New UFCW 400 President McNutt Building For Power

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

“There is power in numbers,” said Thomas P. McNutt (r) upon taking office as UFCW Local 400 President. “We are going to grow our union in order to strengthen our power to improve our members’ lives. The more our union grows, the more clout we have at the bargaining table and in the corridors of power." McNutt -- elected by the Local 400 Executive Board to fill the remainder of retiring President Jim Lowthers’ term -- was sworn in May 4 and is profiled in the most recent edition of Local 400's "Union Leader." Added new Secretary-Treasurer Mark Federici, “We are going to be aggressive in maximizing every opportunity to win gains for our members at the bargaining table, in Congress and the state legislatures, and in every other venue.” Federici was previously Local 400’s executive assistant to the president and director of strategic programs. McNutt has been a UFCW member since 1975 and a member of Local 400 for 22 years, Over his 35-year career McNutt has been a bag boy, clerk, shop steward, union organizer, union representative, and, from 1997 to 2010, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 400. "We are going to recruit a volunteer army second to none," says McNutt. "We’re going to train our member activists and give them the skills to do what they do best...There’s so much our members have to offer and so much we can achieve." McNutt also discussed Local 400's support for Teamster 639's strike against Daycon (“Local 400 Supports Striking Daycon Workers, p23), noting that "every local union leader in our area is a friend of Local 400 and every union member in our area is a brother or sister. The only way we’re going to grow is if we’re unified. And the only way workers in our area will see their economic standing rise is if we grow." Click here for McNutt's profile (McNutt Sworn in as Local 400 President, p 14) and his views on the future of Local 400 (Tom McNutt Speaks Out, p 16). - Chris Garlock; photo courtesy Union Leader