Ufcw Local 7 Establishes One-million-dollar Covid-19 Emergency Hardship Fund

Submitted by UFCW Local 7 Union

UFCW Local 7 has announced it would establish a one-million-dollar emergency hardship fund for its members who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic working in grocery stores and food processing facilities, as well as the dedicated healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente. 

UFCW Local 7 members are working tirelessly to meet the food and healthcare needs of our community. We have been actively negotiating with employers to do the right thing and provide paid sick time leave and childcare expenses for our hard-working members in these stressful times. Unfortunately, many have failed to act as good corporate citizens during this national health crisis.

With that in mind and to soften the blow to our members, who are a critical component in the never-ceasing effort to confront this invisible and insidious virus, Local 7 is providing a fund which can be drawn upon by members if determined eligible by the Hardship Committee of the Executive Board of the Union.

The fund will provide one-time payments up to two hundred dollars ($200) for individuals who have suffered loss of income or other expenses due to the COVID-19 diagnosis.

Local 7 is proud to support our members in their critical role in confronting this national crisis. We urge all major grocers and food processing plants, including JBS, Denver Processing and Mission Foods to match UFCW’s Emergency Fund so that the smooth, safe and efficient delivery of food products and other essential items continue to flow without interruption to the general public and our first responders.

Local 7, the largest Union in Colorado is affiliated with United Food and Commercial Workers International Union which represents over 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada, and is one of the largest private-sector Unions in North America. UFCW members work in a wide range of industries, including retail food, food processing, agriculture, retail sales, and health care.