UFCW's President Hansen Leads Calls For Investigation into Walmart's Business Practices

In the wake of an explosive New York Times’ report about Walmart's unlawful business practices in Mexico  and elsewhere, UFCW International President Joe Hansen has called for a federal investigation into the company’s conduct.

As President Hansen told ABC about the allegations, "They raised question in my mind about stores approved in the U.S., where zoning laws changed quickly and permits were issued quickly. I think we'll now see people go back and ask questions about that."

Members of Congress have asked for an investigation, and the Department of Justice may already be looking into the company.

In a statement, President Hansen said that: 

The reported cover-up by WalMart executives at the highest levels exposes a core truth: WalMart cannot be taken at its word. A Department of Justice investigation into foreign bribery is an urgently needed first step. Congress should immediately convene hearings to examine whether WalMart is using these unethical business practices in their U.S. operations.

Meanwhile, elected officials in NYC are expressing opposition to Walmart’s potential move into their city. As WNYC is reporting:

Several mayoral hopefuls, from Speaker Christine Quinn and Public Advocate Bill deBlasio to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and City Comptroller John Liu, issued statements citing Walmart's potential violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as evidence that the company could not be trusted here in New York City. 

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UFCW President Joe Hansen on President Obama's Plan to Put Americans Back to Work

Last night, President Hansen released the following statement in support of President Obama's jobs plan:

“President Obama’s plan for job creation, including a private fund to rebuild our roads and schools, a tax cut for companies that hire workers and help for the long-term unemployed, is a good start. The nation’s job crisis demands leadership from President Obama, but he cannot revive the economy alone. Bold leadership is also needed from Republicans in Congress and the business community in order to create jobs that can support a family and rebuild the middle class.

 “We will never win the future by turning a blind eye to the devastating impact of unemployment and underemployment on our country. It is time for Republicans in Congress to put our country ahead of politics and support the president’s plan to put Americans back to work. It is also time for America’s business leaders to make a patriotic commitment to invest in good jobs in America and provide their employees with decent wages and benefits with the end goal of giving the middle class the purchasing power it needs to revive the economy.

 “The wasted economic potential of the millions of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed is a national tragedy. But the tragedy goes deeper than statistics alone. In all this turmoil, many Americans believe they will never achieve the American dream of owning a home, sending their children to college or retiring comfortably. If Republicans in Congress and America’s business leaders continue to put corporate profits ahead of job creation, our country will never fully recover from this downward economic spiral.”

Six Things Congress Should Know About Immigration Reform

This week, a New York Times editorial pointed out immigration reform will have an uphill climb in a Congress dominated by hard-liners. As the editorial says, we’re going to get more of the same:

a national doubling-down on enforcement, with still more border fencing and immigration agents, workplaces locked down, and states and localities setting police dragnets on what always was — and still ought to be — federal turf.

You’d think a new Congress would have a few new ideas. We have had agreement for years that securing our borders is a priority, but only one of several necessary priorities if we are to have an immigration system that works. Here at the UFCW, we’ve spent years working with other labor unions, elected and business leaders, and advocacy groups on the right and the left to find common sense fixes for our broken immigration system. And we’ve got a few thoughts for the next Congress.

First, we’ve seen how enforcement-only approaches hurt all workers, fueling divisiveness and racial profiling, trampling rights, interrupting production, putting companies out of business and Americans out of work.

Second, both the CATO Institute and the Center for American Progress have determined, in independent studies, that immigration reform would pump more than a trillion dollars into the U.S. economy—creating jobs, which should be issue number one for the incoming Congress.

Third, the workplace is sometimes more than a workplace—it’s a common area where workers learn about American culture and customs, forge friendships, and begin to understand what being an American is all about. Many of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents found this out firsthand when they came to work in America.

Fourth, individual state-based immigration policy will only make the situation worse. We understand the frustration when Washington won’t act, so states feel like they must. Some irresponsible congressional representatives even encourage state-based solutions in order to avoid getting to work and providing a federal solution to a serious national problem. It is up to Washington to lead and act. Only federal legislation, guided by democratic principles and the rule of law, can fix our broken system. Congress needs to get serious about immigration.

Fifth, we need a clear process for undocumented workers to get right with the law, and secure our borders. Such a process would raise wages and benefits for all workers, because incentives to hire undocumented workers and exploit them would be eliminated.

Finally, we need to remove legal work-based immigration from the uncertainty of the political process, and put in place a process to meet industry workforce requirements through a depoliticized system comprised of industry, economic, and labor experts.

Real immigration reform would uphold our values of civic inclusion and participation, as well as embrace the vitality and diversity that are the fabric of a vibrant and strong society. It’s what Americans deserve—and it’s what will work to move all working people forward in the 21st century.

UFCW President Hansen on Huffington Post, On Good Jobs

President Hansen has a Labor Day message for all Americans--a message about why we need to make sure the jobs of the future are good jobs. A new poll by Lake Research, sponsored by the UFCW, shows that Americans are concerned about the jobs of the future, and want to make sure that those jobs are the kind of jobs that can support a family and make America's economy strong and competitive.

It's up to all of us, workers, shoppers, community members, and political leaders, to ensure that economic policies provide the opportunity to make all retail jobs good, career jobs. According to the Lake poll, a majority of voters believe job growth must be good job growth. In a number of polls Lake Research has found that a key economic frame for Americans is to have good-paying job no matter what the sector. To make that happen we must actively engage in the policy decisions that guide economic growth and job creation, and we must correct the current wage gap so that as worker productivity increases paychecks also increase.

Read the oped--and preview of the poll results, which will be released soon--at the Huffington Post today. And Happy Labor Day to you and your families!

Good News for the Middle Class? Potential Movement on the Unfair Insurance Tax

Potential good news for union members: it looks like President Obama and members of Congress may be willing to negotiate so that fewer people would be affected by the so-called "Cadillac Plan" tax, including fewer union members. AP reports that although many ideas are under discussion, Obama:

is open to adjusting the tax so it would affect fewer people. There has been discussion of raising the threshold for the tax from $23,000 to $25,000 or higher. It has already been raised for first responders and workers in certain high-risk fields, and the levy could be softened for more unionized professions.

The foregone revenue from tweaking the insurance tax would be made up from the investment accounts of upper-income earners. (Pensions and retirement accounts would not be taxed.) The Senate bill already calls for raising the Medicare payroll tax on wages to 2.35 percent for couples making over $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000.

Union leaders, including UFCW President Joe Hansen, met with President Obama yesterday to discuss the tax and its negative impacts on middle-class families and union members. And while it's still too early to say if enough progress has been or will be made, the negotiations are certainly a step in the right direction.