Why are UFCW bosses enriching themselves at the expense of rank-and-file workers whose interests they claim to represent during a pandemic?

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today launched TheImperfectUnion.com, a project highlighting the unfair actions of certain big labor unions that continue to extract significant dues and fees from members’ paychecks during a pandemic.

TheImperfectUnion.com focuses initially on the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union and its Local 770 in California.  A 60-second video anchoring the campaign highlights those unfair actions and calls on the heads of the UFCW and Local 770 to return the dues collected from hard-working members since the pandemic began more than 13 months ago. 

“During the pandemic, grocers have hired hundreds of thousands of new employees to serve communities in need and to help manage new safety protocols,” said Timothy Lee, CFIF’s Senior Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs. “While that influx of employees has certainly helped keep food on the shelves, it has also helped pad the bank accounts of labor unions and fund the six-figure salaries of union bosses by taking money from the essential workers serving on the front lines,” added Lee.

Since March of 2020, members of Local 770 have had up to $900 taken out of their paychecks for union dues, and some had to pay initiation fees of up to $550, according to official filings with the U.S. Department of Labor. That means some Local 770 members have had up to $1,450 taken out of their pockets by the union. 

Meanwhile, UFCW Local 770 President John Grant and Secretary-Treasurer Kathy Finn earned nearly $200,000 in 2020, or nearly seven times more than what the average Local 770 member earns in a year. And the UFCW’s big boss in Washington, Marc Perrone, earned over $300,000, or nearly 11 times more than the average Local 770 member. In addition to paying its leaders six-figure salaries, Local 770 is sitting on $28 million in assets. 

“The UFCW and Local 770 must stop blaming others for their members’ struggles while they continue to exploit those same members for financial gain. Frontline workers deserve better,” Lee concluded.

To learn more and watch the 60-second video, visit TheImperfectUnion.com.

The Center for Individual Freedom is a constitutional and free-market advocacy organization with more than 300,000 activists and supporters nationwide.

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