Warehouse Worker Resource Center

Improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California

News

Warehouse Workers Are Changing the World

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Warehouse workers in the Inland Empire stand in solidarity with the workers at JFK8 in Staten Island who just formed the first-ever union at an Amazon facility.

Workers in New York showed that by working together we can win a voice on the job, better working conditions and stand up to major international corporations like Amazon. In Southern California we know all too well about wages that don’t keep up with the cost of living, dangerous working conditions and unsafe daily quotas.

We live and work in an area dominated by warehouses and we pay the price in the quality of our air and the quality of our jobs, but we are working to create a better future and lift the voices of workers and our community.

New York Amazon workers are an inspiration and a model for what is possible.

WWRC Plays a Key Role in a Nearly $1.4M Wage Fine by Labor Commissioner

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About 100 La Mina de Oro employees experienced wage justice recently as the Labor Commissioner cited the Riverside perfume and fragrance wholesale distributor close to $1.4 million for wage-related violations. The two violations, issued February 2021 and May 2021, resulted from worker complaints stemming three years ago. Warehouse Worker Resource Center (WWRC), a nonprofit worker rights organization based in Ontario, played a pivotal role in the state’s decision to issue the citations as they helped La Mina de Oro staff understand their workplace legal rights and assisted in reporting violations.

“I am glad we have found some justice in this case,” says a former employee from La Mina del Oro, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “Unfortunately, many workers are scared to speak up or file complaints. I am happy for the lost wages we should receive, but even more so if this means that other workers don’t have to go through what we did.”

In early 2018, WWRC learned of potential wage and other violations at La Mina del Oro when several employees approached the organization for assistance with working conditions they believed were illegal. Because multiple workers at La Mina del Oro reported similar wage theft violations, an investigation by California was launched. After complaints were verified and La Mina del Oro’s operations analyzed, the Labor Commissioner issued citations totalling $1,393,907 for violations of minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest break, and itemized wage statement laws.

“We’re glad to have played a pivotal role in the Labor Commissioner’s citation and bring justice to La Mina de Oro workers,” says Sheheryar Kaoosji, Executive Director at WWRC. “Our organization’s mission is to take action against poor working conditions in warehouses and beyond. But to achieve this, employees must trust that we will advocate for them. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”

Amazon Workers in Southern CA File Health and Safety Complaints

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The Warehouse Worker Resource Center in support of Amazonians United IE, a group of workers at Amazon’s LGB 3 Fulfullment Center in Eastvale, CA, filed complaints alleging serious health and safety issues regarding Amazon’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak in its facility.

 

Click to view full —–> Complaint to Riverside Public Health

Click to view full —–> Complaint to Cal OSHA

CALL TO ACTION:

Be part of the continued action and call your elected officials today to demand LGB3 be closed, cleaned and give their workers paid leave.

Call State Senator Richard Roth

951-680-6750

Call Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel

951-955-1020

Call Assembly Member Sabrina Cervantes

951-371-6860

Let your voices be heard and speak up for the rights of workers who deserve better working conditions.

View a script of support for demands —–>Script

Dozens of Cal Cartage Workers Terminated- We Are Fighting Back

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This morning,warehouse workers are at the Los Angeles Harbor Commission demanding that California Cartage retain employment for all workers at their warehouse at the port.  Cal Cartage appears to be violating the City Service Worker Retention Policy by not keeping workers on the job after changing staffing agencies this Monday.  This retaliatory action will not stand.  Workers are speaking up and demanding respect.

And these workers know they are not alone.  Over 2200 of you have signed the petition to demand these workers be retained.  On Wednesday, Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who represents District 15, which includes Wilmington and the Port, sent this letter to the Port of Los Angeles demanding workers be treated with respect, provided with a living wage and labor peace.  California Cartage is proving to be a bad actor on multiple levels and has no right to operate at the port with impunity.  Thank you to Councilman Buscaino and other councilmembers who stand with these workers.

Sign the Petition: No Retaliation at the Port!

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This week, on City of Los Angeles property, hundreds of workers who have faced wage theft, health and safety violations, are now facing mass retaliation for organizing.   This Friday, April 30, California Cartage is terminating all employees of staffing agency AMR/SSI- including dozens of workers who have actively and publicly spoken up for their rights, demanded better wages and working conditions, and gone on strike.  We don’t know who will be hired by the new staffing agency, and some workers who have worked there for years face job loss because they spoke up.

This is unacceptable, and we believe it is illegal.  And you can help.

Please sign our petition telling the Port of Los Angeles that this firing is unjust, and demanding that the City demand Cal Cartage retain all workers who are facing termination at this time.

We only have a few days to ensure that the Port of Los Angeles enforce the law and not allow California Cartage to make illegal terminations on its property!  Thank you for your support!

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U.S. Government Issues Complaint Against Major Warehouse on City of LA Property

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Trial Will Be Held on Retaliation against Direct and Subcontracted Workers

 

Port of Los Angeles, CA (March 29, 2016) – After a 6-month investigation into allegations that managers at a major warehouse serving retailers including Amazon, Lowe’s and Kmart Sears, routinely violated U.S. labor laws, harming both company employees and those employed on site by a staffing agency, Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found sufficient evidence of law-breaking to issue a Complaint against the company, California Cartage, which operates on property owned by the City of Los Angeles at 2401 E. Pacific Coast Highway.

 

The complaint, which will go to trial as Case 21-CA 160242, finds merit in the allegation that California Cartage managers:

  • Threatened workers with termination if they took collective action;
  • Interrogated workers when they took heat breaks; and
  • Discouraged workers from taking collective action through implicit threats.

 

The workers at this warehouse at the largest port complex in the nation have been demanding basic respect, safety, and fair scheduling at their workplace, and have faced retaliation since the beginning,” said Celene Perez, Co-Director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, which filed the charges and has been supporting the workers’ efforts. The workers first raised concerns in late 2014, when they filed a Class Action lawsuit alleging violations of the City of Los Angeles Living Wage. Since then, they have secured a Cal/OSHA complaint around workplace health and safety hazards that resulted in citations in November 2015, and gone on strike twice to protest the company’s persistent violation of U.S. labor laws under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

 

The complaint was issued against California Cartage management for their actions against workers both directly employed by them and subsidiary Orient Tally, and against workers employed through a staffing agency. “We know that Cal Cartage is in charge of all the conditions in here, and it’s good to see the NLRB is holding them responsible for their treatment of all workers, temp and direct,” said Victor Gonzales, a California Cartage worker who has worked at the warehouse through staffing agency AMR for over five years.

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