Kroger Member Activist Gregory Reynard, Jr. Ready to Fight "Tooth And Nail" For New Contract

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)"The more members we have, the more we can get,” says UFCW 400 member Gregory Reynard, Jr. (right). “The more active we are, the better agreement we'll have. Kroger doesn't give you anything," Reynard, who expects to be heavily involved in bargaining for a new contract with Kroger-Roanoke, says. "You have to fight for it tooth and nail, and I'm ready to stand up with my brothers and sisters to get it." When Reynard started work as a meat cutter at Kroger #402 in Blacksburg, VA in 2010, one of the first things he did was join UFCW Local 400. He didn't need any persuading; he knew first-hand about the power of union representation from his father, who was a leader in his International Association of Machinists local. Reynard spoke up right from the first day he joined Local 400 and within a week, he became a shop steward. But the 24-year-old  goes beyond his normal responsibilities as a steward to get involved in Local 400 actions. Recently, he joined a rally supporting striking Walmart associates at the store in Christiansburg, handing out buttons to customers and talking with workers about the benefits of joining a union. "There was a lot of fear there," he said. "But I told them with a union, you get fair working conditions and seniority rather than favoritism-and once you get to 51 percent, you have nothing to fear." - adapted from a report on the UFCW 400 website; photo courtesy UFCW 400