Wed News Bites

UFCW Local 400 has filed a ULP against Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, alleging the company is intimidating employees during negoataions...Their contract expires July 7.

Coast to Coast solidarity: New Map shows Walmart's potential expansion in L.A.

How Walmart does business: 482 widespread federal citations for health, safety, wage and hour- 12 Walmart suppliers, suppliers who are using legal documented immigrants on working visas.

World's Most Ethical Company!?

Ethisphere, an international think-tank, named Target Corp. one of the World's Most Ethical Companies in 2011! (This could be the title of an Onion article)  

We all witnessed how Target acted last year when their employees from Valley Stream banded together and demanded more from the company.  Target was literally federally charged in 2011 for violating their workers rights, yet today they find themselves on a list of the world's most ethical companies.  Target is not even the most ethical company in Valley Stream Long Island, let alone the rest of the world.

Act now! Sign the petition to have Target Corp. removed as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies!  http://signon.org/sign/ethisphere-remove-target

Head to facebook.com/targetchange hear what Target workers have to say!

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June 2012 General Membership Recap

Local 1500 members gathered last Wednesday (06/13/12) for the June General Membership meeting.  Below is a quick abbreviated update on what was covered during the meeting.

• Financial report from May 2012 as well as Executive Board minutes were read. 

• President Both began his speech informing members that Pathmark in Long Island City would be closing as a result of A&P's continued financial problems.  He explained the union and representatives are working diligently to answer any questions and explain the bumping process, encouraging any member with any question contact the union as soon as possible.  Both showed a short video on union solidarity from UFCW Local 400.  He then spoke about the union's efforts to organize non-union stores throughout the jurisdiction.  Updated members on UFCW Local 1189's organizing drive against Aldi, a company that continues to expand throughout our jurisdiction and informed the membership he and Assistant to the President Pat Purcell have already traveled to the German Embassy in New York City to meet with the German Consulate on Aldi's poor labor practices.  President Both then updated the members on current events in the Valley Stream Target campaign, informing the members the National Labor Relations Board had overturned the union election at Target and found that Target violated a number of federal labor laws.  He then showed a clip from Target Corp.'s anti-union video.
  
  
• Union Representative Vilmarie Solivan spoke about staying in touch with your union.  Outlining a number of ways to keep in contact with the union including:
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Text Alerts: Text 'ufcw' to 69302
• Phone: 800-522-0456
•  Union Representative Rob Ecker spoke about two exciting fundraising events in July and August.  

• Monday July 23, 2012: Brooklyn Cyclones game! $40 for all you can eat/drink and a ball game!
• Brooklyn Cyclones game August 30, 2012 at 7PM for $5  UFCW Local 1500 President Bruce Both will throw out the first pitch!  All proceeds will go the Local 1500 Charity Fund!
• For tickets or more info send us an email!

• Assistant to the President Pat Purcell gave a Political and Organizing update to the members, thanking those who signed the petition to raise New York's minimum wage.  He gave in-depth details, thanking the Local 1500 members for their help bringing Target Corp.'s business ethics and poor labor practices to the public eye.

UFCW 1500 Secretary-Treasurer Tony Speelman

• Secretary-Treasurer Tony Speelman closed the meeting speaking about the importance of Local 1500 members getting involved with their union.  He specifically promoted the Local 1500 annual Blood Drive and BBQ on July 11th asking all members to come by, enjoy a BBQ and do good for their community!

For any questions or further info on the meeting please email us.

Annual Blood Drive and BBQ: July 11, 2012

On July 11th join us for our annual blood drive and BBQ! Contact us for more info!

What's up on Tuesday News: Recall Walker.

Quote of the day:
"we can do whatever we want, we're a corporation" 

-Target Official on making absurd rules on where workers can and can't discuss unions. 

