Wal-Mart's Mixed Message for Mom

Over the last couple of days you were likely to find an advertisement from Wal-Mart stuffed in your mailbox ---twenty pages of smiling women and gift ideas for Mother's Day. Beneath the surface of those glossy ads is the unfortunate truth: Wal-Mart is quite possibly the most anti-family, anti-mother corporation in America.

Wal-Mart faces the largest gender-discrimination lawsuit of all time, with 1.6 million women suing over unequal pay and unequal opportunities. Its managers have told women they "don't belong in management" and that they "can't manage men." More recently, Wal-Mart has repeatedly denied military moms leave to see their children before they deploy to war zones.

Instead of printing more 20 page "Mom's day" ads, Wal-Mart should be printing 20 page apologies to every woman hurt by its unfair policies.

Today, we need to ensure that Wal-Mart respects the hardworking mothers employed in their stores. This Mother's day, join our mission to change Wal-Mart's anti-family policies for the betterment of women and mothers across America. Add your name to our petition to CEO Lee Scott and 3 demands for change.

Click this link to sign our petition

Change won't come on its own. We've seen time and again that Wal-Mart has little respect for mothers, or the sacrifices they make for their families. Just ask Olga Sanchez or Susan Lyons, two long-time Wal-Mart workers.

When Olga's son, Mark, was deployed to Iraq, she requested leave to see him off. Her request was denied. Wal-Mart told Olga that, as a department manager, her commitment was to the company. At Wal-Mart, unfair scheduling policies often take precedence over families, and over the morale of America's armed service members.

Olga's story is just the beginning. Last September, Susan Lyons learned her daughter would be on leave from Iraq during the following December. Susan requested a mere two days of vacation time to see her. Wal-Mart denied the request because of the holiday shopping season. When she expressed her disappointment, Wal-Mart told Susan that if her daughter's deployment upset her so much, her daughter "should not have joined the Air Force."

These stories are a slap in the face to mothers, and they insult the dignity of the armed service members we also celebrate in May.

Don't let Wal-Mart continue to treat mothers this way. Sign our petition today. Keep the pressure on Wal-Mart to change and you can make these outrageous policies history.

Sign on to our 3 demands for change, add your name to our petition today

Thanks for taking action, and have a happy Mother's Day.

Earth Day -- Walmart Style??

Three weeks ago, Wal-Mart gleefully reported its intention to print nearly one third of a billion pages of "green" advertising this month, all inviting shoppers to splurge during it's "Earth Month" marketing blitz. Wasting a mountain of wood pulp in the name of sustainability is a surprisingly cynical move, even for Wal-Mart, but it is just a symptom of a broader problem--Wal-Mart is greenwashing, and it's getting away with it.

In spite of all the "green" hype, Wal-Mart's business model is linked to serious environmental problems. The long-anticipated Wal-Mart sustainability report cited a significant global increase in CO2 emissions in 2006, after the company's green campaign began. Worse still, at a recent conference, Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott flatly declared "we are not green," taking his audience aback. Still, despite the facts, some national and local news outlets continue to buy Wal-Mart's sustainability spin.

Let's set the record straight. Today, on Earth Day, let's ensure that America understands the truth about Wal-Mart's "green" hype.

Write your local newspaper about Wal-Mart's sustainability swindle

Frankly, we would rather have Wal-Mart hyping environmental sustainability than fighting food safety regulations or port security measures. At the same time, we can not sit idly while Wal-Mart uses slick, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns to mislead the American people.

Lee Scott agrees: Wal-Mart is not the "green" corporation depicted in Wal-Mart's advertising. This time, let's give Lee a hand. Help us debunk the myth of Wal-Mart's sustainability.

Set the record straight on Wal-Mart and the environment

Do it for the Earth!

Thanks for taking action,

"They were telling me How to Vote"

Recently, Wal-Mart has denied holding secret meetings with its department and store managers about the upcoming election. Apparently, they have been warning houemployees that if they vote for Democrats, that they will likely pass the Employee Free Choice Act - makeing it easier for workers to negotiate for better wages, benefits and working conditions. By the way - this is potentially illegal for Wal-Mart to be doing at all. For entire article, click here.

"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.

Oh, no! That means, if the Employee Free Choice Act passes, big businesses like Wal-Mart won’t get to keep ALL of the money for themselves. Workers will actually have a say in receiving great benefits, wages and better working conditions. DUH! That’s the point! So, why is that such a bad thing? Why do you think Wal-Mart is so afraid of allowing their workers the chance to achieve the “American Dream, too?” Read the true benefits of a union, here.

All of America’s workers should have the right to freely decide whom to vote for, and all of America’s workers should have the ability to form a union - free of employer pressure and intimidation.

You can ask the Federal Election Committee to investigate Wal-Mart’s potentially illegal intimidation, here. You can also take action against Wal-Mart by joining the Wake-Up Wal-Mart movement which is dedicated to making them a more responsible employer. Sign-up and show Wal-Mart that they MUST treat their workers better.

