Zachary Michael Brennan: Zachary looks forward to becoming a saxophone instructor while also pursuing music composition and production. He is a senior at the University of Arizona and also attends classes at Pima Community College, where he works as a theater musician and occasional stage double. He enjoys jogging, cooking, art, volunteer work and writing and playing music. He won the Louis Armstrong Award for jazz in 2006. Zachary works at night on the stock crew at a Safeway in Tucson.

Robert Clark: Robert graduated from Catalina Foothills High School and plans to attend the University of Arizona, where he will study public health and Spanish. He is a member of the National Honors Society and his goal is to help people directly. He works as a courtesy clerk for Safeway in Tucson.

Michael Joseph Hernandez: Michael is a sophomore at the University of Arizona, where he studies psychology. He hopes to attend medical school. He graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School last year and previously attended Immaculate Heart High School. In his free time he enjoys reading, basketball, volleyball, golf, volunteering at Northwest Medical Center and playing guitar. His other interests include altar serving and stand-up comedy. His father is Gilbert, a cashier at Fry’s in Oro Valley.

Derek Robert Infalt: Derek is a sophomore at Mesa Community College, where he studies computer systems and aspires to be a software engineer. He graduated from Desert Ridge High School in 2009 and joined the U.S. Air Force JROTC, where he completed officer’s training and earned the Tuskegee Airman and VFW awards. He enjoys playing chess, computer scripting, game design, graphic animation and model building. He learned about computers from his brother, whom he calls the most influential person in his life. He works at Fry’s in Mesa.

Diana Loya: Diana graduated from Snowflake High School in 2009 and attends Northland Pioneer College where she studies accounting. She aspires to be a CPA and own her own firm. She has received honors in physics, chemistry and American history and participates in the Future Business Leaders of America organization. She enjoys reading and dance and is an Arizona Girls State delegate. Her mother, Maria, works for Eurofresh in Snowflake.

Basavanth Malladi: Basavanth graduated this year from Hamilton High School in Chandler and previously attended Green Valley High School in Henderson, Nev. He is interested in going into the medical field, pursuing either psychology or dentistry. He enjoys playing basketball, reading, playing tournament chess and ping-pong. He lists author J.K. Rowling as one of the most influential figures in his life and found his determination to excel at basketball after a rough start to be a life-changing event. His mother, Lani, is a pharmacist at Fry’s and his father, Ramasai, is a Fry’s food clerk.

Ruth Raquel Megui: Ruth graduated from Yuma High School this year and is an avid Arizona sports fan and community volunteer. She worked as a children’s ministry leader and traveled to Hermosillo, Mexico, on a mission trip. At the University of Arizona, she plans to study business management and aspires to be an administrator in a corporation. Ruth and her sister are the first students in her family to attend a university. She enjoys watching classic movies and competing in Academic Decathlons, and was a participant in the Arizona Girls State citizenship training program. Her father, Joshua, is a journeyman meat cutter at Fry’s.

Scott Kendall Mesich II: Scott is a freshman at Pima Community College and has aspirations to attend Northern Arizona University and major in history or computer science. He graduated from Marana High School. He enjoys swimming competitively and playing guitar. He cites his uncle, who he cares for, as his most influential person. His mother, Joanne, is a cashier at Fry’s.

Gabriel Marshall Nickerson: Gabriel graduated this year from Marcos De Niza High School in Tempe and previously attended Selon Catholic High School in Chandler. He plans to pursue a criminal justice degree and join the Navy’s officer program. He works as a courtesy clerk at Fry’s in Tempe and loves video games, graphic design, hunting (deer, elk and quail), fishing, bike riding and wrestling.

Robert Quiroz: Robert graduated from Barry Goldwater High School this year and plans to pursue a career in engineering. He enjoys reading, going to movies and occasionally writing novels. His father works at Safeway in Peoria.

Hanna Stosberg Rubin: Hanna graduated from Tucson High School this year, where she worked for the school newspaper, and plans to study journalism and political science at Northern Arizona University. She aspires to become an international reporter based out of New York and attended a Boston University program for young journalists to learn international affairs and persuasive writing. She enjoys baking, has volunteered at a local animal shelter and has worked for UFCW Local 99 in the past as a political volunteer and secretary.

Mehal Valkesh Shah: Mehal is a senior at Arizona State University, pursuing degrees in business and microbiology. He graduated from North Canyon High School in Phoenix in 2006 with recognition from the National Honor Society and attended Paradise Valley Community College and Scottsdale Community College. He works as a pharmacy technician at Fry’s in Phoenix and plans to apply to pharmacy school for fall enrollment. He enjoys playing basketball, helping friends and watching the History Channel. Mehal helped coordinate the opening of a new religious temple. His mother is a cashier at Fry’s.

