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The UFCW Convention in Montreal in August adopted an organising plan to double its membership in the next decade.



Newly elected UFCW President and UNI President Joe Hansen introduced a raft of changes geared to go for union growth.



Joe underlined that the global union dimension to local union growth is critical in a globalising retail sector. The key priorities for the UFCW are:

• Achieving 3 million members by 2018;
  
• Electing Barack Obama;
  
• Passing the Employee Free Choice Act;
  
• Healthcare reform;
  
• Fixing the broken immigration system.

In a live video link, Barack Obama thanked the UFCW for their support and observed that he and the UFCW shared the common vision that American people “deserve a fair shot at life; that we each have mutual obligations to one another; that we rise and fall together.”



He remarked that American people now understand what the ownership society means: that if you lose your job, tough, you are on your own; that if you do not have a pension, tough, you are on your own; that if you have no healthcare, tough, you are on your own.



He also promised to be a president who “did not choke on the word ‘union’. He warned that a John McCain presidency would be Bush III.



UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings addressed the convention on behalf of the international guests. He called upon Barack Obama to globalise EFCA.



He underlined the importance of the link between local and global organising campaigns, referring to the recent organising success of the UFCW in New York at Swedish retailer H&M.



“The UFCW and UNI worked together and through the global agreement with H&M were able to sign up over 1,000 members and begin negotiations for a new agreement.



Jennings also referred to the growth of UK retailer Tesco in the USA through the Fresh and Easy stores. He called for Tesco and UFCW to meet to begin a dialogue to build on an effective partnership in the USA.





Philip Jennings speech to the UFCW Convention