On April 8, 2008 UFCW Local 1459 of Springfield, Mass. held its annual stewards' seminar at the Clarion Inn in West Springfield. The seminar provides stewards with an opportunity to be educated on union issues, politics and hear the latest news and updates from union leadership. This year saw about eighty stewards in attendance.

The event kicked off with Secretary Treasurer Dan Clifford welcoming and thanking the stewards for their service to the union. Each steward had an opportunity to introduce themselves. Dan was followed by President Scott Macey, who gave the annual State of the Union address. As local president, Macey services twelve contracts, and is head administrator of the union and its health and welfare fund.

Local 1459 Does a Lot More Than Service Contracts

Scott Macey highlighted Local 1459’s strong history of aggressive organizing, and noted that the union won several new contracts over the past year. Ross Kiely, a new organizer for the local, was introduced at the seminar, along with organizer Tyrone Housey.

The business agents of the local work very hard juggling all 66 contracts, Macey noted, and put in a great deal of effort and hours to service all of its members. President Macey was pleased to report that though Local 1459 is a smaller local compared to the other UFCW Locals in the region, Local 1459 has been able to stand on their own and negotiate good, solid contracts. But President Macey stressed the servicing contracts was only part of what UFCW Local 1459 staff did. He talked about the importance of the charitable, community and political activities Local 1459 helps to organize and participates in over the course of a year.

Mayor Sarno Visits Local 1459 Stewards

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno also stopped by Local 1459's annual stewards' seminar, and thanked the audience for their support in his run for mayor last November.

Mayor Sarno said he was fighting hard for Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for the soon-to-be-built Putnam Vocational and Forest Park Middle Schools. PLAs are agreements to use union workers for construction projects. In discussing his role in generating new construction at Baystate Medical Center, Mayor Sarno took pride in recounting a story on how, when faced with a decision to ride a bus with union workers or with Baystate Medical Center officials to the Statehouse to testify, he chose to ride with the workers. Before leaving, the mayor made clear to the audience that he knew labor unions supported him, and that he would in turn support labor unions.

Stewards Honored

Several awards presented to the stewards who showed exceptional effort in the service of the members they represent. The 2008 award recipients:

For "Steward of the Year"
Joan Patterson – Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School
P.J. Shelley – Kolburne School
Tom Burgess – Somers Board of Education
Susan Lynch – First Student, Inc

For the Unsung Hero Award
Laurie Michaud – Sodexho, Inc.
Becky Dixson – Sodexho, Inc.
Gwen Dudley – Sodexho, Inc.
Linda Lord - Sodexho, Inc.

Getting Political

The major themes for this year's steward's seminar was politics. Rick Brown, Local 1459's political director and President of the Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO, took a moment to encourage members to become politically active. Increasing job loss, the high cost of health insurance – rising three times faster than wages or inflation – and rising costs in general, make people less secure. It makes a difference who is president, Brown said, and in 2008 the battle cry should be “anyone but McCain.” We need good jobs, he said, "not just for the chosen few, not just for the very rich. Without justice for all of us, there is no peace with any of us."

In response to popular demand, Local 1459 also invited Rick Gregory, who spoke about politics and the important role that government plays in every facet of our lives. With his unique blend of folksy wisdom and engaging style, Gregory talked about the great gains unions fought for and won over the years and importance for unions and union member to remain engaged in the political process. Once again, Gregory proved to be a real treat to the ears and mind of Local 1459's stewards.

Building Stronger Unions

The next speaker was Charlie Richardson from the U-Mass Lowell Labor Extension Program (http://www.uml.edu/laborextension/). The theme of his address was the management rights clause common in so many contracts. Unions, he argued, should not automatically concede to a contract clause giving management the right to set all policies. Unions should be able to bargain everything, even procedures. He talked about several challenges facing workers as management asserts more and more power, such as GPS and camera monitoring, moving workers from full time to part time, de-skilling skilled work, and moving job positions at will in order to create a more “flexible” workforce. Other trends include outsourcing and using technology to cut the workforce, such as self-checkout lanes in grocery stores.

“All of these trends have negative impacts on union strength,” he said, and lead to a loss of security as well as bargaining power. Workers become more isolated, and they lose a sense of solidarity. Job losses mean less members and lower dues; this means unions lose resources, and workers in turn lose faith in their union. Many unions have been brainwashed, he said, into accepting the idea that management can do what it wants. If unions question these plans, Richardson noted, management replies “management rights.” But he urged unions to challenge these plans, and force management to bargain over these changes and reverse these trends.

Keeping the Heat on Wal-Mart

Al Norman from Sprawl Busters (http://www.sprawl-busters.com) and author of The Case Against Wal-Mart also spoke at the seminar. From Greenfield, MA, Norman is famous for fighting against both Wal-Mart and urban/suburban sprawl. The impact of his efforts and of others across the country is seen in the recent cancellation of Wal-Mart’s plan to build 45 new stores. This was a direct result of pressure from grassroots citizen organizations, he said, which makes a difference. “Citizen's groups jammed up their pipeline of production, and since June, over 65 projects have been put on hold or are dead. The American consumer is starting, in the back of their mind, to get the idea that something is wrong here.” Consumers are starting to think a little more, he said, and citizens are making a difference.

Norman went on to discuss the loss of jobs due to the expansion of big-box stores like Wal-Mart, and asked the crowd to join him in committing to not enter any of these stores, which are non-union, rely on cheap Chinese goods, and have lousy working conditions. Norman told the audience, "if you shop at Wal-Mart, you are basically shopping away your job."

Stewards Go Home Winners

The seminar wrapped up with its raffle featuring a trip to Mt. Washington, a computer, and a 26" HDTV. Between the raffle, the awards, and the education, everyone went away a winner.