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Improving working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California

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workplace safety

Extreme Pressure, Constant Injuries and Retaliation

July 1, 2012 by dean

Workers Bravely Call for Safety on the Job

Mire abajo para Español.

These five warehouse workers routinely work with broken, unsafe equipment, under extreme pressure to work faster and are frequently injured.

June 30 they led a group of 50 workers and supporters to call for a safer workplace and specific resolutions to serious problems they face on the job.

This is no small thing. In the warehouse where they work moving Walmart goods hundreds of workers must lift up to 400 boxes an hour in extreme heat using broken equipment. There is little access to water, they are frequently denied breaks, supervisors yell and the rate of injury is high.

If you complain about these conditions, most likely you will be fired. If you are injured on the job you will likely be told to go home without medical treatment or compensation. If you are hurt for too long, most likely you will be told not to return.

“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.”

Presión extrema, lesiones constantes y represalias

Trabajadores valientemente demandan seguridad en el trabajo

Estos cinco trabajadores de bodegas, normalmente trabajan con equipo roto e inseguro y bajo presión extrema de trabajar más rápido y frecuentemente se lesionan.

El 30 de Junio ellos encabezaron un grupo de 50 trabajadores para demandar  un lugar de trabajo más seguro y resoluciones especificas a problemas graves que enfrentan en el trabajo.

Esto no es algo leve, en la bodega donde trabajan moviendo mercancía de Walmart, cientos de trabajadores deben de levantar hasta 400 cajas por hora, bajo un calor extremo usando equipo roto. Hay poco acceso a agua, frecuentemente se les niegan los descansos, enfrentan gritos de sus supervisores y la cantidad de lesiones es alto.

Si se quejan de esas condiciones, existe una gran posibilidad de ser despedido.

Si se lesionan en el trabajo es probable que les digan que se vayan a casa sin tratamiento médico o compensación.

Si estas lastimado por largo tiempo,  es muy probable que se te digan que no regreses a trabajar.

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

Filed Under: All Posts, Blog Tagged With: inland empire, labor, latino workers, walmart, warehouse workers, workplace safety

“When I was pregnant, they laughed at my concerns.”

June 29, 2012 by dean

By Marta Medina

This weekend I plan to join thousands of people in Chinatown in Los Angeles. We are concerned about working conditions that affect people like me who make sure Walmart’s shelves are stocked.

It means a lot for me to be there Saturday. I want people to know about the hard work warehouse workers do and the intense pressure we face moving Walmart goods.

I am going to speak on stage so that people learn about what it means to work in a warehouse.

I worked in the warehouse for about five years moving Walmart products out of containers that come from Asia. I even worked through my pregnancy with my son Chris. The work is really hard and to do it while pregnant made it even harder. I thought the agency that we work for would respect the fact that I was pregnant and I would be allowed to modify my work, but they didn’t care. I had to do the same work as always even though I was pregnant. A lot of times when women become pregnant they are fired so it was very difficult for me — I needed my job to support my family, but I was also thinking about my baby and hoping that nothing would happen to him.

Walmart is particularly hard because of the high quantities and fast pace. I remember one day we had to move thousands of boxes in just a short time. That was the requirement and I had to do it even though I was pregnant.

Because of the tension I had an emergency caesarean. I had to go back to work almost immediately after my son was born, while I was still recovering, but the managers didn’t care. They laughed at my concerns.

Right now I am injured. We lift heavy boxes, 50-75 pounds or more for eight hours a day. That takes a toll on your body.

This story is hard for me to recount. It makes me sad and it makes me angry, but more than anything I worry that if I don’t tell people they will not know about warehouse workers. We work in huge windowless buildings in San Bernardino and Riverside. Temperatures are high, we are exposed to lots of chemicals and we don’t always get breaks or access to clean water, but with peoples’ attention and support I know we can change our jobs for the better and make sure we work in a safe environment.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: heavy lifting, labor, latino workers, pregnant workers, protest, walmart, warehouse workers, workplace abuse, workplace safety

Workers Unite to Stop Extreme Pressure

June 27, 2012 by dean

Wearing a t-shirt may seem like a small thing…but it means a lot when you work in a warehouse.

Today , these courageous workers showed they are united in the face of retaliation to stop extreme pressure on the job, unsafe working conditions and disrespect in Walmart-contracted warehouses.

