Local 853 History

Local 853 was founded in 1937 to represent a few thousand workers at Lucky’s, Safeway, and Montgomery Wards in the East Bay. The Local has grown to its present size of nearly 15,000 members through aggressive organizing and by merging in smaller local unions. Here’s a timeline:

1937

Founding

1980s

Organized Gillig bus manufacturer

Now with over 500 members

1990s

Local 216 (Construction) merges

Local 291 (Construction) merges

2000s

GCC 583 (Printing Industry) merges

Local 78 (Misc.) merges

GCC 468 (Concessions) merges

Local 15 (Newspaper) merges

2010s

Tech Bus organizing

Brings in more than 800 new members

2020s

Local 287 (UPS and Misc.) merges – expanding reach into San Jose and the South Bay

Local 912 (UPS and Misc.) merges – expanding reach into Santa Cruz County