Related Article:
The Huffington Post

Chorus of Voices Calls on White House to Tell Walmart to End the Poverty Cycle

On Wednesday, we posted a statement from UFCW International President Joe Hansen, challenging the White House to tell Walmart to create good jobs and end the poverty cycle. Since then, labor leaders representing many millions more workers around the country have added their voices to the chorus. As a special Friday treat, we've compiled those statements here:

Joint Statement by AFL-CIO Pres. Richard Trumka and UFCW Pres. Joseph Hansen on White House Walmart Event

We are honored that President Obama asked us to serve on his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, charged primarily with rebuilding America's middle class by creating good jobs. America's working families urgently need leadership that will get Americans back to good jobs, paying taxes, spending in their communities and saving for retirement. The jobs crisis facing our nation threatens our long-term economic security, the strength and cohesion of our families and communities and our ability to compete successfully in the global economy.

Today's White House event, which highlights Walmart's expansion in urban areas, undercuts the message of the need for good jobs that can rebuild our middle class.

When Walmart opens in a community, it regularly displaces existing jobs with poverty-level jobs. Tens of thousands of Walmart associates qualify for and utilize food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. In this time of budgetary stress, Walmart's business model is subsidized on the backs of American taxpayers.

There is no economic justification for our nation's largest private employer to pay wages so low that any of its employees qualify for public assistance. And there is no justification for highlighting a private employer with a business model based on suppressing wages for its 1.4 million hourly workers.

We call on the Administration to remain focused on the importance of a strong middle class and protecting and creating good jobs on the scale that is needed. We ask the Administration to stand with communities that have called on Walmart to strengthen the communities it enters rather than drive standards and wages down.

SEIU's Mary Kay Henry: We Cannot Ignore Reality that Wal-Mart is America's Chief Corporate Poverty Creator

Statement of SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry on the White House event recognizing retailers expanding their business in underserved areas. Wal-Mart is among the attendees.

"As the nation's largest union of healthcare workers and as educators, child care providers, and social workers, we see the consequences every day of our failure to confront our country's childhood obesity crisis and provide quality food, health, and education services in underserved areas.

"It's vital that leaders like First Lady Michelle Obama continue to shine a light on this crisis and that we recognize responsible retailers like Safeway that step up their efforts to expand in underserved areas like they've done in neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Oakland. Safeway is not only bringing quality food into neighborhoods long abandoned by other grocery chains, they are also creating quality jobs in these communities.

"But we cannot ignore the reality that Wal-Mart is America's chief corporate poverty creator. And that they are linking arms not with America's workers to create good jobs but with right-wing politicians pushing job-killing policies and massive tax breaks for CEOs and millionaires. As our country's largest employer, Wal-Mart's corporate model of low wages and no benefits leaves millions of their workers unable to purchase healthy food or provide a good life for their families. And when Wal-Mart opens in a community, it can actually drive out good jobs and responsible employers.

"Wal-Mart should not be celebrated for false contributions to our communities and glitzy public relations campaigns that disguise their destructive policies. It's time to hold America's largest employer to a higher standard and demand that they produce quality jobs and do their part to increase opportunity and prosperity in our communities."


HOFFA: TELL WALMART TO CREATE GOOD JOBS
Teamsters Leader Says Retailer Contributes To Economic Woes

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today issued the following statement about the White House event recognizing retailers that expand in underserved communities:

“I admire First Lady Michelle Obama for her work to improve the lives of American children. However, we are very concerned that companies like Walmart, which don’t pay their workers a decent wage, condemn children in this country to poverty, poor nutrition and shrinking prospects for their futures.

“Walmart’s CEO recently commented that the company’s shoppers are “running out of money.” That’s a big clue that the problem with our economy is the lack of good jobs.

“I urge the White House to reconsider its involvement with Walmart unless Walmart agrees to create the kind of good jobs that can provide its employees with a decent standard of living. In these hard times, we desperately need the White House to recognize employers that pay living wages, provide adequate health care and make positive contributions to the communities they serve. Walmart does not fit any of those categories. Only by creating good jobs in America will our economy recover.”

Statement of John W. Wilhelm, President of UNITE HERE about White House event with Walmart

Yesterday the White House hosted America's number one low road anti-union employer at an event to highlight the First Lady's laudable program to end childhood obesity. We at UNITE HERE are very disappointed by this needless affront to all who care about rising income inequality in America.

No company in the United States has done more to drive down wages of working Americans than Walmart, which pays wages so low that its own employees must resort to public assistance programs to feed their own families. No company in America goes to greater lengths to coerce its employees from joining a union than Walmart.

The root cause of rising levels of food-related illness, hunger, and "food deserts" in America is the refusal of companies like Walmart to pay working Americans enough to afford healthy food. How many Walmart workers live in food deserts or are receiving food assistance from taxpayers simply because the company will not pay fair wages and benefits?

Surely, the White House could have found other, more deserving companies to join the First Lady’s much-needed effort. In America, we can have good food and good jobs for those who produce and sell good food.

Statement by CWA President Larry Cohen on today’s White House event

Following is a statement by CWA President Larry Cohen on today’s White House event:

The Communications Workers of America commends First Lady Michelle Obama for her commitment to improving the lives of children and families across our country. However, companies like Walmart and others that pay poverty-level wages and deny workers the bargaining rights that would enable them to improve their own standard of living and have a voice on the job should not be applauded.

Times are tough for middle class and working families, because our economic system is broken. We change this by once again making collective bargaining a part of the fabric of the nation, and restoring the American Dream for millions of families who now are suffering. Bargaining rights are critical to any functioning democracy, and for a functioning economy.

But companies like Walmart refuse to acknowledge the critical importance of bargaining rights for our democracy and our economy.

