What Local 1445 does

UFCW Local 1445 is a chartered local labor union of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, representing more than 12,000 workers across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Its core product is collective bargaining representation delivered through union contracts in cannabis, grocery, healthcare, retail, packing and processing, warehouses, laundries, and concessions. The largest cannabis union in the Northeast, it organizes new bargaining units through workplace organizing campaigns (e.g., REI Win, beWELL) and a worker-driven "Start a Union" intake form, then services represented employees through stewards and full-time representatives.

The union's revenue model is recurring weekly membership dues ($14.00/week full-time; $12.00/week part-time), supplemented by agency fees (89.88% of dues) from non-members covered by union security clauses in MA, NH, and ME. Dues fund office staff, representatives, legal fees, and per capita payments to the UFCW International Union. Technology infrastructure consists of a UnionActive-powered member portal providing registration, dues management, and resource access; no proprietary technology or AI/ML capabilities are evidenced. Membership benefits are layered through partnerships with the UFCW New England Health Fund (covering ~85% of premiums at participating employers), UFCW Northeast Retirement Fund, Union Plus Benefits, and the UFCW Discount College Program.

Local 1445 operates from its headquarters at 30 Stergis Way, Dedham, Massachusetts with a lean staff of 14 employees and elected leadership including President Fernando Lemus, Secretary-Treasurer Fabricio DaSilva, and VP/Servicing Director Kevin McGaffigan. Notable represented employers include Stop & Shop (~8,000 members), UMass Memorial Medical Center, St. Vincent Hospital, Macy's, Bob's Discount Furniture, Zara, REI Boston, TD Garden, and a cluster of Massachusetts cannabis operators (Sira, Cultivate, NETA, Mayflower, GTI, beWell, AYR, Verano, Kaycha Labs).

Name

Local 1445

Legal name

UFCW Local 1445

Website

https://ufcwlocal1445.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UFCW Local 1445 is a chartered labor union representing 12,000+ workers across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine in cannabis, grocery, healthcare, retail, and related industries, funded by recurring membership dues and agency fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dedham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Union Membership Dues: Local 1445 generates revenue through membership dues. Full-time employees pay $14.00/week in membership dues, while part-time employees pay $12.00/week. Non-members in the private sector who work under a UFCW contract with a union security clause are required to pay agency fees (89.88% of full dues): $12.58/week for full-time and $10.78/week for part-time. Dues cover salaries of office staff and representatives, offices, equipment, postage, legal fees, supplies, printing, and UFCW International Union per capita payments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UFCW Local 1445 is a labor union that provides collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, and grievance services for more than 12,000 workers across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. It organizes new bargaining units in workplaces, administers member benefits (healthcare through the UFCW New England Health Fund, retirement through the Northeast Retirement Fund, Union Plus discounts, scholarships), and runs political advocacy programs. Core industries represented include grocery, cannabis (largest in the Northeast), healthcare, retail, packing and processing, warehouses, laundries, and concessions.

