike to see that for everybody.”

While his workload as the sole employ-

ee in the nutrition section of Kroger #515in Mechanicsville doesn’t allow him asmuch time as he would like, he still doeseverything he can to sign up members andmembership in his store is on the rise.Graves also gets involved in communityoutreach. This past spring afterAhold/Martin’s purchased Ukrop’s and

kicked the Girl Scouts off their prop-erty, Local 400 and Graves invited adisplaced troop to sell cookies infront of his Kroger store, and theunion bought the first 100 boxes ofcookies.

“We showed the Girl Scouts we’resupportive of their activities becausethey help build character,” Gravessaid, adding that Local 400 showedpeople throughout the Richmondarea why shopping union supportstheir community and quality of life.

“Dominic McGee, Peggy Billie,Lola Whitfield and Allen Graves are modelactivists, but they’re also just the tip of theiceberg at Local 400,” McNutt said. “We arebuilding a culture of activism and as moremembers volunteer their time and effort tosupport their brothers and sisters, thestronger we will be. Our member activistsare truly the face of Local 400’s future.”

ACTIVISTS, COMMUNITY JOIN TOGETHER TO KEEP WALMART OUT OF D.C.

With Walmart threatening to build a store in the PoplarPoint area of Southeast Washington, D.C., a group of Local400 member activists living and working in the area recentlyattended a meeting of the Anacostia Coordinating Council towarn community members about how the giant retailer drivesdown the standard of living and drives local businesses intobankruptcy.

Union activists shared their views with Council membersand emphasized that there are much better alternatives toproviding access to affordable, healthy food and promotingeconomic development. Local 400 offered to partner with thegroup to bring in a company that treats it workers well andprovides them with living wages and health and retirementsecurity, such as Safeway, Giant or Shoppers.

“Walmart will take some of our jobs, they don’t have aunion and won’t offer us what we get from Safeway,” said

Linda Watson, a steward at the Alabama Avenue Safeway,union activist, and neighborhood resident.

“We’re here to show our community that with the uniongetting involved, you never know what we can do,” Watsonsaid. “We’re not just here to sell you groceries, we’re here tohelp the schools, the recreation centers, people all over.

“If it wasn’t for Local 400, I wouldn’t be here,” Watsonsaid. “The union went to bat for me. So I’m talking with myco-workers about what we need to do to stop Walmart. Ifsomething needs to be said, I’ll say it—I don’t pussy footaround. Instead of sitting back and doing nothing until the lastminute, I believe in getting involved and going door to door.”

As a result of the meeting, Local 400 and the AnacostiaCoordinating Council will be working closely together to pro-mote positive growth, rather than development that creates arace to the bottom.

ACTIVISM(Continued from page 17)

Local 400 Steward and activistAllen Graves hands Girl Scoutsa check for the purchase of 100boxes of cookies.


Members of UFCW Local 220*working at Mott’s Williamson,N.Y., plant won a landmark victoryafter a three-and-a-half monthlong strike, defeating draconiancorporate efforts to slash wages,health benefits and pension con-tributions.

The strike became a national sym-bol for working people struggling tomaintain middle class jobs and strongcommunities, after Mott’s corporateparent, the Dr Pepper Snapple Group,imposed a $1.50 per hour wagedecrease and other cuts on 305 work-ers.

Local 400 actively supported thestriking workers, with membersengaging in handbilling and encourag-ing a boycott of Mott’s, Snapple, DrPepper, 7Up, Hawaiian Punch andother corporate products. They werejoined by UFCW members from otherLocal Unions, and community andother allies, who collectively engagedin nearly 600 actions in support ofLocal 220* members. Driven by blogsand social networks, tens of thousandsof people joined the cause of theMott’s strikers, advocating for good jobswith paychecks that pay the bills.

Thanks to this nationwide outpouringof support and the Solidarity of Local220* members, the company caved,agreeing to a new contract that restoreswage levels, maintains affordable healthcare, and continues the pension plan.

“I was proud to be able to help ourbrothers and sisters working at Mott’s,both for the sake of their families andcommunities, and for the precedent we

set in beating back corporate greed,”said Local 400 President Tom McNutt.“It’s not hyperbole to say that this was abattle to save the American middle class.

“That’s because this company is mak-ing more money than ever,” McNutt said,pointing to the Dr Pepper SnappleGroup’s record $555 million in profits in2009, and its decision to increase its divi-dend by 67 percent in May 2010. “They

didn’t demand givebacks to keep thecompany afloat—rather, managementwas up front about wanting to lowerlabor costs simply because they thoughtthey could get away with it.”

Local 220* member Tim Budd told TheNew York Times that a plant manager“said there are thousands of people in thisarea out of jobs, and they could hire anyone of them for $14 an hour. It made mesick to have someone sit across the tableand say I’m not worth the money I make.”

