Warehouse Worker Resource Center

Improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California

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Senate Votes to Extend Protections to Tens of Thousands of Warehouse Workers

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Asm. Torres and Sen. Vargas Sponsor AB 1855

SACRAMENTO – The California Senate voted to support legislation Tuesday that would further protect workers in subcontracted industries.

Warehouse workers from Southern California’s Inland Empire joined Assemblymember Norma Torres and Sen. Juan Vargas in the Capitol Tuesday. The legislation that will extend basic protections to tens of thousands of warehouse workers now moves to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

“Thousands of workers in Southern California will benefit from this law. It’s very important that we protect low-wage workers who are a key part of our nation’s supply chain,” Assemblymember Torres said.

Because they are employed through a complex network of contractors, warehouse workers often have no recourse if they are not paid or forced to work in illegal conditions. It is not uncommon for warehouse contractors to operate out of the trunk of a car with no payroll records.

“Workers are moving goods for corporate giants like Walmart, but through a complex network of contractors and subcontractors, these corporations avoid responsibility. Workers need recourse to ensure their employers, and everyone in the supply chain, follow the law,” Vargas said.

California law already prohibits labor contracts that are financially insufficient to comply with the law in agriculture, construction, garment, janitorial and security. AB 1855, which is sponsored by the California Labor Federation, would extend this protection to hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers.

Last year, the California Labor Commissioner issued massive citations against Walmart subcontractors for stolen wages from warehouse workers. AB 1855 would have made it easier for workers to hold their employers accountable and receive proper payment.

“Fly-by-night contractors dominate the warehousing industry and provide a buffer between retailers like Walmart and the workers who move their goods,” said Guadalupe Palma, a campaign director with Warehouse Workers United, an organization committed to improving warehousing jobs in the Inland Empire. “We have seen it many times where staffing agencies that supply workers in warehouses will disappear overnight and leave workers without a job and without a paycheck. AB 1855 will help end this practice.”

“They made us work for piece rate, up to 16 hours a day, for months and months. There was no time see my family, and if I complained about the working conditions I would have been fired,” said Daniel Lopez, a warehouse worker from Riverside, California who spent Tuesday in Sacramento to support AB 1855.

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Workers File Detailed Complaint to End Dangerous Working Conditions at Critical Walmart-Contracted Warehouse

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LOS ANGELES – Warehouse workers required to work inside dark, hot, metal shipping containers with little ventilation or water under pressure to meet high quotas in the face of frequent injury filed a complaint with the state agency responsible for workplace conditions Wednesday. (Español aquí)

Workers at a warehouse that moves goods exclusively for Walmart filed a complaint with California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) detailing more than a dozen serious violations. Cal/OSHA is the state agency responsible for protecting workers from safety hazards.

“I’m not just doing this for me and my family,” said Jose Gonzalez. “I am doing this for everyone who works at the warehouse. What we deal with is not fair, it’s not humane. I am not afraid. We have to say something.”

Warehouse workers staff the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week unloading Walmart goods from shipping containers that arrive primarily from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and then loading the goods onto long-haul trucks destined for Walmart or Sam’s Club, a subsidiary of Walmart, stores. The warehouse is operated by National Distribution Centers of Delaware, Inc. Two staffing agencies, Warestaff, LLC, and Select Staffing, Inc., supply most of the workers on site.

In the complaint, workers describe a workplace rife with unsafe conditions including limited or no access to clean water, high temperatures, broken equipment, and unreasonable and unsafe quotas. They are charged for required safety equipment. Workers are often blocked inside the trailers they are loading for up to 30 minutes with no exit.

The complaint alleges that workers who are injured on the job are denied access to medical care or compensated time for recovery, and are often told that they will be laid off if they can’t work while injured, all in violation of California law. Workers also report a thick black dust that covers the floor of trailers and containers; they believe inhaling the dust leads to nosebleeds, vomiting and coughing blood.

“It is hard to believe these working conditions exist in Southern California,” said Guadalupe Palma, a campaign director for Warehouse Workers United. “In every warehouse that moves Walmart goods where workers have come forward we have found complaints of unsafe working conditions. This complaint is intended to improve working conditions for warehouse workers in Southern California.”

Warehouse Workers United is an organization committed to improving the quality of life and jobs in Southern California’s Inland Empire. More than 85,000 warehouse workers work moving goods for major retailers like Walmart in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The complaint comes on the heels of news that four weeks after seafood workers in Louisiana went on strike to end forced labor at Walmart supplier C.J.’s Seafood, Walmart suspended its contract with C.J.’s pending its own investigation – adding further evidence of serious labor violations in Walmart’s supply chain.