Ariel Ulisa Singer: Ariel graduated from Red Mountain High School in Mesa in 2009 and previously attended Fremont High School, maintaining outstanding academic achievement throughout her high school career. She is studying math and economics and aspires to be a high school advanced math teacher. She enjoys cooking and volunteering to tutor young students in math and reading. Her father, Michael, is a stocker at Fry’s in Mesa.

Matthew William Spencer: Matthew attended Cochise College from 1999 to 2002, and the University of Arizona from 2002 to 2005. He earned two associate’s degrees in English and journalism from Cochise College in 2010. Matthew currently studies computer science and is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He is married with two children. His ultimate goal is to provide for his family, and he also hopes to be a software engineering project leader. He enjoys reading, writing and “tinkering” in his spare time. Matthew works as a baker for Safeway.

Zulema A. Wascher: Zulema graduated from high school in Nogales, Mexico, in 1993 and attended Pima Community College in Tucson and the University of Phoenix from 2000 to 2006, earning her BSBM and MBA. She is a second-year graduate student at the University of Arizona and wishes to become a school counselor. She enjoys reading, watching movies, helping with summer youth groups and spending time with her family. She is a parent coordinator for the Santa Cruz School District #99 and an organizer of the Youth on the Border conference, which helps Hispanic youth obtain and complete post-secondary education. Her husband works at Safeway 2044 in Green Valley.

Part-Time and Vocational Scholarship Winners:

Part-time scholarship winners: John Furniss and Holly Parlato;

Vocational scholarship winners: Rebecca Hermance, Adam Stacy, Nick Montierth and Jonathan Pinon.

UFCW Local 99-affiliated laundry workers at ALSCO in Yuma approved a new three-year agreement in late May.

There are about 60 workers at the Yuma plant, which is a commercial laundry operation. Union membership is high there and the workers were seeking better wages.

In the previous contract, the workers had gained the union’s insurance plan but had to forego raises to help pay for it. This time they gained 65 cents in raises, 35 cents of that immediately and a $500 bonus.

They also maintained their health insurance, gained new job-bidding rights and now have access to additional hours and overtime according to seniority when qualified to perform the work.

The contract was approved overwhelmingly by the members.

WinCo, a non-union food retailer based in Boise, Idaho, has announced it is expanding to the Phoenix area.

WinCo currently operates 71 stores in California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Washington and Utah. The company operates stores in the 90,000-to-100,000 sq. ft. range.

British-based Tesco, the fourth largest retailer in the world and operator of Fresh & Easy Markets, continues to lose money in its American operations.

It is estimated that the company has lost $565 million since it opened in the United States.

Tesco’s first Fresh & Easy stores opened in November 2007 and the company now operates 159 stores in Arizona, California and Nevada. Thirty-four Fresh & Easy stores are in the Phoenix metro area.

By Paul Rubin, Secretary-Treasurer

To some people, “regulate” is a dirty word. Here are some dirtier words: Goldman Sachs, AIG, BP and Massey Energy Company.

“Leave business alone and the market will regulate itself” we’re told. Sadly for us, this is not true.

We have just gone through an extended period of deregulation and we are paying the price — BIG time.

Deregulation started with President Clinton in the financial sector and exploded during the Bush presidency to include about everything. And to make matters worse, weakened regulatory agencies were overseen by former executives of the industries they were supposed to regulate.

After the Great Depression of the 1930s, many laws were written so that banks would never again be in a position to almost destroy our economy. But, starting in the 1980s, it was decided (by Republicans and Democrats, spurred by large campaign contributions) that we didn’t need those regulations anymore. It was believed that we’ve learned our lessons, and besides we’re more sophisticated now.

The result was the Great Recession, a huge spike in unemployment and home foreclosures that continues.

Only now are we finding out how the agencies responsible for regulating offshore drilling gave free passes to the companies wanting to drill in our oceans. The agencies decided they didn’t really need to regulate these companies or oversee their work because businesses like BP had their own standards.

We all know the result of this one: 11 dead workers and the worst American environmental disaster ever, with no end in sight.

Not surprisingly, BP had accounted for 97 percent of all flagrant violations in the refining industry. It had 760 serious citations and the second worse company had only eight violations.

And then there’s Massey Energy Company, which owned the mine in West Virginia that exploded in April, leaving 29 workers dead. It seems the company was continually cited for safety violations (57 infractions in the month preceding the explosion), yet nothing was done to hold the company accountable.

And yes, the Mine Safety and Health Administration was headed by a Bush appointee who was a former mine executive.

These are just some of the latest disasters caused by deregulation and lax oversight. But the list over the last few decades is long: polluted rivers and air, acid rain, tainted meat and vegetables, needles floating up on beaches, unsafe automobiles, homes being built on former toxic dumps, etc.

