Press Releases

Illinois Workers Walk Off the Job Following Similar Action in Southern California

IL Media Contacts: Leah Fried, Warehouse Workers for Justice 773-550-3022, leah@warehouseworker.org
Mark Meinster, Warehouse Workers for Justice 773-405-3022, mark@warehouseworker.org
CA Media Contact: Elizabeth Brennan, 213-999-2164

CHICAGO — Workers at a key Walmart distribution center in Elwood, Illinois went on strike today to protest illegal retaliation and other labor abuses.

This comes just days after warehouse workers in Southern California walked off the job at an NFI warehouse in Mira Loma, California to call for an end to retaliation and unfair labor practices. Workers are employed by NFI and a temporary labor agency, Warestaff. Workers there move Walmart goods, but the retail giant has ignored repeated attempts to meet and address the inhumane and illegal conditions in its contracted warehouses.

In Illinois, workers walked off the job Saturday to protest intimidation and retaliation against workers, following the Thursday filing of a federal lawsuit by workers against Walmart contractor Roadlink Workforce Solutions for non-payment for all hours worked, paying less than the minimum wage and non-payment of overtime worked.

“We are on strike to protest violations of our rights. We are tired of retaliation and threats every time we speak up about unsafe working conditions and other abuses,” said Eric Skoglund, a striking warehouse worker.

Walmart has been harshly criticized for the legal violations of its contractors and towards its store associates. In California, contractors at warehouses serving Walmart were fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for violations of workers’ rights and a federal judge issued several orders and injunctions in favor of the workers, including an injunction stop the mass firing of workers who had filed the lawsuit. In Illinois, a total of six lawsuits have been filed against contractors operating in the Walmart warehouse for labor violations.

Warehouse workers labor under extreme temperatures lifting thousands of boxes that can weigh up to 250 lbs each. Workplace injuries are common; workers rarely earn a living wage or have any benefits. Warehouse Workers for Justice is an Illinois worker center dedicated to fighting for quality jobs in the distribution industry that can sustain families and communities.

Workers, Leaders Call on Walmart to Take Responsibility for Warehouse Working Conditions, Workers in Chicago file federal lawsuit

ONTARIO, Calif. – With the support of community, clergy and elected leaders including Asm. Norma Torres, warehouse workers launched the WalMarch, a 50-mile, 6-day pilgrimage from Southern California’s Inland Empire to Downtown Los Angeles.

Workers and their supporters are calling on Walmart to take responsibility for working conditions in its Inland Empire warehouses. As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart effectively dictates the standards of operation in the logistics and distribution industry, which impacts the lives of 85,000 warehouse workers in Southern California.

“Walmart must take responsibility for all its contracted warehouses,” said Guadalupe Palma, a campaign director for Warehouse Workers United, an organization that advocates for warehouse workers. “These workers have exhausted all options. They are walking out of the shadows in Riverside, gaining support and demanding that Walmart stop ignoring deplorable working conditions that affect its contracted workforce.

“Walmart has the power to improve the lives of tens of thousands of working families in the Inland Empire if it upholds its own stated “Standards for Suppliers” and eliminates inhumane and illegal working conditions,” Palma said.

Wednesday, after several appeals to Walmart and its contractors to ameliorate retaliation and poor working conditions in a Mira Loma warehouse, a group of warehouse workers went on strike to protest unfair labor practices they have faced on the job.

“When we spoke out to change terrible working conditions, workers were suspended, demoted and even fired. They spied on us and bullied us, all because we are fighting for dignity,” said Limber Herrera, a warehouse worker for four years.

The workers—who do not have a recognized union—walked off the job at a warehouse that is devoted to Walmart products  to call for an end to retaliation and unfair labor practices committed by their employers, NFI and Warestaff, a staffing agency.

Thursday in Chicago, warehouse workers filed a federal lawsuit to stop subcontracted staffing agencies from violating workers’ rights. This is the sixth lawsuit filed since 2009 against Walmart contractors in Elwood, Illinois for wage theft and other abuses

Striking warehouse workers will join other warehouse workers, members of the clergy, farm workers and other supporters in the 50-mile march to Los Angeles. They will be drawing attention to working conditions that include: inadequate access to clean water, scorching heat that reaches well over 100 degrees, and little access to basic healthcare, no regular breaks for heat, and a lack of properly functioning equipment. Their wages are low –$8 per hour and $250 a week, or $12,000 per year. Workplace injury is common.

