United Food & Commercial Workers Union of America, Local 204 (Winston-Salem, N.C.) records

The UFCW was created through the merger of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America (AMCBW) union and Retail Clerks International Union (RCIU), following the new union's founding convention in June 1979. William H. Wynn, president of the RCIU and one of the designers of the merger, became president of UFCW at the time of its founding. The merger created the largest union affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The UFCW continued to expand both by organizing and merging with several smaller unions between 1980 and 1998.

UFCW Local 204 was originally based in Charlotte, N.C., before moving to Winston-Salem. Local 204 primarily represents the interests of grocery store and nursing home employees. In 1986, Local 204 absorbed Local 525 from Asheville. Local 525 began as a part of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America, and in 1960-1961 had absorbed most of the smaller locals throughout North Carolina, creating a large union that divided the state into 8 districts. Local 525 continued to represent its members who worked in the poultry industry, grocery stores, and meat packing over a large geographic area until 1986.

Throughout the time period represented by these materials, Local 204 was led by Eileen Hanson.