The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union released a statement Thursday supporting the introduction of the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2025, which would repeal a federal restriction on striking workers from receiving SNAP benefits.
The legislation, which was reintroduced in the House and Senate this week, follows several high-profile strikes across the U.S. last year.
“This bill would allow striking workers and their families to access SNAP, a critical service that helps put food on the table for millions of Americans in need,” UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement. “No one should have to choose between feeding their family and exercising their right to take action for a better future.”
Perrone added that while union strike funds and community support can help lessen the financial burden of a strike, they are “not always enough.”
The UFCW applauded Sen. John Fetterman and Reps. Alma Adams and Greg Casar for reintroducing the act.
Adams’ office said in a press release on Thursday that 271,500 workers went on strike in 2024 and noted that many striking workers are not union members, meaning they have “an even smaller safety net, if any at all.”
In addition to allowing striking workers to access their SNAP benefits, the Food Secure Strikers Act would protect public sector workers who are fired due to striking from being “considered to have voluntarily quit.” The act also clarifies that any income-eligible household can receive SNAP benefits regardless of if someone in the household is involved in a strike, according to Adams’ press release.
The grocery industry has already seen the impact of strikes in 2025. Kroger-owned King Scooper’s workers went on strike in early February due to what the workers’ union called unfair labor practices by the retailer. Currently, the employees and supermarket chain reached a return-to-work agreement and are in a 100-day “period of labor peace.”