Working families today are facing real economic crisis. They need good jobs, and the ability to bargain over wages, benefits and working conditions. While American workers are more productive than ever, they’re not sharing any of the benefits. Workers are falling further behind and it is companies like Walmart that contribute to this decline.

What about the Freedom of Choice?

America…the land of opportunity. Here, we get the freedom of speech, religion, expression but; what about the freedom of choice…union representation, that is. Big businesses like Wal-Mart have deprived their employees of the freedom of choice according to accusations that corporate giants like Wal-Mart; interfere in the certification voting process by intimidating workers with threats of job losses.

The Employee Free Choice Act, which is backed by Senator Barack Obama, is percieved as a threat by these big businesses. In Quebec, employees have the option to join a union when the majority of workers want to, and they are guaranteed a first contract. This is unlike the United States where workers have to go through a lengthy process to gain union representation. The Employee Free Choice Act will simplify the process and give employees to have a chance for union representation.

In other words, the Employee Free Choice Act would level the playing fields for working people and big businesses…and this scares them to death. As a result, these giants and supporters are expecting to spend millions in an effort to block this bill from passing.

Sign up, to show your support in passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

Big businesses like Wal-Mart have for a long time opposed the Employee Free Choice Act. Recently, Wal-Mart has denied holding secret mandatory meetings with its department and store managers, threatening that if they vote for Barack Obama, the Employee Free Choice Act will pass, which allows employees to negotiate for better wages, benefits and working conditions. Political voter intimidation could be breaking the law so, join Wake Up Wal-Mart in asking the FEC to investigate Wal-Mart’s intimidation stunt.

No Walmart in Chinatown!

The people of L.A.'s Chinatown don't want a Walmart in their neighborhood.  That's why, this past Saturday, in the days leading up to Walmart's 50th birthday, hundreds of protesters from both the local area and supporters nationwide, marched through the streets to protest plans to open a store in the area. 

photo credit: LA Times

The event was a big one, complete with lion dancers, bicyclists, and a rally under Chinatown's dragon gates. But one of the most notable parts of the day, were the headlining musicians that performed to offer their support for the cause, some of which included Ben Harper and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. The festivities highlighted the historical and cultural heritage of the area. something that those in opposition to the Walmart say will dissappear if the store were to open there. 

This weekend's protest was not just about an unwanted Chinatown Walmart however.  Many came to decry the low-wages and union busting habits that Walmart has become so well known for.  

"This historic neighborhood will be utterly gutted if Wal-Mart comes here," Morello told The Associated Press about the prospects of the retail giant driving smaller stores in Chinatown out of business, like it has done so in countless other regions. "It’s Wal-Mart’s global policy of sweatshop labor and poverty level wages that we don’t need in LA," he said.

Wal-Mart began construction this week with plans to open the store next year. The proposed store is what the company calls a "neighborhood market," one that is about a fifth the size of a supercenter and typically carries groceries, fresh produce, pharmaceuticals, deli foods, stationery and dry goods. Despite the chain's ploy to seem more neighborhood friendly, Walmart employs the same tactics in all of its stores: give as little as possible to its employees to ensure the lowest price possible.

Labor officials and others have appealed the store's opening and a hearing on the issue is expected later this summer.
More stories and pictures of the rally:

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/business/ci_20986639/tom-morello-lsquo-rage-rsquo-leads-la-wal

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/06/protesters-gather-for-wal-mart-rally-in-chinatown.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufcw770/sets/72157630389745172/

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."

UFCW Stands with South African Workers

Walmart's plans to expand in South Africa have hit another setback after the South African government’s Competition Tribunal ordered a hearing on the proposed merger with Massmart be pushed back for almost two months.

Wal-Mart is currently in the final stages of acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Massmart, whose operations run in Namibia and 13 other African countries. But workers in South Africa are concerned about the impact Walmart will have on their communities and their jobs.

Members of the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) and of its international ally UNI Global Union, of which the UFCW is a member, have been resisting the merger.



"Wal-Mart employs severe tactics to silence workers and keep them from having a voice on the job,” said UNI deputy general secretary Christy Hoffman. “It also uses its immense market share to make drastic cuts in its supply costs, often pitting local companies in a vicious race to the bottom to provide goods to Wal-Mart at the cheapest prices.”

“We don't want to see the 'Wal-Martisation' of South Africa like we have seen in the US, in Chile, in Argentina, in Mexico and in many other countries around the world,” affirmed head of UNI Commerce Alke Boessiger.



You can follow more news on the merger on the Walmart Watch blog, www.walmartwatch.org.

How About Improving Jobs So That More Parents Have A Choice?

When moms have good union jobs, families win.

No doubt you've all been witness to the explosion of the so-called "mommy wars" of the last week, regarding Ann Romney's choice to stay at home and raise her sons. A lot of ink has been spilled by a press hungry for skirmishes, trying to divide women based on one pundit's comment on CNN.  But most American women (and men) recognize exactly how ridiculous this so-called "debate" is. It's another smokescreen thrown up by the GOP to distract Americans from the real issues affecting our families. Didn't we already have this conversation, a long time ago? And we more or less agreed, yes, that women or men who choose to stay at home with their children should be allowed to do so - that it's a personal choice?