“The UFW just celebrated five decades of struggle to improve the working conditions of some of the poorest workers in the nation. We are happy to see that the farm worker struggle has served as an inspiration for our brothers and sisters who work in the warehouses,” said UFW President Arturo Rodriguez said.

More than 85,000 workers labor in warehouses in Southern California, unloading merchandise from shipping containers that enter through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and loading it onto trucks destined for retail stores like Walmart. The National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating numerous federal charges filed by the warehouse workers.

Warehouse workers are working with Walmart retail associates in OUR Walmart, who are  leading their own campaign to make improvements for workers in their stores. Both WWU and OUR Walmart are a part of national coalition with allies called Making Change at Walmart.

Warehouse workers will embark on their 50-mile march Sept. 13. They will sleep on church floors and rely on community organizations for support and meals. Marchers will be joined daily by supporters and elected officials. Workers will hold daily media events and will be available for interviews in English and Spanish throughout the entire march.

Follow the march on social media using the hashtag #WalMarch

More information at www.WarehouseWorkersUnited.org

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Workers Call on Walmart to Take Responsibility for Warehouses

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Warehouse workers went on strike to protest unfair labor practices they have faced on the job Wednesday morning, following months of working in hot temperatures under extreme pressure in a major Walmart-contracted warehouse in Southern California.

Workers—who do not have a recognized union—walked off the job during the first shift at an NFI warehouse in Mira Loma, California to call for an end to retaliation and unfair labor practices. Workers have been fighting for more than a year for safe working conditions and for Walmart to take responsibility for conditions in the warehouse.

“When we spoke out to change terrible working conditions, workers were suspended, demoted and even fired. They spied on us and bullied us, all because we are fighting for dignity” said Limber Herrera, a warehouse worker for four years.

The strike comes one day before workers and their supporters begin a 50-mile, six-day pilgrimage from the warehouses to Downtown Los Angeles.

Workers face inadequate access to clean water, work under scorching heat that reaches well over 100 degrees, and have little access to basic healthcare, regular breaks, and properly functioning equipment. Their wages are low –$8 per hour and $250 a week, or $12,000 per year. Workplace injury is common.

But when workers tried to offer solutions to fix these abuses, they have been met with illegal threats and intimidation by management. Workers are employed by NFI and a temporary labor agency, Warestaff. Both companies are Walmart subcontractors, but the retail giant has ignored repeated attempts by workers to meet and address the inhumane and illegal conditions in its contracted warehouses.

As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart dictates the standards of operation in the logistics and distribution industry.

“These workers have exhausted all options,” said Guadalupe Palma, a director of Warehouse Workers United, an organization committed to improving warehousing jobs in Southern California’s Inland Empire. “Walmart must stop ignoring warehouse workers and intervene to uphold its own stated “Standards for Suppliers,” eliminate inhumane and illegal working conditions and sit down directly with warehouse workers to hear about their experiences in the warehouses and figure out how to improve working conditions.”

More than 85,000 workers labor in warehouses in Southern California, unloading merchandise from shipping containers that enter through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and loading it onto trucks destined for retail stores like Walmart. The National Labor Relations Board is currently investigating numerous federal charges filed by the warehouse workers.

WHAT: Press Conference to Launch Warehouse Worker Pilgrimage
WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 13
WHERE: 601 S. Milliken Ave., Suite A, Ontario, California 91761
WHO: Warehouse Workers
Assemblymember Norma Torres
Rev. Eric Lee, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Art Rodriguez, President of United Farm Workers of America
Members of the clergy
VISUALS: Warehouse workers and their supporters will hold a short press conference in front of a warehouse and then commence marching up Milliken Ave. with signs and a backdrop of some of the world’s largest warehouses.

Warehouse workers will embark on their 50-mile march Sept. 13. They will sleep on church floors and rely on community organizations for support and meals. Marchers will be joined daily by supporters and elected officials. Workers will hold daily media events and will be available for interviews in English and Spanish throughout the entire march.

