Local 1500 Campaign featured in Supermarket News

In the March 24th issue of Supermarket News, Local 1500's campaign to bring more Supermarkets to the five boroughs was highlighted. Click on the image to read the piece.

Week Wrap Up

Quote of the week:

"Wal-Mart put my store out of business, so I had to get a job at Wal-Mart," the man says. "Thanks to Wal-Mart, I can now only afford to shop at Wal-Mart. Enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart."

New Yorkers are getting priced out of Grocery Stores: Over the last six years, researchers report, the number of supermarkets in New York has shrunk by a third. Three of the city's top food chains -- D'Agostino, Gristedes, and Key Food -- "have each closed about a dozen stores since 2000."

Pratt professors are seeking to reconcile competing plans for the Brooklyn Navy yards... Hoping to compromise preserving the historic Admirals Row and adding a much needed supermarket to the area.

Here is a Wal-Mart Riverhead lawsuit update.

The shutdown of Long Island's only Food Emporium, an upscale supermarket in upscale Great Neck, has upset some village residents, including the mayor, who says the company never gave him a straight answer about the closure.

After 13 years of planning, compromise and patience, the Pathmark fund was finally given out to southeast Queens business owners at a special meeting in Laurelton Tuesday. City Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton) personally distributed the nearly $72,000 in grant money to 14 small businesses at his district office. The grants, which are part of a $400,000 account set aside by the owners of the Pathmark supermarket on Merrick Boulevard and Springfield Boulevard, will be used to help the businesses improve the exterior looks of their stories and offices

A&P says the Pathmark Integration is "Going Well"

Delhaize Group said yesterday that it took an impairment charge of $18.6 million for the value of 25 Sweetbay stores, indicating those locations are not meeting financial projections.
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As Ahold continues to reduce pricing and inventory levels at two of its U.S. chains, it is gaining an edge in dealing with vendors, Lawrence Benjamin, president and chief operating officer of the U.S. operations, said yesterday.
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Village Super Market in NJ, which operates 25 ShopRite stores in New Jersey, this week said it expects same-store sales in the current quarter to be impacted by "cautious" behavior on the part of consumers.
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Albertsons kicked off its Healthy Eaters field trip program in California yesterday. Children in kindergarten through fourth grade are eligible for the tours, designed to develop healthy eating habits.
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Here's a speech made by Joe Hansen on Feb 29th on I.C.E. raids...

Daily News (Albor Ruiz Column): Food workers fed up with Goldman Sachs : Hundreds of people who work at the cafeterias of many of Wall Street's largest investment banks staged a rally Wednesday in front of Goldman Sachs. All of them are employed by Aramark

Long Island City Realty or Reality check....Amish maybe delayed longer.

Politics

The AFL-CIO's leaders on Wednesday found a presidential candidate they can agree to focus on: Sen. John McCain. The nation's largest labor federation announced at its executive council meeting in San Diego that it would continue to remain neutral in the Democratic race between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, but would begin training its political resources on McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee.

Obama adviser Samantha Power called Hillary Clinton a “monster,” then apologized, while the campaign denounced her statement.

Puerto Rico moved its primary to June 1.

When stopped by police for D.U.I, , Adam Clayton Powell IV reportedly told police, “I'm not drunk because I ate
something."

Inez Dickens is the target of a union unhappy with her position on the rezoning of 125th Street.

There’s another candidate for Joe Addabbo’s seat.

Top of the News to you...

Here's an update on Local 1529's new ratified contract with Kroger.

Supermarket News covers Stop & Shops "Low Prices Everyday" program.

Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. debuted a 50,000-sq.-ft. store, which it is dubbing a "groceraunt," in the Northeast Valley area near Phoenix, according to The Arizona Republic. The new Whole Foods, Company marketers have named the new store, which is also LEED-ceritified, a "groceraunt," a combination grocery store and restaurant, because of the wide variety of products and services offered at this location. With about 200 employees--many who are specialists in the sections where they work--the store features several mini-restaurants such as the Smokehouse Grill and the Asian Express,

Last week Employees at 82 Safeway stores across Alberta voted to approve new contracts

NY Times (editorial): A Streetcart Named Healthy:

Health experts have taken to calling low-income neighborhoods “food deserts,” and it is easy to see why. Supermarkets are usually in short supply and specialty produce and health-food stores are even rarer…Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council have come up with an innovative solution. Pressed by Speaker Christine Quinn, the Council withstood protests from the retail food industry and approved 1,000 new licenses for mobile fruit and vegetable stands — designating them for the parts of the city that need them most.

Politics

If you didn't see Hillary on SNL this weekend, check it out here.

In Ohio...Unions Count...

Charles Barron is visiting Cuba to study the health care system.

Five gay candidates may run for City Council in Queens.

Supermarket News.

King Kullen calls union demands "Unrealistic"

Workers at seven Long Island King Kullen stores walked off the job Sunday in four-hour shifts before returning to work as negotiations stalled between the supermarket chain's management and union leaders.

One hundred workers who make Bakers Pride ovens, broilers and ranges are on strike in their quest for a new contract to replace one that was due to expire two months ago. The workers, members of Local 888 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, want 4 percent raises, said Eric Cunningham, a union representative who led about 30 workers yesterday on a picket line in front of the company's sprawling brick building on Pine Street. The company has offered raises of 2.5 percent, he said.