The real issue, of course, doesn't have anything to do with moms or even gender. It's the one that Republicans like Mitt Romney want to keep us from talking about. It's rising income inequality. The plain fact is that very few men OR women can afford to make the choice to stay home and raise their children, due to stagnating wages and income inequality. As E.J. Dionne writes in his column today:

The public debate seems premised on the idea that all two-parent families have a choice as to whether one or both work. That’s still true for the better-off. But this choice is denied to most American families. They have had to send two people into the workforce whether they wanted to or not.

WalMart: Still Setting Too-Low Standards for the Retail Industry

Over the Labor Day weekend, WakeUpWalmart.com launched a new campaign to change WalMart and encourage the company to be more responsible when it comes to labor practices. The campaign stresses that improving labor standards improves communities, and that when WalMart lowers standards in an area, it hurts those same communities and the working families that live there. Author and UC-Berklely Professor Nelson Lichtenstein, along with other luminaries, spoke at the press conference to launch the new compaign.

So Harold Meyerson's review today of Lichtenstein's new book, "The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Remade American Business, Transformed Global Trade, and Put Politics in Every Store," has major import for UFCW members working in retail stores nationwide. Meyerson looks at how, much in the same way unionized auto companies helped shape the industrial labor force, WalMart has done the same with the retail industry. With a difference. Where unionized auto companies helped raise standards for American workers, strongly anti-union WalMart has helped to lower them.

Meyerson recounts this story from Lichtenstein's book:

Around the time that the young Sam Walton opened his first stores, John Kennedy redeemed a presidential campaign promise by persuading Congress to extend the minimum wage to retail workers, who had until then not been covered by the law. Congress granted an exclusion, however, to small businesses with annual sales beneath $1 million -- a figure that in 1965 it lowered to $250,000.

Walton was furious. The mechanization of agriculture had finally reached the backwaters of the Ozark Plateau, where he was opening one store after another. The men and women who had formerly worked on small farms suddenly found themselves redundant, and he could scoop them up for a song, as little as 50 cents an hour. Now the goddamn federal government was telling him he had to pay his workers the $1.15 hourly minimum. Walton's response was to divide up his stores into individual companies whose revenues didn't exceed the $250,000 threshold. Eventually, though, a federal court ruled that this was simply a scheme to avoid paying the minimum wage, and he was ordered to pay his workers the accumulated sums he owed them, plus a double-time penalty thrown in for good measure.

Wal-Mart cut the checks, but Walton also summoned the employees at a major cluster of his stores to a meeting. "I'll fire anyone who cashes the check," he told them.

This is the company that has helped to shape our current working environment. A company that tried to break the law to deny its workers the minimum wage.

And though WalMart has made some slight improvements in regards to health care and environmental practices (improvements no doubt in part made because of ongoing efforts of WakeupWalMart and similar groups, as well as overwhelming consumer pressure), WalMart's identity, says Meyerson, "came from fusing its brilliant use of new technology with its rigorous adherence to the old exploitative Southern labor practices." And because of that, WalMart is thus far unwilling to change too much, particularly in its attitude about unions. As Meyerson says:

With its stock price stagnant for nearly a decade due in part to its failure to expand to blue-state America, and with Democrats now in control in Washington, Wal-Mart is currently undergoing a great cosmetic makeover. It has announced it will develop a green profile for all the products it sells and has even proclaimed its support for an employer mandate in any emerging health-reform package. What it is not willing to relinquish is its die-hard opposition to unions and labor-law reform, its existential commitment to the Southern model of labor relations.

But this is precisely what WalMart must be prepared to relinquish; it must give up that model and embrace a new, consumer, worker, and community-friendly model that will help working families thrive and our communities prosper. Because Walmart is a presence in so many of our communities, because it employs so many, because it affects the lives of working families across the country and around the world, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful force for change. WalMart can and should join with communities and workers to help create the vibrant workplace, the healthy planet and the thriving community that we all want and are willing and ready to work for.

President Hansen Letter in New York Times: White House's Decision to Pay Tribute to Walmart was "Misguided"

In the letter, published today, President Hansen pointed out that Walmart has a history of destroying good jobs in communities, rather than creating them:

Instead of honoring Wal-Mart, the White House should laud employers who are creating good jobs with benefits that can support a family and challenge Wal-Mart to do the same.

Read the full letter here.

Power Changing Hands

The Employee Free Choice Act sounds like a pretty good solution to a lot of the problems workers face when they’re trying to form a union. So why is there so much controversy around it? Basically, the same businesses, agencies, and people who oppose EFCA, oppose unions in general. This fact alone makes it easy to see that EFCA is just another means to empower workers, and so it threatens the people who hold the power under the current system.



A few examples of who opposes EFCA

- Wal-Mart: Held meetings to try to convince their managers not to vote for Democrats, because they would pass EFCA and empower Wal-Mart workers to finally be able to form a union.

- George Bush & Dick Cheney: Never a friend of working people, Bush promised to veto EFCA if it crossed his desk.

-The Employee Freedom Action Committee: Many of the commercials on TV against EFCA are funded by this group, which was created by a lobbyist specifically to oppose EFCA. The Lobbyist, Richard Berman even admitted “All of my clients are corporations,” so we’re pretty sure he doesn’t have workers’ best interests at heart. Berman runs other organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom which criticizes Mothers against Drunk Driving, and the Employment Policies Institute which opposes raising the minimum wage.

- US Chamber of Commerce: The voice of business owners in America.

