photos by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Green Way Markets opened on Friday in the old Kings location in Ridgewood . Kings last day was Monday . The new store was targeted by pickets from the UFCW Grocery store workers union .
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hospitality; agriculture; cannabis; chemical trades; security; textile, and health care. UFCW is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress and the AFL-CIO; it disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO in 2005 but reaffiliated in 2013.
On the UFCW website site it says ” Grocery store workers have shown up on the front lines of the COVID pandemic to keep our communities fed and supplied during this difficult and dangerous time. We’ve also been on the front line of the fight for COVID safety, speaking up about crowding, mask-wearing, lines, sanitation, and more, fighting to make our stores safe place to work and shop.”
“Now we’re asking for support from our customers and community. Unfortunately, not every store is following all the protocols to keep workers and customers safe. We have filed complaints, written petitions, and rallied together. Now, as the grocery store workers’ union, we are calling on the community to help us hold these companies accountable for our safety and yours by filling out a brief report about your shopping experience.”
The UFCW is a union that targets low wage workers squeezing union dues out of minimum wage employees in exchange for sub par healthcare . Ask any grocery store worker and the sad joke in the grocery industry is the term should be “expendable workers” not “essential workers”. The industry is very labor intensive , with very high operating costs such as rents and refrigeration and massive regulation. Workers are attracted to the industry for its low skill entry point, flexible hours and benefits.
With forced minimum wage increases appearing in the horizon much of the industry is looking to test out a new policy replacing all cashiers with self-checkout kiosks.
While many jobs were lost in Kings bankruptcy , there are still many familiar faces at the Green Way Market in Ridgewood .
