April, 2013

Organizing, Politics, Press Releases

UFCW President Hansen Statement on NLRB Nominations

Apr 09, 2013

http://www.ufcw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/UFCWnews.jpgWASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the UFCW, today released the following statement after President Obama made three nominations to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

“Senate Republicans have made a mockery of their constitutional responsibility to advise and consent on nominations to the NLRB. Senator Lindsey Graham says the Board is out of control but it is his caucus that has made obstruction an art form. President Obama could nominate Mitch McConnell to the NLRB and Senate Republicans would still likely block him. Their motive is clear—they do not believe in the right to organize and resent that the agency charged with protecting workers is actually doing its job. Later this week, House Republicans will go a step further and consider a disgraceful bill to shut down the Board all together. The Senate now has before it a full package of nominees to the NLRB. It is time for Republicans to put ideology aside, do their job, and allow for prompt consideration. America’s workers deserve nothing less.”

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The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail and meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries. The UFCW protects the rights of workers and strengthens America’s middle class by fighting for health care reform, living wages, retirement security, safe working conditions and the right to unionize so that working men and women and their families can realize the American Dream. For more information about the UFCW’s effort to protect workers’ rights and strengthen America’s middle class, visit www.ufcw.org, or join our online community at www.facebook.com/UFCWinternational and www.twitter.com/ufcw.

 

Corporate Responsibility, Economic Justice, Retail, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart

OUR Walmart Members Attend Press Conference Surrounding Fight to Keep Walmart Out of Chinatown

Apr 08, 2013

Last week, a press conference was held by various groups who have united to file a lawsuit against Walmart, in hopes of keeping the mega-corporation out of LA’s Chinatown.  Walmart’s track record as a small-business killer is threatening to Chinatown, which has a thriving, tight-knit community of local businesses.

Martha Sellars, a Walmart associate from Paramount, CA, also noted, as she spoke at the conference, that Walmart is not a good employer, and therefore must stay out of Chinatown.  Touching on the never-ending fight to return Walmart to what its founder, Sam Walton, created it to be, Martha said:

“One of [Sam Walton's] beliefs was to listen to us, the workers. We know what’s going on in the stores–we deal with it everyday. So when we speak up now, the store retaliates

Martha and many other activists, business owners, workers, and residents protested last year, when Walmart began construction on the controversial Chinatown location.

Watch the videos of the Martha’s speech below to hear more about how Walmart’s mistreatment of workers, and its negative impact on the economy, make it a bad choice for Chinatown.

 

Corporate Responsibility, Economic Justice, Organizing, Retail, Social Justice, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart, Workplace Safety & Health

More Worker Abuse at a Walmart Supplier…

Apr 05, 2013

Reposted from Warehouse Workers United:

 

Source: Corporate Action Network

Exactly one month ago, on March 4, garment workers in Nicaragua were brutally beaten during a peaceful protest when the company they work for – SAE-A, a Walmart supplier – paid a mob of more than 300 other workers to attack these employees, using scissors, metal pipes, and other weapons.

Sign the petition.

This courageous group of workers is fighting to improve their working conditions, demand respect and win better wages. They are trying to form a new union, but in the process they are experiencing extreme retaliation. Workers have been bribed and 16 have been illegally fired in the company’s efforts to silence them. The brutal beating was the last straw.

Sign the petition and tell Walmart to demand its suppliers reinstate the workers, end all violent and illegal practices inside the factory and reimburse workers for medical bills and stolen property that resulted from the violent attack March 4.

Background

More than 8,000 workers produce camisoles, T-shirts and lycra clothing for Walmart and other retailers at this one garment factory inside an export processing zone in Tipitapa, Nicaragua. They are paid less than $1 per hour. They are mistreated, regularly yelled at, denied trips to the bathroom and more.

The Worker Rights Consortium, which monitors garment factories, conducted an investigation of the violent attack. Facts in this article and petition are taken from its report, which you can find here.