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Improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California

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PHOTOS: Warehouse Workers United in Three Acts

August 10, 2012 by dean

Act I: Deliver a serious complaint to Walmart’s LA executives.

Act II: Press conference with community groups, Walmart associates, warehouse workers and guest workers. No more Walmarts in Los Angeles until the mega retailer takes responsibility for all workers who help stock its shelves.

Act III: The crew goes east to the warehouses in Riverside.

Encore: All in 100+ degree heat.

Read more/Lea mas aqui

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: chinatown, Chinatown Committee for Equitable Development, guest workers, inland empire, king cheung, labor, latinos, latinos en walmart, national guestworker alliance, photos, Thai Community Development Center, thailand, warehouse workers, warehouse workers united, WWU

Los trabajadores de Walmart describen una imagen gráfica de las condiciones de trabajo a lo largo de la cadena de suministro

August 9, 2012 by dean

Trabajadores describen los trabajos abundantes en represalias, peligros y bajos salarios

LOS ANGELES – Los trabajadores que representan a cuatro enlaces de la cadena de suministro global de Walmart , la producción de alimentos, procesamiento, almacenamiento y venta al por menor  presentaron hoy una queja de ética formal con ejecutivos de las empresas Walmart en Los Angeles. La queja describe violaciones  sistemáticas de la Declaración de ética  propia de Walmart y los Estándares para los proveedores.

Parados enfrente del sitio propuesto para una tienda de Walmart en el Barrio Chino de Los Ángeles,  trabajadores y simpatizantes  describen las condiciones de trabajo que incluyen la esclavitud, lesiones, equipo peligroso, despidos en represalia y exposición a sustancias químicas en la producción, transporte y venta de mercancía de Walmart.

“Este es un patrón. No importa el país, ni el lugar de trabajo, ni el trabajador, vemos que Walmart y sus contratistas niegan su responsabilidad, ignoran los problemas graves y despiden a trabajadores que se mantienen firmes para el cambio. Este comportamiento no debe ser recompensado con más tiendas,” dijo Guadalupe Palma, una directora de  campaña de Warehouse Workers United, una organización comprometida a mejorar los trabajos de bodegas en el Inland Empire.

Los trabajadores de bodegas que manejan las mercancías de Walmart en el sur de California son parte de un número cada vez más grande de trabajadores saliendo de las sombras y haciendo un llamado de atención sobre el tratamiento inseguro e ilegal de los trabajadores empleados por Walmart y sus contratistas.

“Muchos de mis compañeros de trabajo están sufriendo debido a la presión de trabajar rápido o del miedo a perder nuestros empleos,” dijo Limber Herrera, un trabajador de bodega en Riverside. “A menudo respiramos un polvo negro y espeso que nos da hemorragias nasales y dolores de cabeza.  Queremos que Walmart  asuma la responsabilidad y corrija estas malas condiciones de trabajo. ”

Los trabajadores y simpatizantes también presentaron copias de dos peticiones a Walmart que obtuvieron un total combinado de 250.000 firmas y arrojan luz sobre las condiciones que enfrentan los trabajadores pesqueros que trabajan para proveedores de Walmart.

Ana Rosa Díaz, una de los ocho trabajadores huéspedes que expuso el trabajo forzado en el proveedor de Walmart, C.J.’s Seafood, en  Lousiana el mes pasado, hablo en el evento. Sólo después de que Díaz se puso en huelga y 150.000 personas prometieron su apoyo fue que Walmart se vio obligado a admitir las violaciones de mano de obra y la suspensión de su contrato con el proveedor.

“Sabemos que cientos de trabajadores huéspedes de otros proveedores de Walmart  enfrentan abusos”, dijo Díaz, un miembro de la Alianza Nacional de Trabajadores Huéspedes. “El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha confirmado nuestras denuncias de abusos en  C.J.’s Seafood. Ahora es el momento que Walmart  se siente con nosotros para acordar una solución a detener el abuso a través de su cadena de suministro. ”

En Tailandia, se reveló en junio que un importante proveedor de Walmart de camarón se dedica a la esclavitud por deudas. Después de que trabajadores hicieron huelga, lo que los medios de comunicación y el escrutinio de los consumidores, el proveedor de Walmart,  Paṭṭhāna, se comprometió a poner fin a su práctica de la esclavitud por deudas.  Sin embargo, muchos trabajadores de la cadena de suministro de Walmart siguen siendo vulnerables a otros abusos. En una fábrica de piña de Tailandia, Alimentos Vita, que también suministra Walmart hay informes de la trata de seres humanos similares a los de Paṭṭhāna, incluyendo que niños menores de 15 años han sido comprados y vendidos para trabajar allí.

