Service + Solidarity Spotlight: ‘When Are We Going to Wake Up as a Society?’: UFCW Local 1 Demands Answers After Mass Shooting at Buffalo Grocery Store

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Ten people were killed and three were injured at a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday in what police described as “a racially motivated hate crime.” The mass shooting took place in a predominantly Black neighborhood where four Tops workers were among the victims. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1 represents dozens of employees at the store. The union is collaborating with Tops management to ensure all of its members receive the support they need.

Local 1 President Frank DeRiso quickly responded to news of the worst mass shooting in Buffalo history. “It’s just terrible,” he told The Buffalo News. “And then, you know, you’re a customer, you go there to shop on a Saturday afternoon, never expecting that you’re not going to come home. It’s just senseless, it’s stupid. And something’s got to be done about it.” UFCW International President Marc Perrone issued this statement on Saturday.