Dave Young is the Executive Vice President and Director of the Organizing Department at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).
Young grew up in New York City and began his career in the labor movement in 1994 as a Cashier at A&P with UFCW Local 342 in Staten Island, N.Y. During that time, he served as the youngest-ever member of the A&P bargaining committee at the age of 16 and participated in the first of 36 successful strikes over the course of his career. During his time in the shops, Young worked at various departments for a number of different grocery companies and also served as the youngest at-large member of the Democratic Committee in Richmond County, N.Y.
In 1997, he moved to ShopRite with UFCW Local 342, where he worked as an Assistant Deli Manager. In 2001, he was asked to join the full-time staff at UFCW Local 342 and worked in various positions during his time at the local, including as a Political Representative, Research Director, Business Agent, Costing Agent, Organizing Director, IT Director, Communications Director and as Assistant to the President.
In 2015, Young joined the International headquarters staff in Washington, D.C., when he was asked to serve as the Special Assistant to UFCW International President Marc Perrone. He continued to serve in various positions at the International Office, including as the interim Director of Communications, and was promoted to Director of Region 1 in March of 2017. As Director of Region 1, he served as the lead negotiator during the 2019 Stop & Shop negotiations and historic strike, which involved over 32,000 members and has been hailed as the “most devastating retail grocery strike” in modern history. During the pandemic, in his role as Director of Region 1, Young coordinated with 13 of his locals in the Northeast to secure over $52 million in hazard pay for UFCW members.
Young was elected International Vice President in September of 2017. In 2021, he was promoted to serve as the Director of the National Strategic Retail Department, and in 2022, he was promoted to Director of the Organizing Department. He was elected to the position of Executive Vice President in April of 2024. He is a graduate of Cornell University’s Union Leadership Institute and Harvard University’s Trade Union Program.