United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 (UFCW Local 770)

UFCW Local 770 has opposed a proposed merger between grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons. ⁴

Advocacy Positions

California Senate Bill 553

In August 2023, the UFCW Local 770 announced their support for California Senate Bill (SB) 553, which would require local businesses to develop and implement workplace violence prevention plans. Such plans would be required to include provisions including logging violent incidents as well as providing employees with training for active shooting and shoplifting situations. ^{5 6} The bill was passed by the California legislature in September 2023. ⁷

Opposition to Kroger-Albertsons Merger

UFCW Local 770 opposed the merger of Kroger and Albertsons grocery chains. ⁴ The proposed $24.6 billion merger was announced in October 2022 and would impact 700,000 workers. ⁴ UFCW Local 770 stated that if the merger were approved, it would “drive out competition, increase food prices, create food deserts and put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.” ⁴ Kroger said that it has taken steps so that no stores will close due to the merger and all front-line associates will remain employed. ⁸

In April 2023, grocery worker Erika Bentzen, who also works as a vice president on the UFCW Local 700 executive board, led a group of protesters of the merger. They protested in front of a Ralph’s Grocery Company in Thousand Oaks, California. ⁹

The UFCW Local 770 backed California’s Senate Bill 725 called the Grocery Worker Safety Net Law that would make sure grocery and pharmacy workers who are laid off as a result of a merger or acquisition are given one week’s severance for every year of work. ¹⁰

Opposition to Ride Share Workers as Independent Contractors

In 2020, the state of California considered Proposition 22 on the ballot that if passed would determine that app-based rideshare drivers associated with companies such as Uber and Lyft were independent contractors ¹¹ rather than regular employees. ¹² UFCW Local 770 gave $1 million to the “No On Prop 22” campaign. ¹³ Proposition 22 passed and was upheld in the California Court of Appeals in March 2023. ¹⁴  Opponents have appealed to the California state Supreme Court. ¹⁵

COVID Restrictions

Grocery workers filed complaints in May 2020 with UFCW Local 770 over alleged safety violations that were pandemic related. ¹⁶ The complaints led to an investigation by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health and citations. ¹⁶ The violations were for allowing too many customers inside the store and not having workers keep the minimum of six feet of physical distance. ¹⁷

UFCW Local 770 was also critical of grocers that ended the “hero pay” financial incentives given during the pandemic in 2023. Many grocers gave extra pay to front-line workers deemed “essential workers” in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, in some cases an extra $3 an hour. ¹⁸

UFCW Local 770 PAC

The union has a political action committee. The UFCW Local 770 distributed $145,403 of its funds to the PAC in 2022. ¹⁹

Leadership

Kathy Finn is the president of UFCW 770. ²⁰ Finn was named to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ transition advisory team in December 2020. ²¹ She was previously the secretary-treasurer with the union. ²²

Ricardo Icaza was the former president of UFCW 770 and retired in 2017. ²³ Icaza had worked as the union president for 36 years. He died in July 2023. ²⁴

Finances

UFCW Local 770 had total revenues of $20.6 million in 2021 and total expenses of $23.2 million. Its total assets were $22.3 million. ²⁵ UFCW Local 700 collected $17.4 million in dues in 2022. ²⁶ It spent $6.8 million on representational activities, such as collective bargaining, in 2022 and $526,067 on political activities and lobbying. ¹⁹