Feeding the Hungry

Yesterday, UFCW members and representatives of Smithfield foods got together, along with Paula Deen, to donate one million servings of protein to the Food Bank of New York City. A three-year partnership is expected to give over 20 million servings to food banks across the country.

That this program is going to be giving servings of protein is especially important. Food banks often focus on either purchasing food in bulk or getting donations of bulk goods. Canned foods and carbohydrates preserve well and are easy to get a hold of, but this isn't always the case with meats and other proteins. Additionally, distributing protein takes a good deal more planning due to cool storage space concerns.

As a result, many of the families who rely upon food banks aren't able to get the protein that they need from the food bank. Sometimes, this means going without.

The United Food and Commercial Workers is proud to be partnering with Smithfield to bring this food to needy families as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.

Loose Nukes at Walmart?

Walmart bills itself as the store that has everything--but radioactive tritium? Evidently Walmart uses the material in signs at their stores. We would have never known this--but evidently Walmart didn’t realize that they should KEEP TRACK OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL!

That’s right, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited Walmart for failing to keep track of some of their more than 70,000 tritium-containing signs. In addition, Walmart was also cited for failing to dispose of signs properly and failing to dispose of broken or damaged signs properly. All in all – they failed to keep track of or dispose properly of almost 3,000 signs.

According to the article in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, “the NRC requires proper record keeping and disposal of the signs because a damaged or broken one could cause minor radioactive contamination of the immediate vicinity, requiring environmental cleanup.”

Clean up of radioactivity on Aisle 12? H1N1 in the checkout lane?

Good to know I’m at least saving money and living better.

No Help on Preexisting Conditions, GOP? Really?!?

When it comes to the health care debate, there are some things that you thought that everyone, even the House Republicans, thought was a good idea. So there is disagreement about the public option, about how to implement an employer mandates, who should be responsible for buying insurance, and a whole host of issues. That there would be disagreements about such things is understandable. But, if you'd been following the news, you would think that everyone is against the abhorrent insurance company practice of denying coverage based upon a preexisting condition, right?

Wrong. House Republicans released their bill today and it did not include a ban on the despicable practice. Instead it focuses on capping non-economic damage in medical malpractice cases, a "remedy" not driven by any evidence that it will save money, or even conservative philosophy, but by a hatred for and a scapegoating of trial lawyers.

The skimpy 230 page bill , which the AP got a hold of, does little to nothing to actually keep down costs. It encourages health savings accounts, "encourages" creation of pools for high-risk individuals (though does nothing to make sure those pools guarantee affordable insurance and provides not even a tax credit to consumers), and allows for the purchasing of insurance across state lines.

That last point should read: all insurance companies will relocate to the states with the most lax enforcement and least consumer protections, and the consumer will be stuck with the “choice” of the less of many evils.

Just another example of bad policy from those who oppose health care reform. These folks want one thing: the status quo and great big profits from the insurance companies. Doesn't hurt them that those same companies write big campaign checks.

Wal-Mart's Sick Leave Policy Puts Workers at Risk for Spreading H1N1

According to information released by the National Labor Committee, Walmart's punitative sick leave policy puts the employer "on track to on track to be a major spreader of swine flu this fall." The Committee says that Walmart "gives workers demerits and deducts pay for staying home when they are sick or to care for a sick child."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that:

During an influenza pandemic, all sick people should stay home and away from the workplace, hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes should be encouraged, and routine cleaning of commonly touched surfaces should be performed regularly.

But Walmart has, according to the NLC's report, "routinely flouted" the CDC's recommendations. The NLC says that:

[A] Wal-Mart associate told us, “Wal-Mart won't even look at a doctors note. If you are out sick, youre going to get a demerit and lose eight hours wages.”

In fact, when the NLC interviewed Walmart associates across New York State, employees said:

they had no choice but to work sick. One Wal-Mart employee from a supercenter explained: “Plenty of girls are coughing their brains out. But they cannot go home because of points. Everyone comes in sick. You cant stay home and God forbid if you leave early.” “Associates” –including food handlers working in the grocery, meat and even deli departments—are routinely coming to work with the flu, conjunctivitis, fevers, strep throat, diarrhea and vomiting. It is only when an employee is coughing too loudly and violently that he or she will be transferred from the food section to another department, where the sick worker will still be interacting with customers.

When the New York Times interviewed Walmart employee Paul Hotchkiss in Hastings, Minnesota, he said that:

the point system pressured him to report to work two weeks ago even though he had swine flu.

