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UFCW LOCAL 555
STRONG AND PROUD
THE
PORTLAND CONNECTION
The
Portland connection to Local 555 began in 1936
with the creation of Local 1092, started by seven grocery clerks. They were reacting to the pitiful lot of
Portland Area grocery clerks, who worked as long as 72 hours a week for around
$14.00. They had no job protection,
no guaranteed breaks, no paid holidays and no benefits. Premium pay for Sunday or night work was
unheard of. Paid vacations were for
other people.
These seven clerks decided to try to do something about it.
Tom Lenhart
was elected President, and Malcom MacCloud, Secretary-Treasurer.
It took nearly a year of meetings and sign-ups before the group felt able to
apply for a Charter from the Retail Clerks International Association. It was granted on December 28, 1936, and
Grocery Clerks Local 1092 was formed.
The fight had just begun.
They had some success organizing the large independent grocers of whom
there were many. Most of them were
now paying higher wages for shorter work weeks, which were still closer to 72
hours than 40. The big chain
operations were hostile, and refused either to recognize or bargain with the
Union. Their employees were wary of joining for
fear it would "cost them their job".
TEAMSTERS COME TO THE RESCUE
The big breakthrough came with the
aid of the Teamsters. They went to
the chains and issued an ultimatum: "No union recognition, no deliveries."
Very soon after that the employers formed their own association, Food
Employers, Inc., to deal with the upstart
Union.
The new Local began to pick up steam. At a single mass meeting several hundred
clerks signed membership cards. In
February of 1937 negotiations for a contract began. Within a year the clerks were engaged in
their first strike. They were out
from May to September. The final
Settlement gave them $2.50 a week increase in wages.
WOMEN ENTER THE WORKFORCE
The decade of the 1940's passed swiftly. These were the war years, and a good
portion of the membership was away in military service.
The women grocers became an accepted part of contract language. Two breaks for her in the work day was a
part of the industry. Wage, price
controls and rationing were the order of the times.
BENEFITS INCREASE
There was much activity as the 1950's unfolded. The Pharmacists were organized, and for a
period the Local was called the Food and Drug Clerks Union. A short and bitter strike occurred in
1952. A major issue was medical
insurance. The cause was lost,
however, when a few clerks with company insurance took a small wage increase,
and forced a settlement which withheld a medical trust for the entire
membership. However, company paid medical was a
benefit whose time had come. In the
1957 negotiations, an Employer paid trust for the membership became a fact. A third week of vacation after ten years,
and a company paid sick leave came at the same time. A Journeyman Clerk's wages had improved
by the mid 1950's to $1.31 per hour.
PENSIONS AND DENTAL CARE BECOME A REALITY
Urban explosion into the suburbs was rampant by the 1960's
and the employers made the move with the population. Step by step the members gained benefits
that helped keep more of their paychecks in their pockets, and their contracts
exceeded those of most labor groups. The
Portland clerks
gained a pension, dental care and prescription drug benefits.
LIGHTOWLER DYNASTY ENDS
George Lightowler, a long time
Union Activist, served as Secretary Treasurer of the local from 1940 until he
retired, because of ill health, in 1963.
The leadership reins were handed to Gordon Swope who served
as Secretary Treasurer and later as President until 1974. During this period great strides were
made in wages, contract language and benefits.
Journeyman wages went from $2.80 per hour in 1966 to $3.92 in 1970. During the early 70's all unions were
traumatized by the Nixon wage and price guidelines which restricted pay
increases to 5.5%, while allowing inflation to rise with few restrictions.
MERGERS MAKE US BIGGER
The Grocery units of Local 1121, Oregon City/West Linn were
merged with Local 1092 on May 1, 1963.
The non-food contracts went to the Retail Mercantile Union, Local 1257.
A major reorganization of the Retail Clerks Locals began in
1968. Local 1565, which represented
clerks from
Hood
River
to
Bend was split and merged with locals 1092 and
992 of
Salem. The Hood River/The Dalles
area went to Local 1092 and the Bend/Redmond units were given to
Salem. With this merger Local 992 ceded
representation at the
Yamhill
County stores to Local
1092. Also effective July 1, 1968
was the merger of Local 147, Astoria/Tillamook, with Local 1092. The membership of the combined locals
topped 6000 clerks. The
reorganization was completed with the mergers of Local 201, Eugene/Roseburg,
with Local 265 of Medford and Local 1257 with Local 1092.