What just happened?! Tuesday bluesday edition

• Over 300 full time manufacturing workers at the Mott’s plant in Williamson, New York were forced out on strike yesterday as the company, which recorded record profits this year, failed to bargain in good faith.
  
• The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that black firefighters in Chicago did not miss the deadline to file discrimination charges against the city over an employment test that they say disproportionately hurt their chances of being hired.
• The Inspector General will release a report this week detailing inappropriate, and possible negligent, behavior by the staff of the Minerals Management Service between 2005 and 2007. These would be the regulators responsible for overseeing drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of the continuing and catastrophic oil spill.
• The New York City Council is considering a living wage bill today for workers on projects that get public funding.
  
• David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, is suing Florida Governor and senate candidate Charlie Crist for using the Talking Heads song "Road to Nowhere" without permission. You may remember a similar lawsuit involving one-time presidential candidate John McCain.
  
• Congressional leaders, the Pentagon, and the White House have reached a tentative agreement on repealing the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT) policy.
• Here's a very informative post about maternity coverage under employer-based health plans, and how things will start to improve as provisions of the new health care reform law are rolled out.
• A Wal Mart employee in Kansas was fired for STOPPING a shoplifter?? Yes. True story.

UFCW Members Testify at Ohio Statehouse on Anti-Worker Legislation

Four UFCW members will be submitting testimony today to the Ohio State Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee in opposition to SB5, the harmful anti-worker legislation being pushed by Ohio Governor John Kasich. Here are the remarks they'll be delivering:

Testimony of Mr. Don Watkins on SB 5

I want to thank Chairman Bacon and Ranking Minority Member Sen. Schiavoni for giving me a few minutes to speak here today on Senate Bill 5. I have read the articles about this bill, talked to my friends about it that would be affected and cannot see how this bill will help create jobs in our state.

I have worked at Chief Supermarket in Coldwater, Ohio for 16 years. I am the meat cutter in the store and I’ve been cutting meat for 36 years.

On a regular basis, I cut meat for the local fire department. I know that if our firemen had to take a cut in wages because they no longer had collective bargaining rights, they would not be able to shop at Chiefs – which is a locally owned store. They would have to drive 10 miles out of town to go to a discount store like Wal-Mart or Dollar General and, then people’s money would be going to an out-of-state corporation.

If our firemen or other public employees, like teachers make less money or lose their jobs, it is less likely that their dollars will stay in our community and create jobs in Coldwater. This effect could even cause a store like Chiefs to lay off workers or close. And, if it closes there would only be a carry-out store in Coldwater to serve the community.

Before working in Coldwater, I worked for a non-union store and I was not able to provide my family with quality of life they have now.

I am a widower, and my wife passed away from cancer. My son attends the University of Toledo. If I was still working at a non-union store, I know I would not be able to afford to send my son to college as a single parent.

My son is studying criminal justice and plans on serving our state by going into Law Enforcement. We all know that those who protect us daily need someone standing up for them to keep them safe on their jobs. I want to make sure that my son has the same type of representation that police officers currently have to keep him safe while he is out protecting Ohioans.

As far as I can tell, this bill does nothing that will help Ohioans and will prevent more people from achieving the America Dream of giving their family a better life.

I think we all know that people don’t become a teacher, police officer or fireman to get rich. These are professions that serve the public and people make a sacrifice by choosing those careers.

Lastly, my friend’s wife works at the local unemployment office. And, I know that public employees have made sacrifices over the past several years to help out with the state budget issues. They have taken furlough days and pay freezes. And, the furlough days amount to a pay cut. My friend’s wife is scared to death that if this bill passes she is going to lose her job. She is very passionate about her work – she helps those who have hit rock bottom and need a job.

If you pass this bill, you will only be adding to the Ohio unemployment line and you will be reducing the help for those job searching.

Ohio needs solutions to our jobs problems. But, SB 5 is not a solution. It will sacrifice middle class Ohioans and out of state corporations will be the ones to gain.

____________________________________________________________

Testimony of Ms. Bonnie France on SB 5

I want to thank Chairman Bacon and all of you for giving me a few moments to speak today on Senate Bill 5. I have never given testimony like this before and I am a little bit nervous. But, I feel like the issue of collective bargaining rights is too important to sit on the sidelines.

And, the one thing I keep wondering about is that this state is hurting for jobs and I don’t understand why the Honorable Senator Jones would introduce a bill that will kill Ohio jobs.

I grew up in Toledo and my mother and father both worked. My parents had union representation to keep them safe at their jobs. To be quite honest, I didn’t know that some workers didn’t have unions and the rights unions fought for, like employer provided health care until I moved.

I have been a Kroger employee for 38 years and I work at the Englewood store just north of Dayton. I work in the meat service department and I get to interact with Kroger customers on a daily basis. These are people who choose to shop at an Ohio-based store to keep their dollars in Ohio communities.

One of my customers, a teacher, was recently laid off. She is bilingual and could not find another job in our community, so she had to move to Arizona. I keep thinking of the other qualified teachers who could lose their jobs if they no longer had collective bargaining rights and what a sacrifice that would be for our children’s education and SB 5 could cause some qualified teachers to leave the profession altogether.

I am a single mother and I raised my daughter who now has two children of her own. I know that I would not have been able to provide my daughter with the same opportunities she had growing up if I had not worked at a union store that enabled me to make a living wage. I also know my daughter benefited from a strong public education that was provided to her by dedicated teachers.

