Regarding Walmart's Wage Increases

Last week Walmart bowed to the public pressure and to the tireless organizing of workers and announced a wage boost for nearly 40% of its workforce. Make no mistake, this is a win for our movement and for retail workers across the board. We still have a ways to go.

President Both released the following statement regarding the increases:

“This announcement confirms the unmatchable power workers hold when they band together to demand respect from their employer.

“Walmart workers have been relentless, fighting for decades for respect and better working conditions.   However, we have heard many empty promises from Walmart, and today, there are real questions about whether the company is really committed to improving jobs or simply seeking to quiet the concerns of OUR Walmart members, investors, shoppers and taxpayers.

"We don't know what this means for our hours – as more and more workers report that they are not getting the hours they want and need.  The truth is that this raise, especially without any guarantee of hours, is a promise that falls short of what we need to feed our families."

Monday Morning One Liners: More Assualts on Unions, Target Teams with Apple

Excellent Editorial in the New York Times: Continuing Assault on Unions focuses on the relentless, shameful attack by the Republican party on unions and workers' rights, in a time and economy when we need them most.

A proposed bill in New Jersey would allow NJ residents to get Jersey vineyard wines shipped right to their homes.

Alec Baldwin was dropped as the Wegman's earlier this week, then re-hired once customers were outraged.

The Nation highlights UFCW's campaign to Change Walmart.

Walmart is buying up more and more social media companies.

Last week Walmart was Blacklisted by one of the world's largest pension funds.  The reason? Poor labor practices and their anti-union/worker stances.  Sixteen other companies were blacklisted along with Walmart, nearly all of them excluded for producing chemical or nuclear weapons that violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  Check out Lila Shapiro's piece in the Huffington Post:

Walmart typically shrugs off criticism of its labor practices as union-driven propaganda and insists that its employees are happy and well-managed, but investing experts say that when one of the largest pension funds in the world divests, the company would be wise to listen to the message. It's the same message the American labor movement has been pushing for decades.

Great article from Grist, looks at the dominance Walmart is gaining on our entire Food System and why we should be scared:

We had a leak in the cooler that didn't get fixed for a month and all this moldy food was going out on the floor." Walmart doesn't accept the idea that "a supermarket takes any skill to run," she said. "They treated the produce like any other kind of merchandise."

A&P announced the launch of plans to deploy a category optimization solution to "help enhance its merchandising strategy and improve the customer experience across its more than 300 northeast and Mid-Atlantic stores."

In Belleville, NJ, a Pathmark who was a community fixture for over 30 years, and fell victim to store closings, remains vacant over one year later.  Though the community remains hopeful.  

Hooray! (sarcasm) Apple mini-stores are coming to Target.  A perfect match for the employer who faces federal labor law charges (Target) and the company where they reward their employees in titles like Geniuses, and not pay, benefits or basic rights at work.  Looks e-harmony couldn't have matched these two any better.

Last week the National Labor Relations Board announced they would be adding more labor charges to the existing federal charges Target Corp. faces for allegedly violating the law in the weeks leading up to the union election in June, 2011.

Meanwhile Target reported increased December sales but missed expectations.

Number 8 on Brooklyn Papers top 12 to watch for in 2012 is a Brooklyn Walmart, Big Box store.

Workers at VPH Pharmacy, a Michigan-based distributor of pharmaceutical products, recently won the right to join UFCW Local 876!!

International President, Joe Hansen, appluaded President Obama's recess appointments.
“We applaud President Obama’s recent decision to fill vacant posts at the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau and. These agencies play an important role in safeguarding the rights of workers and their families..."

In California, retailers are being fought on alcohol sales at self-checkouts.  Most retailers are complying says the SF Chronicle, but Fresh & Easy is struggling following the newly passed law.

Good Read: Paul Krugman in his latest piece for NY Times, "Unlevel Playing Field" says it's a fiction that GOP and Romney care about equal opportunity.

Uh-oh alert...Wall-Street employees are threatening to quit if their bonuses aren't enough.

Whole Foods is closing their Dallas Bake-house.

Trader Joe's is opening up in Albany, their first store in the capital region makes the Business Review ponder if  other retailers follow them.

via AFL-CIO Blog: The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) urged the Indiana state legislature to reject a so-called right to work bill. “As Indianapolis proudly prepares to host the Super Bowl,” says the union, “it should be a time to shine in the national spotlight and highlight the hardworking families that make Indiana run instead of launching political attacks on their basic rights.”

Last week, the awesome union employer, Fairway Market, not only does right by their employees but does great for their community.  Ten percent of all sales made during the seven-hour period at Fairway locations in Red Hook, Douglaston and Plainview goes straight to the fund created shortly after Officer Figoski was killed to help his four daughters attend college.  Check out the story @WPIX.  Great job, Fairway!

And just for fun, a man was arrested at a Walmart last week for trying to use a $1 million dollar bill.

UFCW International President Challenges White House: Tell Walmart to Create Good Jobs & End the Poverty Cycle

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following statement was issued today by Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), in advance of an event in the White House in which First Lady Michelle Obama recognizes retailers who are willing to expand their business into under served areas. Walmart is among the attendees.

 “The First Lady’s commitment to addressing childhood obesity in the U.S. is laudable and the UFCW commends her for her enthusiasm for such a worthy endeavor. But with income disparity between the rich and the poor at more extreme levels than during the Great Depression, Walmart must be held accountable for its track record of lower standards for millions of retail workers.

“Walmart is more responsible than any other private employer in our country for creating poverty-level jobs that leave workers unable to purchase healthy food or provide a good life for their families.

 “I met Walmart Associate Girshreila Green last month who told me that she got her job at the inner-city Crenshaw Walmart in Los Angeles through the welfare-to-work program. And after three years of work and an excellent employment record at what she calls the ‘ghetto Walmart,’ Girshreila still has a welfare card in her pocket, right along with her Walmart I.D. and Walmart discount card.

 “There is no economic justification that our nation’s largest private employer should pay wages so low that any of its employees qualify for public assistance. But the fact that tens of thousands of Walmart associates qualify and utilize food stamps, Medicare, and Medicaid is reason enough that the White House should join with our union and tell Walmart – enough is enough.

 “Our national economic crisis is made worse by companies like Walmart suppressing wages for its 1.4 million hourly workers who live and work in communities across the country.

“Walmart claims it wants to open stores in urban markets like Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and other major cities. Workers, community leaders and consumers in each of those cities have called on Walmart to commit to providing good jobs that pay wages high enough to improve the lives of workers in those cities. The fact is, when Walmart opens in a community, it replaces what were good jobs with poverty-level ones. Walmart continues to drive the cycle of poverty by lowering wage rates and preventing associates from lifting themselves out of economic insecurity.

 “Millions of grocery workers serve communities of every income level and hold good jobs with fair wages, affordable health care, and a voice on the job. The White House should laud employers who are fueling economic recovery by creating good jobs where workers can afford to take care of their families and buy the healthy food their children deserve.”

 -30- 

 Videos of Girshreila Green speaking out about her experience as a Walmart associate can be found at: http://vimeo.com/26640913 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTEuBHSvfFg

 Making Change at Walmart seeks to promote the American values of equality, dignity and respect in the workplace. The campaign is making change by working directly with Walmart Associates to claim the respect on the job they deserve, holding Walmart corporate managers accountable to hourly employees and the public for their practices and joining with community leaders in major cities across America to make sure that any new jobs offered by Walmart meet strong standards for healthy, growing communities.