Warehouse Worker Resource Center

Improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California

walmart

Congressman Mark Takano Supports Eastvale Walmart Warehouse Workers

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In Eastvale, California, Olivet International warehouse workers, who move suitcases for Walmart, have been fighting for a safe workplace for over 2 years. Olivet now is trying to push out these workers and replace them with temp workers by cutting their hours, attacking workers’ families by having work schedules that change day to day and trying to limit their restroom access.

Workers are demanding that Olivet Stop the Retaliation and provide Good, Safe Jobs Now!

Thank you to our allies especially Congressman Mark Takano who has been a strong advocate to have these jobs be good jobs for our community.  Congressman Takano wrote a letter to Olivet demanding that they treat these workers with respect!

 

Sign Our Letter, Help Workers

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My name is Marta Medina and I am a warehouse worker. In the five years I worked in a warehouse, I learned to tolerate dangerous and unjust working conditions.

One of the most humiliating experiences happened four years ago when I was eight months pregnant. I received a Walmart order to ship 2,000 boxes in one hour. I could barely lift any boxes and I felt like I might lose my baby. The whole time I was thinking: “Please baby stay in there.” I was also thinking of my family in El Salvador. My little boy is there. He is 11-years-old. I need to provide for him so I couldn’t risk complaining and losing my job. All I could do is hold my stomach and ask God for help. My employer didn’t care about the pain I was in.

After my caesarian, I returned to work and my supervisor said to me: “I don’t care that you had surgery. You’re here to work and if not, you can leave. There is plenty to replace you and do the job better.”

This is not right. No one should have to work in dangerous conditions and worry about their children and about losing a job if you speak up. It was a difficult time in my life, but now I have hope. I am working with other warehouse workers to improve our jobs and our lives and bring respect to all warehouse workers.

This September we will march from the warehouses in Riverside to Downtown Los Angeles. Please support our pilgrimage for dignity on the job. If you can’t march with workers and our families you can sign the letter we plan to deliver to Walmart when we arrive in the city.

Si Se Puede!

“True Heroes,” MSNBC Looks at Warehouse Conditions

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Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Watch Van Jones, the former special adviser for green jobs in the Obama White House and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, and Rose Aguilar, radio host of “Your Call” on KALW radio in San Francisco and op-ed contributor to Al Jazeera English, talk about Warehouse Workers United On MSNBC with Chris Hayes.

Rose Aguilar describes warehouse worker Ruben Valadez’s experience unloading merchandise for Walmart in Riverside. Van Jones calls him a “true American hero.”

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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Event: People of Faith United for Worker Justice

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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.

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

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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.

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