Union Officers
Laura Kelley
Robert Spence
Nikki Rich
Levi Eddins III
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Hi, I’m Nikki Rich, and I officially joined Local 655 in 2007. Over the years, I’ve proudly served in several roles, including Union Representative/Organizer, Recorder, and Assistant to the President. I chose to work for the union because helping people has always been a true passion of mine, and I believe in leaving a positive footprint on this Earth. To me, the union represents family, compassion, and power.
Contact:636-736-2701
nrich@ufcw655.org
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I’m Robert Spence (He/Him), and I have been the Secretary-Treasurer for UFCW Local 655 since 2023. I have also been serving as the Director of Collective Bargaining since 2021. Since joining the Local staff in 2007, I have served as an Organizer and a Union Representative. Prior to coming on staff, I served as a Shop Steward at Shop n’ Save and got involved with the Local Union in UFCW’s ‘Wake Up Walmart’ program and helped form a Young Workers’ United organization. Working in labor has been a lifelong passion, and I'm honored to continue to serve our partners today.
Contact:
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My name is Laura Kelley, and I am your president of UFCW Local 655. My journey with the UFCW spans over 40 years and dates back to when I was 16, starting my first supermarket job at National Supermarkets, which was in Local 881, just across the river. By 1997, I had joined Local 655 when I started as a full-time bakery clerk at a Shop-N-Save in Missouri, rising to department head, and becoming a shop steward in 2003, a role I proudly served for 15 years. In 2013, I joined the Local 655 Executive Board, and in 2015, I became the first openly gay union rep in Local 655's history. By 2022, I became the assistant to the president, and I am now the first elected female and openly 2SLGBTQ+ president of Local 655.
For me, working with and at the union local has never been about paychecks or prestige—it’s been about standing up for people and making a difference where it counts. I am proud to be the voice for our partners and ensure our union family is represented to the highest level.
Contact:
Directors &
Legal Counsel
Lucy Acevedo
Sean Shannon
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I'm Lucy Acevedo, and I am the Communications Director here at Local 655. I had the privilege of being brought onto staff at the hall after I was wrongfully terminated for unionizing my workplace at Build-A-Bear Workshop. Working at Local 655 has been an honor because now I get to help not just my workplace, but all of yours as well.
Contact:636-298-6780
lacevedo@ufcw655.org
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I’m Sean Shannon, and I am the Organizing Director for UFCW Local 655. I’ve been on staff since October 2021, and worked in Schnucks produce for 6 years before that, with 4 of those years serving as a shop steward. I had the opportunity to grow our union in the organizing department because of my passion for educating and inspiring workers to know and exercise their rights in the workplace. I’ve been part of a union family my whole life, and UFCW Local 655 has allowed me the chance to grow and create a community that supports, grows, and rises together.
Contact:
Emily Perez
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I’m Emily Perez, and I am the General Counsel here at UFCW Local 655. I joined the staff on January 1, 2026, but prior to that, I was outside counsel at a local firm for over 17 years, and Local 655 was one of our clients there. I am proud to have devoted my legal career to representing organized labor and Taft-Hartley benefit funds. It is an honor to now devote 100% of my time to Local 655.
Representatives & Organizers
Scott Eschenbrenner
Prudence LaFerney
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My name is Scott Eschenbrenner, and I am a Servicing Representative here at Local 655. For 36 years, I worked at Dierberg’s, including 12 years as a Shop Steward. In 2019, I was asked to join the staff at the hall after years of working lost-time and serving on the executive board. I’ve always said the best part about being in a union is being a part of the union. Now I enjoy working every day for our partners in our shops, enforcing their contracts and helping people in every way I can until I take my well-earned retirement.
Contact:
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I’m Prudence LaFerney, and I joined the staff of UFCW Local655 as a union representative in January 2023 after more than 27 years with Schnucks, where I worked in every facet of the front end. Throughout my career, I gained firsthand experience of the day‑to‑day challenges workers face on the job.
I chose to work at Local 655 to support the same kind of people I worked alongside for years, as well as all Local 655 partners. To me, the union means having a voice, standing up for what is right in the workplace, and ensuring workers can create meaningful, positive change in their jobs.
Contact:
Amy Meyr
Ben Lagorio
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I’m Amy Meyr, a Union Representative with UFCW Local 655, where I joined the staff in April 2024. Prior to this, I spent 18 years at Price Chopper in House Springs, serving as a Union Steward, Grocery Manager, and Assistant Store Manager, and I also served four years on the Local 655 Executive Board. My lifelong connection to the labor movement comes from being raised as a bricklayer’s daughter, which taught me the value of union strength and solidarity. I’ve always been active in the local through steward work, advocacy, and political engagement. For me, the union means family, and I am committed to serving members with compassion, protection, education, and strong representation.
Contact:
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My name is Ben Lagorio, and I serve as a Union Representative for UFCW Local 655. I first began working with the Local in 2014–2015 and helped organize workers at Washington University Food Service and Transdev Shuttle Service in 2017. I’ve worked in the labor movement since 2004 after helping organize my own workplace in California. Raised in a proud union family, I learned early the value of solidarity and worker representation. I returned to St. Louis in 2019 to be close to family during my sister’s battle with cancer, and I remain honored to continue this work alongside the leadership and members of Local 655.
Contact:
Megan Mertz
Sean Wynn
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I’m Megan Mertz, and I am one of the Representatives here at Local 655. I came on staff in March 2026. Before working here, I was a shop steward at Schnucks and Shop-N-Save. I chose to come here to work because I love helping people and want to make a difference in the lives of those who need our help! I also chose to work here because I was raised in a Union household that taught me the value of togetherness. The union means family to me; we are all one family, and together we can achieve great things!
Contact:
Office Personnel
Julia Polson
Susan Conley
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Hi, I’m Julia Polson, and I am the Executive Assistant to the President of Local 655. I came on staff in April of 2004 and held my first position in the Membership Department, where I was happy to assist the great membership of Local 655 and the Union Representatives with typing correspondence and contracts. I moved positions 10 years ago, and I enjoy assisting President Laura Kelley and Secretary-Treasurer Robert Spence. Working for this great leadership restores my faith that being part of a Union is truly being part of a family.
Contact:
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My name is Sue Conley, and I have served as the Lead of the Membership Department at UFCW Local 655 since 2016. When I was searching for a new work opportunity, I knew I wanted to work for an organization that valued its employees, respected their skills, and treated everyone fairly. I found exactly that at Local 655. Being part of an organization that looks out for working people is incredibly rewarding, and I’m proud to be part of it, because to me, a union means unity, respect, and standing together for one another, and that’s exactly what Local 655 embodies.
Blake Brown
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I’m Blake Brown, and I am a Membership Services Representative at Local 655 and started my journey at 655 in September 2025. Before working for the union, I was in retail management for most of my professional career. I chose to come to the union because all people deserve to be treated with respect and should not be taken advantage of. I am very proud to be a part of an organization that truly cares and makes a difference for the people that keep our communities thriving.