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San Diego UFCW 135 Retirees Club

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San Diego UFCW 135 Retirees Club

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This page was created for the retirees to connect with each other and enjoy their retirement together along with recreational activities.

10/28/2026

As we celebrate 40 years of UFCW Local 135, we’re looking back at the history, people, and milestones that brought us together.

From the early roots of Meat Cutters Local 229 and Retail Clerks Protective Association Local 769 to the chartering of Local 1222, generations of working people helped build the foundation of our union. In 1979, the national merger formed the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Seven years later, in January 1986, Meat Cutters Local 229 and Retail Clerks Local 1222 merged to form UFCW Local 135.

Forty years later, we honor the members and leaders who built our union and continue the fight for working families throughout San Diego and Imperial Counties.

40 Years of Solidarity. Forward Together, Stronger Than Ever!

10/27/2026

Our next San Diego UFCW 135 Retiree’s Club meeting is on THURSDAY, November 5, 2026 at the Santa Clara Recreation Center, 1008 Santa Clara Place. Check in starts at 10:30 am
Please RSVP to 619-246-1040. Turkey and fixings are on the menu. Hope to see you there.

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK November 2026
We had our October 7th meeting at the Santa Clara Recreation Center located at 1008 Santa Clara Place,
in Mission Beach. Retirees had a Dolly Parton/Western wear themed luncheon. Quite a few joined in the
fun by dressing up as Dolly! It appears that our November luncheon will still be at the Recreation Center.
There is not enough time to pull it all together for the month of November. The meeting will be held on
THURSDAY November 5th, NOT on Wednesday! Please wear Fall colors.
YOU MUST STILL RSVP 10 days before the November 5th Luncheon, by Sunday, October 25th.
PLEASE TEXT Jack at 619-246-1040. Please do NOT email. Leave your NAME and NUMBER and HOW
MANY lunches you need. This will be required indefinitely going forward if you wish to enjoy our
wonderful catered meals.
On September 23rd we had our annual Picnic on the Bay at Ski Beach. It was a very nice and relaxing
day! Our activity for the month of October was supposed to be a trip to Catalina Island on the 21st. It was
canceled, as a group activity, due to weather and lack of interest. If you already bought a ticket and are
still going, save your receipt and Jack will reimburse you $20. Our November activity will be on November
12th. “Free & Easy Thursday’s” at the Del Mar Racetrack at 12pm. Enter at the Solana Beach entrance on
Via De La Valle and park at the west end of the building. Sign up for a free Diamond Club Membership
for free entry, a program and a seat. Have a safe and fun Happy Halloween!
Rebecca Filler, Editor 760-840-1371
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NEXT MEETING’S THURSDAY November’s 5th MENU: Theme is wear Fall colors
Oven Roasted Turkey w/ gravy and Cranberry sauce Candied Yams with Marshmallows
Green Beans Almondine Ambrosia Salad Pumpkin Pie
Santa Clara Recreation Center: 1008 Santa Clara Place, San Diego, CA 92109
Check in time at 10:30am Meeting starts at 11:00
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*** Our Wonderful Dolly Impersonators ***

