About 270 members of UFCW Local 186D who work for The Wine Group in Ripon, Calif., recently ratified a new contract that strengthens wages and benefits. The Wine Group is one of the largest wine producers in the world, and these members process wine from the grape to the bottle, including shipping the product.
The four-year contract includes wage increases which are retroactive to April 1, 2022, and adds a 1.9 percent increase for the first year. All members will receive an across-the-board wage increase of 4.5 percent retroactively for the first year. Two classifications of workers will receive an amount above the 4.5 percent wage increase as adjustments to their pay. Thereafter, wage increases are 3.5 percent for each year, compounded on the prior wage increase. The contract also includes an attendance bonus during the next year, paid quarterly, as well as one additional paid holiday. In addition, the contract improves the paid sick leave process and swing shift and graveyard pay, and makes it easier for workers to progress to higher paying positions.
“When the workers are organized, the fight turns to success,” said Milton Rosado, an employee at The Wine Group and member of UFCW Local 186D. “If you don’t fight for what you want, don’t cry for what you’ve lost.”
“We are stronger together,” said UFCW Local 186D President Dee Chacon. “United we stand, divided we fall. Union is strength.”