Now my daughter is a small-business owner and she provides jobs in her local community. She would not have been able to start this small business without my support.

At my job one of my most important concerns is safety. And, I realize that at times people are tempted to cut corners to save the bottom line. But, this actually just increases costs in the long run if people get hurt and cannot work. If someone is hurt he or she has to be paid for disability and the business will spend more money to train someone else to do the job.

Recently, I had to bring up a safety issue to management at my store. We have a piece of equipment called a scissor jack that enables us to hang store displays. OSHA says that anything that goes over 5 feet people need a safety harness and we didn’t have one at my store. Because of my union representation I felt safe to speak up about this safety issue to management and this enabled me to prevent a potential accident.

Now, I understand that the state has budget issues and we need jobs, but taking away collective bargaining rights that enable people to have a decent wage, work place safety and a voice is not the solution. This bill is only going to put Ohio further in the red. If people make less, they will spend less and, people will move out of state to find better opportunities.

I hope that all of you can work together to find common ground and better solutions for our state because we need all your energy and innovative ideas.

Thank you for your time.
___________________________________________________________

Testimony of Mr. Doug Correll on SB 5

Thank you for giving me time to speak today to your committee on Senate Bill 5. I am very concerned about the effect this bill could have on our state and what it will do to the people who keep our communities safe, like our police and firemen.

Collective bargaining rights are a way to keep those who protect us safe at their jobs.

I have worked at Kroger for 35 years in Delhi, Ohio. And, I am proud to work for an Ohio-based company. My Dad worked at Kroger for 34 years and raised 9 kids and because of his job was able to send some of them to college or trade school – so that they could have a secure middle-class life.

I am the fuel manager at our store and I am responsible for safety at our fueling station as well as writing orders, our staff schedule and I keep track of all the banking for our station.
I am a proud member and steward for my union, the United Food and Commercial Workers. And, I take my responsibility as a steward seriously to make sure that agreements and safety standards are upheld to keep workers safe on the job and to make sure they are not discriminated against. This creates a better work place and helps employers reduce turnover which can increase costs by having to constantly train new, inexperienced people.

Now, not all companies care about experience. My neighbor used to work at Frish’s which is a restaurant chain down in SW Ohio. She worked there for 18 years. One time she forgot to add a coffee onto a customer’s bill and she was accused of stealing and fired from her job. After 18 years of experience and dedication to her job she was let go because of an innocent mistake. If she had representation that issue could have been resolved and she could still be in her job.

If public employees lose their collective bargaining rights how many could be let go because of a simple mistake? Then, their replacements will have to be trained and this could end up costing the Ohio taxpayer more in the long run.

I recently got married in May. And, my wife’s daughter lost custody of her two children. My wife and I have custody of a 2 and a 6 year old. There is no way that without my job benefits that I would have been able to take in two young children. If my wife and I would not have been able to take them in, they would have gone into foster care and that would have been a greater cost to the state.

I can only imagine that there are others who serve our communities as firefighters, policemen and education employees that have similar stories.

I want to leave you with one more example as to why collective bargaining rights are important and that getting rid of them is not a solution for our state’s budget and job problems.

My stepbrother is a Cincinnati fireman and he was injured on the job. The department had a brand new ladder truck and it wasn’t properly tested. He was at the tiller wheel and the driver went over a curb and he hit his head on the ceiling and messed up his entire spine. To date, my stepbrother has had 5 spinal operations and he cannot work. But, because of his union representation he is on disability and has had health care to pay for his operations. I worry that if my stepbrother didn’t have union representation that he would not have received the care he needs. Also, he could have become a burden on the medical system by not being able to pay for his medical bills, which just ends up being a greater cost to society.

I hope this committee seriously considers the potential consequences that SB 5 will have for middle-class Ohioans and Ohio businesses.

Thank you for your time today.
____________________________________________________________

Testimony of Ms. Karen Bedinghaus on SB 5

Mr. Chairman Bacon thank you for giving me time to speak today about Senate Bill 5 and the importance of collective bargaining rights.

I have worked for the Pricehill Kroger in Cincinnati for almost 24 years. It will be 24 years on April 10th. I am a customer service manager and I get to work with all walks of life on a daily basis.

I am glad that I work a store that has union representation. I know that I would not have been able to provide for my kids and send them on to higher education without having this job.

I also made the choice to send my 4 children to parochial schools. Without a job with a living wage, there is no way that would have been a choice for my family – it would have been out of the question.

I can only imagine that if public employees lose their collective bargaining rights that some of them will lose their jobs and will not be able to help their children. And, some of them could lose wages and benefits and may not be able to help their children have a better life – which is what most middle class Americans want – to provide a better life for their children. Isn’t that the American Dream?

I have friends that belong to the Cincinnati Police Department. And, I’ve talked to them about Senate Bill 5. They are strongly against this bill. They know it will undermine their work place protection.

And these are the people that put their lives on the line daily to keep us safe. Plus, most of them have worked for the police department for at least 15 years – making it difficult for them to try to find a different type of job.

I also know that if my friends lose their purchasing power, they are going to have to make tough choices on where they shop and may have to go to discount stores and those corporations are not based in Ohio. Kroger is an Ohio company that invests in our community.

I know you all have very tough decisions to make and that your job isn’t easy. But as you have heard from me and as I know you have heard from countless other middle class Ohioans – SB 5 is not the solution to Ohio’s problems. Thank you.

