Union Leaders

(photo of Mike Nichols) Mike Nichols, President

President Mike Nichols started his career at Kroger in October 1979 as a bagger at store 290 (which was the old Gahanna store) when he was a sophomore in high school. In 1981, at the end of his senior year, he moved to the night stock crew and began working 40 hours a week and earning his full-time status. Years later, he moved to the evening shift working in produce, grocery, and as a cashier. In 1988, Mike was promoted to Assistant Head Produce at store 920 in Westerville, becoming Head Produce two years later at the old Sawmill Road store. At Sawmill, Mike’s Union Representative appointed him as a Steward in 1998. He remained in both those positions until October 1999 when he left Kroger to begin working at UFCW Local 1059.

Mike came on staff at Local 1059 as a Union Representative on October 23, 1999. While serving the membership in that capacity, his territories included stores in Columbus and just outside the outer belt as well as stores and plants in the southeastern part of the state. In 2017, Mike became the Service Director. The Service Director handles Step 3 grievances for most employers. He has served on negotiating committees for virtually all of the employers under contract with Local 1059, as well as several first contracts negotiated in recent years.

Mike has also serves on the Executive Boards of both UFCW Local 1059 and the Ohio AFL-CIO. He was as an Alternate Trustee on the Central Ohio Retail Pension Fund (CVS & Rite Aid pensions) since 2018 and now serves as the Chairman of that pension fund. He is a trustee on the UFCW Consolidated Pension Fund, as well. Mike is committed to continue to move the membership of Local 1059 forward.

(photo of Jason Kaseman) Jason Kaseman, Secretary-Treasurer

Secretary-Treasurer Jason Kaseman grew up in a UFCW household. His father, Dave, was a longtime Steward at the Bowling Green Meijer store. His father’s union benefits and UFCW Local 1059’s education scholarship helped Jason become the first in his family to go to college.

Following his college graduation, Local 1059 provided Jason an internship opportunity during the 2004 Presidential Election, and Jason was asked to stay on as UFCW Local 1059’s first Political Director following the election cycle. Jason has served as Statewide Coordinator for the Change to Win Labor Federation, coordinating the election activities of seven different member unions. He was also UFCW’s representative on Ohioans for a Fair Minimum Wage, the committee that developed Ohio’s successful minimum wage constitutional amendment.

In 2007, Jason went back to school to pursue a graduate degree. Jason returned to Local 1059 in 2010, overseeing the Local’s technology. In 2012, he returned to the role of Political Director. Following the passage of medical marijuana use in Ohio, Jason was appointed as the Labor Representative to Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee, which developed industry rules from 2016 until the committee dissolved in 2021. Jason serviced several worksites on the east side of Columbus from 2016 through 2017. Currently, Jason serves as an Alternate Trustee on the Central Ohio Retail Pension Fund. He is also a Trustee for the Central Ohio Labor Council’s Executive Board, the Mid-Ohio Labor Council’s Executive Board, the Community Outreach & Labor Training committee, and a Central Ohio Area Labor Federation Executive Board member. He has been a part of the UFCW Local 1059 negotiations team since 2012, negotiating every first-contract since 2021.

Union Executive Board

The Union Executive Board is composed of staff and rank-and-file union members who regularly meet to approve the union’s activities, implemented by union staff and overseen by union leaders. The Board makes critical decisions under the rules, bylaws, and constitution of the union to benefit the membership and grow the union into the future.