Also in June, the National Employment Law Project released a scathing new report that documents abuses in Walmart contract warehouses in Southern California and details how Walmart’s business practices adversely affect Latino workers here. Following the release of the NELP report, an employee of Mercury Public Affairs, the L.A. PR firm hired by Walmart, was caught spying on warehouse workers. The employee was subsequently fired by Mercury, which in turn had its contract terminated by Walmart.

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Trabajadores presentan queja detallada para poner fin a condiciones peligrosas de trabajo en bodegas contratadas por Walmart

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LOS ANGELES- Trabajadores de bodegas los cuales son requeridos a trabajar en el oscuro interior de contenedores de metal caliente, con poca ventilación o agua, bajo presión de cumplir con altas cuotas y ante las frecuentes lesiones, presentaron una denuncia con la agencia estatal responsable por condiciones en el lugar de trabajo el pasado miércoles.

Trabajadores de una bodega que mueve productos en exclusiva para WalMart presentaron una queja ante la División de California de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional (Cal / OSHA) que detalla más de una docena de violaciones graves. Cal / OSHA es la agencia estatal responsable de la protección de los trabajadores en riesgos de seguridad.

“No solo estoy haciendo esto por mí y mi familia,” dijo José González. “Estoy haciendo esto por todos los que trabajan en la bodega. Con lo que lidiamos no es justo, no es humano. No tengo miedo. Tenemos que decir algo.”

Trabajadores de bodegas operan las instalaciones las 24 horas del día, siete días a la semana descargando las mercancías de Walmart de los contenedores de transporte que llegan principalmente desde los puertos de Los Ángeles y Long Beach; luego cargan la mercancía a los camiones de larga distancia destinados a Walmart o Sam ‘s Club, un subsidiario de las tiendas Wal-Mart. La bodega es manejada por National Distribution Centers de las agencias de Delaware, Inc. Dos agencias de personal, Warestaff, LLC, y Select Staffing Inc., son los proveen de la mayoría de los trabajadores en el lugar.

En la denuncia, los trabajadores describen un lugar de trabajo lleno de condiciones peligrosas, incluyendo el acceso limitado o nulo a agua limpia, las altas temperaturas, equipos rotos, y las cuotas excesivas y peligrosas. Se les cobra por equipo de seguridad requerido. Los trabajadores a menudo son bloqueados dentro de los contenedores de carga por hasta 30 minutos sin salida.

La demanda alega que los trabajadores que se lesionan en el trabajo se les niega el acceso a la atención médica o tiempo compensado para recuperarse, y con frecuencia se les dice que serán despedidos si no pueden trabajar mientras se encuentran lesionados, todo ello en violación de la ley de California. Los trabajadores también informan de una gruesa capa de polvo negro que cubre el suelo de los remolques y contenedores, que creen que la inhalación del polvo produce hemorragia nasal, vómitos y sangre al toser.

“Es difícil creer que estas condiciones de trabajo existen en el sur de California”, dijo Guadalupe Palma, una directora de la campaña para los Trabajadores de bodegas. “En todos las bodegas que se mueve productos de Walmart, donde los trabajadores se han salido al frente hemos encontrado denuncias de condiciones de trabajo inseguras. Esta denuncia tiene por objeto mejorar las condiciones laborales de los trabajadores de bodegas en el sur de California.”

Trabajadores de Bodegas Unidos es una organización comprometida a mejorar de la calidad de vida y el empleo en el Inland Empire del sur de California. Más de 85.000 trabajadores de bodega trabajan moviendo las mercancías para los principales minoristas como WalMart en San Bernardino y Riverside.

Esta denuncia está siendo presentada cuatro semanas después de que los trabajadores de mariscos en Louisiana se declararon en huelga para poner un fin al trabajo forzado en C.J.’s Seafood, proveedor de Walmart, el cual suspendió su contrato con CJ en espera de su propia investigación, agregando una prueba más de serias violaciónes laborales en el suministro de cadena de Walmart.

También en junio, el National Employment Law Project publicó un informe nuevo que documenta abusos en las bodegas subcontratadas por Walmart en el sur de California y los detalles de cómo las prácticas de negocio de WalMart afectan negativamente a los trabajadores latinos aquí. Tras la publicación del informe de NELP, una empleada de Mercury Public Affairs, la firma de relaciones públicas contratada por Walmart, fue sorprendida espiando a los trabajadores de bodegas. La empleada fue despedida por Mercury, que a su vez resulto en que perdiera su contrato con Walmart.

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