| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 17, 2000 |
|
|
Betrayal from Bentonville: Wal-Mart Workers Fight Back Against Company Campaign to Eliminate Union Supporters When meat department employees at the Jacksonville, Texas Wal-Mart Supercenter stood up for a voice on the job, Wal-Mart publicly promised to obey the law and respect workers' rights. The retail giant has betrayed the public and its employees through the workplace equivalent of ethnic cleansing. The National Labor Relations Board certified the workers choice to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 540 months ago. Today, workers are leveling charges against the Bentonville, Ark.-based company for illegally firing two staunch union supporters who are also senior citizens working at Wal-Mart during their retirement. Joe Hendricks and Sydney Smith were long-time Wal-Mart employees with outstanding work records. Wal-Mart managers isolated both workers for their union support then terminated them on trumped up charges. "I used to have faith in this company but ever since we voiced our desire to have union protection at Wal-Mart, management has been out to get us. They sent in bigwigs from Bentonville to get rid of the union supporters by hook or by crook. They got me by crook," said Sydney Smith, a meatcutter with 55 years experience in the retail industry. Smith continued, "I've worked in retail for 55 years and I've never been fired. In fact I don't have a single black mark on my record. I feel betrayed by Wal-Mart for setting me up and firing me. It disgusts me the way Wal-Mart is treating its workers." Wal-Mart preys upon retired workers to staff its stores. Older employees are key to the Wal-Mart business strategy, providing key staff to retail stores yet demanding less company benefits since many seniors' health care costs are covered by Medicare. The company assumes that senior citizens are less likely to stand up and fight for better wages and working conditions. Older Wal-Mart employees are disregarded and discarded, just like Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Smith. "Bentonville bigshots came down to our little town in Texas and told us they were here to get rid of the troublemakers. Jacksonville is a small town where everyone knows one another. Pretty soon, Wal-Mart will have fired so many people they won't have anyone else in our town who will work for them," said Joe Hendricks, a meatcutter with 45 years experience. Workers report that Bentonville sent in entirely new management to the Jacksonville store after the meat department voted in favor of union representation. The new managers took aim at the meat department workers, especially the union supporters, belittling and disrespecting employees. "Wal-Mart exploits its senior employees in TV commercials, but betrays them in the real workplace. The workers here in the Jacksonville meat department have seen right through the Bentonville charade. The UFCW will keep fighting to insure that all Wal-Mart workers, regardless of age, are treated with the respect they deserve," said UFCW Local 540 President Johnny Rodriguez. The meat department workers at Wal-Mart's Jacksonville, Texas store voted in February 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. The Board is prosecuting Wal-Mart for refusing to recognize and bargain with the UFCW in Jacksonville. 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. "I went to work for Wal-Mart because I had always heard it was a great company and that Sam Walton treated all his employees with fairness and decency. Once Mr. Walton died, Wal-Mart executives took over and they stopped caring about its employees. We just want to get Wal-Mart back to the kind of company it was when Sam Walton was still alive," said Maurice Miller, a meat department employee in Jacksonville. 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. |
|
 |
 |
