ABOUT US
Your Union.
UFCW Local 7 represents 23,000 members in Colorado and Wyoming in Supermarkets, Packing Houses, Food Processing Plants, Cannabis Facilities, Barbers and Cosmetologists, Healthcare Facilities, Counselors, and Distilleries.
UFCW Local 7 represents its members in negotiations with employers on contracts covering wages, benefits, and working conditions. Together we protect the rights, dignity, and safety of our members in the workplace. We advocate for you, the members on public policy issues and organizing the unorganized for rights, respect and a voice in the workplace.
Local 7 is committed to maximizing membership involvement, running a democratic Union with full membership participation, and dedicated to a revival of worker bargaining power. Local 7 has a renewed focus on organizing the unorganized, solidifying our relationships with allies in the community, and reaching out to other labor organizations – because we can’t go it alone.
Your union is committed to regaining some of the ground we have lost over the years and to fight to maintain affordable healthcare and challenge the inequities of the two-tier system in many of our workplaces.
OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
Kim C. Cordova, President
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Matt Shechter, General Counsel
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Christine Arellano, Retail Director
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Samantha Simpson, Health Care Director
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Ramon Zuniga, Secretary-Treasurer
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Jimena Peterson, Organizing Director Extension 201
Jim Hammons, Retail Director
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Martin T. Garcia, Exec. Assistant to the President
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LOCAL 7 EXECUTIVE BOARD
President Kim C. Cordova Local 7
Secretary-Treasurer Ramon Zuniga Local 7
Recording Secretary Becky Sassaman Kaiser
1st Vice President Natalia Gonzalez Denver Processing
2nd Vice President Joan Heller Kaiser
3rd Vice President David Lassio KS 61
4th Vice President Marie Watson Mission Foods
5th Vice President Eddie Chavez SW 835
6th Vice President Edward Perez SW 27
7th Vice President Vacant
8th Vice President Sandy Chavez SW 1614
9th Vice President Venus Baca KS 56
10th Vice President Anthony Settles SW 2246
11th Vice President Mike Dougless SW 1533
12th Vice President Corrina Holcomb ALB 836
13th Vice President Conor Hall KS 33
14th Vice President Wan Wei Li ALB 839
15th Vice President Valarie Morgan KS 78
16th Vice President Ron Lara KS 119
Chris Nate, Director of Office and Financial Operations
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17th Vice President John Young KS 119
18th Vice President Carroll Lif KS 133
19th Vice President Maggie Salazar SW 1681
20th Vice President Vacant
21st Vice President Gerald Whitten SW 1577
22nd Vice President Bienvenue Hovozounkou JBS
23rd Vice President Vacant
24th Vice President Lottie Muggenburg ALB 60
25th Vice President Cherryl McVey ALB 60
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are Stewards and Union Reps?
A Steward is one of your co-workers, who acts as an agent of the union in the workplace. The union membership and Local 7 determines the procedures for selecting stewards and negotiates how many stewards are in each job location, shift and department. The Steward’s job is to make sure the company lives up to your contract. When there is a problem with management and you need union help, your first step should be a visit with your Steward.
A Union Rep is an official agent of your local union who handles any problems that the Steward cannot.
Who negotiates your contract?
Local 7 and the company each choose their own negotiators. The company’s team is usually comprised of lawyers, local management and upper management officials. The union team is usually comprised of bargaining unit employees and expert union negotiators.
What kind of say do I get in the contract?
Before contract talks start, the union asks members what they’d like to see in the contract. Once the contract has been negotiated it’s submitted to you and your co-workers for ratification. If a majority doesn’t approve the contract, your negotiating team goes back to the drawing board.
How long do contracts last?
Usually 3 to 5 years.
What are union dues? What are they used for?
Union dues are the money you pay the union to help pay for support staff, legal costs, negotiation costs, arbitrator’s fees, etc.
What’s a “local?”
The United Food and Commercial Workers have a structure that includes a national body, intermediaries and local unions. Most decisions are made at the state and local union level.
What does the “International” do?
The International’s responsibilities include lobbying Congress for laws that benefit workers, sending help to locals that need it and coordinating national efforts.
How democratic are unions?
The whole process is open and democratic. You decide if you want to sign an authorization card. You decide whether to vote “yes” on joining the union. You decide which co-workers you want on your negotiating team. You decide what to tell your negotiators you want in a contract. You vote on the contract once it’s negotiated. You vote on who will be the officers of your local union.
What is a union?
A union is a group of employees who join together within a company to bargain collectively for better wages, stronger benefits and safer working conditions.
What do unions do?
A union’s primary objective is to secure good contracts for its members and to enforce the provisions of that contract. The union also administers some of the contract’s important benefits directly. Often these include health plans, pensions and labor/management partnerships and trusts.
How do you organize with Local 7?
Employees who want to join UFCW Local 7 sign a “union authorization card.” When a majority of employees sign cards, they are forwarded, in most cases, to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB then schedules and conducts a secret ballot election. In some cases, when a majority of workers sign cards the company will recognize the union.
When the union is certified, the company is required by law to bargain over wages, benefits and working conditions. The laws governing public sector and the airline industry are different.
If I sign an authorization do I have to vote yes in the election? What if I change my mind?
You can vote how you want. UFCW Local 7 is committed to organizing workers that want union representation. Organizing is not about holding a vote; it is about gaining a voice in the workplace.
When the NLRB conducts a union election it’s a secret ballot. No one has any right to know how you voted.
How does the union work out problems with management?
Local 7 utilizes the grievance process. The contract spells out what the procedures are and explains how conflicts are to be resolved.
When management engages in unfair conduct or violates a provision of the contract there are steps spelled out in the contract to resolve the problem. Normally, first talk with your supervisor. When he or she refuses to do anything about it, go to your Local 7 Steward for help. The Steward sits down with you and management and tries to talk about the issue. If it can’t be resolved at this meeting, a Union Representative approaches the company to discuss the issue. If the problem still cannot be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, the Rep appeals to upper management. If this step fails, both parties bring in a neutral arbitrator to hear evidence and order a final resolution of the problem.
What is a “bargaining unit?”
A bargaining unit is made up of all the employees are eligible to vote for and be in the union.