Gawker gives some highlights of Target's illegal actions during last year's union election.  Some of our favorites that make your head shake:

Casolino told her that they could not speak there “because you are talking about the union.” At that time Waddy asked if they could speak across the street, and Casolino replied “not if you are talking about the same thing. The whole mall would have a problem with it.”4 Waddy answered that he could not “mandate” what his employees speak about, and Casolino replied that “we can do whatever we want, we’re a corporation.” Waddy said “the whole mall? Really?” Casolino laughed and asked them to leave

One thing you need to think about very seriously is that we have ALMOST 1800 STORES and 350,000 TEAM MEMBERS. We would have no difficulty hiring PERMANENT REPLACEMENTS for ECONOMIC STRIKERS. Unions like to call a strike an “economic war.” The 260 TMs [team members] here against 350,000 does not feel like good odds to me. I repeat 260 against 350,000... (Emphasis in original)

PR Watch asks if Scott Walker get a Pink-Slip, Orange Jump Suit or Second Chance?

Today is Recall Walker Day!  Union members throughout the country are volunteering their time at phone banks and at home with AFL-CIO's online pilot program to GOTV and recall Governor Walker.

Not everybody is making calls from a phone bank. More than 600 people have signed up for the AFL-CIO’s online pilot program, the Friends and Neighbors tool to make calls from home. Go to http://wisconsinfan.aflcio.org/users/login to sign up.

UFCW members are doing their part to GOTV, check it out @ UFCW Blog.

VOTE: The 2012 election is upon us. The stakes for workers couldn’t be higher. CEOs and special interests are dumping millions of dollars into races across the country to help elect anti-worker candidates.  June is UFCW Voter Protection Month! Check it out and get involved!

AlterNet: Workers win battle over Stop & Shop in Social Media case.

More kids are living in poverty in the U.S. than elsewhere...check out this stunning study.

Trader Joe's is opening their first store in Albany this summer.

Walmart shareholder votes show a serious unrest; 40% of public shareholders (not Waltons or execs/board members) voted no on Scott; ~32% voted no on Duke

Walmart discloses shareholder lawsuit details @ WSJ.

Second year in a row, Survey names Aldi low-price grocer of the year.


Gourmet Retailer: Fairway adds 2nd NJ Store.

Monday Mornin' News Bites

Stop & Shop is now filling Pet prescriptions.

The Daily Kos has a good article, 36 ways a union improved your life.

Supermarket News reported all Walmart Directors have been reelected, amidst bribery controversy.
More @ Reuters.

Washington Post: Walmart's proxy vote totals show dissent against CEO and other execs.

Thomas Duane is leaving the NY Senate after 14 years.

A&P CEO Sam Martin was on Fox Business News discussing A&P's comeback and rebound.

Aldi plans on opening on Route 9, Poughkeepsie, this Fall.

Working in These Times looks at labor & Social Media, writes on our victory against Stop & Shop's policy.

The Fresh Market is killing it, analysts call it Whole Foods 2.0.

Friday Mornin' News Bites:

Workers in Michigan at JBS have approved their first Union Contract w/ UFCW 951!

California grocery workers are stepping closer to a strike.

Minnesota Progressive Project: NLRB Slams Target.

Target's May sales were up.

DNAinfo says Whole Foods will have it's pick of real estate if they decide to move to Harlem.   Racked looks at the top 4 sites Whole Foods would move into in Harlem.  A spokeswoman for Councilwoman Inez Dickens said:

"We are not trying to get a store only certain people go to Inez's thing is that everyone has an opportunity."

Besides the price, Dickens is interested in how many local residents the store would hire, the size of the store and any outreach efforts the company would make in the community.

As Racked pointed out, who knows how long and if the project will go through, after all pre-construction just began at the Gowanus site, which was announced 8-years ago.

Busy week for Walmart, they withdrew from ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), an ultra conservative political group,  It's also Walmart's 50th anniversary, on Wednesday Areosmith played a show, & security has been on high alert to detain or arrest any labor protesters.

Walmart's annual meeting is today, shareholders are not happy with the company.

The Queens Gazette: Pathmark in Long Island City is Closing.

Fairway sets another N.J. opening. 

Our brothers and sisters at the Teamsters agreed on a new contract, ending a 10-month lockout.  Congratulations!

Tom Morello, Jackson Browne & Tim McIlrath are "Rocking for Wisconsin Recall" of Scott Walker-

Bill Clinton joined working families in Wisconsin to campaign for the recall of Walker.

May Jobs Report: 69,000 Jobs Created.