“La globalización para los trabajadores pobres del mundo significa que los trabajadores estadounidenses de bodegas hoy en día tienen más en común con los trabajadores de las compañías en Tailandia  de piña y camarón que con el uno por ciento en su propio país que se benefician de su trabajo. La súper- explotación es el trabajo global estándar que Walmart ha decidido llevar a cabo. Esto sólo significa que la lucha por la justicia para los trabajadores de Walmart es mucho más grande. Tailandia puede parecer lejana a los herederos Walton, pero vamos a llevar la difícil situación de los trabajadores Tailandeses a las afueras de Arkansas.” “Es traer a casa los beneficios, y traer a casa la lucha también,” dijo Chancee Martorell, director ejecutivo del Centro de Desarrollo de la Comunidad de Tailandia, en representación de los trabajadores Tailandeses.

A través de la organización OUR Walmart, empleados de las tiendas están luchando por ganar y hacer cambios en Walmart para ayudar a los trabajadores, que están luchando para mantener a sus familias a base de bajos salarios, reducción de horas, cuidado de salud inalcanzable, los despidos injustos y condiciones de trabajo inseguras y discriminatorias.

En Riverside, después de que los trabajadores de bodegas presentaron una denuncia completa con el estado de California detallando equipo roto, el acceso limitado al agua, el calor extremo y otras violaciones de la ley estatal, dos trabajadores de bodegas fueron suspendidos indefinidamente. Tanto Carlos Martínez como David García ganaron su regreso al trabajo después de presentar los cargos con el Estado.

Estamos de pie para nosotros y nuestros compañeros de trabajo para hacer cambios reales en Walmart y no nos vamos a callar,” dijo Greg Fletcher, padre de dos hijos y un miembro de OUR Walmart. “A pesar de que Walmart es la empresa más grande en el país, la empresa no está por encima de la ley. Cuando nos unimos y pedimos cuentas a Walmart, estamos ganando  protección para los trabajadores, nuestra comunidad y nuestra economía.”

Fletcher es un asociado de Walmart en Duarte, California.

Los miembros de la comunidad de Chinatown se unieron a la manifestación diciendo que los residentes no están interesados en la expansión de empleos de bajos salarios,  represalias, lesiones y condiciones de trabajo peligrosas y una destrucción de la comunidad local.

“Nos solidarizamos con los trabajadores contra las represalias, las lesiones y condiciones de trabajo peligrosas. Es ilegal, y es inmoral, ” King Cheung, un miembro de la Comisión de Chinatown para un desarrollo equitativo. “Para ser el minorista más grande del mundo, Walmart paga a sus trabajadores salarios inferiores. Chinatown merece mejor que Walmart.  Walmart es bien conocido por el mal trato a sus trabajadores, es también conocido por dañar los pequeños negocios y sus comunidades. Es por eso que no queremos un Walmart  en el Barrio Chino de Los Ángeles.

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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With: chinatown, Chinatown Committee for Equitable Development, guest workers, inland empire, king cheung, labor, latinos, latinos en walmart, national guestworker alliance, photos, Thai Community Development Center, thailand, warehouse workers, warehouse workers united, WWU

Walmart Workers Paint Graphic Picture of Working Conditions Throughout Supply Chain

August 9, 2012 by dean

Workers Describe Jobs Rife with Retaliation, Hazards and Low Pay

LOS ANGELES – Workers representing four links in Walmart’s global supply chain – food production, processing, warehousing and retail – today filed a formal ethics complaint with Walmart’s corporate executives in Los Angeles. The complaint outlines systemic violations of Walmart’s own Statement of Ethics and Standards for Suppliers.

Standing in front of the proposed site of a Walmart store in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, workers and supporters described working conditions that include enslavement, injury, hazardous equipment, retaliatory firings and chemical exposure in the production, transport and sale of Walmart merchandise.