DC Residents Rally, Demand Walmart Respect DC

From our brothers and sisters at UFCW Local 400:

Chanting “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, living wages in DC,” approximately 100 city residents gathered outside the John Wilson Building (City Hall) Monday for a boisterous rally urging the District of Columbia City Council to require Walmart to sign an enforceable community benefits agreement before it opens four planned stores in Washington, DC.

The rally culminated Community Advocacy Day, in which workers, clergy, community activists, small businesspeople, environmentalists and other members of the Living Wages, Healthy Communities Coalition met with City Council members to urge action requiring Walmart to pay its workers a living wage, uphold their rights and give back to our communities.

Rev. Howard Findley, senior pastor of Florida Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, DC, addresses the rally. Photo by Dwight Kirk.

Noting that Dr. Martin Luther King often said, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” Rev. Findley exclaimed, “We will move toward the moral arc of justice in providing living wages and healthy communities. . . . Our fight is only beginning, but we aim to win!”

Franklin Carter, a Local 400 member who works as assistant front-end manager at the Park Road Giant, noted that unlike Walmart, union retail jobs offer the opportunity for fulfilling, stable careers. “My goal is to become a manager,” he said. “I’ll celebrate my eighth anniversary at Giant in March. I make more than $15 an hour, have health benefits and opportunities to advance in my career. I have a vested stake in the future of the company, the future of my coworkers, and my own future. Those are the kind of jobs DC needs.

Local 400 member Franklin Carter, who works at the Park Road Giant in Washington, DC, urges Walmart to respect DC. Photo by Eric Schlein.

Rebecca Mills of Ward Four Thrives, who lives just one-tenth of a mile from a proposed new store, said, “We don’t want Georgia Avenue to turn into a sea of abandoned buildings with a Walmart at its center. I don’t want my neighborhood’s character to be defined by Walmart. We want the City Council to back the Living Wages, Healthy Communities Coalition and make Walmart sign an enforceable community benefits agreement.”

Chris Weiss of the DC Environmental Network, Ward 4B05 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Brenda Speaks, and Yes! Organic Market owner Gary Cha also urged City Council action at the rally. Cha spoke of the concerns of area small businesses that they could be forced to close if Walmart comes into DC, citing studies showing that for every job Walmart creates, it causes the loss of 1.5 to 2 jobs, on average, at other businesses.

Rally participants emerged energized for action and pledged to step up the pressure on the City Council. They and others will continue canvassing DC neighborhoods to build even stronger support for requiring Walmart to sign an enforceable community benefits agreement before it is permitted to enter the DC market.

Press Links from Community Advocacy Day

>http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/02/group-demands-wal-mart-pay-living-wages-at-d-c-stores-50979.html
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/Protesters_Call_For_Walmart_Concessions.html
http://wamu.org/audio/nw/11/02/n14110207-40681.asx
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/02/07/a-tale-of-walmart-and-two-city-councils/

CEOs Admit: "We Like Driving the Car"

When it comes to Employee Free Choice, CEOs have finally been caught without the spin filter on. In today's Wall Street Journal, Thomas Frank makes it clear that majority sign up is "about power. Management has it, workers don't, and business doesn't want that to change."

Just listen to what Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said at a recent analyst meeting, when asked about majority sign up, according to Frank:

"We like driving the car and we're not going to give the steering wheel to anybody but us."

Or how about a this hyperbolic statement from Home Depot Cofounder and former CEO Bernie Marcus:

"This is how a civilization disappears. I'm sitting here as an elder statesman, and I'm watching this happen, and I don't believe it."

He apparently doesn't think our current economic crisis is anything to blink at. But oh, man, if more people start joining unions--if more people have health care, and pensions, and a living wage--then we're really done for.

These CEOs aren't interested in what's best for workers, like they claim to be. What they're interested in is one thing, and one thing only--keeping all the power, influence, and money in the hands of employers. When workers are able to join a union, then employers starting fretting about having their unlimited power taken away.

Too bad for them. But good for American workers. Employee Free Choice will strengthen our middle class and help restore the balance to our economy. And if that means no more multi-million dollar bonuses for greedy execs--well, I guess that's why, according to Frank, Marcus also said that any retailer who doesn't give money to anti-Employee Free Choice candidates and causes "should be shot, should be thrown out of their godamn jobs."

Guess that pretty much says it all.

How Much For a Worker's Life?

How much would you guess a worker's life is worth? Millions? Hundreds of thousands? Maybe you can't even contemplate a thing like measuring human life in terms of pure monetary value. Maybe, like the credit card commercials say, it's...priceless?

Or what about $7000?

If that last figure seems a little low to you, you'll no doubt be horrified to hear that that's the top rate. The maximum amount that OSHA is allowed to fine companies who've received citations subjecting their workers to preventable hazards that could result in death or serious physical harm.

This is the palty price WalMart has to pay after OSHA

cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management following the Nov. 28, 2008, death of an employee at its Valley Stream, N.Y., store. The worker died of asphyxiation after he was knocked to the ground and trampled by a crowd of about 2,000 shoppers who surged into the store for its annual "Blitz Friday" pre-holiday sales event.

This is what a worker's life is worth. Less than a fraction of 1 percent of those bonuses paid out to AIG executives.

