| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 17, 2000 |
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Workers Organize for a Voice at New Castle, Penn. Wal-Mart Workers keep on winning in their fight to have a voice at Wal-Mart. Tire and Lube Express employees at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in New Castle, PA will have a choice for a voice as the result of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision ordering a union representation election. Wal-Mart's anti-worker lawyers went bust with their legal maneuvering before the Labor Board. The Board rejected Wal-Mart's claim that the tire and lube express employees should not be able to vote because Wal-Mart considered the workers part of the normal grocery store operation. Employees in the Tire and Lube Express department stood up for a voice on the job and filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on June 13, 2000. Frustrated by poor treatment, workers organized to get a say on the job with United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 880. "Wal-Mart's delay tactics have backfired. The Labor Board supports these workers' right to vote for a voice on the job. The delays have not diminished the employees' desire to join together for better treatment and respect for their hard work," said Lou Maholic, Organizing Director for UFCW Local 880. Wal-Mart challenged the workers' petition, causing unnecessary hearings and delays before the workers have a chance to vote in a union election. This is a typical Wal-Mart delay tactic. The Labor Board has already certified unionization efforts in separate departments such as the meat department in a Wal-Mart Supercenter and auto departments at other department stores like Sears. "As in workplaces across the country, Wal-Mart's delay tactics are backfiring. Workers see through these legal maneuvers as another unfair management tactic to deny workers their rights," said Maholic. In February, meat department workers at Wal-Mart's Jacksonville, Texas store voted for union representation with UFCW Local 540, and are demanding that the company obey the law, respect their choice, and begin immediate good-faith bargaining. Wal-Mart Meat Department workers in Palestine, Texas filed numerous charges with the NLRB for the company's federal labor law violations during their union election campaign in May, 2000. UFCW Director of Strategic Programs Mike Leonard said, "Once again, Wal-Mart is systematically abusing the legal process to deny workers their legal rights on the job. They should respect the law and their employees by ensuring they have an election free of company intimidation and harassment." UFCW Local 880 currently represents over 27,500 workers in Northeast Ohio and Western PA at Giant Eagle, Tops and other major grocery stores. The UFCW is the largest organization of retail workers in North America, with 1.4 million members. Workers at retail food industry leaders such as Kroger and Safeway are members of the UFCW. |
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