Officers

Wendell W. Young, IV, President
Michele Kessler, Secretary-Treasurer
Barbara Johnson, Recorder

 

 

History

In 1937, Philadelphia employees of American Stores and A&P Supermarkets founded the Retail Clerks and Managers Protective Association Local 1357.  By 1963, Local 1357 represented 4,000 members in Philadelphia-area supermarkets.  By the end of the decade, through the organizing work of the Local’s then President, Wendell W. Young, III, more than 10,000 non-food retail workers and department store employees had joined Local 1357.  In 1971, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board clerks joined the ranks of the expanding union, and through the 1980’s the Local’s growth included food processing workers, boot and shoe factory workers, health care workers, clerical and professional administrators, insurance agents, barbers, hairdressers and cosmetologists. In 1980, the International Retail Clerks International Association merged with the Amalgamate Meat cutters to create the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.   In May of 1989, to celebrate the unity of so diverse a union membership, Local 1357 adopted the historic number "1776.”  And in 1998 the Local merged with UFCW Local 72, which represented workers throughout Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, to create the current-day UFCW Local 1776. Today, UFCW Local 1776 represents 24,000 members who work in southeast, northeast and central Pennsylvania, northeast Maryland and southern New York in supermarkets, drug stores, food processing plants, government services, manufacturing facilities, nursing homes, professional offices and Pennsylvania’s Wine and Spirits Shops.  The officers of the Local are Wendell W. Young, IV, President; Michele Kessler, Secretary-Treasurer; and Barbara Johnson, Recorder.

Local 1776 Today

UFCW Local 1776 represents its members in negotiating with employers on contracts covering wages and benefits.  It protects the rights, dignity and safety of its members in the workplace.  It advocates for its members on public policy issues that affect working men and women and their families.  And it organizes workers who lack representation and a voice in their workplaces.  The Local has played a leading role in the labor movement in developing ground-breaking benefits for many of its members, including post-secondary tuition reimbursement benefits, child daycare benefits, legal benefits, physical well-being programs and members’ assistance programs. Local 1776 is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers International, which is based in Washington, DC. (www.ufcw.org)  The President of UFCW International is Joseph Hansen.

Executive Board

Wendell W. Young, IV, President                            Lois Liddell
Michele Kessler, Secretary-Treasurer                    Tommy McLean
Barbara Johnson, Recorder                                    John Meyerson
Lou Bucci                                                                   Eloise Mullen
John Chernesky                                                        Walt O’Connor
Ed Chew                                                                    Len Purnell
Peggy Delancy                                                          Carlos Renderos
Mary Dunne                                                               Peg Rhodes
Nick Farina                                                                Melinda Robertson
Mike Kepich                                                            Helen Theys
Don McGrogan                                                        Larry Vtale                                       
Mark Layer                                                              Pat Zeleski Sergeants at Arms:  Matt McFarlane and John Rusak

Major Departments

Executive Office
Servicing Department
Field Operations Department
Administrative Staff