July, 2013

Corporate Responsibility, Press Releases, Retail, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart, Workplace Safety & Health

Joint Statement by Richard L. Trumka (AFL-CIO) and Joe Hansen (ChangetoWin) on the Walmart and GAP Bangladesh Safety Alliance: Weak and Worthless

Jul 10, 2013

UFCWnewsThe so-called Global Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, announced today by Walmart, Gap and the Bipartisan Policy Center, was developed without consultation with workers or their representatives and is yet another “voluntary” scheme with no meaningful enforcement mechanisms. Companies that sign onto the alliance but fail to meet a commitment face no adverse consequences beyond expulsion from the scheme. Instead, workers will continue to pay.

In stark contrast, more than 75 corporations from 15 countries, including the United States, have signed the binding Accord on Fire and Building Safety negotiated with Bangladeshi and international unions. The Accord has rules to make real improvements in the safety of garment workers.  Workers, unions and worker rights organizations negotiated this agreement with employers and integrated worker safety efforts by governments and the International Labor Organization (ILO).  The AFL-CIO and Change to Win,  along with global unions IndustriAll and UNI and numerous organizations representing Bangladeshi workers, also endorse it. The AFL-CIO and Change to Win reject the Walmart/GAP plan as a way to avoid accountability, limit costs and silence workers and their representatives.

Rather than sign the binding Accord, Walmart and Gap are pushing a weak and worthless plan that avoids enforceable commitments. The Bipartisan Policy Center, which has clear financial and political connections to Walmart, is releasing the document, which is the product of a closed process and has been signed only by the same corporations that produced it.

The Accord departs from the broken system of voluntary corporate responsibility in supply chains that has so often failed to protect workers. It makes a clear commitment to worker safety and rights, and to transparency. It expresses values that most countries uphold.

The Accord has been endorsed by the United Nations, the ILO, the government of Bangladesh, both the parliament and commission of the European Union, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Members and leaders in both houses of the U.S. Congress have also endorsed the Accord.

In the last eight years, more than 1,800 Bangladeshi garment workers have been killed in preventable factory fires and building collapses while producing mostly for European and U.S. markets.  This tragic loss of life requires more than a wink and a nod from two of the richest corporations in the world. It means taking responsibility for the safety of workers by entering into a legitimate, binding process that will save lives.  Seventy-five brands have taken that important step.  It is time for Walmart and GAP to join them, rather than trying to undermine those efforts and maintain a system that has a long and bloody record of failure.

Statement online here: http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/Joint-Statement-by-Richard-L.-Trumka-AFL-CIO-and-Joe-Hansen-ChangetoWin-on-the-Walmart-and-GAP-Bangladesh-Safety-Alliance-Weak-and-Worthless

For the latest udates, follow @AFLCIO and @RichardTrumka on Twitter.

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Legislation, Retail Food, UFCW Industries

UFCW Members Efforts Help Stall Liquor Privatization in Pennsylvania

Jul 10, 2013
Lobbying efforts and political mobilization by members of UFCW Locals 23 and 1776 helped stop liquor privatization in P.A.

Lobbying efforts and political mobilization by members of UFCW Locals 23 and 1776 helped stop liquor privatization in P.A.

Over the past two and a half years, UFCW Locals 23 and 1776 in Pennsylvania have been fighting back against efforts to privatize state liquor stores. This past week, both locals were able to secure a victory when the Pennsylvania Senate failed to move the liquor privatization bill forward. This means that over 3,500 UFCW members will keep their jobs.

According to Wendell Young, President of UFCW Local 1776, success was due in large part to coordination across both locals and other groups within Pennsylvania.

“Everyone acted in unison. It was a great effort with Local 23. We absolutely worked as one unit on this. This was the largest member mobilization ever. The ability for everyone to become easily and actively involved was the key to success. If there was one thing that made the difference, it’s our members. They were our greatest strength.”

UFCW members lobbied at the Capitol in Harrisburg every single day during the session. Some often drove hours across Pennsylvania, arriving with spouses, children, and neighbors to help convince legislators that liquor privatization was the wrong direction for the commonwealth.

UFCW Local 1776 member Rob Peters, a Wine Specialist and Shop Steward in the Ardmore, Pa., PA Wine & Spirits store said, “Our stores generate more than $700 million a year for the state treasury. UFCW members keep alcohol out of the hands of minors and visibly intoxicated people. We take pride in our jobs.”

In addition to lobbying, members from UFCW Locals 23 and 1776 wrote letters to the editor, called in to TV shows, and held multiple strategy sessions every week. All of this helped to educate and re-educate members about the issue and guarantee that the debate stayed visible to the public.

To help financially support their campaign, members donated an extra $5 per paycheck to help put together a multi-million dollar fund. This went towards producing advertisements and hiring lobbyists to help make their case to state legislators.

As the session came to a close last week, the effort to privatize the liquor industry faced bipartisan opposition. The ability for the UFCW to gain support from both Democrats and Republicans underscored the success and effectiveness of their messaging and mobilization campaign.

Liquor privatization efforts are expected to resume in the fall legislative session but members are ready and optimistic to continue the fight.

In the News

Pew Study Shows View of Labor Unions Has Improved

Jul 09, 2013

A recently released Pew Research Center study shows that more Americans favorably view labor unions. The national survey was conducted June 12-16 among 1,512 adults and shows that views of labor unions have improved across most groups since 2011, and not just among middle-aged white men–the popular image of unionists.

SurveyIn fact, the survey found that unions are now most favorable among women, people of color, young people between the ages of 18 and 29. Here’s a breakdown of the facts:

  • According to an MSNBC article about the new research, “women don’t make up a majority of the unionized workforce, but they’ve been narrowing the gap for years. They make up about 45% of the unionized workforce according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics—and they’re gaining.”
  • African Americans in particular are more likely to be union members.  13.1% of all working African-Americans are part of a union, compared to 11% of all non-black workers.
  • 61% of surveyed young people between the ages of 18 and 29 support unions, showing that the millenial generation is changing the image of labor even further.
  • Overall, 51% of surveyed Americans view labor unions favorably. That’s 10 percentage points up from labor’s lowest approval rating two years ago in 2011, when attacks from the right were very prevalent in the media. Many people have seen that right to work legislation in states like Wisconsin has failed to solve any fiscal crisis–an argument that conservatives like Scott Walker used to gain support.
  • 80% of liberal Democrats view labor unions favorably compared to 23% of conservative Republicans.
  • More than a third of public sector workers are unionized.

A full summary and additional information about the survey can be viewed at http://bit.ly/12jkgv5.