Follow the march on social media using the hashtag #WalMarch

Los trabajadores le piden a Walmart que tome responsabilidad sobre las condiciones de trabajo en lAs bodegas

Riverside, California – Después de un largo y caluroso verano marcado por numerosos intentos de pedirle a Walmart que elimine las condiciones de trabajo ilegales e inhumanas en sus bodegas contratadas en el sur de California, los trabajadores del bodegas y sus simpatizantes comenzarán una marcha de 50 millas en 6 días. La marcha comenzará en la cuidad de Riverside, California, y terminará en el centro de Los Ángeles. El lanzamiento de la marcha será anunciado durante una conferencia de prensa el jueves, 13 de septiembre a las 10 a.m.

En la tradición de los campesinos y trabajadores de limpieza, decenas de trabajadores de bodegas y sus simpatizantes marcharán a lo largo de la misma ruta que la mercancía viaja a través de Los Ángeles, desde y hacia los condados de Riverside y San Bernardino. Ellos marcharán para exigir mejoramientos básicos pero fundamentales en el trabajo tales como: ventiladores para combatir el calor de 120 grados, herramientas que funcionan adecuadamente, agua potable, descansos de trabajo regulares, y un fin a las expectativas irrazonables en el trabajo y represalias por hablar acerca de las condiciones del trabajo.

Más de 85, 000 trabajadores de bodega levantan, manejan, y mueven mercancía fuera de contenedores que entran los Estados Unidos a través de los puertos de Los Ángeles y Long Beach con destino a tiendas como Wal-Mart.

QUÉ: Conferencia de prensa anunciando el lanzamiento de la marcha de trabajadores de bodega
CUÁNDO: Jueves, 13 de septiembre a las 10 a.m.
DÓNDE: 601 S. Milliken Ave., Suite A, Ontario, California 91761
QUIÉN: Trabajadores de bodegas
La asambleísta Norma Torres
Miembros del clero

Visuales: Los trabajadores de las bodegas y sus simpatizantes llevarán a cabo una breve rueda de prensa en frente de una bodega y luego comenzarán a marchar en la calle Milliken Ave.  Los marchadores tendrán rótulos mientras marchan en frente de algunas de las bodegas más grandes del mundo.

Los trabajadores de bodegas comenzarán la marcha de 50 millas el 13 de septiembre. Ellos dormirán en los pisos de iglesias y contarán con el apoyo de organizaciones comunitarias para comidas gratuitas. Los manifestantes serán acompañados diariamente por sus simpatizantes y funcionarios electos. A través de la marcha, habrá eventos de prensa diariamente y los trabajadores estarán disponibles para entrevistas en inglés y español.

Siga la marcha en las redes sociales utilizando el hashtag #WalMarch

Workers Call on Walmart to Take Responsibility for Warehouses

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Following a long, hot summer marked by repeated attempts to urge Walmart to eliminate illegal and inhumane working conditions in its contracted warehouses in Southern California, warehouse workers and their supporters will begin a 50-mile, 6-day pilgrimage from Riverside, California to Downtown Los Angeles at a press conference at 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 13.

In the tradition of the farm workers and janitors, dozens of warehouse workers and their supporters will march along the same route goods travel through the Los Angeles basin to and from the Inland Empire. They will march for basic, but critical improvements on the job: fans to combat the 120 degree heat, working equipment, clean water, regular breaks, and an end to inhumane work quotas and retaliation for speaking up about safety conditions.

More than 85,000 workers labor in warehouses lifting merchandise out of shipping containers that enter through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and onto trucks destined for retail stores like Walmart.

WHAT: Press Conference to Launch Warehouse Worker Pilgrimage
WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 13
WHERE: 601 S. Milliken Ave., Suite A, Ontario, California 91761
WHO: Warehouse Workers
Assembly member Norma Torres
Members of the clergy

Warehouse workers will embark on their 50-mile march Sept. 13. They will sleep on church floors and rely on community organizations for support and meals. Marchers will be joined daily by supporters and elected officials. Workers will hold daily media events and will be available for interviews in English and Spanish throughout the entire march.

Follow the march on social media using the hashtag #WalMarch.

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