“This was a clear case where every-one had to draw a line in the sandagainst corporate greed and for theAmerican dream,” McNutt said.“Because if we had lost, dozens of cor-porations would have followed suit,demanding lower wages and fewer ben-efits for workers because so manyAmericans are unemployed or workingfor less than they used to in the midst of

this recession.”It is especially significant that this

strike took place at a time whenhousehold income for the middle classhas been plummeting. According torecent data from the U.S. CensusBureau, median household income fellby 4.8 percent from 2000 to 2009, andmost of that drop—4.2 percent—tookplace in the past two years.Meanwhile, CEO salaries increased by4.5 percent in 2009 alone and corpo-rate profits rose by the fastest level in25 years, totalling $1.4 trillion on anannualized basis in the first quarter of2010, a 58 percent jump.

Workers without union contractshave no defense against unfetteredcorporate greed as companies takeadvantage of the worst labor marketin recent history to try to squeeze evenmore profits out of their struggling

employees. But as Local 220* membersshowed, union membership and laborSolidarity give workers the power to pre-vail no matter how long and tough thefight.

“The victory, important as it is, doesnot end the battle,” McNutt said. “Wemust be active and vigilant not just instopping corporate attempts to lower oureconomic standing, but in raising it andrecapturing our fair share of the prosperi-ty our hard work creates.”


Mott’s Workers WinPivotalStrikeLocal 400 Helps Union Stop Corporate Effort to Slash Wages and Benefits

Local 400 members Liz Engleman (left)and Tessie Holloman with flyers they

distributed in support of Mott's workers.

“This was a battle to savethe American middle class.”

— Local 400 President Tom McNutt

Luck1326 UNION LEADER SEPT./OCT./NOV. 2010

ScholarshipsAwardedto“Lucky 13”Membersand Children

Mohan Warusha

Raymond Tang

Thomas Smith

Maria Manalac

Sean Benedik

Local 400 offers a variety of opportunitiesfor members and their children to improvetheir lives by getting a higher education,most notably through its involvement intwo major scholarship programs:! The FELRA & UFCW Health and Welfare

Scholarship Fund provides $2,500 scholar-ships to help defray the cost of college tuition forLocal 400 members who work at Giant, Safeway,Shoppers Food & Pharmacy or Super Fresh, andtheir families. It is funded through the union’scollective bargaining agreements with theseemployers.

! The Local 400 Scholarship Fund awards$1,000 scholarships to members and theirchildren attending college.For the 2010-11 school year, the FELRA & UFCW

Health and Welfare Scholarship Fund awardedeight scholarships and five individuals receivedLocal 400 Scholarships, which meant that a “lucky13” will receive help from their union with their col-lege tuition. Three of the recipients are Local 400members and the other 10 are children of members.

“Unions exist to create opportunity for our mem-bers and their families,” said Local 400 PresidentTom McNutt, “and these two scholarship programsare one important way in which we help make thathappen.

“It is a great source of pride to know how thesefine individuals have excelled in high school and tobe able to help them afford a college education andcome closer to realizing their dreams,” McNuttsaid.

The 2010-11 FELRA & UFCW Health and Welfare Scholarship Winners are:

DANIELLE BAILEY of Port Tobacco, Md.Danielle is currently a junior at Eastern Universityin St. Davids, Pa. She is a history major who planson becoming a professor of Civil War history on acollege level. Danielle graduated from Henry E.Lackey High School in Indian Head, Md., in 2008,where she made honor roll every semester, served

as vice president of the Key Club, and was involvedin the National Honor Society and the National ArtHonors Society. Her father, John Bailey, works atGiant #767. “I was very excited to learn that Ireceived this scholarship,” Danielle said. “Payingfor college is a huge responsibility and a littlefrightening. It is good to receive help whenever youcan get it and I am very thankful for the money pro-vided by this award.”

SEAN BENEDIK of Lusby, Md. Sean graduatedfrom Patuxent High School in 2007, where heplayed tennis, managed the volleyball team, andwas active in the horticulture, chess and PAWSclubs. He is currently an English major at TowsonUniversity and is also pursuing a secondary educa-tion concentration in the hopes of becoming a mid-dle school English teacher. He previously attendedthe College of Southern Maryland and theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, but nowenjoys Towson’s mix of challenging courses anddecent class sizes. His mother, Denise Benedik,works at Giant #343. “Thank goodness!” Sean saidwhen he received the scholarship. “Because I’m liv-ing off campus, my own budget was getting a littletight, so I felt as if a daunting weight had been lift-ed off my shoulders.”

BRIAN CADIGAN of Rockville, Md. A Local 400member who worked at Safeway #1668, Briangraduated from Rockville High School in June.Despite working 20-25 hours a week during his jun-ior and senior years and more hours during thesummers, he was able to find the time to run varsi-ty cross country, track and indoor track, makehonor roll every semester, and be named an APScholar. Brian now attends the University ofMaryland, College Park, where he plans to major inhistory, with an eye toward eventually working forthe federal government in an international rela-tions, defense or intelligence capacity. He wasthrilled to receive the FELRA Scholarship. “I’vebeen working,” he said. “Paying my union dues foralmost two years, it was a great feeling to know theunion was going to assist in paying my tuition. Iam very thankful to the union for its generousgrant and I hope they keep it going so next year

Lucky13SEPT./OCT./NOV. 2010 UNION LEADER 27

ScholarshipsAwardedto“Lucky 13”Membersand Childrensomebody else can get the same wonderful gift I enjoyed.”