“This is a pattern. No matter the country, no matter the workplace, no matter the worker, we see that Walmart and its contractors’ deny responsibility, ignore serious problems and fire workers who stand up for change. This behavior should not be rewarded with more stores,” said Guadalupe Palma, a campaign director with Warehouse Workers United, an organization committed to improving warehousing jobs in the Inland Empire.

Warehouse workers who move Walmart goods in Southern California are part of an increasing number of workers stepping out of the shadows and calling attention to unsafe and illegal treatment of workers employed by Walmart and its contractors.

“So many of my coworkers are living in pain because of the pressure to work fast or lose our jobs,” said Limber Herrera, a warehouse worker in Riverside. “We often breathe a thick black dust that gives us nosebleeds and headaches. We want Walmart to take responsibility and fix these bad working conditions.”

Workers and supporters also presented copies of two petitions to Walmart that garnered a combined 250,000 signatures and cast light on conditions faced by seafood workers who work for Walmart suppliers. Ana Rosa Diaz, one of eight guestworkers who exposed forced labor at Walmart supplier C.J.’s Seafood in Louisiana last month, spoke at the event. Only after Diaz went on strike and 150,000 people pledged their support was Walmart forced to admit to labor violations and suspend its contract with the supplier.

“We know that hundreds of other guestworkers at other Walmart suppliers are facing abuse,” said Diaz, a member of the National Guestworker Alliance. “The U.S. Department of Labor has confirmed our claims of abuse at C.J.’s Seafood. Now it’s time for Walmart to sit down with us to agree to a solution to stop abuse across its supply chain.”

In Thailand, it was revealed in June that a major Walmart shrimp supplier was engaged in debt bondage. After workers struck, causing media and consumer scrutiny, the Walmart supplier, Patthana, pledged to end its practice of debt bondage. However, many workers in Walmart’s supply chain remain vulnerable to other abuses. At a Thai pineapple factory, Vita Foods, that also supplies Walmart there are reports of human trafficking similar to those at Patthana, including that children under the age of 15  have been bought and sold to work there.

“Globalization for the working poor of the world means that American warehouse workers today have more in common with factory workers in Thailand’s shrimp and pineapple factories than with the one-percenters in their own country who profit from their labor. Hyper-exploitation is the global labor standard Walmart has chosen to pursue.  This just means the fight for justice for Walmart’s workers is that much bigger. Thailand may seem far away to the Walton heirs, but we are going to bring the plight of Thai workers to the suburbs of Arkansas. You bring home the profits, you bring home the struggle too,” said Chancee Martorell, executive director of the Thai Community Development Center, representing the Thai workers.

Through the organization OUR Walmart, store associates are fighting for and winning changes at Walmart to help workers, who are struggling to support their families on low-wages, reductions in hours, unaffordable healthcare, unjust terminations and unsafe and discriminatory working conditions. In Riverside, after warehouse workers filed a comprehensive complaint with the state of California detailing broken equipment, limited access to water, extreme heat and other violations of state law, two warehouse workers were suspended indefinitely. Both Carlos Martinez and David Garcia won their return to work after filing charges with the state.

“We are standing up for ourselves and our co-workers to make real changes at Walmart and we will not be silenced,” said Greg Fletcher, a father of two sons and a member of OUR Walmart.  “Even though Walmart is the biggest company in the country, the company is not above the law.  When we stand together and hold Walmart accountable, we are winning protections for workers, our community and our economy.”

Fletcher is a six-year Walmart associate in Duarte, California.

Members of the Chinatown community joined the rally saying residents are not interested in the expansion of low wage jobs, retaliation, injury and dangerous working conditions and a destruction of the local community.

“We stand with the workers against retaliation, injury and dangerous working conditions. It is illegal, and it is immoral,” King Cheung, a member of the Chinatown Committee for Equitable Development. “For the world’s largest retailer, Walmart pays its workers substandard low wages. Chinatown deserves better than Walmart. Walmart is well known for bad treatment of its workers. It is also well known for harming small businesses and communities. That is why we do not want Walmart here in LA Chinatown.”

