The below resolution was adopted at the August 1st, 2024 Membership Meeting.
WHEREAS, big businesses, multinational corporations and their political allies have waged a transnational war on workers; and
WHEREAS, New Seasons Market’s gross sales profits totaled nearly $600 Million USD over the course of the last Fiscal Year; and
WHEREAS, the war on workers has led to deteriorating conditions and spiraling income inequality for workers & their families; and
WHEREAS, union workers are fighting back, in order to secure fair work conditions and contracts for themselves and their communities; and
WHEREAS, union workers across the United States continue to work to repeal no-strike laws at the state and federal levels; and
WHEREAS, 88 percent of people in the United States, under the age of 30, view unions favorably—a record-breaking level of support from young workers; and
WHEREAS, 71 percent of Americans support unions—cuing across party lines; and
WHEREAS, organized labor must find creative ways to maximize our economic power and fight against corporate greed; and
WHEREAS, the Vermont AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the United Auto Workers (UAW) - home to union siblings at the forefront of the labor movement - have commied to aligning their contracts to expire on May 1, 2028; and
WHEREAS, our members and the broader society would benefit from measures that expand access to fundamental resources & respect (including, but not limited to, national healthcare, expansion of the right to organize a union & the ease in which said union is recognized, debt forgiveness, free education, child care for all, strengthened retirement security, and efforts to ensure the protection of democracy from those who would undermine the decision-making of our communities;and
WHEREAS, the United Auto Workers, led by President Shawn Fain, has called for unions to align contract expirations for May 1, or International Workers' Day, with the aim of a mass strike on May 1, 2028; and
WHEREAS, “general strike” or “mass strike” refer to sector-wide or multi-sector labor actions organized by industrial & trade unions, striking together in order to force pressure on employers for company-wide or sector-wide concessions for working people. The intent of this type of strike is not for individual concessions, but the mass collective nature of the action nurtures a broad bond of solidarity across unions to strengthen the collective efficacy of strikes as powerful means of change; and
WHEREAS, the power that unions have derives from our unity:
RESOLVED, that New Seasons Labor Union (NSLU) will echo UAW President Fain's call for aligning contract expirations for May 1, 2028; and
RESOLVED, that this resolution will require any contract involving NSLU and the employer which includes April 30th, 2028 to expire no later than 11:59PM PST on April 30th, 2028. NSLU & the shops it represents shall adopt this date in solidarity with other unions aligning their contract expiration for “May Day” 2028 as a useful tactic in the fight to advance racial, economic and social justice; and
RESOLVED, that NSLU will work tirelessly to build the infrastructure & resources needed to support its membership in this show of worker strength; and
RESOLVED, that NSLU will commit to unwaveringly supporting the local chapters of other union affiliates and the broader labor movement in bargaining fair contracts, and in anticipated or active labor disputes; and
RESOLVED, that NSLU shall publish the text of this resolution in a clearly accessible manner on the NSLU website. Additionally, the union shall issue a public statement, in line with this resolution, through the union's social media accounts as a demonstration of the union's commitment to solidarity with our union siblings across the country.