MARIA MANALAC of Clinton, Md. A 2008 graduate of OxonHill High School, Maria must be the FELRA Scholarship recipi-ent who has traveled farthest from home for her education,because this fall, the Loyola University of Maryland junior isstudying at Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand, aspart of her semester abroad. As a global studies major who isconsidering working with international agencies that helpdeveloping countries after graduation, this promises to be a fas-cinating experience. In high school, Maria was president of theInternational Club, a member of the orchestra and secretary ofthe National Honor Society. She is bilingual and enjoys travel-ing, photography and collecting stamps. Her mother, LallieManalac, works at Shoppers #2342. “I was definitely elatedwhen I found out I got the scholarship!” Maria said. “I like tohelp out my parents in any way I can in paying my education.”

THOMAS SMITH of Wheaton, Md. The valedictorian ofWheaton High School when he graduated last spring, Thomaswas a Maryland Distinguished Scholar and AP Scholar, andserved as president of the National Honors Society and the Gay-Straight Alliance. He also performed in two plays with theDrama Club and interned at an art studio during three schoolyears. Currently a freshman at Johns Hopkins University inBaltimore, Thomas is active in campus activities and plans tomajor in writing seminars and one other subject he’ll determinelater. He is considering getting involved in the field of socialservices or community organizations after he graduates. Hisfather, Steven Smith, works at Safeway #964. Thomasexpressed his gratitude for the scholarship, saying, “I was gladthat I’d be able to pay off my student loans more quickly.”

RAYMOND TANG of Alexandria, Va. Raymond graduatedwith honors from Thomas Edison High School this past June,where he received the senior award for science, and a medal forreceiving the International Baccalaureate Diploma. He was theScience Olympiad captain, National Honor Society vice president,and member of a team that placed first in a Rube Goldberg eventat the state Science Olympiad. Raymond now attends the Schoolof Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Virginia.He is leaning towards majoring in mechanical engineering,though that may change depending on his experiences this year.His mother, Jenny Tu-Tang, works at Giant #748. “When Ilearned that I had received the scholarship, it came as a big reliefas I did not receive any financial aid apart from unsubsidizedloans,” Raymond said. “This scholarship has been very helpfulwith the tuition and other fees associated with the University.”

MOHAN WARUSHA of Bethesda, Md. Mohan is a 2010 grad-uate of Whitman High School in Bethesda, where he performedmore than 300 hours of community service, started a club forOxfam America, participated in a club called Secret Smileswhich raises funds for Ronald McDonald House, and was amember of the Green Team, an environmental group. He alsointerned with the National Institute of Health, both volunteeredand worked for the National Zoo, and worked at theSmithsonian Center of Folklife. Mohan now attends New YorkUniversity and is considering majoring in international rela-tions. His father, Ananda Warusha, works at Giant #357. “I wasvery ecstatic,” Mohan said of receiving the scholarship. “It wasa great help to my parents.”

CHO-HSIEN LEUNG of Potomac, Md. Her mother, Mei-LingLeung, works at Super Fresh #985. Efforts to reach Cho-Hsienwere unsuccessful.

The 2010-11 Local 400 Scholarship Winners are:KRISTYN BRINKLEY of Waldorf, Md. A Local 400 member,

Kristyn graduated from Westlake High School last spring,where she played varsity soccer all four years and captained theteam as a junior and senior. She worked at Safeway #105 fortwo years, putting in 20 hours a week when in school and 30 to35 hours a week over the summer. As a senior, she also workedanother part-time job and took a class at the College of SouthernMaryland, and was able to juggle her many responsibilities byreducing her high school classload and organizing her timecarefully. Kristyn is now a freshman at Frostburg StateUniversity in Frostburg, Md. She is majoring in chemistry for apre-med concentration. “I was excited to receive the scholar-ship,” she said.

KATHERINE CONNOR of Poolesville, Md. A sophomore atNorthwestern University in Evanston, Ill., Katherine graduatedfrom Poolesville High School in 2009. There, she co-captainedthe varsity field hockey and indoor and outdoor track teams, andwas the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including theMaryland Distinguished Scholar and Principal’s LeadershipAward. She served as president of the Leo’s Service Club, vicepresident of service for the National Honor Society, a member ofthe Mock Trial Team, and co-editor of the school newspaper. Inaddition, Katherine received an Izaak Walton League award forher senior project, which was to create a micro-credit club ather high school. At Northwestern, she is majoring in journalismand involved in many campus activities, including service on the

(Continued on next page)

executive board for Amnesty International. Hermother, Ann Connor, is a registered nurse withKaiser Permanente. “Coming from the UFCW, theaward really means a lot to me, and it is making ahuge difference in not only my life, but that of myfamily as well,” Katherine said. “It is exciting toknow that I will be able to reduce my student loanswith the award, and I truly thank UFCW Local 400and all of its members for that.”