With the election of 1973 came a new President, Dan Fortune,
an employee of Fred Meyer. He was a
long time Union activist and he defeated Gordon Swope at the polls. Dan was to serve less than a year before
he was stricken with cancer and died in office.
Walt Derry, who had been Secretary Treasurer, became the new
President. During his term, he moved
the Union office from
Ankeny Street
to
Davis Street. This was the fourth home of the Local. Original offices were in the old and then
the new Labor Temples. The
Davis Street
building became a mini
Labor
Temple as extra space was
rented to six labor related groups. The general election campaign of 1976
brought a complete change of leadership.
Elected were Mike Hereford, President; Mike Swope, Secretary Treasurer;
four new Union representatives, and six new Executive Board Members. This was the last election for union
representatives. By a change in the
International Constitution, all Rep's were to be hired by the President with the
approval of the Executive Board.
In the late 1970's Local 800, a group of Professional and
Health Care Workers and the Boot and Shoe Workers Local 366 merged with Local
1092.
These were followed by the merger of the newly formed Local
1093 representing the Memorial Coliseum workers with Local 1092. The membership now soared to over 7000.
The first shop steward program for the local was originated
and headed by Grievance Director, Gene Pronovost in October, 1978. In 1979, two important resolutions were
passed by the membership which established "coordinated bargaining".
The summer of 1978 will be known as
the year of the Portland Grocery Strike.
The members were out twenty three days.
The emotionally charged issues were the Employer proposal to reduce the
health benefits for retirees and the issue of hours. Lost was the holiday closing for grocery.
However, time and a half pay was negotiated for working the holiday.
Portland's Local 1092 was
the last Local on the West Coast to give up holiday closings. The wage for Journeyman Clerk went to
$7.215 per hour and "Cost of Living" language was paying off very well.
BUTCHERS JOIN THE CLERKS
Recognizing that there were many
common areas among their members, the "Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher
Workmen" and the "Retail Clerks International" began exploring ways to
effectively merge the two unions. The talks continued throughout the 1970's
and culminated with the Merger Agreement of 1979, and
the United Food and Commercial Workers Union was born in June of that year.
The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen came into
being with a formal AFL charter in 1897.
the Amalgamated was created out a group of
Federal Labor Unions representing cattle butchers, hog butchers, sausage makers
and retail meat cutters. But unlike
the craft unions which made up the AFL at that point, this new unit was an
international industrial union.
In the period between 1940 and 1964, the Amalgamated became
know as the "merging union".
The greatest membership expansion took place during these years.
The movement started with the merging
of the Sheep Shearers International Union in 1940. The United Leather workers International
Union came into the Amalgamated fold in 1951, followed by the Stockyard workers
Association of America in 1955.
Under the leadership of Abe Feringlass,
the International Fur and Leather Workers Union, the major union in its field,
also merged with the Amalgamated in 1955.
The Agricultural Workers Union, headed by President H. L. Mitchell merged
with the Amalgamated in 1960. And
finally, the largest merger was accomplished in 1968 when Ralph
Helstein led 95,000 United Packinghouse Workers to join the
Amalgamated.
In November, 1979 Mike Hereford and Mike Swope were elected
to the second term as the chief executive officers of Local 1092. Journeyman Clerks were being paid $7.715
per hour.
The 1981 contract gave Journeymen raises of sixty cents each
year over the life of the three year contract.
A cap of twenty cents was put on the C.O.L.A. (cost of living increases)
due to some hefty raises over the previous three years. By June of 1983, the Journeyman rate was
$10.55 per hour.
In 1982, after a spirited and lengthy campaign, Mike Hereford
was re-elected as President and Joe Osa was elected Secretary Treasurer.
The 1983 negotiations were conducted during a time when
business in general was struggling, and the Employers were adamant not to
increase their costs. Journeyman
rates were supposed to raise to $10.90, but because of
a shortfall in Health contributions, twenty cents of that raise was diverted to
the Trust. A thirty-five cent raise
in 1986 was the last raise to be received in the 1980's.