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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With: chinatown, Chinatown Committee for Equitable Development, guest workers, inland empire, king cheung, labor, latinos, latinos en walmart, national guestworker alliance, photos, Thai Community Development Center, thailand, warehouse workers, warehouse workers united, WWU

Event: People of Faith United for Worker Justice

July 30, 2012 by dean

Join us for a pre-Labor Day rally and multi-faith gathering Thursday, August 23 with  workers, religious leaders, and leaders from the grocery store workers union.

What: People of Faith United for Worker Justice
When: 10:45 a.m. to 12 noon, Thursday, August 23
Where: Decker Hall, Pilgrim Place, West 6th Street and Mayflower Road in Claremont

We will plan and discuss Warehouse Workers United and workers’ campaign to improve health and safety on the job, receive fair pay and to compel Walmart to treat workers, suppliers and communities fairly. We will also talk about California ballot propositions that affect working people, communities and schools, and food service workers’ protracted struggle at Pomona College. People of faith have an important role in supporting workers in our region.

Sponsors include:

  • Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE)
  • The World Affairs Forum of Pilgrim Place
  • Pueblo De Fe Unido Para La Justicia Para Los Trabajadores
  • Leaders from many local congregations

For more information please visit www.puebledefeunido.org or call Gene Boutilier at 909-912-9999 or Stephen Padilla, Claremont School of Theology, 720-201-3006.

Filed Under: All Posts Tagged With: faith, inland empire, labor, latinos, latinos en walmart, Ontario, people of faith, walmart, warehouse workers, warehouse workers united, worker justice, WWU

Two Workers Fired in the Name of Walmart’s Bottom Line

July 27, 2012 by dean

Pictured here: Girshriela Green and Santos Castaneda, two leaders fired in the fight to improve working conditions and jobs in the Walmart supply chain.

Walmart fired Girshriela Green just days after she spoke to thousands at the June 30 Chinatown protest.  Castaneda was fired from his job moving Walmart goods after he spoke up about working conditions.

Filed Under: All Posts, Blog Tagged With: fired workers, girshriela green, inland empire, labor, latinos, latinos en walmart, nfi warehouse, Ontario, retaliation, Santos Castaneda, walmart, warehouse workers, warehouse workers united, WWU

News Outlets Take Notice of Warehouse Workplace Hazards

July 26, 2012 by dean

A growing number of major media outlets are reporting about health and safety violations and poor working conditions at the Southern California warehouses that are the backbone of Walmart’s worldwide supply chain.

According to The New York Times, the dire workplace conditions are not only hurting warehouse employees but are also having widespread economic impact throughout the state. Experts cite Walmart as responsible for driving down wages and labor standards across an industry that is primarily a Latino workforce.

“There seems to be an unfortunate model of subcontracting used to cut costs and really depress the working conditions,” said Julie Su, California labor commissioner. “It really reflects the economy moving to this kind of day-labor system in a way that really can destabilize the economy.”

Read the article in The New York Times

Through a complex web of contractors and subcontractors, Walmart tries to deny responsibility for warehouses that move its merchandise, but the corporate behemoth dictates the working conditions in these facilities by setting unreasonable quotas and pushing for relentless cost cutting measures at the expense of workers’ health and safety.

“There’s nobody who cares about our health — there’s just pressure to empty cases at a fast pace,” said warehouse worker Limber Herrera told the Times. “All the dust we inhale, all the heavy things we have to lift with all our strength and no support, it’s very hard.”

The Guardian went into even more detail about “abject working conditions.” Reports of black dust that cause nosebleeds, headaches, and nausea in addition to a litany of other hazards reported at warehouses serving Walmart. Workers report back injuries, 125 degree heat, lack of water and broken equipment. Workers have also reported denial of medical attention and threats of dismissal for missing work if injured.

“It is an impossibility,” said warehouse worker Ruben Valadez. “But they tell you to work harder. The shout at you and harass you. They say: ‘If you can’t take it, then you know where the door is.’”

Read the article in the Guardian

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Filed Under: All Posts Tagged With: Crossdock, Guardian, health and safety, inland empire, labor, labour, latinos, latinos en walmart, media coverage, New York Times, newspapers, nfi crossdock, Ontario, Southern California, The New York Times, UK Guardian, walmart, warehouses, workplace injuries

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