Walmart Sam’s Club Lowering Worker and Community Standards
Walmart launched another assault on living and working standards in communities across the country yesterday, by laying off more than ten thousand Sam’s Club employees. The company is outsourcing jobs, many of them part-time, to a company based in Arkansas. Workers report that Walmart called them into mass meetings where they were offered boxes of tissues and told they were no longer needed by the nation’s largest private employer. Read moreAn Open Letter to President Obama
Joseph T. Hansen, International President, UFCWDear President Obama:
I want to commend you for bringing America to the table in the effort to reform our health care system. Health care is a shared responsibility, and we cannot move forward until all elements of our society fully embrace that principle.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), representing one million workers in the retail sector, is closely attuned to the health care needs of working people, as well as the financial obligations of companies that provide health care benefits and the competitive pressures they face in the marketplace.
When Walmart announced its support of an employer mandate today, I received the news with interest—and a great deal of skepticism. As a company that has had a significant role in fueling this nation’s health care crisis, I have serious questions about Walmart’s commitment to playing a constructive role in fashioning reform that, in fact, provides quality affordable care for all.
Workers and Activists Team Up for Associates’ Rights
From the UFCW International.Press Conferences across the country highlight Walmart workers and call on customers to support their rights to a voice on the job
WakeUpWalMart.com, America’s campaign to change Wal-Mart, with more than 444,600 members nationally, today launches a new campaign in support of workers rights. The campaign will kick off with a week of press conferences and petition drives across the country. Walmart workers, community leaders, and members of Walmart Workers for Change and WakeUpWalMart.com will join together in support of the Employee Free Choice Act and workers rights.
Walmart Workers Hold Historic National Organizing Meeting
From the UFCW InternationalNearly 100 Workers From Across Country Meet With Congressional Leaders
Washington, DC -- Walmart workers from across the nation are converging today on Capitol Hill for a National Organizing Meeting to brief Senators about wages, benefits and the Employee Free Choice Act. Nearly 100 Walmart workers from 17 states are participating in the event. As part of their campaign for a union voice on the job, they will urge lawmakers to level the playing field for working people by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.
Union woos Wal-Mart workers in 17 states, LR
Steve Painter, Arkansas Democrat GazetteWal-Mart Stores Inc., which has fended off unions at its U.S. stores throughout its climb to the top of the retailing world, is now the focus of a major organizing effort by the United Food and Commercial Workers.
The union, with 1.3 million members in North America, is actively recruiting potential members at more than 100 Wal-Mart stores in 17 states, including the store at 8801 Base Line Road in Little Rock. Read more
Thousands of Workers Unite
From the UFCW InternationalNew Video Highlights Intimidation, Anti-Worker Tactics Associates Face from America's Largest Private Employer
Washington, DC -- Walmart Workers for Change, today released a new video that highlights the sorts of anti-worker tactics they are facing from the world's largest retailer.
Efforts to unionize North Miami Beach Wal-Mart move forward
Scott Andron - Miami HeraldWorkers at a North Miami Beach Wal-Mart Supercenter are hoping to make their store one of the first in the United States to unionize.
So far, workers say they have gathered signed, pro-union cards from 150 of the store's 476 employees. Under federal labor law, that's just about enough for union supporters to demand a vote of all rank-and-file workers at the store. Read more
Free Choice and Prosperity are Intimately Connected
By John DursoWith wages dropping, health care costs rising and pensions disappearing, working people more than ever are concerned about their future. The gap between union members and workers not connected to labor organizations continues to widen. Those associated with unions earn 28 percent more than unaffiliated workers...
How Much Was Your Bonus?
Walmart management has boasted to the press that is has just paid $934 million in bonuses to associates, averaging more than $660 for each associate. But many associates say that they have received bonuses much smaller than $660, and some haven’t received any bonus at all.How much was your bonus? Tell your story here.
Stand together to make our economy work again
By Jim McGarvey And John SweeneyIt's no secret that Wall Street is motivated by greed. But when it's left unchecked, corporate power can undermine the fundamental stability of our economy and wreak havoc on working families across the country.
Working people across Montana have been living in an economic crisis for years, taking on longer hours, second jobs, credit cards and toxic loans just to stay afloat. Even though worker productivity has soared over the last 25 years, families here and across America have struggled to maintain their toehold on the middle class.