LOCAL 555 IS FORMED
Starting in 1983, the executive
officers of Meatcutter Locals 143A and 1011 met with
their counterparts in the Retail Locals 1092, 303 and 942 to discuss a merger
along the lines of the 1979 International Merger. An agreement was reached in early 1985,
and it was approved by the members of all the Locals. The International approved the merger,
and Local 555 came into being.
Mike Hereford, Local 1092, was selected President. Bob Hogan, Local 143A, became the
Secretary Treasurer. An executive
committee was formed of the officers (Ken Gabriel, 143A; Joe
Osa, 1092; Jim McCormick, 303; Cecil Cardwell, 303;
Arliene Theisen, 942; Walt Derry,
942; Keith Jons, 1011, and Craig Marlette, 1011) of
the former Locals. Betty
Deulen of 143A was Recording Secretary. The Executive Board was composed of five
members from each of the merging locals.
The combined staff was too large for the building on
Davis Street, and after a careful search,
the Local moved into the
Crossroads
Center
Building
in Tigard.
1987 was a busy year, as the
Portland contract was open
and election of officers was mandated by the merger agreement. The Employers were still crying the blues
and all wages were frozen for the next three years.
The election campaign was a tough and bitter struggle which
was waged in lunch rooms, parking lots, restaurants and corporate boardrooms.
The final count was close, but the membership had decided that they wanted to
change to a leadership which promised improved contracts and fiscal
responsibility. Ken MacKillop,
a union representative from
Salem,
defeated Mike Hereford for the Presidency.
Kathy Morris, a 17 year veteran meat wrapper from Safeway, won a large
victory over incumbent, Bob Hogan former president of Local 143A, in a run-off
election.
STRIKE BRINGS HIGHER WAGES
The Local entered the 1990's with a bang. Negotiations were opened in
Portland in April. Wage increases were agreed to early, but
the Employers were proposing drastic cuts in the Health Care Package. The "Last and Final" offer was turned
down by the membership, and a strike was necessary to settle the issues.
Immediately following the strike, Ken MacKillop and
Kathy Morris were re-elected to a second term.
The Portland Journeyman Clerks were now earning $11.35 per hour and will be up
to $12.20 in 1993.
A NEW HOME FOR LOCAL 555
In 1990, the Local 555 Executive Board decided to call a halt
to paying high rents, and bought a building to call home. It was only two blocks from the
Crossroads building and the move was completed by December 1990.
’94 FRED MEYER STRIKE
In 1994 another strike occurred in Vancouver and Portland
involving Retail Grocery, Meat, and CCK. The primary employer target of the
strike was Fred Meyers, and the main issue was seniority and the right for
senior employees to secure more hours than junior employees. The strike theme
was “Part Time America Won’t Work!”
UFCW 555 was not alone in this strike, as the Fred Meyer
Teamsters at the warehouse struck Fred Meyer at the same time. Pickets on the
Fred Meyer locations were staffed by both UFCW and Teamster members.
A newly organized non-food unit at the Coos Bay Fred Meyer
location also joined the strike.
The very popular strike line daily newsletter “Freddy
Front Lines” played an important role in keeping the strikers informed, and the
morale high. News media and other labor organizations also wanted the daily
newsletter. It took about 4 hours to fax the newsletter to all that wanted it.
The Vancouver-Portland strike ended after 87 days, and the
Coos Bay strike ended a couple of weeks later. We were successful in getting new
contract language which gave senior employees the right to claim schedules of
junior employees that had more hours.
THE PRONOVOST PRESIDENCY
In 1996, President MacKillop and Secretary-Treasurer
Morris retired, and Gene Pronovost was elected Union President and Ed Clay was
elected Secretary-Treasurer.
When President Pronovost took office he was shocked to
learn that the Union was fiscally broke, in fact had $100,000s in outstanding
unpaid bills. With the support and cooperation of the International Union, an
interest free loan was secured.
Getting the Local financially healthy was to be a
significant hurdle, but President Pronovost proceeded with his plans to build a
better union. The dues rates were standardized, a political education budget was
created, payroll deductions for union dues was approved, and improvements in
technology were implemented. The mortgage on the building was paid off, as was
the debt to the International.
