Union Benefits that Help You Build a Better Life

This column by UFCW 227 President Bob Blair and Secretary Treasurer Paul L. Whiteley Jr. was originally published in the UFCW 227 2024 Winter Print Edition of News and Views and has been adapted for online use.

The guaranteed raises in your contract, seniority and your Union Representative are really important benefits of union membership. In 2024 and the last few years, our union has negotiated record raises for our members. You deserve that money because you work hard. In our opinion, you deserve more and we’re going to continue to fight for what you deserve.

What is also true is that there is zero chance that you and your co-workers would have received those raises without a committee of your co-workers, backed by our union, negotiating hard for that money. Look at the price of eggs. We’ve also seen record corporate greed in the last few years too.

While these benefits and others in your union contract are extremely important, they aren’t the only union benefits. When you think about memberships people get for the great benefits groups like AAA come to mind or AARP. Did you know that union members have more power in numbers than either of those well-known groups?

Do you like saving money? Yeah, we do too. Did you use your union benefits to save money this year? If the answer to that is no, we’d like to invite you to learn more about the 400,000 + ways your union can help you every day.

Your union benefits can help you save on the things you use every day. We talk about those discounts a lot throughout the year. However, your union benefits are more than just a discount program. They provide you with things you can use to build a good life and take care of your family.

Here are a few BIG ways your union benefits can help improve your life:

Legal Advice - Do you have a legal question? Need to hire an attorney? Because you’re a union member, you can get free access to basic legal help. If it’s more complicated you can upgrade to a higher level of legal services.

Help with Your Credit - Wish you had a financial pro to review your budget and offer tips? Thanks to the Union Plus Credit Counseling Program, you do — and it’s free to union members!

Get a Mortgage or Refinance – Union members get exclusive benefits through the Union Plus program with Wells Fargo.

Union Car Buying Program – Need a new ride? Union members get special discounted price offers online.

Affordable College for Union Families - Members and their families will receive up to 50% off tuition vs. non-union students to several regionally accredited, transfer friendly schools. 8-week online courses are meant to be flexible for your busy life.

There’s more! We hope you’ll follow us on Facebook or Instagram @ufcw227 and make sure we have your email address so we can send you alerts and information about your union benefits.

The purpose of a union is to bring working people together for a better life. Alone we can only do so much. Our union tries to give you the opportunity to do that in many ways: contract negotiations that cover your wages, insurance and working conditions, union representation when you need it and access to the every day things (big and small) that you need to build the life you want.

It will only continue to get better if we remember that we’re all working to build a good life and we need to have each other’s backs in our union.

Thank you for being a union member.

Bob Blair Paul L. Whiteley Jr.
President Secretary Treasurer

Caitlin Blair