By Dhiren Shah
PART I
Dhiren Shah: Hello Mr. Hall. You are a Union President in Essex County; would you tell our readers about yourself and your union?
Charles Hall: Well, the first thing I would ask is that you refer to me as Charles. I am the president of Local 108 Retail Wholesale Department Store Union, UFCW, AFL-CIO-CLC. Our international union is 1.3 million strong. Local 108 represents workers in warehousing, retail, municipal government, supermarkets, transportation, nursing homes and other fields. I also serve on the UFCW and NJ AFL executive boards. I am a first vice president on the Essex West Hudson labor council. I am very much involved in the community and serve on several communities and government boards. I am privileged to serve as the chairman of the African American Parades Organization. It’s a statewide Organization. I like to help people, and this is what unions do.
I guess titles are nice, but I’m really just a kid born and raised in the great city of Newark. I have the privilege and honor to wake up and go to work and fight for people and try my best to help them. This is what unions do, help people.
DS: Charles, why do you think people need unions?
CH: Unions give workers a voice in the workplace. It gives them an opportunity to bargain over their working conditions and economics. To be clear they can bargain over things like wages, benefits, health and safety and all workplace matters. Workers need to have good medical benefits and a retirement plan. Union contracts provide grievance resolution for workers who are treated unfairly.
I like to think of unions as the great equalizer. Unions give workers a seat at the table. What I mean is that they get to communicate their issues and concerns to the management of the company, though their union and chosen representatives are their co-workers. We all know how difficult it would be for an average worker to meet with the president or top management of a company.
Here is a fact for you: union workers earn more money than non-union workers in jobs that are unionized. In this world we live in, workers need somebody to have their back. You don’t have to go too far back in history; just look at what has happened in the last 10 years. The wealthy have gotten richer than ever before, while the poor and working poor, those with the least, have gotten poorer. Our middle class is struggling because of the rising cost of living. Unions are the answer to correcting the imbalance in our economic system. Collective bargaining helps raise wages across the board.
DS: Tell us about unions’ involvement in politics.
CH: We get involved in politics to advocate for our members and working families. You know the old saying, “If you not at the table, then you’re probably going to be dinner.” It’s truer than people know.
Unions are a working family’s seat at the table. I think people take for granted the benefits they receive. Let’s take for example the increase in minimum wage, earned sick leave, paid family leave and other legislated pro-worker benefits. These benefits are introduced and pushed for by unions and worker friendly politicians. A lot of hard work goes into making these benefits a reality. Legislative benefits are for all workers, not just unions. At the same time, unions are at the bargaining table, fighting to improve the legislative benefits. I personally have been involved in pushing for minimum wage increases, serving on several state commissions.
Unions must be involved in politics to push for legislation that benefits working families. We must also be there to fight against things that hurt working families. This why we are involved in politics.
DS: Charles, I know that you represent workers who were considered essential in this time of COVID -19. What did your union do to help members in this pandemic?
CH: Let me say first, I am extremely proud to be a part of the labor movement. Unions have been the voice for workers throughout our country. The national AFL-CIO-CL, and international unions, including my united food and commercial workers union and RWDSU council, lead the discussion on workers safety, PPE and hazard pay. Our unions also met with federal and state-elected officials on stimulus funding and other benefits. Yes, workers did have a friend and seat at the table. I can’t imagine what workers in supermarkets, poultry plants, beef and pork plants, nursing homes and many industries would have been subjected to if not for unions. “If not the union, who would have been the voice and met the concerns for average working people?” Here in NJ, we made sure that Governor Murphy knew the issues and concerns of workers.
The second part of this interview will be published next week.