Why do we need regulation? Because corporations are driven by one thing only: making a profit. Nothing wrong there, except in the drive for profits it’s easy for many corporations to overlook the side effects. It was easier — and more profitable — for companies whose factories were on rivers to just dump their chemicals right into the water. If you have to slow down operations to fix problems at the mine, that cuts into profits. If you have to wait to start your oil drilling so safety tests can be performed, it’s going to affect your bottom line.

But who is looking at the bottom line for our society? The government. But it isn’t the only regulator. Unions regulate, too. We make sure working conditions are safe, that workers get adequate breaks, that the company pays certain minimums, provide basic benefits, etc.

That is why so many businesses are anti-union — it cuts into their profits.

It may indeed, but proper regulation will pay off for these companies in the long term.

Many of the banks that have gone bankrupt would still be here if they’d been stopped from acting recklessly.

BP will spend tons more money paying for environmental damage than it would have paid to make sure its oil rigs were safe. And grocery stores that pay a little more tend to last longer than those that try to get by on the cheap.

Brenda Figueroa is Local 99’s membership liaison. Her job is to answer members’ questions about anything concerning their membership or the union contract.

“Members often have simple questions that are easy for me to answer,” Figueroa said. “If I don’t know the answer, I can refer them to the proper person so they can get the information they need right away.”

A commonly asked question, according to Figueroa, concerns members who work part time and who want to know when they can qualify for full-time status.

She also deals with questions about benefits.

“Members often want to know how long they have to work until they qualify for benefits,” she said. “Helping a member keep his or her benefits active is one of the most satisfying aspects of my job.

“Veteran members will call about the Rule of 85 and the younger ones want clarification about their right to transfer.”

Figueroa said that questions about leaves of absence are not uncommon.

“I can even help a member fill out a leave of absence form over the phone,” Figueroa said.

Among other questions she answers, Figueroa said, concern the number of holidays or vacation days and when a member can take them.

Figueroa said her job helps union representatives as well as members.

“Union representatives are out there every day tackling big issues,” she said. “If I can help answer a simple question for a member or refer him or her to the proper person, it frees up time for the union reps to do what they do best, like resolving problems in the workplace and getting our members back pay.”

Figueroa has worked at Local 99 since 2005. Prior to that she worked at Fry’s before she became a SPUR (Special Project Union Representative).

If you have a question and want to speak with Brenda, call the union office at (800) 997-0099 and ask for the membership liaison.

Members with questions about:

• Seniority rights
• Contract language
• Vacation days
• Holidays
• Full-time/part-time status
• EMAP
• Lawyer Referral Program
• Short-term disability
• Leaves of absence
• Health benefits
• Dental benefits
• Transfer rights
• Rule of 85
• Among many others ....

Call the Membership Liaison: (602) 997-0099, (520) 884-9716, or (800) 997-0099

Even though she is only 20, Sonya Hutchinson, a top scholarship winner, already understands the significant differences between working union and non-union.

Hutchinson has been an All Purpose Clerk for Fry’s in Mesa since October 2009. She worked at a sandwich shop/catering business prior to that.

“I had a lot of problems with my manager at the sandwich shop,” Hutchinson recalled. “I was the only woman working there as well as the youngest employee, and even though I was among the best workers he had, I was treated unfairly.”

Hutchinson said she was paid less than the male employees, had her hours cut before anyone else and never was assigned to major parties where she could have earned tips.

“There was no recourse,” she said. “There was no one I could turn to for help.”

When Hutchinson left, she looked for a union job.

“I had friends who worked at Fry’s,” Hutchinson said. “I knew that it was a union job with better pay and benefits.”

“I didn’t hesitate to join the union after I was hired,” she continued. “It’s important for workers to have a collective voice because that gives us strength. If I am treated unfairly or have any problems, I have a union representative I can call for help.”

Hutchinson is enrolled at Mesa Community College, where she is studying to become a veterinary technologist.

“Most courses of study at a community college lead to a degree in two years,” she said. “But it usually takes four years to get a degree in my major.

“It’s a difficult program. You have to take courses in pharmacology and study various diseases, radiology nursing and clinical pathology.”

Hutchinson said she hopes to receive her degree in three years and believes her hard work will be worthwhile.

“I have loved animals from as far back as I can remember,” she said. “That’s why I want to become a veterinarian.

“I was raised with a dog,” Hutchinson continued, “but I really got experience tending for other animals when I would go over to my babysitter’s home after school.

“She had a cat, a turtle and a bird, and I learned how to take care of them and play with them.”

Hutchinson plans to work as a veterinary technologist while attending veterinary school.

