United Food And Commercial Workers International

Canada's biggest retail union is taking aim at the world's largest retailer in a bid to organize employees of Wal-Mart Canada Inc. The United Food and Commercial Workers International union said Friday that it is launching a province-wide drive to organize the retailer's 9,300 employees in Ontario. The union said it is responding to the recent "influx of calls" from Wal-Mart employees.

Public officials and community groups will gather for a community forum Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley, where they will discuss a supermarket chain's alleged mistreatment of workers. The meeting is being sponsored by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 in Los Angeles. About 100 workers have complained to the union on alleged abuses by Grupo Gigante, said Rene Castro, the union's organizing coordinator.

Certified Grocers of California, a Commerce-based cooperative that supplies independent supermarket chains, said Tuesday it has found buyers for 26 of the 32 divested stores purchased from Albertson's following its merger with American Stores Co. The sale of the stores, which are located from San Diego County to Santa Barbara, will give a number of independent operators--all supplied by Certified--a foothold in new markets. It will also give one ethnic supermarket chain, Carson-based K.V.

Certified Grocers of California, a Commerce-based cooperative that supplies independent supermarket chains, said Tuesday it has found buyers for 26 of the 32 divested stores purchased from Albertson's following its merger with American Stores Co. The sale of the stores, which are located from San Diego County to Santa Barbara, will give a number of independent operators--all supplied by Certified--a foothold in new markets. It will also give one ethnic supermarket chain, Carson-based K.V.

Public officials and community groups will gather for a community forum Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley, where they will discuss a supermarket chain's alleged mistreatment of workers. The meeting is being sponsored by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 in Los Angeles. About 100 workers have complained to the union on alleged abuses by Grupo Gigante, said Rene Castro, the union's organizing coordinator.

As part of President Obama's push to streamline regulations on businesses, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to let chicken slaughterhouses run production lines faster and with fewer federal inspectors, angering food safety advocates and poultry plant workers. Under the proposal, production lines would be allowed to move 25% faster, while the government would cut by as much as 75% the number of line inspectors eyeing chicken bodies for defects before they are packaged for consumption.

Presidents of union locals from around the country called for solidarity with meatpackers who lost jobs during a strike and accused top labor leadership of cooperating with management to force concessions. About 250 workers at a rally in Boston's Faneuil Hall cheered speakers who called for action against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union leadership, which they said permitted deteriorating wages and benefits.

Attorneys for United Food and Commercial Workers International Locals 770, 899 and 1442 are seeking to enjoin Ralphs from any further layoffs or reduction in working hours of its food clerks pending an arbitration hearing. Ralphs and UFCW officials have been in a dispute for the last several months over the supermarket's efforts to reduce the number of higher-paid food workers in order to replace them with clerks that are paid less.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez Party: Democrat Age: 40 Residence: Los Angeles Personal: Single, no children Education: UC Berkeley Previous occupation: Regional vice president and local political director, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Budget plan: Closes the deficit with minimal program cuts, with the help of $9.3 billion in borrowing. A new tax on oil production would be used to repay the loan.

The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a trespassing decision that barred a labor union from soliciting for members at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores nationwide. The court ruled that the world's largest retailer failed to show irreparable harm from solicitations by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was still examining the order.

Canada's biggest retail union is taking aim at the world's largest retailer in a bid to organize employees of Wal-Mart Canada Inc. The United Food and Commercial Workers International union said Friday that it is launching a province-wide drive to organize the retailer's 9,300 employees in Ontario. The union said it is responding to the recent "influx of calls" from Wal-Mart employees.

* Joe Hansen, a meat cutter from Milwaukee, took charge of the 1.4-million-member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. He replaced Doug Dority, who retired after 10 years as international president. * Boise Cascade Corp., the third-biggest office products retailer, will eliminate 1,100 jobs as it shuts 45 of its OfficeMax retail stores. The stores will be closed by June 30, Boise Cascade said in a regulatory filing.