Simply put: John’s blood flows blue and gold. Meat packer. Shop steward. Picket captain. Union rep. In-house counsel. President. There is not a single part of union organizing John hasn’t seen up close since joining UFCW 770 as a Packing member in 1976. Today, he is ready to lead our union forward through this critical moment in the long march for dignity and democracy. His commitment to working people extends across the city we call home as champion of safety and health protections and low-cost housing for working families.

Before she even stepped out of law school, Kathy Finn began fighting for the rights of working people. Since 1990, she’s brought that grit and dedication to UFCW 770 workers. With a passion for protecting the health and pension benefits of our members, she currently serves as a trustee on the Southern California UFCW Health & Welfare Fund and the Pension Fund. Kathy also sits at the bargaining table during contract negations to ensure our members get the benefits we deserve.

Lavanza “Cheryl” Butler worked as a head pharmacist at Rite Aid from 1980 to 2002, where she strove to keep working Angelenos healthy. She then joined UFCW 770 as Vice President, with a focus on keeping the benefits and rights of our members in perfect health. Cheryl is currently a member of the California State Board of Pharmacy, the Professional Pharmacist Division Executive Board and the NAACP.

Rigo is responsible for making sure UFCW 770 harnesses the full power of its 30,000 members. In addition to overseeing all organizing activities, he has a special commitment for our most vulnerable co-workers. He serves as a commission on the Los Angeles County Immigrant Protection Advancement Taskforce and a proud founding member of UFCW’s OUTreach – a group dedicated to fighting for full equality for LGBTQ workers on and off the clock.

When it comes to protecting the rights of working Californians, Paul doesn’t back down. For 15 years, Paul served as a UFCW 770 union rep, where he worked in union shops across Southern California to fight back against employers who threatened the rights of workers. He currently oversees all union reps at our union.

With 17 years of experience in political campaigning, Nam Le is committed to one thing: winning for working people.  From day one, he has been committed to ensuring politics is used for the good of development, housing, and labor. Prior to joining our union, Nam served as a district director for California Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally from South L.A. There his passion for policy and people blossomed. Nam is also Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Los Angeles, AFL-CIO.

Before joining Local 770 as Communications Director, Mike Shimpock spent nearly 25 years as a political campaign consultant and strategist. He worked on hundreds of campaigns, including those for statewide, congressional, legislative, and local candidates, and on initiatives at nearly all levels of government. He headed 770’s landmark defeat of WalMart in Inglewood, served as the Southern California grocery worker communications strategist and spokesperson, and was the consultant for Prop D in Los Angeles, among others. As UFCW 770’s communications consultant since 2005, he headed public and member outreach for contract campaigns, led strategic development for legislative and political strategies, and conducted public information campaigns on behalf of the union. He moved over full-time to Local 770 in January 2018.