JOHN DAVIS FRENS of Olney, Md. A 2010 grad-uate of Sherwood High School, John received aNational Merit Scholar award and ran cross-country.Today, he attends Carnegie Mellon University inPittsburgh, where he plans to major in electrical andcomputer engineering. He is most interested in robot-ics and would like to pursue research in the field. Hismother, Local 400 member Victoria Frens, is a staffnurse at Kaiser #34. “I was excited to receive thescholarship,” John said. “I’m taking out huge stu-dent loans. I was happy to get some help and sup-port, particularly considering where my mom works.It’s great to see companies and unions give back.”

MARY JO LEE of Ashland, Ky. Mary Jo gradu-ated last spring from Paul G. Blazer High School inAshland, where she was engaged in a wide array ofvolunteer and extracurricular activities. She servedas secretary to the Tri-M Music Honors Society,French Honors Society and French Club, and wasinvolved in the National Honors Society, MockTrial, Beta Club, Key Club and the dance team. Shewas also active in the Boyd County Branch of

Kentucky Youth for Community Volunteer Serviceand performed approximately 500 hours of volun-teer service. Mary Jo is now a freshman atTransylvania College in Lexington, Ky. She is con-sidering a science major and exploring the possibil-ity of becoming a marine biologist. Her father,Shaun Lee, works as a meat cutter clerk at Kroger#783. “I was really surprised to receive the schol-arship,” Mary Jo said. “I think this is a greatopportunity and I am very thankful and grateful.”

EVAN PALMER of Cross Lanes, W.Va. A 2010graduate of St. Albans High School in St. Albans,W.Va., Local 400 member Evan Palmer managed tobe involved in numerous activities in high schooldespite working part-time at Kroger #763 as acourtesy clerk and in customer service his juniorand senior years. He was a member of the nationaland state Student Leadership Teams for Church ofGod Ministries, where he helped develop and imple-ment ideas for international and state youth events.He was also a High Honors Graduate, treasurer ofthe National Honors Society, member of Mu AlphaTheta (Math Honors Society), and recipient of theRed Dragon Award for Citizenship. Evan is current-ly a freshman at Mid-America Christian Universityin Oklahoma City, Okla., where he is majoring inspecialized ministries with an emphasis in youthministry. After graduating, he would like to becomea youth pastor or work in some form of church min-istry. “When I learned of receiving this scholarship,I was ecstatic because it meant that my time work-ing for Kroger and the union paid off, literally,”Evan said. “Not only did this job allow for a weeklyincome, but it also gave me an opportunity to pur-sue my dreams with a higher education.”


LOCAL 400 MEMBER’S DAUGHTER RECEIVES UNION PLUS SCHOLARSHIP

HALIMA KARIM of Takoma Park, Md., whose father Abdool Karim is aLocal 400 member, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Union Plus, theorganization that provides an array of benefit programs for union families.Halima cited the inspiration of family values and family traditions in her life.“From an early age my parents instilled in me the importance of workinghard and helping those in need,” she said. She took the lesson to heart, vol-unteering her time both locally and internationally to help the less fortu-nate, a commitment she expects to continue when she becomes a dentist.The family tradition that has inspired her? Her father's 22 years in the

UFCW. “The union directly impacts my life in so many ways,” she said.

Halima Karim

ScholarshipsAwarded

Evan Palmer

Mary Jo Lee

John Davis Frens

Kathrine Conner

Kristyn Brinkley

(Continued from page 27)

United Food & CommercialWorkers members won a landmarkvictory recently when the U.S.Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuitissued a strongly-worded rulingrejecting as unlawful an attemptby Southern California supermar-ket operators to share profits inorder to avoid financial damageduring the four-month-long 2003-2004 grocery worker strike.

The federal court found that theMutual Strike Assistance Agreementbetween four supermarket chains—Vons(owned by Safeway), Albertson’s, Ralph’s(owned by Kroger) and Food 4 Less—vio-lated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

“This ruling affirms the sacred rightof workers to strike and it rejects employ-er collusion to prevent a walkout fromhaving any impact on a company’s prof-itability,” said Local 400 President TomMcNutt. “This upholds the collective bar-gaining process by preventing employersfrom repeating their actions leading up toand during the Southern Californiasupermarket strike. As a result, it willhave the very helpful impact of shorten-ing the duration of strikes when they dooccur. The positive ramifications of thisdecision will be felt by Local 400 mem-bers and our brothers and sistersthroughout the labor movement.”

On October 11, 2003, seven SouthernCalifornia UFCW Local Unions went onstrike against Von’s (Safeway) after thecompany demanded the elimination ofhealth benefits. Albertson’s and Ralph’sthen locked out their workers whose con-

tract had also expired. Food 4 Less’ con-tract had not expired so it could not jointhe lockout. Before the strike started, thefour companies agreed that if any one ofthem received higher than normal profitsduring the strike, it would pay 15 percentof its profits to the other companies. Thatis what happened, as Ralph’s and Food 4Less paid Von’s and Albertson’s approxi-mately $142 million for the strike period,and another $4.2 million for the two weekperiod following the strike.

As soon as the Mutual StrikeAssistance Agreement became known,then-California Attorney General BillLockyear filed suit against the compa-nies, charging violations of anti-trustlaw. UFCW legal counsel was part of theteam in this litigation. The case contin-ued under his successor, former (and pos-sibly future) Gov. Jerry Brown.