…

Usar una camiseta podría verse como algo insignificante…pero significa mucho cuando trabajas en una bodega.

Hoy, estos trabajadores valientes demostraron que están unidos enfrentando represalias para poner un paro a la extrema presión en el trabajo, condiciones de trabajo peligrosas y falta de respeto en bodegas contratadas de Walmart.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: labor, latino workers, protest, walmart, warehouse workers, workplace abuse, workplace safety

LA Latina Leaders Reveal New Details about Walmart’s Negative Effects on the Local Economy

June 8, 2012 by dean

LOS ANGELES — Major retailers like Walmart are driving down wages and workplace safety standards on a scale far greater than understood before, a report released today by the National Employment Law Project shows.

The explosion of “domestic outsourcing,” the aggressive practice of contracting warehousing, transportation and goods delivery to a complex hierarchy of contractors and subcontractors, has lowered the quality of jobs in Southern California and disproportionately impacted working Latinos here.

According to “Chain of Greed”: “Walmart sets the parameters for the working conditions in (warehouses)…But when things go wrong, it’s the contractors that are blamed, while Walmart skirts responsibility for its actions and accountability for its influence over those engaged in its massive supply chain.”

Hundreds of millions of tons of goods enter the United States every year through our nation’s busiest ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles. Containers are then trucked through the Los Angeles basin to the Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, where roughly 85,000 warehouse workers, mostly Latino, unpack and reload items onto trucks destined for retail outlets.

“Chain of Greed,” the report released by NELP, details how Walmart’s influence over the entire logistics and manufacturing industries has led to increasing reliance on temporary workers who are often paid minimum wage or less, which keeps labor costs artificially low and masks responsibility for these working conditions.

“In order to continue to win business, subcontractors must model their businesses like Walmart,” said Maria Elena Durazo, secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. “That means consistently lowering standards, lowering wages and cutting corners even if it means dangerous working conditions. Workers bear the brunt of this unsustainable model.”

Every year retailers like Walmart require more for less from their contractors.

“Walmart figured out how to shift the burden off the retailer and move economic risks lower down the supply chain ultimately to a low-paid, mostly Latino workforce ,” said Guadalupe Palma, a campaign director for Warehouse Workers United, an organization committed to improving the quality of warehouse jobs. “Walmart is responsible for the illegal working conditions and low wages at the warehouses that move its goods. Changing this industry means creating thousands of good jobs and improving the quality of life in Southern California.”

For Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, the report’s conclusion that domestic outsourcing imposes an especially severe toll on Latino and immigrant workers in Southern California and around the U.S. is striking.

“Latinos and immigrants in this industry are facing extremely low wages and little regard for basic workplace safety standards. We see “domestic outsourcing” in many sectors like agriculture, janitorial and cleaning where people do hard work largely out of sight. Shedding light on poor labor conditions will lead to better, more humane lives for a huge part of our population.”

David Acosta, father of three young children, described his experience working inside Southern California warehouses.

“We worked long days, often 16 hours with no breaks, no time for lunch and no overtime pay. We knew it was wrong, but it seemed like there was no one to talk to to make it better. Things started to change when we stood together in the face of retaliation.”

The report calls for specific recommendations to create “greater transparency and accountability within these multi-layered hydra-like logistics chains” including better enforcement of existing laws and adding warehousing to current law that protects workers in subcontracted industries like as janitorial and agricultural work. It also reinforces Warehouse Workers United’s calls for Walmart to adopt a meaningful responsible contractor policy that would end abusive conditions in Walmart contracted warehouses.

Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With: contractors, human rights, inland empire, labor, latino workers, National Employment Law Project, supply chain, walmart, walmart supply chain, warehouse workers, workplace abuse, workplace safety

Líderes Latinas de Los Ángeles revelan nuevos detalles sobre los efectos negativos de Walmart en la economía local

June 8, 2012 by dean

LOS ANGELES – Los grandes minoristas como Walmart están bajando los salarios y las normas de seguridad laboral en una escala mucho mayor que la conocida anteriormente, reporta un informe publicado hoy por El Proyecto Nacional de Empleo.

La explosión de la “externalización domestica”, la práctica agresiva de contratación de prestación de almacenamiento, transportación y entrega de mercancías a una compleja jerarquía de contratistas y subcontratistas, ha bajado la calidad de los empleos en el sur de California y ha impactado desproporcionadamente a los latinos que trabajan aquí.