Supermarket News covered the UFCW endorsement of Obama.

Workers in the meat and seafood departments of six King Kullen supermarkets on Staten Island will walk off the job Sunday night unless a contract deal is reached between their union and the chain's management. A union representative said today that negotiations between United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 342 and King Kullen Grocery Inc. are not going well and a strike is "pretty likely" at all 51 King Kullen stores on Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.

About 17,000 home-based child care providers will join the Civil Service Employees Association as a result of a lopsided pro-union vote, state officials said Friday.Officials with the State Employment Relations Board said that 3,723 child care providers had voted to unionize, while 161 had voted against. National union leaders applauded the move. “Today, 17,000 day care workers in New York added their voice to the national cry for change,” said John J. Sweeney, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. “They said the best way for working families to bring change is to form unions.”

STATE FINDS MILLIONS IN UNREPORTED WAGES AND UNDERPAYMENTS TO WORKERS DUE TO ILLEGAL LABOR PRACTICES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 11, 2008

STATE FINDS MILLIONS IN UNREPORTED WAGES AND UNDERPAYMENTS TO WORKERS DUE TO ILLEGAL LABOR PRACTICES

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The Department of Labor today announced the initial findings of the Joint Enforcement Task Force on Worker Misclassification. In its first four months, the Task Force discovered that more than 2,000 workers had been misclassified: a situation where employers improperly treat their workers as independent contractors rather than as employees, costing the state millions of dollars. Worker misclassification translates into a substantial revenue loss at all levels of government for vital programs and services, which leaves taxpayers the burden of making up the difference.

Governor Eliot Spitzer created the Joint Enforcement Task Force in September 2007 to address the problem of employers paying their workers off the books. Such employers hope to avoid taxes and other legal obligations such as workers’ compensation coverage and overtime pay. This misclassification resulted in more than $19 million in unreported wages, $3 million in underpayments owed to workers, and more than $1.2 million in taxes and penalties owed to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The Governor’s order directed the Task Force to report on its findings each February and make recommendations for ways to address the problems it encountered. Commissioner M. Patricia Smith announced the Task Force’s first report in New York City today, where she was joined by members of the Task Force and labor representatives.

“I created this Task Force as a part of my economic security agenda to reduce long-standing abuses of workers and to level the playing field for law-abiding businesses,” said Governor Spitzer. “This report demonstrates why employee misclassification is a serious problem and why a coordinated approach is needed. I commend Commissioner Smith and the Task Force members for their hard work on behalf of New York workers.”

State Department of Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith said: “These striking results, in only four months, reveal the extent of a problem that has been ignored for many years. Employers who misclassify their workers are violating the state’s laws and cheating their workers out of required pay, benefits and protections.”

Through December 2007, the Task Force conducted 15 joint enforcement sweeps primarily targeting construction and restaurant worksites, finding more than $19 million in unreported wages. Employers did not pay required federal, state, or local taxes on these wages, nor did they report such wages for unemployment or Social Security purposes. In addition, the Task Force found 646 workers who were owed minimum and overtime wages totaling approximately $3 million.

The Task Force also assessed more than $1.2 million in taxes and penalties owed to the Unemployment Insurance fund, which provides a critical safety net for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Asbestos, recordkeeping, and child labor violations were also uncovered.

The report makes proposals for improving enforcement in this area, including the establishment of a single statewide standard for determining whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor, and legislative changes that would facilitate greater sharing of data between the agencies.

New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes said: “The New York State AFL-CIO applauds Governor Spitzer and Commissioner Smith for their dedication and commitment to this most important issue. The proposals contained in this report will go a long way toward protecting the rights, dignity and well-being of working men and women throughout this state.”

New York City Central Labor Council President Gary La Barbera said: “It is clear the Governor’s Task Force on Employee Misclassification is hard at work, and we are proud to be part of this diligent and resilient effort. The misclassification of employees is not just a labor problem; it is an economic and human rights crisis. The New York City Central Labor Council continues to make combating the misclassification crisis one of our top priorities, and will continue to work with the Governor's Office and the Department of Labor to develop aggressive education campaigns to let workers know their rights so they can protect themselves.”

Change to Win Executive Director Greg Tarpinian said: “Misclassification cheats workers out of the chance to achieve the American Dream by stripping them of important benefits and legal protections. It cheats responsible and legitimate employers through unfair competition, and it cheats the state out of millions of dollars in revenues. Change to Win applauds the Governor for continuing to take bold action on this vital issue and for his commitment to protecting the workers of New York and seeing that all employers live up to the laws to compete fairly.”

UFCW Local 1500 President Bruce W. Both said: “On behalf of the 22,000 members of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, I want applaud the quick and hard work done by this Task Force. I also want to thank Governor Spitzer and Commissioner Smith for once again proving that this administration not only talks the talk but walks the walk when it comes to helping working families throughout New York State.”

The creation of the Task Force enables agencies to share data and to coordinate enforcement efforts aimed at eliminating employee misclassification. Task Force “sweeps” have often involved dozens of inspectors from several agencies investigating the same employer or worksite.

Members of the Task Force include representatives from the New York State Department of Labor; the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance; the New York City Comptroller’s Office; the New York State Office of the Attorney General; the Workers’ Compensation Board; and the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Inspector General.