The companies argued that they wereallowed to collude under the ShermanAnti-Trust Act, which grants a “laborexemption” for competitors to join togeth-er in multi-employer collective bargainingnegotiations. They justified the agree-ment on the grounds that it covered alimited period of time, that the four com-panies accounted for 60 to 70 percent ofthe market, and that as a tool to defeatthe unions, it would lower labor costsand result in lower prices.

The Appeals Court shot the defen-dants’ position down, writing that “dri-ving down compensation to workers isnot a benefit to consumers… Depressingwages is not of societal benefit; it simplyharms working people and their families,a significant part of the group that hascome to be known as ‘the middle class.’”

Noting that “Congress encourages col-

lective bargaining and the formation oflabor unions as part of our national laborpolicy,” U.S. Appellate Judge StephenReinhardt wrote that “profit sharing isnot ‘needed to make the collective bargain-ing process work.’ To the contrary, collec-tive bargaining has worked and does workquite well from the standpoint of employ-ers without the need to engage in suchbasic violations of the anti-trust system.”

Calling the Mutual Strike AssistanceAgreement “obviously anticompetitive,”Judge Reinhardt found that, “The onlyrelationship of profit sharing agreementsto labor matters is the possibility thatthey would unbalance the existing, care-fully drawn process, and strengthen thehand of employers in labor disputes bymeans that would otherwise violate well-established anti-trust policies—meansthat have not been historically authorizedfor use as part of the collective bargain-ing process.”

The Court’s ruling reversed a districtcourt decision denying summary judg-ment to the plaintiff and remanded thecase back to the district court “for entryof judgment in favor of the plaintiff andfor any further proceedings as may beconsistent with this opinion.”

“Through the use of scabs, alsoknown as ‘permanent replacements,’ cor-porate America has been underminingthe collective bargaining process foryears,” McNutt said. “This profit-sharingagreement introduced a new and danger-ous tactic to further destroy workers’leverage when contract talks are difficultand intense. Thankfully, the Court hasrestored some balance, common sense,and justice to the collective bargainingprocess.”


Emphatically Rejects Supermarket Anti-Strike Profit-Sharing Agreement

Court Ruling Huge Victory for UFCW


Russell Wise Retires After 33 Years of Service To Local400 MembersRussell Wise, Maryland and Washington, D.C., region-al director, retired on Sept. 30 after more than threedecades of service to Local 400 members, beginning asan organizer in 1977.

Wise first joined the union 40 years ago when he was hired atSafeway, where he served as a union shop steward for severalyears prior to his appointment to the staff.

He was involved in numerous organizing campaigns, includ-ing the successful effort to unionize the large Woodward &Lothrop department store chain.

Wise was promoted to service representative in the mid-1980s, working initially in the old “mercantile division” of thelocal, where in addition to handling grievances and daily repre-sentation, he helped bargain contracts and, in some cases, coor-dinate strike activities, such as at Raleigh’s clothiers and ScanFurniture.

He was named regional coordinator in 1997. Among otheraccomplishments in that role, Wise served as lead negotiator forthree successful national contracts with Kaiser Permanente forthe Mid-Atlantic. He capped his career with an agreement, rati-fied last month, that achieved the top goal of safeguardingKaiser employees’ health benefits as well as delivering salaryhikes comparable with the Kaiser units in California.

Wise, who is 58, remembers that Local 400 represented onlyabout 12,000 members when he first became a staff represen-tative, and over his career he has witnessed the union’s

growth to a level of over 37,000 today.“I can truly say I’ve loved my job

every single day and that it’s been aprivilege to represent the membersof this union for the past 33years,” Wise said.

“Russ Wise has served Local400 and its members with pas-sion and devotion, and he hasmade a tremendous contribu-tion to building our unioninto the force it is today,” saidPresident Tom McNutt. “Wewish Russ and his familymany years of good healthand happiness in this newphase of their lives.”

John Kasich, spent eight years making millions of dollarsworking on Wall Street. He was a managing director atLehman Brothers, which went bankrupt in September 2008after recklessly investing in subprime mortgages, behaviorthat nearly created a second Great Depression. If elected, heplans to cut, privatize and outsource Ohio’s public service jobs.

“Ted Strickland stands up for Main Street while JohnKasich is a tool of Wall Street,” McNutt said. “Local 400strongly recommends the re-election of Governor Strickland.”

secured more than $2 billion in relief for Maryland ratepay-ers who were left reeling after Ehrlich appointees let BG&Eraise rates by 72 percent.“I don’t know when there has ever been a greater contrast

between two candidates for governor with two diametricallyopposed records in office and two different visions for thefuture,” McNutt said. “For Maryland working families whowant their governor fighting for them in Annapolis, MartinO’Malley is the only choice.”

Continued from page 4Governor Martin O’Malley

Continued from page 9Pivotal Races


Attention: Employees of Giant,Safeway & Super*Fresh

If you are working for one of the companies listed above, under the provisions of your con-tract, you and your dependents may be eligible for the FELRA and UFCW Health and

Welfare Fund Scholarship Program.

Entry Deadline: December 31, 2010Just fill out the preliminary application below and mail it to the Fund office postmarked by

December 31, 2010. In January of 2011, eligible applicants will be sent additional informationfrom the Fund.