*******************************************************************************************
ATTENDANCE OF OCTOBER
Eric Anderson Jose Gonzalez Isabel Mohn Kathie Sharp
Dominic & Cheryl Apodaca Chuck & Anne Hajduk Andrea Oldakowski Deborah Slaughter
GiGi Blakely Beverly Halama Teri Olson Paula Tennison
Maggie Brennan Vida Hall Walter Palima Kathy Thompson
Monca Camargo Marsha Haukom Randy Pecaut Jan Uhlig
Conrad Cox Susie Hoxel Lynn Permann Vickie Vavra
Mike DiLeo Maria Keever Casandra Perrelli Patricia Veizaga
Sara Dupuy Karie Lasko Susan Polakoff Catalina Villegas
Rebecca Filler Daryl Lewis Kim Pollack Joe & Keiko Young
Madline Gala’z Martha Lucero John Reil Tim & Kay Zimmerman
Kathy Genet Mercedes Mendoza Beatriz Romero Cheryl Traverse (guest)
Tammy Georgi Jack Miller Janette Shannon Steve Dexter (new)
TOTAL=53 Frank Marrero (new)
OCTOBER BIRTHDAY WISHES go out to?
Priscilla Brown, November 4th Vickie Vavra, November 4th Susan Polakoff, November 10th
Paula Tennison, November 13th Keiko Young, November 13th
Mike Pastoral, November 21st Anna Young, November 26th
******************************************************************************************
Center Table Boot Winners: Cheryl Apodaca,
Monica Camargo, Marsha Haukom, Maria Keever,
Mercedes Mendoza, Walter Palima, Lynn Permann,
Janette Shannon, Deborah Slaughter, Kay Zimmerman,
WINNERS,WINNERS And More WINNERS for the month of September
Free Lunch : Kathy Genet
Blue Tickets: Maggie Brennan, Sara Dupuy, Patricia Veizaga, Kay Zimmerman
Red Tickets: Chuck Hajduk, Beverly Halama, Mercedes Mendoza, Joe Young
50/50 Winner: $110 Sue Polakoff

Bingo $20: Madline Gala’z, Randy Pecaut, Jan Uhlig, Vickie
Vavra Black Out Bingo $40: Kathy Genet & Keiko Young

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UFCW INVOLVMENT…. The Local 135 is dedicated to serving us UFCW members, active or retired, so
we can have the quality of life we worked for. We are so thankful for their commitment and hard work to
doing their job. If you want to volunteer time, you can contact; [email protected]
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10/21/2026

As we celebrate 40 years of UFCW Local 135, we honor Rosalyn Hackworth Blackmon, another trailblazing leader whose confidence, integrity, and dedication to our members left a lasting mark on our union.

Sister Rosalyn’s union journey began in February 1980 as a rank-and-file member working as a registered dental assistant. She joined Local 135’s staff in 1997, hired by President Norm Bell. Starting as a union representative, she advanced to Assistant to the President and Grievance Director before being appointed Secretary-Treasurer in 2004. She became the third woman and first African American to hold the position at Local 135.

Rosalyn broke barriers in a field where women and people of color were often underestimated. She encountered disrespect from employers, union members, and fellow labor leaders, but she refused to be intimidated. When some meatcutters tried to unsettle her by insisting on having conversations inside grocery store coolers, she walked right in and stood her ground. Her motto said it all: “You don’t have to like me, but you will respect me!”

From 2004 to 2016, Rosalyn held the #2 leadership position, helping guide a local representing thousands of working people. Through difficult periods in the union’s history, she remained a bright light focused on the responsibility leaders owe to their members. One principle guided her throughout her career: you have to fight for “Joe Courtesy Clerk” the everyday working person whose voice deserves to be heard.

Rosalyn’s commitment to advocacy extended beyond Local 135. She actively participated in the UFCW Minority Coalition to encourage people of color to become leaders in the labor movement, served for about nine years on the California State Board of Pharmacy and was active in the NAACP during her time at Local 135 and remains active with her local branch.

After retiring in 2016, she left behind a legacy of barrier-breaking leadership, service, and standing up for others. Her advice to those who aspire to lead is as relevant as ever: “First, you must care. If you don’t speak up for yourself and others, you will be ignored.”

And as she reminds us, “We all stand on the shoulders of those that came before us. Your legacy is not what is written in your obituary, it’s how you live your life and what you do for others.”

Thank you, Sister Rosalyn, for your years of service and for showing us what it means to lead with courage, integrity, and a commitment to working people.

Forward Together, Stronger Than Ever!

10/20/2026

🚨 ¡Retirement Alert! 🚨

Longtime member, Leslie Georggin, has retired from Vons!

Leslie provided 46 years of dedicated union service to her community and company, finishing her grocery career at Vons #2081 in Rancho Peñasquitos as a Scan Coordinator.

Congrats and thank you, Leslie, for serving San Diego for over four decades. We wish you the best in retirement!

10/14/2026

As we celebrate 40 years since the 1986 merger that created UFCW Local 135, we’re looking back at the leaders whose work helped build the union we are today.

