Retail is the fastest growing sector of the American workforce. In fact, a new Department of Labor study shows that the retail sector will most likely see dramatic job growth in the next few years.

UFCW members know that union retail jobs can be stable, middle class jobs—the kind that come with affordable, quality health care, wages that pay the bills, and real retirement security.

Unfortunately, there’s also the Walmart model for retail jobs. Walmart’s wages and benefits lower the standards for retail workers. Because retail jobs are the fastest growing kind of jobs, UFCW members working in grocery stores and retail stores like Macy’s,Bloomingdale’s and H&M, have an important opportunity to bring these workers into our union, get them the voice on the job they need, and together improve the standards for all American retail workers.

The vast majority of growing retail jobs are not union jobs. These non-union retail stores are often in direct competition with grocery and department stores where UFCW members work. As anti-worker chains like Walmart continue to grow and to bring down industry standards, UFCW members will have to fight harder and harder at the bargaining table to maintain good wages and benefits. If our working standards slide, our living standards will slide, too. Working families will struggle to make ends meet and communities will suffer.

“The fate of retail jobs is in our hands,” says Executive Vice President and Director of Organizing Pat O’Neill. “We can raise living and working standards if we unite retail workers—union and non-union—across their companies and throughout the industry. That’s the UFCW vision, and it’s up to all of us to make that vision a reality.” That’s just what happened recently in Indiana when Kroger purchased Scott’s and Pay Less stores. More than 5,400 members of UFCW Local 700 work in Kroger stores across that state—and they were eager to welcome Scott’s and Pay Less workers to their union.

Scott’s workers have signed up for (and workers at Pay Less are in the process of signing up for) UFCW representation so they can have the same job security, improved benefits, and good working conditions that their union brothers and sisters at Kroger already enjoy. Together, workers in this growing union will be a powerful voice for grocery workers.

Where UFCW members have talked to their non-union brothers and sisters, workers have had a chance to listen and hear firsthand the benefits of having a union. When workers learn that a union means a better way of life for themselves and for their families, they join the UFCW.

Just ask Rick Jackson, a Scott’s worker who signed a card to join UFCW Local 700 after his non-union store was bought by Kroger. “I used to be a meat manager, but was demoted to General Meat Cutter when Scott’s closed. But the union helped me get my job back as Meat Manager, so I know that having a union at work makes a difference. And with the union, our wages are better and our health insurance is more affordable.

“When Kroger bought our store, we heard rumors that Kroger workers from across Indiana would come take our jobs at Scott’s,” said Jennifer Krupe, a new member of UFCW Local 700. “But none of that was true. Thanks to the union, we have seniority rights in our new contract, and bumping occurs in stores only if a more senior employee is getting fewer hours than a new employee. Also, another Kroger worker can transfer to our store only if a position is open. With the union, every worker is treated fairly.“

Fairness on the job is one reason workers at new Fresh & Easy stores in California, Arizona and Nevada are seeking a UFCW voice on the job. Fresh & Easy is operated by the UK-based Tesco—the world’s third largest retailer. The company has operations in 14 different countries on three continents.

“Fresh & Easy management promised us the moon and the stars,” says Zaira Padilla, a Fresh & Easy worker in California. “But one after the other, promises made became promises broken, and without a union we had no way of holding Fresh & Easy accountable. I knew that Fresh & Easy was part of a much larger British corporation. What I didn’t know was how Tesco workers in other countries are sharing in the company’s success by forming unions. After getting the facts it became clear that we needed to form a union at Fresh & Easy.”

“If retail jobs are going to be an integral part of America’s future, then retail jobs must be the kind of jobs that support American families and communities. They must be the kind of jobs that Americans can be proud to work,” O’Neill says.

And that’s why so many UFCW members working in the retail industry are making an effort to bring more retail workers into our union by spreading the word about the benefits of union jobs.

If you’re a grocery or retail worker interested in reaching out to non-union workers about joining the UFCW, talk to your local union to find out how you can get involved!