Employee Information

Name ________________________________________________________________________

Social Security Number ___________________________________________________________

Employer _____________________________________________________________________

Home Address __________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip Code _____________________________________________________________

Home Phone Number_____________________________________________________________

E-Mail Address _______________________________________________________

Applicant’s Information

Name ________________________________________________________________________


Date of Birth ___________________________________________________________________(If Dependent of Employee)

PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS

MUST BE POSTMARKED BY DECEMBER 31, 2010.

Mail applications to:

UFCW & FELRAScholarship Program911 Ridgebrook Rd.Sparks, MD 21152-9451

2011 AnnualScholarship Awards

SCHOLARSHIPFUNDThe FELRA and UFCW Health and Welfare Fund

expects to be awarding scholarships to a selectnumber of eligible participants and their dependentswho will be attending college or a university as full-timestudents in the fall of 2011. Participants and theirdependents are eligible to apply for a scholarship awardif the participant completes at least one year of Serviceas of December 31, 2010 and is actively employed as ofthat date. In addition, dependent applicants must beunder the age of 24 on December 31, 2010.

Applicants who submit preliminary applications andmeet the initial scholarship award requirements will bemailed the full application form in early January of2011.

Cut and mail


AugustFiscal Report

1 BALANCE IN CASH ACCOUNT AT BEGINNING OF MONTH 1,387,752

2 RECEIPTS (from all sources):DUES 1,555,589MISCELLANEOUS 7,105

3 TOTAL RECEIPTS 1,562,694

4 TOTAL OF LINES 1 AND 3 2,950,446

5 DISBURSEMENTSfor current months 1,396,848

6 CASH ACCOUNT BALANCEat the end of current month 1,553,598

7 BALANCE AT END OF MONTHas shown on Bank Statement 1,638,005

8 DEPOSIT IN TRANSIT 0

9 TOTAL OF LINES 7 AND 8 1,638,005

10 LESS: Checks included in item 5 not returned with bank statement 84,407

11 BALANCE(Should agree with Line 6) 1,553,598

12 PETTY CASH FUND 750

13 TOTAL OF ALL LOCAL UNION’S SAVINGS ACCOUNTSat the end of month 2,370,786

14 DEPRECIATED VALUE OF Real Estate, Furniture, Equipment, Automobiles, etc. 651,675

15 OTHER ACCOUNTS OR INVESTMENTS (Bond, Stocks, Credit Union, Building Funds, etc.) 124,148

16 LESS: LIABILITIES(other than Rent, Utilities, Withholding and Per Capita Tax) 1,298,746

17 TOTAL WORTH OF LOCAL UNION(Totals of lines 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 minus line 16 3,402,212

CondolencesMark Federici, Local 400 staff,

Loss of Father-in-LawRussell Wise, Local 400 staff,

Loss of Sister-in-LawFamily of James Baldwin,

Shoppers Food & PharmacyWilliam Gibson, Kroger 523, Loss of WifeFamily of Karen Cohen, Giant 798Family of Sandra Johnson, Giant 781

Family of Margaret Cornwell, Giant 310Tom Rogers, Local 400 staff, Loss of SisterFamily of Alfred Lesage Jr, Shoppers Food &

PharmacyRobyn Wheeler, Giant 770, Loss of MotherMike Boyle, Local 400 staff, Loss of Brother

CongratulationsLynda R Williams, Local 400 staff, Retired Russell Wise, Local 400 staff, Retired

A L L I N T H E F A M I L Y

Monday, October 4PARKERSBURGComfort Suites

167 Elizabeth PikeMineral Wells, WV 26150

(304) 489-9600

Tuesday, October 5BLUEFIELD

Quality Hotel & Conference Center

Route 460 Bypass3350 Big Laurel HwyBluefield, WV 24701

(304) 325-6170

Wednesday, October 6BRISTOL

Holiday InnExit 7 off

of Interstate 813005 Linden Dr.

Bristol, VA 24202(276) 466-4100

Monday, October 25CLARKSBURG

Holiday Inn100 Lodgeville Road

Bridgeport, WV 26330(304) 842-5411

Thursday, Nov. 4CHARLOTTESVILLE

Holiday Inn1901 Emmett Street

Charlottesville, VA 22901

(434) 977-7700

2010 A R E A M E E T I N G S S C H E D U L E *

Tuesday, Nov. 2NORFOLK

Norfolk Office3620 Tidewater Drive

Norfolk, VA 23509

Wednesday, Nov. 3RICHMOND

Holiday Inn-Central3207 North BoulevardRichmond, VA 23230

(804) 359-9441

Monday, Nov. 8CHARLESTON

Holiday Inn–Civic Center100 Civic Center

Charleston, WV 25301(304) 345-0600

Wednesday, Dec. 1ROANOKEHoliday Inn

450 Litchell RoadSalem, VA 24153

(540) 389-2424

Tuesday, Dec. 21LANDOVER

Local 400 Headquarters4301 Garden City Drive

Landover, MD 20785(301) 459-3400

2010 Q UA RT E R LY M E E T I N G S S C H E D U L E *

* All meetings are at 6 p.m.

