RAFFLE TICKET MONEY IS DUE IN TO LOCAL 328 - TODAY, MAY 1ST

If you did not return your raffle ticket money to the April Quarterly Meetings PLEASE contact your Union Representative to pick up, or either drop off or mail to Local 328 at:

Attn:  Cheryl Bushee

UFCW Local 328

278 Silver Spring Street

Providence, RI 02904

Thank you for your cooperation - and a BIG Thank You to the Stewards who had them in on time!

Nearly 1,000 Kroger workers and UFCW members from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan are meeting this week to plan for 2012 and beyond. Among other topics, they'll be discussing issues they’ll face in upcoming bargaining, including the state of their pension funds and the state of the retail food industry.

“We are all here for a common purpose,” said Roberta Greaver, a Steward from UFCW Local 75. “As Kroger workers, we know that wages, pensions and health care will all be at stake the next time we go to the bargaining table. But beyond that, in this part of the country, the very right to stick together in a union is under attack. The only way to fight back is through unity and working together. There’s power in numbers.”

Nearly 30,000 Kroger members in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio will renegotiate contracts with the company in 2012. In 2013, contracts expire for 12,000 members in Michigan and 13,000 in Ohio.

LETTERS TO SECRETARY TOM VILSACK ON THE

"MODERNIZATION OF POULTRY SLAUGHTER INSPECTION"

The USDA has published a proposed rule, "Modernization of Poultry Slaughter Inspection" that will allow large poultry processing facilities to run their lines at 175 birds per minute by expanding the existing HAACP Inspection Model Program (HIMP) to replace current inspection systems.  We are sharing the letter below and asking our members to join us in sending comments to Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging him to pull this rule until a comprehensive investigation on the effect that line speed has on workers in poultry plants has been completed and reviewed.

The UFCW opposes this new rule because no comprehensive effort has been made to determine the effect faster line speeds and changes in safety protocol (the increased use of chlorine, for instance) will have on the health and safety of the workers in these plants.  USDA has remained steadfast in its assertion that worker safety is not their responsibility.

Please help UFCW convince the USDA to pull the rule entirely until studies are completed on the impact existing HIMP methods are having on workers in those plants.  We are told by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that these studies take one year to complete.  With worker safety on the line, this does not seem too long to wait.

We are asking members to send the letter below to Secretary Vilsack before April 26, 2012.  This will send him the message that workplace safety counts.

Options for submitting comments:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: This website provides the ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on this web page or attach a file for lengthier comments.  Go to:

http://www.regulations.gov  Follow the online instructions at the site for submitting comments.

Mail:  Send to Docket Clerk, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), FSIS, Docket Clerk, Patriots Plaza 3, 355 E. Street SW, 8-163A, Mailstop 3782, Washington, DC 20260-3700

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The Honorable Tom Vilsack

Secretary of Agriculture

United States Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

As a member of UFCW, I am writing to urge you to withdraw the "Modernization of Poultry Slaughter Inspection" rule until a comprehensive study has been completed that measures the impact that the increased line speed and new safety protocols will have on the health and safety of workers in poultry slaughter and packing houses.

This year the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will begin investigating the impact that increased line speed has on workers at plants participating in the Salmonella Inspection Project (SIP).  NIOSH has indicated that this study will take one year to complete.  It would be reckless for the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue a final rule before this investigation is completed.

American workers in the field of poultry processing deserve a work environment that adheres to health and safety standards based on sound science.  To implement this rule without completing this investigation is unacceptable.  American workers expect more from you and from this Administration.

Sincerely,

UFCW Member