Product overview

UFCW Local 1445 is a labor union representing over 12,000 workers throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. The organization operates primarily as a membership-based union offering member portal access, workplace representation services across multiple industries (cannabis, grocery, healthcare, retail, packing/processing, warehouses, laundries, concessions), scholarship programs, workplace organizing assistance, political advocacy, and discount benefit programs including the Discount College Program and Union Plus Benefits. The union is part of the UFCW International Union, one of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Union Representation Services Core collective bargaining representation, contract negotiation, grievance handling, and member advocacy for 12,000+ workers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
• Workplace Organizing Services End-to-end union formation services for non-union workers: talking with coworkers, contacting organizers, building an organizing committee, informing workers of federally protected rights, signing union support cards, NLRB election, and contract negotiation.
• Member Resources Portal Online members-only portal providing UFCW Local 1445 members with access to the newsletter, UFCW New England Health Fund information, Know Your Rights resources, and account management.
• Scholarship Programs Educational scholarships for members and their dependents, including essay, lottery, and named memorial scholarships (Beppie McNally, Nicole Berman, Dennis Norton, Joe Hayes Memorial, John G. Silva).
• Union Plus Benefits Program Exclusive member discount and benefits program (Union Plus) including free college tuition via the UFCW Discount College Program, low-interest union credit card, legal services plan, travel and insurance discounts, and movie/amusement park plans.
• Political Action Program Political advocacy and engagement for members, including virtual political forums, Political Action committee communications, and legislative representation on labor matters.
• UFCW Discount College Program Partnership-driven program offering heavily discounted tuition rates and online courses to UFCW Local 1445 members and their families through partner schools.
• UFCW Women's Network Childcare Grants Childcare grants for eligible UFCW/RWDSU members (in good standing for one year) with dependents enrolled in licensed or IRS-filed childcare, through the UFCW Women's Network Region 1.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members earn nearly always receive higher wages and better benefits than non-union workers doing comparable jobs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UFCW International UnioncoreOthersLocal 1445 is chartered by the UFCW International Union, one of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO, representing over 1.3 million members in the United States and Canada. The UFCW International Union provides per capita structure, support for organizing elections, and adapts to changes in society. Local 1445 pays per capita fees to the UFCW International Union.
• UFCW New England Health FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth fund providing healthcare benefits to UFCW Local 1445 members and their families. The fund covers medical, prescription, dental, and vision benefits for represented workers. Employers like Century Linens joined the UFCW NE Health & Welfare Fund covering 85% of members' insurance premiums.
• UFCW Northeast Retirement FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetirement fund providing 401K and pension benefits to UFCW Local 1445 members. Century Linens contract included increased 401k company monthly contributions to this fund.
• Union Plus BenefitscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram providing exclusive discounts and benefits to UFCW members including: free college tuition for union members and family members, low-interest union credit card, legal service plan, travel and insurance benefits, movie and amusement park plans, discounts on home and life insurance, travel, car rental, legal services, and cell phones.
• UFCW Discount College Program PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner schools offering heavily discounted tuition rates to UFCW members and families through the UFCW Discount College Program. Provides affordable education options with online courses tailored to members' schedules and budgets.
• UFCW Women's Network Region 1minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen's Network providing childcare grants to eligible UFCW or RWDSU members in good standing for one year who have dependents enrolled in childcare. Grant helps parents who work outside the home use qualified childcare providers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• UFCW Local 770: One of the largest UFCW locals, representing 35,000+ workers across grocery, retail, and pharmacy in Southern California. Provides a directly comparable peer for dues revenue scale, multi-industry representation strategy, and organizing throughput.
• UFCW Local 7: Colorado UFCW local representing grocery, retail, and healthcare workers with a comparable multi-sector bargaining unit structure. Directly comparable in mission, charter structure, and member-services portfolio to Local 1445.
• UNITE HERE: Represents hospitality, food service, and venue concession workers — directly comparable to Local 1445's TD Garden and DCU Center concessions representation. Uses an identical local-charter, dues-funded, contract-negotiation model and competes for the same types of workers.
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU): Comparable 2M+ member labor union representing service workers including healthcare (overlapping with Local 1445's UMass Memorial/St. Vincent Hospital representation). Operates a dues-funded, local-charter, organizing-driven model under a national union that is directly analogous to UFCW Local 1445's structure and economics.
• 1199SEIU: Large healthcare-worker union with extensive hospital and nursing-home representation across the Northeast. Directly competes for healthcare bargaining units that Local 1445 serves (UMass Memorial, St. Vincent Hospital), making it the most relevant peer for evaluating Local 1445's healthcare segment trajectory.
• Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU/UFCW): Represents retail and grocery workers directly comparable to Local 1445's retail (Macy's, Zara) and grocery-adjacent segments. Now part of UFCW following a recent merger, RWDSU remains the closest direct counterpart in retail-worker collective bargaining and runs an analogous dues-funded model.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters: Comparable large industrial/service-sector union with a similar dues-funded model, multi-industry representation across warehousing, distribution, and processing — segments that overlap directly with Local 1445's warehouse and packing/processing bargaining units.
• UFCW Local 880: Ohio UFCW local with grocery, retail, and meat-packing representation (overlapping with Local 1445's packing/processing segment). Comparable operating model and member scale make it a useful peer for dues economics and contract-negotiation benchmarks.

Regional players

• Massachusetts AFL-CIO: The state federation of which Local 1445 is a member affiliate; sets the labor-policy and political-organizing context in Local 1445's primary territory. While not an operating peer, it is the most relevant regional comparison for political advocacy leverage and labor-law conditions in Massachusetts.

Others

• UFCW International Union: The international parent body that charters Local 1445 and represents over 1.3 million members across the US and Canada. While not a direct operating peer, it is the structural backbone — providing per capita funding, organizing infrastructure, legal defense, and brand credibility that materially shape Local 1445's cost structure and capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/local-1445

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Local 1445