UFCW Decries Senate Republicans’ Farm Bill Proposal for Failure to Protect Hardworking Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents 1.2 million essential workers across North America, released a statement in response to Senate Republicans' proposed Farm Bill.

UFCW International President Milton Jones said:

"At a time when families are feeling the squeeze of rising food costs and market uncertainty, Congress has the opportunity to craft a Farm Bill that alleviates this strain and strengthens the food supply chain. Instead, this bill overlooks the needs of hardworking Americans and paves the way for more families to go hungry.

"Just as the House version proposed, this bill upholds plans to slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and encourages replacing good union jobs with contract jobs. Americans, including the hundreds of thousands of food workers represented by the UFCW, deserve better than that.

"Congress must return to the bipartisan approach that has guided previous Farm Bills. Any lawmaker serious about lowering food costs for families, improving standards for workers along the food supply chain, and strengthening rural communities must reject this bill and work across the aisle to strengthen it."

BACKGROUND

• Senate Republicans' proposed Farm Bill closely mirrors the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (Farm Bill) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April of this year, which the UFCW vocally opposed, urging lawmakers to vote 'No' during the bill's markup. The UFCW later criticized the bill's passage in the chamber for failing to deliver relief for working families and excluding protections for food workers.

• The newly proposed legislation maintains a provision from Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that shifts SNAP funding responsibilities to the states, which will slash benefits for the 42 million Americans who rely on the program every year. The proposal also encourages states to replace trained union employees with contractors, which would lead to job losses across the country.

• Members of Congress interested in addressing the rising cost of groceries and supporting food workers should instead support the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act, which would ban surveillance pricing and electronic shelf labels in grocery stores, and the Food Secure Strikes Act, which would allow striking workers and their households to receive SNAP benefits. Lawmakers should also consider the Grocery, Farm, and Food Worker Stabilization Grant Program Act, which would create a grant program to provide stabilization payments to food workers in the case of a natural or other disaster.

CONTACT: Finn Storer [email protected]