After a six-month strike that saw workers walking picket lines in extremely cold temperatures, UFCW Local 1400 has reached an agreement with the Saskatoon Co-op. The deal includes the introduction of a two-tier wage system whereby new hires will start at a different pay scale.
Marianne Garneau spoke to workers in over a dozen grocery cooperatives across the U.S. and Canada to produce this report on coops’ exploitation of workers and history of union-busting.
Nick Driedger and Marianne Garneau respond to an editorial in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix about the strike at the Saskatoon Co-op. In a recent editorial in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Dionne Pohler, a professor at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the
Patrick McGuire recounts an organizing drive at a grocery coop in Winnipeg in the late 1990s, before the IWW developed its Organizer Training program. I went to a Propagandhi concert in 1993 and decided to become a vegan. After becoming a vegan, I needed to
The Saskatoon Co-op is a consumer cooperative grocery with multiple locations in and around Saskatoon, SK. Workers are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1400. They have been without a contract for two years, and have been on strike since November 1. We
John D talks about the six years he has spent working and organizing at a grocery coop in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. I landed a job at the Good Earth Food Co-op in August 2012. I started in the deli department as a prep cook. This
Luigi Rinaldi reflects on an organizing campaign at a grocery store in Rhode Island. This continues our series “Pushing Through,” which reflects on what it takes to develop an organizing campaign into a full-fledged union. From 2014 to 2017 I was part of an organizing
**We recently lost our email subscription list due to technical difficulties. Please re-subscribe with your email at the bottom of this post!** Jason Fults talks about his experience organizing with the IWW at Ward’s Grocery in Gainesville, FL in 2008. Interview by Marianne Garneau. How did
Mike Hellman recounts the solidarity union campaign at Whole Foods in the Bay Area, which lasted from 2010-2014. Interview by Marianne Garneau. Tell me how and when you got involved. I was involved from 2010 to 2014. For the 2-3 years preceding my arrival on