United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is one of the largest unions in North America. The union serves members in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Most of the union’s members are butchers, canners, meat packers, supermarket employees, or other workers in the food industry. The union, usually called the UFCW, also represents clerks in retail stores and other types of employees.
The UFCW was formed in 1979 by the merger of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America with the Retail Clerks International Union. In 2005, the UFCW left the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and joined a new labor alliance called the Change to Win Coalition. The UFCW rejoined the AFL-CIO in 2013. UFCW headquarters are located in Washington, D.C. For membership, see Labor movement (table) .