Few stories capture that history better than that of former Secretary-Treasurer Pennie Barrows McMahon, whose long career marked an important milestone for women in our union.

Pennie dedicated 35 years of her life to working people, beginning her career in 1968 as a young office worker with Amalgamated Meat Cutters Local 229, working under legendary labor leader Max Osslo.

When Local 229 merged with UFCW Local 1222 (formerly Retail Clerks Local 1222 prior to 1979) in January 1986, Pennie was there helping guide staff and members through the creation of UFCW Local 135. President Vandeveld made her serve as a union representative, beginning a new chapter in her career. She continued to grow as a leader, ultimately becoming Secretary-Treasurer in 2003.

Sister Pennie broke new ground as the second woman to serve as Secretary-Treasurer across our predecessor unions and Local 135, following Sharon Currier, who held the position under President Norm Bell. Pennie’s achievement was an important milestone in our collective history, earned through years of hard work, deep knowledge of the labor movement, and an unwavering commitment to the members she served.

Her story is a reminder that leadership can be built from the ground up. She started as an office worker and rose to become Local 135's number two in command, continuing the path toward greater representation for women in union leadership.

As we mark 40 years of UFCW Local 135, we honor our union sister, Pennie Barrows McMahon, and the generations of leaders and members who built the foundation we stand on today.

Forward Together, Stronger Than Ever!

10/08/2026

As we celebrate 40 years since the merger that created UFCW Local 135, we’re looking back at the leaders who built the unions that came before us. Joseph B. “JB” McFaden Jr. was one of those leaders working as an agent of Amalgamated Meat Cutters Local 229.

Serving as Vice President of Local 229, JB worked side by side with Secretary and Business Manager Max J. Osslo during the years when the local was becoming one of the strongest unions in San Diego. Osslo was the public face and visionary builder of the organization, but building a union that represented hundreds of meat cutters required a strong leadership team behind him. McFaden was one of those people.

His work was rooted in the day-to-day business of protecting members. He helped administer the local, worked with members and representatives, enforced the union’s contracts and helped make sure that employers understood that the agreement on paper had to mean something on the shop floor.

That mattered in the meat departments, packing plants and other workplaces where Local 229 members worked some of the hardest jobs in the grocery industry. The union fought to establish decent wages, hours, benefits and working conditions, but winning those protections was only the beginning. They had to be defended every day. McFaden was part of the leadership responsible for doing that.

JB McFaden’s legacy is a reminder that strong unions are built by more than the names that make the history books. They are built by the leaders who organize the work, stand with members, enforce the contract and make sure the union is there when workers need it.

That legacy is part of UFCW Local 135 today.

40 years strong. Built by generations.

Forward Together, Stronger Than Ever!

10/07/2026

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the merger that created UFCW Local 135, we’re taking a look back at one of the most important places in our union’s history: our longtime home at 2001 Camino Del Rio South in Mission Valley.

By the early 1960s, both Amalgamated Meat Cutters Local 229 and Retail Clerks Local 1222 were growing rapidly across San Diego County. Local 229 had outgrown its downtown quarters on 6th Avenue, and under the leadership of Max J. Osslo, members stepped up and voted to fund a brand-new facility through dedicated building assessments from their weekly paychecks.

Completed in 1962, the custom mid-century modern building was built by the Meat Cutters as a premier home for their growing union. It even featured something truly unique: a massive indoor swimming pool. The pool was Osslo’s personal vision, reflecting his belief that a union should care about the whole worker and give members and their families a place to relax, connect and build community.

While the Meat Cutters established themselves in Mission Valley, Retail Clerks Local 1222 continued to operate independently from its longtime neighborhood headquarters at 4284 Central Avenue in City Heights. Led by leaders like Marvin Brown, Local 1222 was organizing and representing thousands of grocery clerks across the county.

Following decades of independent operation, the two organizations prepared to unite, but the Mission Valley building needed significant work to handle the transition. To physically expand the office space and modernize the facility for a massive influx of combined staff and membership, the union hall underwent an extensive remodel. While the Mission Valley headquarters was transformed into an active construction zone, Local 229 temporarily moved its operations out of the building and set up alongside Local 1222 at the Central Avenue office in City Heights to keep serving members without interruption.

