All across the country, corporations and the ultra-wealthy are funneling unprecedented amounts of money into our political system. Their goal is to create an unbalanced and unfair economy where wages are as low as possible and profits replace respect for the workers that created them.
Active Ballot Club (ABC) seeks to level the playing field. By bringing together thousands of workers, our political concerns can be amplified to a decibel that is impossible to ignore.
ABC turns pocket change into big change for working families by fighting for:
Retail negotiations will begin in earnest in March of next year for the majority of Union Retail Grocery stores represented by UFCW Local 1189. We have designed a survey to gather information from you on what is important in your workplace and your thoughts and ideas regarding your collective bargaining agreement (your Union Contract). Your opinions and input are important. Take the Survey!
Congratulations to these UFCW 1189 members who were each awarded a $1000 scholarship:
Hayden Bauer, employed at Cub Foods in Cottage Grove, will be attending St. Cloud State University:
Colt Dahlgren, employed at International Falls County Market, will be attending Rainy River Community College in International Falls:
Scholarships ranging from up to $1200 for part time and up to $2500 for full time are given each year to students enrolled in community or technical college, along with undergraduate and graduate programs. Students are eligible for consideration for up to two years for a community or technical college program, up to four years of undergraduate work at a university (including two years in a community or technical college), and up to two years of graduate work. For more information and to apply for a scholarship, click here.
Congratulations to Alex Nelson and Miranda Chartrand, o
Congratulations to UFCW Local 1189 member Karen Klabunde, an employee of Jerry's Hudson County Market, who won the monthly ABC drawing for $250!
UFCW 1189 and UFCW 653 and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) are partnering with our Union Employers in the fight to END cancer. Leukemia remains the number one disease killer of children and young adults under the age of 19. We will be running a retail program in support of LLS's and UFCW's Labor Against Cancer initiative March 17-31, 2018. We have set an aggressive goal of $200,000, a goal our Union members will do everything in our power to meet, or exceed. Together, we will make a difference!
Attention Wisconsin High School students in Grades 9-12: You can win cash prizes up to $500! Submit an essay on the topic, "Unions have been important to my family and my community because ..." Click on the link to view details: 
WI Essay Flier 2017-18.pdf
The Texas Workers Relief Fund has been established to assist workers and their families in their time of need. Funds are provided to help stabilize situations when issues occur such as natural disasters. How to Help: Please donate to this fund in order to further promote the wellbeing of working Texans and their families. Workers Assistance Program, Inc. proudly operates this fund in conjunction with the Texas AFL-CIO. Click here.
Congratulations to our Local 1189 2017 scholarship winners! Each of these Local 1189 members were awarded $1000.
Reece Podgorski, employed at Good Samaritan Society Inver Grove Heights, will be attending Minnesota State University in Mankato:
Miranda Chartrand, employed at Kowalski's Grand Avenue, will be attending the University of St. Thomas:
Aziza Tahir, a part-time deli worker at the Cub Foods Midway store, signed up for voluntary payroll contributions to the UFCW Actve Ballot Club (ABC) and was automatically entered into a drawing. The UFCW ABC is our own political action fund, funded with voluntary contributions from our members (not dues money). ABC funds are used to support candidates and legislative initiatives that work for UFCW members and their families. Aziza won $250 in the drawing, but we all win when we support the UFCW ABC fund. Sign up today to be entered in the next drawing!
From St. Paul Union Advocate, 7/7/17: He is gruff and often combative, principled and usually blunt. But above all else, Bernie Hesse is a trade unionist.
From his days as a grocery clerk to his current work as director of special projects for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189, Hesse has made himself ubiquitous in St. Paul’s labor community. If you’ve walked a picket line or joined a get-out-the-vote effort sometime in the last two decades, chances are you’ve crossed his path.
Your worksite page on UFCW1189.org has everything you need to know about your union membership.
