Rally for Unionizing Workers at Berkeley Bowl

Community Rally in Support of Berkeley Bowl Workers’ Union

A rally will be held on Sunday August 31 at the Berkeley Bowl Marketplace as a show of support for the workers organizing a union at the store. The rally will be from 5-6 PM on the sidewalk in front of the store, 2020 Oregon Street, Berkeley, CA.
Employees at the Berkeley Bowl began organizing with UFCW Local 120 in early May and they have not only grown support inside the store but outside as well. Jane Welford, a Berkeley Bowl shopper and neighbor, was so inspired by the workers efforts that she started ‘Community In Support of Berkeley Bowl Workers’ (CISBOW).
“I’ve shopped at Berkeley Bowl for quite a while and the employees there are really what make the store so successful,” Welford said. “Because of the high level of pride they take in their jobs, I had always been under the impression that the workers there were already union. So naturally, when I learned that they were collectively organizing for union representation, I wanted to help out in any way I could.”
Through efforts such as handing out flyers and balloons to customers to raise awareness of the workers’ unionizing, CISBOW has received over 4000 signatures on their community petition in support of employees’ rights to organize. “I’ve found that I wasn’t alone in thinking that the Berkeley Bowl employees were already union. People are shocked when they learn that this store, in one of the most pro-union cities in America, is not a union store.”
According to Kevin Meyer, a cashier at the Berkeley Bowl and member of the union organizing committee, the rally is important because it shows the management of the store that the community is committed to helping the workers gain a voice on the job.
“Customers have been very supportive of our unionizing.” Meyer explained. “From wearing ‘Justice For Berkeley Bowl Workers’ buttons to signing petitions to expressing comments of support, they have let us know that they are behind us 100%.”
Produce worker Eric Feezell said that while issues such as a lack of affordable health care and arbitrary pay increases have been a mounting concern for employees, the driving force behind their unionizing is the ability to have a say in making positive changes that affect the store. “The Berkeley Bowl has grown so much that it has lost a lot of the ‘mom-and-pop’ feel that made it so special. Our mission in organizing a union is to give us the ability to form a partnership with management in order to make ‘The Bowl’ the best place in town to work.”
As community support grows for the unionizing efforts, meanwhile the management of the Berkeley Bowl has made it clear that they do not support their employees rights to organize. Once they learned of the unionizing they hired the law firm of Jackson-Lewis, the most notorious union-busting law firm in the country. Last week the Berkeley Bowl admitted to the National Labor Relations Board that they had illegally committed unfair labor practices by interrogating employees about their union activity and by spying on employees.
“They have handed out flyers and had meetings with us telling us that we don’t need a union,” said cashier Cory Abshear. “The message that we are hoping to give to the management through the community is that having a union will actually be a good thing for the store. Happy, healthy workers are productive workers; we understand that, the community understands that, now we need to make sure that the Berkeley Bowl understands it.”