* All meetings are at 6 p.m.

“Tom Perriello has more than earnedanother term in Congress, but just asimportant, by helping to re-elect him,

we can show his colleagues that stand-ing up for what’s right is the smartestway to stay in office,” McNutt said.

Congressman Tom Perriello Continued from page 7


Attention: Employees of Shoppers Food & Pharmacy

If you work for the company listed above, under the provisions of your contract, you andyour dependents may be eligible for the Scholarship Fund Program.

Entry Deadline: December 31, 2010Just fill out the preliminary application below and mail it to the Fund office postmarked byDecember 31, 2010. In January of 2011, eligible applicants will be sent additionalinformation from the Fund.

Employee Information

Name ________________________________________________________________________


Employer _____________________________________________________________________

Home Address __________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip Code _____________________________________________________________

Home Phone Number_____________________________________________________________

E-Mail Address _______________________________________________________

Applicant’s Information

Name ________________________________________________________________________


Date of Birth ___________________________________________________________________(If Dependent of Employee)

PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS

MUST BE POSTMARKED BY DECEMBER 31, 2010.

Mail applications to:

Fund OfficeScholarship Program911 Ridgebrook Rd.Sparks, MD 21152-9451

2011AnnualScholarship Awards

SCHOLARSHIPFUNDThe Scholarship Fund expects to be awarding schol-

arships to a select number of eligible participantsand their dependents who will be attending college or auniversity as full-time students in the fall of 2011.Participants and their dependents are eligible to applyfor a scholarship award if the participant completes atleast one year of Service as of December 31, 2010 andis actively employed as of that date. In addition,dependent applicants must be under the age of 24 onDecember 31, 2010.

Applicants who submit preliminary applications andmeet the initial scholarship award requirements will bemailed the full application form in early January of2011.

Cut and mail


Have You Moved? Then Let Us Know!Please fill in the information below.

NAME _______________________________________________________________

NEW ADDRESS _________________________________________________________

CITY_________________________________________________________________

STATE ____________________________________________ ZIP ______________

PHONE NO. ___________________________ COMPANY & STORE NO.____________

Mail this information to: UFCW Local 400, 4301 Garden City Drive,Landover, MD 20785.

¿Se ha mudado? ¡Entonces déjenos saber!Por favor llene la información a continuación.

NOMBRE_____________________________________________________________

NUEVA DIRECCIÓN _____________________________________________________

CIUDAD _____________________________________________________________

ESTADO ___________________________________________ZIP________________

TELÉPHONO NO._______________________ COMPAÑIA Y TIENDA NO._____________

Envíe esta información a: UFCW Local 400, 4301 Garden City Drive,Landover, MD 20785.

L O C A L 4 0 0 R E T I R E E SCommodoreJohn Elliott, Danville, Md., 22 years

GiantThelma M Bell, Waldorf, Md., 21 yearsLeroy A Bellamy, Woodbridge, Va., 31

yearsBertha L Burrows, Gaithersburg, Md.,

30 yearsGeorgia I Coates, Leesburg, Va., 31 yearsHarold E Cox, Hyattsville, Md., 37 yearsTamera N Croyle, Bowie, Md., 30 yearsPatricia D Cunningham, Clifton, Va.,

19 yearsAnthony S Damato, Fairfax, Va., 34 yearsFranklin D Davenport, Fredericksburg,

Md., 33 yearsLeroy Gardner Jr, Washington, D.C.,

41 yearsJoan P Guiles, Leonardtown, Md., 9 yearsTammy A Hagberg, Monrovia, Md.,

30 yearsKathleen J Hart, Bradentown, Fla.,

30 yearsTimothy C Hughes, Glenwood, Md.,

31 yearsMary E Jackson, Washington, D.C.,

33 yearsRonald K Jenkins, Bealeton, Va., 36 yearsHoward R Johnson Sr, Washington, D.C.,

22 yearsRoy L Kitts Sr, Woodbridge, Va., 35 yearsAnthony R Kozel Jr, Springfield, Va.,

11 years

Minh Q Lam, Chantilly, Va., 23 yearsGene E Lawrence, Washington, D.C.,

8 yearsPhil T Le, Fairfax, Va., 20 yearsDealter A Lewis, Alexandria, Va.,

19 yearsEdward C Lui, Wheaton, Md., 18 yearsJohn C Martzolf, Rockville, Md., 43 yearsBernard A Murphy Jr, Cobb Island, Md.,

30 yearsAllen B Painter, Silver Spring, Md.,

44 yearsElbert W Pennington, Fairfax, Va.,

40 yearsTeresina Prologo, Silver Spring, Md.,

21 yearsMitchell R Reed, Burke, Va., 25 yearsLezlie C Reigel, Leesburg, Va., 31 yearsMary R Ronan, Deale, Md., 30 yearsDorothy M Rowley, Hyattsville, Md.,

36 yearsRufus R Stith, Upper Marlboro, Md.,

38 yearsRobert M Strickland, Myrtle Beach, S.C.,

32 yearsAthana L Svenson, Annandale, Va.,

29 yearsLaiwah Tang, Alexandria, Va., 21 yearsEmma J Taylor, Manassas, Va., 21 yearsWarren P Tisdale, Montgomery Village,

