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Corporate Responsibility, In the News, Retail, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart, Workplace Safety & Health

H&M Takes Responsibility for Workplace Safety in Bangladesh

May 13, 2013

DSC_0147H&M has accepted binding building safety standards at Bangladeshi garment factories following the recent fire and building collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh. By signing the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, H&M is taking the high road and putting people before profits at their supplier factories.

Thousands of UFCW members work in the retail industry, including at H&M, and the UFCW will continue to honor the workers who died or were injured in Bangladesh by supporting workers here and abroad who are struggling to protect their basic rights, and by calling on other retailers that have a strong presence in Bangladesh—such as Walmart—to do the right thing and sign this agreement.

Press Releases, Retail, UFCW Industries, Uncategorized, Walmart

National Retail Justice Alliance Highlights Struggles of Part-Time Workers in Hearing with Congresswoman Judy Chu

May 02, 2013

UFCWnewsLos Angeles, Calif. – The National Retail Justice Alliance, in partnership with the UFCW, hosted a hearing today in Los Angeles with Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-Calif.) to highlight the social and economic plight of part-time workers in retail and other service industries.  The hearing also underscored the need for the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act of 2013 (H.R. 675), legislation that Congresswoman Chu has co-sponsored, which would extend protections to part-time workers in the areas of employer-provided health insurance, family and medical leave, and pension plans.

“I was honored to participate in today’s hearing which highlighted the economic struggles of part-time workers, especially those in retail,” said Congresswoman Chu.  “Millions of Americans are only able to find part-time jobs, and too many of these jobs do not provide health insurance, family and medical leave, or pension plans. That’s why the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act, which would extend benefits to part-time workers, is so critical. In today’s economy, we need to make sure that all hard-working Americans can afford to put food on the table and have a safety net to protect them and their families.”

The Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights builds upon the progress of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and ensures that part-time workers (defined as working less than 30 hours a week) and their families have access to critical workplace benefits.  The ACA penalizes employers who fail to provide health insurance to full-time workers, but includes no such penalties for employers who deny health coverage to part-time workers.

“There are too many people in search of work who can only find part-time jobs—and many of these jobs do not include critical work-related health and retirement benefits,” said Lola Smallwood Cuevas, a project director at the Los Angeles Black Worker Center at UCLA’s Center for Labor Research and Education and a member of the National Retail Justice Alliance. “Policies like the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights are needed to address the increasing number of Americans who are working without a safety net for retirement, health care, and family leave.”

In addition to Chu and Cuevas, state and local leaders, economic experts and part-time workers also spoke at the hearing which took place at East Los Angeles College.

 

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The National Retail Justice Alliance is dedicated to raising the living and working standards of retail workers in the United States.  By working in collaboration with a broad base of opinion leaders, organizations and communities, the National Retail Justice Alliance builds support for workers in the retail industry through advocacy, education and research to promote sustainable jobs, living wages, affordable health care and fair public policies.  For more information, visit www.retailjusticealliance.org.

Corporate Responsibility, Economic Justice, Packing and Processing, Social Justice, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart

Warehouse Workers, Community Organizations Call on Walmart to Stop Retaliatory Firings in Contracted Warehouse

Apr 26, 2013

http://www.ufcw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/UFCWnews.jpgONTARIO, Calif. – Javier Rodriguez, a leader for change inside Walmart’s contracted warehouses in Southern California, was fired yesterday from his job as a forklift driver.

Rodriguez, along with Warehouse Workers United, filed formal federal charges today to protest the illegal firing.

“Walmart is committed to one thing, looking the other way when workers in its supply chain are abused,” Rodriguez said. “Just look at the factory collapse in Bangladesh this week or the fire that killed 112 last year. Just look at the conditions inside the warehouses in Southern California.”

Supporters launched a petition calling on Walmart to ensure Rodriguez’s reinstatement Friday and plan to deliver the signatures to Walmart officials Monday in Downtown Los Angeles. (Local reporters, see event details below.)

Rodriguez and his coworkers have repeatedly demonstrated that Walmart does not hold its contractors to its own standards. Warehouse workers, who are required to work inside dark, hot, metal shipping containers with little ventilation or water, under pressure to meet high quotas in the face of frequent injury, filed a complaint with the state agency responsible for workplace conditions last summer.

Though Walmart initially dismissed workers’ concerns, in December, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cited NFI Industries, which is contracted by Walmart to operate the warehouse, and one staffing agency, tens of thousands of dollars in health and safety violations.

Earlier this month Walmart supply chain workers from the National Guestworker Alliance, Warehouse Workers United, New Labor, Warehouse Workers for Justice and Jobs with Justice convened to respond to Walmart’s claim that it holds its suppliers to its “Standards for Suppliers.” Workers offered their own set of core principles that would ensure improved labor standards in the supply chain.

“What workers have shown is that Walmart’s standards are nothing more than a sheet of paper,” said Guadalupe Palma, director of Warehouse Workers United. “To be serious the Walmart’s standards must be enforceable, credible standards that are centered around workers. Walmart must ensure Javier is reinstated and immediately start acting to resolve serious problems in its supply chain.”

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Warehouse Workers United is an organization committed to improving the quality of life and jobs in Southern California’s Inland Empire. More than 85,000 warehouse workers work moving goods for major retailers like Walmart in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.