In January 1986, the two locals officially came together to form UFCW Local 135. Once the extensive renovations were complete, the newly expanded Mission Valley building reopened as the union’s unified headquarters, remaining at the center of Local 135’s work for the next four decades.

Over the years, 2001 Camino Del Rio South became a familiar San Diego landmark and a gathering place for generations of members. In 1998, local artists Jeanne and John Whelan created “Providing the Feast,” a multi-panel mural on the front of the building featuring Osslo cutting meat alongside a diverse representation of union members at work. The mural remained on the building for 15 years before being unceremoniously removed and thrown in a dumpster in late 2013.

We closed the doors to the Mission Valley office in December 2025, but the legacy built there by generations of members continues to shape our union today. Our address has changed, but the foundation remains.

40 years strong. Built by generations. And ready for what’s next.

Forward Together, Stronger Than Ever!

10/05/2026

As we celebrate 40 years since the merger that formed of UFCW Local 135, we’re going all the way back to the beginning.

Our story takes us to 743 4th Avenue, where San Diego’s early labor movement began putting down roots more than a century ago. Built in 1907, the original Labor Temple on 4th Avenue became an important gathering place for San Diego’s working people. It gave unions and workers a place to organize, meet and build the solidarity that would help shape the city’s labor movement for generations to come.

The Meat Cutters were among the unions that worked out of the first Labor Temple. As their membership and the broader labor movement grew, they eventually moved with other unions to a larger Labor Temple at 621 6th Avenue, which became the epicenter of San Diego union activity.

It was during this era that Max J. Osslo emerged as one of the city’s leading labor figures. In 1936, Osslo became Secretary and Business Manager of Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Local 229, beginning 46 years of leadership that would leave a lasting mark on San Diego’s labor movement.

As San Diego continued to grow, so did its unions. Under Osslo, the Meat Cutters outgrew the Labor Temple and in 1939 moved into Butchers' Union Hall at 639 6th Avenue. In 1962, the Meat Cutters moved to a new custom-built facility in Mission Valley on Camino Del Rio South.

Today, 40 years later, our union has a new permanent home in Scripps Ranch. But our story still begins on 4th Avenue, with working people who understood that they could accomplish more together than they ever could alone.

From 4th Avenue to 6th Avenue, from Mission Valley to Scripps Ranch, our addresses may have changed but our commitment to working people has not.

40 years strong. Built by generations. And we're ready for what’s next.

Forward Together, Stronger Than Ever!

10/02/2026

🚨 Retirement Alert 🚨

After 38 years of union service, Debbie Miller has retired from Vons #2826 in Chula Vista.

Debbie finished her career as a Supervisor, bringing nearly four decades of experience and service to her community.

Thank you, Debbie, for 38 years of dedicated union service. We wish you all the best in retirement!

10/02/2026

Forty years ago, UFCW Local 135 was created through an historic merger. But the roots of our union stretch back generations.

Long before Local 135 existed, this building at 4284 Central Avenue was home to Retail Clerks Local 1222. It was a place where grocery workers came together, Union Reps helped members, grievances were filed, and organizers worked to build a stronger voice for working people in the retail industry.

In 1979, when the international Retail Clerks and Meat Cutters organizations merged to form the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Retail Clerks Local 1222 became UFCW Local 1222. Seven years later, in January 1986, UFCW Local 1222 and Meat Cutters Local 229 merged to form UFCW Local 135.

Today, 40 years after the creation of Local 135, we’ve moved once again, this time to our new permanent headquarters in Scripps Ranch.

From a storefront on Central Avenue to Mission Valley and now Scripps Ranch, the buildings may have changed, but the purpose remains the same: bringing working people together to build a stronger voice on the job.

40 years strong. Built by generations. And we're ready for what’s next.

Forward Together, Stronger Than Ever!

Address

San Diego, CA

Telephone

(619) 246-1040

Website

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