Md., 26 yearsRichard A Walters, Germantown, Md.,

30 years

Kaiser PermanenteMary G Davis, Stafford, Va., 20 years

KrogerLester W Kennedy III, Buena Vista, Va.,

39 yearsJohn M Webb, Richmond, Va., 5 yearsLinda K Williams, Sacramento, Calif.,

12 years

ShoppersMohammad Aslan, Springfield, Va.,

30 yearsJames E Bolt Jr, Falls Church, Va., 4 yearsAlan R Campbell, Landover, Md., 20 yearsBoy Jean Leong, Silver Spring, Md.,

23 yearsEdward L McDonald, Burke, Va., 11 yearsTeresa T Montes, Herndon, Va., 10 yearsGregory R Morrison, Sterling, Va.,

44 yearsJerry W Mullins, Bumpass, Va., 15 yearsMaliha O Popal, Alexandria, Va., 20 yearsDonna H Steiner, Warfordsburg, Pa.,

20 yearsBruce G Walters, Smithsburg, Md., 24 yearsSheila L Whitmore, Temple Hills, Md.,

17 years

SymsBernadine F Dyer, Rockville, Md., 16 years

UFCW Local 400Lynda R Williams, Burke, Va., 40 yearsRussell Wise, Waldorf, Md., 40 years

eople are angry. And for goodreason.

Nearly 15 million workersare officially unemployed and 6

mill ion more havestopped looking forwork. Another 8.5 mil-lion workers want full-time jobs but can onlyfind part-time work.Mil l ions more are“gainfully” employed,but earning less thantheir last job. Overall,our standard of livingis stagnant or declining.

Even before the recession hit in 2008,things were getting worse. Between 1980and 2005, more than 80 percent of theincrease in incomes went into the pocketsof the richest 1 percent, leaving 99 per-cent of us to scramble for the remaining20 percent. As a result, income inequalityin the U.S. is now worse than in thirdworld countries like Guyana, Nicaraguaand Venezuela.

Over the past year, the economy hasstarted to rebound because productivityhas skyrocketed, but workers aren’t bene-fiting because corporations are keeping85 percent of the money generated in

profits. By contrast, during the recoveryfrom the 1981-82 recession, corporationskept just 10 percent of the gains.

It’s little wonder that people are mad.Unfortunately, thatanger has been exploit-ed by the Tea Party toadvance an agendaonly big business couldlove.

The candidatesbacked by the TeaParty are extremistswho would turn a badsituation into a catas-

trophe for working families. Consider thesethree Tea Party-endorsed candidates run-ning for Senate: In Kentucky, Rand Paul(R) called Social Security a “PonziScheme” and said it was “un-American” forPresident Obama to criticize BP over theGulf oil spill. In Nevada, Sharron Angle (R)called extending unemployment benefits “aterrible thing” and said, “We need to phaseout Medicare and Social Security.” InAlaska, Sarah Palin protégé Joe Miller (R)argues that government should not pay forunemployment insurance, that Medicaidshould be eliminated, and that Medicareand Social Security should be privatized.

The Tea Partiers support tax cuts for

millionaires, oppose efforts to penalize cor-porations that move jobs offshore, andwant to slash regulations that protectworkers and consumers from health, safe-ty and workplace abuses. Most significant-ly, they oppose giving workers a free andfair choice about whether to join a union.

And that goes to the heart of the prob-lem. The main reason working familiesare suffering so much is because the per-centage of workers belonging to unions isdeclining. With only 7 percent of privatesector workers unionized today, it’s nocoincidence that unemployment is high,wages are down, and corporations arerolling in profits while workers need foodstamps just to eat.

It’s unions that are the answer to oureconomic crisis. Only unions give work-ers the power to share the prosperity theyhelp create. Only unions give workers thepower to increase their economic stand-ing, protect their rights, and gain job,health and retirement security. That’swhy labor and the political leaders whosupport working families must seize con-trol of the debate and redirect voter angerinto advocacy for the real solutions thatwill improve our lives.

Mark P. FedericiSecretary-Treasurer


PUnions are

the answer toour economic

crisis.

Tea PartyAngerMisdirected

United Food and CommercialWorkers Local 4004301 Garden City DriveLandover, MD 20785

Change Service Requested

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDHyattsville, MD

Permit No. 4084

GOING LIVENOVEMBER 1ST!

www.ufcw400.org

TheNewand ImprovedLocal 400Website at

Local 400’s redesigned website puts all the information you

need right at your fingertips, with a cleaner look, clear naviga-

tion and easy interaction.

It includes a special members section with pages on collec-

tive bargaining, union benefits and discounts, scholarships, dues,

and opportunities to volunteer to help your brothers and sisters.

Stewards will have their own area where they can enhance

their education with learning modules. And you’ll find the lat-

est news, electronic copies of the Union Leader, political and

legislative information and a host of other resources.

So starting November 1st, please go to www.ufcw400.org

and make good use of our new, state-of-the-art website!

union leader sept-nov 2010

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