Longtime UFCW Local 152 Union Representative Greg Torian is heading into retirement, following a nearly 50-year career in the Labor Movement.

He started in the industry slicing lunch meat at Starn’s ShopRite in Ventnor, New Jersey, when he was 18 years old. Even though he didn’t intend to keep the job long-term, he felt that if he wasn’t going to attend college then he should find a good union job with benefits and a pension.

“My father worked as a bus driver, and my mother was a plumbing inspector, so working union was something that was natural to me,” he said. “It seemed like a secure choice.” He ended up staying with ShopRite for 25 years, and many of those were spent as a shop steward.

“I would often take my five-year-old son to union meetings, and I liked the way they did things there, so I accepted when I was offered the steward role,” he said.

Fighting for members

After spending some time as a Special Project Union Representative (SPUR) for the UFCW International Union and assisting with organizing drives and informational picketing across the country, Greg started the next phase of his career as a Union Representative for Local 152 in 2006.

He represented manufacturing and retail members in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, assisting members with grievances and trying to reach favorable outcomes with management.

“Every meeting I went into, my approach was ‘let’s have a conversation and see if we can work this out,’” he said. “You don’t just kick the door down and make accusations. I would tell them ‘I’m just trying to get the rest of the story,’ and that helped put their guard down.”

He remembers overseeing many successful grievance procedures, which helped members get back on their feet.

“They would tell me that they’re glad to be a union member and to have someone to represent them,” he said. “Nothing is more gratifying than someone giving you a hug and saying they felt like someone was on their side.”

He’s encouraged by the interest younger members have in their union, including stewards from his workplaces that he brings to union meetings to keep them engaged in the process.

“It feels good when people appreciate the information you’re giving them,” he said. “They feel appreciated, and it makes them interested in helping the union. They’re asking the right questions.”

Seize the day

In retirement, Torian said he feels a sense of melancholy that he won’t see his colleagues at the union and the members he represented as often as he’s used to. Instead, he’s looking forward to spending time traveling with his wife, Pinto, and doing (or at least overseeing) remodeling projects around the house.

“When I wake up in the morning now, I’ll make my own decisions about what I’m going to do with the day,” he said, “and I look forward to that.”

He also is grateful for the benefits and pension which will help him enjoy retired life.

“I value my pension and the fact I’m retiring earlier than age 67, when I still have the energy to do things,” he said. “I sometimes meet people who haven’t planned for retirement or don’t have a union contract, and it’s kind of scary to think that they’ll have to plan for how to survive when they stop working.”