Doesn't that reflect a problem with our labor laws? As Jason Lefkowitz at CTW Connect points out:

President Barack Obama has brought in a new team at the Department of Labor that is committed to ensuring that every worker has a safe workplace. But they can only do as much as they are empowered to do by the law. And the laws that govern worker protection on the job are shockingly toothless.

Lefkowitz goes on to make the same ask that I'll make here: Please tell Congress to pass the Protecting America’s Workers Act, which is currently before the House of Representatives. It's legislation that would put some teeth in our labor laws and strengthen many protections for employees at their workplaces--including upping the minimum fine for the type of citation WalMart received after their worker's trampling death.

It won't bring workers who've died on the job back to their families and friends. But it would at least give companies pause to think about the consequences of not adequately protecting workers from on-the-job hazards.

Making workers safer on the job? That really would be priceless.

Labor Day Message from Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

Brothers and sisters –

Today, I want to extend my warmest wishes to you, the men and women feeding our families and our nation as members of the UFCW. Thank you for your commitment, your talent, your hard work, and your service to this country. On behalf of everyone at the Department of Labor, I'm honored to wish all of you a great Labor Day.

Labor Day is the celebration of a promise fulfilled. For generations, the promise of good jobs, fair treatment and wages, and a seat at the bargaining table has sustained the economic security of America’s vital middle class.

Labor Day is also a call to action, a reminder that we must defend that promise to ensure that dignity and opportunity remain the birthright of all workers in this country.

We know what’s at stake, and we know what we have to do.

We must continue to get people back to work. We’ve come so far in the last 3 ½ years, but we've still got a long way to go. We were bleeding more than 800,000 jobs a month when President Obama took office. But over the last 29 months, we've created 4.5 million private sector jobs.

These new jobs will only contribute to a thriving middle class and a growing economy if we work together to demand good jobs for everyone. That means protecting workers from wage violations, employee misclassification and illegal discrimination. It means ensuring that all workers come home safe and healthy at the end of their shifts. It means expanding opportunity so that no matter who you are or where you come from, you get a fair shot at success.

Earlier this year, I was honored to induct the late UFCW leader Addie Wyatt into the Department of Labor’s Hall of Honor. Addie represents everything we’re fighting for. The faith she showed in the American worker to overcome any obstacle is a source of inspiration for me. Addie’s legacy is alive in workers like Ernestine Bassett, who joined me at the White House last year to share her experience standing up for workplace justice as a cashier at Wal-Mart. Ernestine courageously organized her colleagues to give workers a voice at the company. That’s what the UFCW is all about.

For me, this Labor Day has added meaning. My dad, who was a proud union member, passed away this year. When I was in ninth grade, he would come home and ask me to sit with him at our kitchen table. From his pockets, he would pull pieces of paper with writing in Spanish on them. They were notes given to him by his co-workers. There were all sorts of things scribbled on them: grievances about health and safety, questions about paychecks that didn't add up, and ideas about how to improve the productivity of the line.

He'd ask me to translate them into English. At first, I didn't understand what they were. When I asked, he explained: “They are the voice of the workers.” It was from him, as a young girl, that I learned about the critical need for workers to have a voice on the job and a seat at the table.

Today, I honor his memory with a call for unity and strength – a commitment to keep building on our achievements to meet the urgent needs of working families.

One thing is certain: the promise of the great American worker will never be broken. Working together, there's no challenge we can't overcome.

Respectfully,
Hilda L. Solis

What just happened?! His Girl Friday edition

It's been quite a week.

• Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (predictably, but still, sadly) signed a law passed by the state legislature cutting state funding to any public school that offers an ethnic studies program or curriculum.
• Jackson, N.Y. passed a law requiring all official town business to be conducted in English. Nearby towns are following suit, and the ACLU is starting to take exception. Will this cluster of towns be the Arizona of the east coast?
• In other Arizona-related news, the Los Angeles City Council has responded to Arizona's new immigration law by banning official travel to Arizona and vowing to block future contracts with companies there.
• If you're looking for something to boycott outside the state of Arizona, California workers have a song for you (hint: Lady Gaga wouldn't want you to get caught here). Seriously though, do your homework before making your next hotel reservation.
• MoveOn (taking a page from UFCW Local 1776's book) has endorsed Joe Sestak for the Pennsylvania Senate. Sestak faces newly converted Democrat Arlen Specter in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
• After much delay, anticipation, and amendment, the Senate unveiled its climate change plan, which includes a new-and-improved section on offshore drilling that is said to reflect "mounting concern" over the massive oil spill that's still happening in the Gulf of Mexico.
  
• Hmm, yeah, about that oil spill... it seems the Minerals Management Service, the bureau responsible for managing the country's natural gas and oil resources, gave oil companies, including BP (the company responsible for the oil spill) permission to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without obtaining the requisite permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species. Oh, and that other agency (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) repeatedly warned the MMS about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf. MMS ignored those warnings, and the concerns voiced by its own staff biologists and engineers. Great work, MMS!
  
• At least someone is still trying to do something to protect the environment: the EPA issued new rules to curb carbon pollution by power plants and other big polluters.
• In a shocking blow to our nation's cultural patrimony, NBC canceled Law and Order. Will this prompt the release of WWJOD? bracelets? Did you correctly guess that the acronym stands for "What would Jerry Orbach do?"?
• The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off for its last scheduled mission (we mention this mostly to distract you from the sad news about Law and Order).
• Wal Mart has agreed to pay $86 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by thousands of employees in California who were never paid holiday or overtime wages.