“It will give me great hands-on experience,” she said. “Technologists are crucial in helping veterinarians diagnose illnesses. They do physical exams and report their observations to the doctor.”

Hutchinson has seven Manchester terriers that she trains for show and is proud of their accomplishments.

“Two of them are close to being championship dogs,” Hutchinson said.

She also trains dogs to serve in a pet therapy capacity. She has dogs in service at Banner Desert Hospital and at Cardon Children’s Hospital.

“I’m especially proud to see how much happiness the dogs can bring to patients in need,” she said.

She also has a Nigerian dwarf goat that she keeps in her back yard.

“I had to persuade our homeowners association to let us keep him,” she said. “He is small, the size of a border collie, so that helped us get permission.

“They eat grass and since we’ve had him we haven’t had to use our lawnmower once.”

Hutchinson said the greatest influence in her life has been her mother.

“She’s been a single mom from the time I was 5,” Hutchinson said. “She always has my back. She keeps me grounded and helps me stay on track.”

HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services | Posted: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 5:00 am

PHOENIX --Arizonans won't be able to vote in November to make it harder for unions to organize, at least not unless legislators fix it -- and quickly.

Without comment, the Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that Proposition 108 is illegally crafted. That order signed by Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch, which is not appealable, bars the Secretary of State's Office from putting it on the ballot.

But Clint Bolick, attorney for the Goldwater Institute, said there may still be a way to resurrect the issue: He wants Gov. Jan Brewer to call a special session to come up with a new version that meets constitutional requirements.

Brewer is sympathetic to the push by Proposition 108 supporters to undermine efforts by unions and their Democratic allies in Congress and the White House to make it easier to organize. She even crafted a statement in support of the measure to appear in the pamphlet being mailed to the homes of all registered voters.

Gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman said the final decision will depend on whether House and Senate Republican leaders are able to get their members back to the Capitol just weeks ahead of the primary.

But time may simply have run out.

Matthew Benson, spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Bennett, said the "drop dead" date for putting a measure on the ballot is this coming Tuesday.

Senate President Bob Burns pointed out that many Republicans, himself included, are attending the American Legislative Exchange Council meeting all this week in San Diego. And without Democratic support to waive the rules, a special session would take at least three days, making that Tuesday deadline virtually impossible to meet.

Burns said he and other legislative leaders cautioned backers of Proposition 108 that they had crafted it in a way that opened it up for constitutional challenge. "The proponents wanted to go ahead anyway," he said.

Under current federal labor law, employees who want to organize must first gather signature cards from a majority of employees who are interested. That results in a vote by secret ballot.

Those union votes sometimes fail. Union organizers say it is because of employer pressure; business groups say workers, unaffected by peer pressure, vote their own interests.

What unions want -- and what Obama promised to support -- is a "card check" option: Once there were cards signed by a majority of workers, the union would be formed.

Business interests say that will make it harder for individual workers to say "no."

With Republicans in the minority in Congress, business groups organized Save Our Secret Ballot measures in individual states to forbid card check rules. Organizers in Arizona convinced legislators last year to put the question to voters this November.

But they added a twist: The same constitutional amendment also would guarantee secret ballots in all public elections.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99 sued, saying that violates a requirement that amendments to the Arizona Constitution include only a single subject.

More to the point, attorney Andrew Kahn said public elections already have secret ballots. He argued that language was included for political reasons, gaining support for the controversial union measure by tacking on the more popular -- and unnecessary -- idea of protecting secrecy in public elections.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig agreed, ruling last month that the measure could not go to the ballot in the form approved by lawmakers. It was his ruling that the high court upheld on Tuesday.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/major-victory-for-arizona-citizens-97538969.html

PHOENIX, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arizona Legislature's attempt to trick voters into approving an anti-employee ballot measure has been shot down by a Maricopa County Superior Court.

SCR 1026, the so-called "Right to Vote a Secret Ballot" measure, was ruled "unconstitutional" by Judge Robert H. Oberbillig who heard the case brought by UFCW Local 99 and its president Jim McLaughlin.

"There was nothing "fair" about this legislation," said McLaughlin. "It was little more than a despicable attempt to trick patriotic Arizona voters who value fair elections into approving an attack on the rights of all working people in our state."

The Court ruled that the Arizona Constitution already requires "secret ballots" for public offices and that extending the government's reach into private sector union representation matters would violate the constitution's provisions against wrapping two unrelated subjects together into one ballot measure.

The Court said specifically that SCR 1026 violates Article XXI, Section 1 of the Arizona Constitution, a provision that safeguards against this sort of trickery.

Judge Oberbillig wrote that public sector and private sector elections are not  sufficiently or logically related to one another.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 is the largest private sector union in Arizona representing over 18,000 men and women.

SOURCE UFCW Local 99