Arturo Rosas, coach of the Fresno Coyotes youth soccer team, thanks UFCW 8-Golden State for its support. Rosas is a Union member in Fresno. Top row, from left : Coach Arturo Rosas, Juan Ramos, Brandon Ponce, Jose Rangel, Carlos Ramos, David Jimenez, Julio Montejano, Daniel Gaytan, Hector Velasco and Assistant Coach Beto Robles. Bot tom row: Kevin Aguilar, Hugo Robles, Jose Alcaraz, Hugo Cuevas, Everardo Arellano, Jose Cortez, Gabriel Cuevas and Sergio Ledesma. Not pictured: Richard Gonzales, Gabino Lopez and Michael Guadiana.

TEAM SPIRIT GETS A LIFT FROM DONATED UNIFORMS

In his spare time, UFCW 8 member Arturo Rosas coaches a soccer team of 12-14 year olds in Fresno. When he started working with the kids, their team had almost everything a coach could want.

They listened to his instructions and played hard with a strong desire to win every game. But there was one thing his team did not have: uniforms.

“Every other team that plays in our league had uniforms,” Rosas said. “But we couldn’t afford them. It made the kids feel somewhat inferior, because we had to play in street clothes while the other teams had nice uniforms with the team names on them.”

Michael Guadiana is the player who wears “8” on his soccer team uniform.

Rosas decided to do something to address the situation. “I mentioned it to our district union representative and asked him if the union could help,” he said.

“The next thing we knew, we had our uniforms. “Most of our kids come from working class families, so this meant a lot to them.” Rosas said he wasn’t surprised that the union came through.

“The union is always ready to help its members,” Rosas said. “Without a union, we wouldn’t have respect on the job or the benefits we have. helping our team buy uniforms was just another one of the many ways our union works for its members.”

Official publication of UFCW 8-Golden State Jacques Loveall, President