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"OVERWAITEA NEVER REALLY CARED ABOUT ME, OR ANY OF US."UFCW 1518 -- The announcement by the company that they were demanding concessions and rollbacks to the existing contract came as a shock to many members. "Sitting across the table and hearing them ask for those concessions, I realized the company doesn't care about me, they never really cared about me," says a member from the Union Bargaining Committee. "I was so hurt. They wanted to take away everything we worked for all these years, our ATO's, scheduling rights, benefit coverage." "I felt very replaceable. I realized that one day they could decide they wanted to convert our store to an inferior contract, hire people on a lesser contract, and everything I've done for them [the company] really means nothing to them." "I know I'm not the only Overwaitea member out there who feels this way. I know many of us truly felt like the company had our best interests at heart, but after hearing what they said yesterday, we all have to see that they don't. They call us team members, but the only team they are thinking about is what's best for Overwaitea senior management," says another Union Bargaining Committee member. "There are still many union members out there who believe the company is looking out for them, but the reality is they are only looking out for the company's best interest and that means demanding concessions and roll-backs," says UFCW 1518 President Ivan Limpright. "The only way we are going to establish what union members are looking for in a new contract is for all of us to stand together and fight for it," says UFCW 1518 Secretary Treasurer Frank Pozzobon. "Let's be really clear on this, Overwaitea ultimately wants to have even lower wages, benefits and this will create even worse working conditions for the members. It's up to all of us to stop their agenda."
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