{"id":62025,"date":"2025-05-16T16:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T16:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/?post_type=press_releases&#038;p=62025"},"modified":"2025-05-16T17:04:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T17:04:26","slug":"ufcw-responds-to-decision-to-end-farm-and-food-workers-relief-program","status":"publish","type":"press_releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/press-releases\/ufcw-responds-to-decision-to-end-farm-and-food-workers-relief-program\/","title":{"rendered":"UFCW Responds to Decision to End Farm and Food Workers Relief Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>WASHINGTON, D.C.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Today, the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/about\/\"> United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)<\/a>, America\u2019s largest private sector union representing 1.2 million workers in meatpacking, food processing, grocery, retail, and other essential industries across North America, released a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) decision\u00a0to terminate the Farm and Food Workers Relief Program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UFCW International President Milton Jones said:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"quote\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMeatpacking workers put their lives on the line during the pandemic to keep America\u2019s food supply secure and communities fed. They were among one of the hardest-hit industries, facing extreme risk and, at times, financial strain, to do their jobs. The USDA\u2019s decision to terminate the Farm and Food Workers Relief Program now, under the guise of DEI, is not just misguided, it takes money out of the pockets of essential workers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese funds were never about race, gender, or any other protected characteristic \u2013 they were about providing relief to those who had to pay for things like emergency childcare and personal protective equipment in order to do their jobs. This program was a promise by the government to deliver long-overdue support to the workers who carried this country through a global crisis and breaking that promise sends a dangerous message about how essential workers are valued in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>BACKGROUND<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>The U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Farm and Food Workers Relief&nbsp; Program awarded approximately $670 million for one-time $600 relief payments to farm and food workers who served on the frontlines of the pandemic. There are still eligible workers who have not received their payment.<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ams.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/media\/FFWRfactsheet.pdf\">purpose of this program<\/a>&nbsp;is to defray worker expenses incurred preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to apply, workers had to submit an application stating that they incurred at least $600 in COVID-19 related expenses for items such as personal protective equipment (masks, testing, etc.); costs for quarantine (hotel rooms, private transit, etc.); and child or elder care during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, many meatpacking workers paid their own expenses to keep themselves, their co-workers, and their loved ones safe and healthy.<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"list-item\">\n<li>Meatpacking workers were as much as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-23-105104\">70 times more likely<\/a>&nbsp;to contract COVID-19 than the general population, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">###<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"tw-max-w-217 tw-m-auto tw-px-6 rich-text contained-block\" data-module=\"paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The UFCW International is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, cannabis, retail, and other essential industries. UFCW members serve our communities in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Learn more about the UFCW at\u202f<\/em><em><u><a href=\"http:\/\/ufcw.org\/\">ufcw.org<\/a><\/u><\/em><em>.<\/em><br><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2013 Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), America\u2019s largest private sector union representing 1.2 million workers in meatpacking, food processing, grocery, retail, and other essential industries across North America, released a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) decision\u00a0to terminate the Farm and Food Workers Relief Program. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":416,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[449,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62025","press_releases","type-press_releases","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-official-statements","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UFCW Responds to Decision to End Farm and Food Workers Relief Program - The United Food &amp; Commercial Workers International Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/press-releases\/ufcw-responds-to-decision-to-end-farm-and-food-workers-relief-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UFCW Responds to Decision to End Farm and Food Workers Relief Program - The United Food &amp; Commercial Workers International Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2013 Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), America\u2019s largest private sector union representing 1.2 million workers in meatpacking, food processing, grocery, retail, and other essential industries across North America, released a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) decision\u00a0to terminate the Farm and Food Workers Relief Program. 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