In 1999, Gene Pronovost established the first Steward
Summit. It was to show appreciation to the stewards for their hard work and to
continue the educational program. The annual summit has become a very popular
and important part of the steward program. In 2008, the Steward Summit
celebrated its 10th Anniversary.
In 2001, International Union President Doug Dority
nominated President Pronovost to serve on the International Executive Board as a
Vice President. The International Executive Board serves approximately 1.4
million members. He was confirmed by the Board, and became the first
International Vice President from Oregon.
In 2002, President Pronovost led UFCW Local 555, among
other labor organizations, and the proponents of Ballot Measure 25 in Oregon.
Ballot Measure 25 was a minimum wage bill that sought to raise the minimum wage
in Oregon. Ballot Measure 25 was important because it included a provision for
an annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA). President Pronovost was successful
in passing Ballot Measure 25.
The 2002 Eugene Retail Food negotiations proved to be very
challenging. The employers had been securing significant concessions in wages
and benefits all across the country. A new contract was ratified as the
Thanksgiving holiday approached. It did not include the two-tier
concessions found in other union’s contracts.
President Pronovost was elected International Vice
President at the UFCW International Union Convention held in San Francisco in
2003.
In 2005, Secretary-Treasurer Ed Clay announced his
retirement, and Lin Mayes, the Union’s Staff Director was appointed to replace
him.
In 2005, President Pronovost, Secretary-Treasurer Lin
Mayes, Recorder Mary Verpoorten, and their slate of 25 Vice Presidents made
history for being the first time all officers were unopposed in their
re-election bid. President Pronovost’s re-election to a fourth term was also
historic.
In 2006, Secretary-Treasurer Lin Mayes announced his
retirement, and Jeff McDonald, Executive Vice President was appointed to replace
him.
Also in 2006 the Pronovost Foundation was created in honor
of President Pronovost. The Pronovost Foundation is a charity organization that
is principally in charge of the UFCW 555 Scholarship Program and raising money
for other services, such as Leukemia and Lymphoma Research.
CHANGE TO WIN
Change to Win was founded in September 2005 by seven unions
and six million workers devoted to building a movement of working people with
the power to provide workers a paycheck that supports a family, universal,
affordable health care, a secure retirement and dignity on the job.
Change to Win’s primary focus is to unite the 50 million
workers in Change to Win affiliate industries whose jobs cannot be outsourced
and who are vital to the global economy — but who are not given a chance to
reach the middle class. We are uniting workers in industries such as
hospitality, construction, retail, food processing, healthcare, trucking and
transportation among others.
The seven affiliated unions are: International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Laborers’ International Union of North America, Service Employees
International Union, UNITE HERE, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America, United Farm Workers of America, and United Food and Commercial Workers
International Union.
2007 RETAIL NEGOTIATIONS
At the end of 2005, President Pronovost and
Secretary-Treasurer Jeff McDonald decided it was time to take a new approach to
negotiations. A 12-month program was set in place to educate and prepare the
area activists in advance for negotiations. The thought was that a better
prepared and knowledgeable membership would make a stronger membership and thus
they would have a better contract.
In early 2006 the 12-month program started in Eugene. Every
month the stewards, internal organizers, and activists would meet to go over
important aspects of bargaining. Education of the membership would provide
power at the table as they would have a better understanding of what the issues
were and be united. Another important piece to this program was reaching out
and making friends within the community. The foundation for a
multi-organizational alliance was setup.
Negotiations began in early 2007 with Secretary-Treasurer
Jeff McDonald as lead negotiator. Roberta Cunningham, Executive Vice President
also assisted in negotiations. No one expected things to be easy but no one
expected things to drag on for nearly a year. The more the employers appeared
to stall the more united the community and membership became. Rallies were held
and actions took place in the stores and within the community centering around
the theme that the workers deserved a “Piece of the Pie.”
A dedicated website was created to keep the membership within
555’s entire jurisdiction informed on what was going on. Media was used to
convey the struggle in a new form and literature was distributed among the
membership. Eventually the steadfast members of Eugene / Springfield won out
and they received the best wage offer in the past 20 years.
The Eugene contract
was ratified in January 2008 and because of the hard work and commitment of the
membership in the Eugene area, contracts throughout the rest of the Local’s
jurisdiction were ratified by record percentages.
About Us |
Executive Board |
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