Según el informe “ Cadena de Codicia”: “Walmart establece los parámetros para las condiciones de trabajo en (bodegas) … Pero cuando las cosas no funcionan, son los contratistas que son culpados, mientras que Walmart se deslinda de la responsabilidad por sus acciones y la de su influencia sobre aquellos que forman parte en su masiva cadena de suministro. ”

Cientos de millones de toneladas de mercancía entran a los Estados Unidos cada año a través de los puertos más activos de nuestro país en Long Beach y Los Ángeles. Los contenedores son transportados luego a través de la cuenca de Los Ángeles hacia el Inland Empire, San Bernardino y Riverside, donde alrededor de 85.000 trabajadores de bodegas, en su mayoría latinos, descargan y cargan productos en camiones con destino a puntos de venta.

“Cadena de codicia”, el informe publicado por NELP, detalla cómo la influencia de Walmart en toda la logística y las industrias de fabricación ha dado lugar a una creciente dependencia de los trabajadores temporales que se les paga el salario mínimo o menos, lo que mantiene artificialmente bajos los costos de mano de obra, y enmascara la responsabilidad de estas condiciones de trabajo.

“A fin de continuar a aumentar sus negocios, los subcontratistas deben modelar sus negocios como Walmart”, dijo María Elena Durazo, secretaria-tesorera ejecutiva de la Federación Laboral del Condado de Los Ángeles. “Eso significa la reducción constante de los estándares, la reducción de los salarios y atajos, a pesar que esto conlleva a condiciones de trabajo peligrosas. Los trabajadores llevan la peor parte de este modelo insostenible”.

Cada año, tiendas como Walmart exigen más por menos de sus contratistas.

“Walmart encontró la manera de desviar el peso fuera del minorista y mover los riesgos económicos hacia abajo de la cadena de suministro y ultimadamente recargando el peso sobre todo la mano de obra latina”, dijo Guadalupe Palma, directora de Trabajadores De Bodegas Unidos, una organización comprometida a mejorar la calidad de los trabajos de bodegas. “Walmart es responsable de las condiciones ilegales de trabajo y los bajos salarios en las bodegas que mueven sus bienes. El cambio de esta industria significa la creación de miles de buenos empleos y mejorar la calidad de vida en el sur de California. ”

Para Angélica Salas, directora ejecutiva de la Coalición Pro-Derechos Humanos de los Inmigrantes, la conclusión del informe de que la externalización domestica impone un peaje especialmente grave en los trabajadores latinos en el sur de California y en todo los EE.UU. es sorprendente.

“Los latinos en esta industria se enfrentan a salarios muy bajos y poco respeto por las normas básicas de seguridad en el trabajo. Vemos “externalización domestica” en muchos sectores como la agricultura y la limpieza, donde la gente hace el trabajo duro en gran medida fuera de la vista. Arrojar luz sobre las malas condiciones de trabajo conducirá a mejores, vidas más humanas para una gran parte de nuestra población”.

David Acosta, padre de tres hijos, describió su experiencia de trabajo en las bodegas del sur de California.

“Hemos trabajado largas jornadas, a menudo 16 horas sin interrupciones, no hay tiempo para el almuerzo y no pagan horas extras. Sabíamos que estaba mal, pero parecía que no había nadie con quien hablar para mejorarlo. Las cosas empezaron a cambiar cuando permanecimos unidos ante las represalias. ”

El informe hace un llamado por las recomendaciones específicas para crear “una mayor transparencia y rendición de cuentas dentro de esta cadena de logísticas de varias capas”, incluyendo una mejor aplicación de las leyes vigentes y la adición de bodegas a la legislación actual que protege a los trabajadores subcontratados en la industria tales como el trabajo de limpieza y agrícola. También refuerza el llamado de Trabajadores de Bodegas Unidos que piden a Walmart que adopte una póliza significativa de contratista responsable que ponga fin a las condiciones abusivas en las bodegas contratadas por Walmart.

Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With: externalización domestica, latino workers, trabajadores temporales de walmart, walmart, warehouse workers, workplace abuse, workplace safety

Telemundo: Latinos en Walmart

June 7, 2012 by dean

Filed Under: All Posts, Blog Tagged With: latino workers, latinos en walmart, walmart, warehouse workers, workplace abuse, workplace safety

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