“There are a lot of people who have swine flu right now who are going in because they worry about getting fired for having too many points,” Mr. Hotchkiss said.

His supervisor sent him home because he looked pale, he said, adding that he did not see a doctor because he could not afford the company’s health insurance.

At a time when children and families nationwide are concerned about H1N1, Walmart needs to follow in the footsteps of more responsible employers, and follow the CDC's recommendations. They need to understand that punishing workers for being sick hurts, not helps in combating the H1N1 virus and keeping workers healthy.

Update #2: From a release by Education and Labor Committee:

U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, announced emergency temporary legislation today that will guarantee five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by their employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation the week of November 16.

“Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihood, and their coworkers’ or customer’s health,” said Miller. “This will not only protect employees, but it will save employers money by ensuring that sick employees don’t spread infection to co-workers and customers, and will relieve the financial burden on our health system swamped by those suffering from H1N1.”

Update #1: Pat Garofolo over at WonkRoom points out this response from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

“The vast majority of employers provide paid leave of some sort,” said Randel K. Johnson, senior vice president for labor at the United States Chamber of Commerce. “The problem is not nearly as great as some people say."

Americans Prefer a Public Option to a Bipartisan Bill

It's true. For all the noise made the last few months about making sure the health care bill has bipartisan support, the majority of Americans really don't care--if it means the public option wouldn't be part of the final bill. From the ABC News/Washington Post poll:

"Which of these would you prefer – (a plan that includes some form of government-sponsored health insurance for people who can’t get affordable private insurance, but is approved without support from Republicans in Congress); or (a plan that is approved with support from Republicans in Congress, but does not include any form of government-sponsored health insurance for people who can’t get affordable private insurance)?"

Fifty one percent said they preferred the public option; 37 percent said they preferred a bill with some support from Republicans in Congress. Six percent said neither and seven percent expressed no opinion.

Powering Up the NYC Economy With Good Grocery Jobs

Last night local retail employers, policy experts, community and union leaders debated the issues faced by grocery store employees and grocery store operators in a recovering economy. The discussion was moderated by Mimi Rosenberg of WBAI's Building Bridges, and tackled the ways in which successful grocery businesses can also be community-leading employers.

Retail jobs are the fastest growing industry in the country. To enable the growing numbers employed in retail to achieve the American Dream, workers and customers alike are beginning to push back against the Walmart business model that’s driven down wages, benefits and standards of living for workers and communities nationwide.

Upper East Side market Agata & Valentina employees shared how they are struggling to attain the American Dream. Agata & Valentina worker Alfredo Pena said, “For me, a union means a voice for workers on the job. It means we don’t have to ask the boss for things like a raise individually, because we can stand together and have more power to improve our jobs that way.”

Pathmark employee and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1500 member Ann Marie Griffin spoke about the benefits of having a union at her workplace. “If it were not for the health insurance I receive as a union member,” she said, “I would not have been able to have two c-sections that I needed. And because I am a union member my salary has increased over the years. I know that others at non-union stores who are doing the same work I do, for the same amount of years, they may not even come close to what I make.”

Business leaders at the roundtable discussed how the union-employer partnership works well to improve their business. Charles Farfaglia, Fairway Market LLC, Vice President of Human Resources, said that having the UFCW working with his company helps with problem-solving, creates lower turnover rates, and gives employees a sense of security and stability that helps them better perform their jobs.

“When employees are given an unfettered choice, they view working in a union store as desirable,” he said. “That actually helps in recruiting new people. Fairway opened a store in Paramus, NJ, last March. We conducted seven job fairs…and many people asked if the store was going to be union. All who asked wanted to work in a union store.”

Also on the panel were: Rene Flores, Gristedes Foods, Executive Director of Human Resources and Asset Management; Dr. Nicholas Freudenberg, City University of New York, Distinguished Professor of Public Health; UFCW Local 1500 Field Director Rob Newell; and Paul Sonn, National Employment Law Project, Legal Co-Director.

House Health Care Bill Unveiled

Today's unveiling of the House health care bill represents a decisive milestone reached in the fight to ensure access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

The new bill "covers 96 percent of all Americans, and it puts affordable coverage in reach for millions of uninsured and underinsured families, lowering health care costs for all of us," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she addressed the crowd of Democratic leaders and health care advocates gathered on the west steps of the capitol Thursday morning.

The bill also ensures responsibility from employers by making sure they pay their fair share and accountability from insurance companies so that they can no longer deny insurance to individuals with pre-existing conditions. Not too shabby.

If you're looking for a little light reading, you can now review all 1990 pages of the bill yourself as it is up online.