This week: Walmart protests go global

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98v2pDkVtEmqvyKJQ5f6P1s5t-AdBBhNDeBn4EcagB1UUvbZem0yzWW_TbxXGPLuwM2xgSUg_3BbXRgfG_lvSw0oqPw0ZsS-hKfeT7MSSe4al0TwUUgCiLnA7tLcsSfJPobGnmXzOqiiv/s1600/All-Workers-Deserve-Respect_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98v2pDkVtEmqvyKJQ5f6P1s5t-AdBBhNDeBn4EcagB1UUvbZem0yzWW_TbxXGPLuwM2xgSUg_3BbXRgfG_lvSw0oqPw0ZsS-hKfeT7MSSe4al0TwUUgCiLnA7tLcsSfJPobGnmXzOqiiv/s200/All-Workers-Deserve-Respect_small.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>‘Tis the season for strikes at Walmart and workers worldwide are catching the spirit. On the heels of increasing strike activity this month, workers are gearing up for <a href="http://blackfridayprotests.org/" rel="nofollow">Black Friday protests</a> with a <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org/news/walmart-week-global-action-18-24-november" rel="nofollow">global week of action against Walmart</a>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.uniglobalunion.org/" rel="nofollow">UNI Global Union</a> – an international federation of 900 unions in 140 countries – has put out the call for global protests demanding respect and good jobs throughout Walmart’s supply chain:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Workers around the world will come together November 18-24 for a global week of action… Workers and their unions in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and the United States are joining together to demand better pay and working conditions for the 2.2 million Walmart workers and countless supply chain workers. </blockquote>UNI <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/groups/walmart-global-campaign/files/1085/download" rel="nofollow">passed a resolution</a> last month in support of the Walmart campaign, creating the UNI Alliance @ Walmart. Its demands include that Walmart allow workers to organize without fear of retaliation and pay workers a living wage with decent working conditions.<br /><br />The global union wants Walmart to sign a “<a href="http://www.unglobalcompact.org/issues/Labour/Global_Framework_Agreements.html" rel="nofollow">Global Framework Agreement</a>” with UNI that guarantees the rights of Walmart workers around the globe. It’s also calling on Walmart to sign the <a href="http://www.bangladeshaccord.org/" rel="nofollow">Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh</a> and to compensate the victims of factory disasters at <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/05/investors-to-wal-mart-gap-no-more.html">Tazreen, Rana Plaza</a> and Aswad – three factories (or “<a href="http://usas.org/2013/10/16/we-need-a-contract-to-end-deathtraps-in-bangladesh/" rel="nofollow">death traps</a>”) that produced apparel for Walmart stores.<br /><br />According to UNI: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Walmart must pay its 2.2 million global workforce plus countless supply chain workers a fair wage and treat them with dignity. Workers and union members within the UNI Walmart Global Union Alliance will be taking their legitimate grievances to the street, demanding that the Walton family which controls Walmart finally wakes up and changes the company’s culture.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">As part of the Global Action Week a petition and letter are being sent to the Walmart board cataloging a culture of unfair scheduling, low wages and retaliation against employees who have the temerity to speak out.</blockquote>The Walmart Week of Global Action is the latest in a wave of low-wage worker strikes crashing Walmart’s busiest shopping season. The past few weeks have seen strikes in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Dayton and Cincinnati.<br /><br />Yesterday <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/port-drivers-who-haul-for-walmart-strike-in-la-with-Teamster-support.html">port drivers who haul Walmart goods launched a 36-hour strike</a> in California to protest Unfair Labor Practices, including port companies’ payroll fraud by calling drivers “independent contractors.” The drivers have been joined by <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/LA-warehouse-workers-describe-horrifying-conditions-join-strike-line.html">workers at two warehouses that move Walmart products</a> where working condition are horrendous.<br /><br />Teamsters are standing strong with the port drivers and warehouse workers.<br /><br />The momentum for change at Walmart is building steam beyond the streets, too. Walmart is being <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/walmart-to-be-charged-by-nlrb-for-illegally-retaliation.html">charged by the NLRB</a> with illegally retaliating against 117 workers. Plus, Walmart is getting slammed in the media with reports about an employee <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/11/walmart-holding-food-drive-for-its-own-employees.html">food drive in Ohio to help “Associates in Need”</a> buy Thanksgiving dinner and a Demos report that says Walmart <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/19/wal_mart_could_pay_every_us_employee_14_89_just_by_not_buying_its_own_stock/" rel="nofollow">could afford to pay all of its U.S. employees $14.89</a> an hour if it stopped buying its own stock.<br /><br />With Black Friday on the horizon, now is the time to get involved and support Walmart workers. And while you’re protesting on Black Friday (click <a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/teamsters-support-walmart-strikers">here</a> to find an action near you), don’t forget to support the international campaign for fairness at Walmart by <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/groups/walmart-global-campaign/files/1084/download" rel="nofollow">sending a copy of the UNI letter to Walmart’s HQ</a> and <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/walmart-workers-around-the-world-demand-respect" rel="nofollow">signing the online petition</a> to support Walmart workers worldwide.<br /><br />The globalization of Walmart labor unrest is welcome news for workers in the U.S. We need nothing less than a global movement of workers to take on a global giant like Walmart.

garment factories low wage workers misclassification port strike port truck drivers retail walmart warehouse workers This week: Walmart protests go global

‘Tis the season for strikes at Walmart and workers worldwide are catching the spirit. On the heels of increasing strike activity this month, workers are gearing up for Black Friday protests with a global week of action against Walmart.The UNI Global …

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Port truck drivers get paychecks for $0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf55QEYY1eh9BR8Rzr0UIh-lJ7b_Lfv83E8wI-NBsfagXuCK0RwZD3fPUyiXqNcMRCnr2DNTW9f4e-BIh2kXcyvkCdO3wRzhbij7oL5ho-eO-h9RvvxAcuO2uEI44e1al6VJDIeUVPIoV/s1600/misclass+paystub+TTSI+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf55QEYY1eh9BR8Rzr0UIh-lJ7b_Lfv83E8wI-NBsfagXuCK0RwZD3fPUyiXqNcMRCnr2DNTW9f4e-BIh2kXcyvkCdO3wRzhbij7oL5ho-eO-h9RvvxAcuO2uEI44e1al6VJDIeUVPIoV/s400/misclass+paystub+TTSI+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Take a look at the paycheck of this port truck driver. He worked 32 hours for a net pay of zero. He actually owed his employer $196.30 for the “privilege” of working!<br /><br />The wages of port drivers all over the country are being systematically stolen through employer scams that boost company profits.<br /><br />They aren't the only ones. Josh Eidelson at <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/i_worked_all_week_for_free_the_horrifying_true_story_of_0_paychecks/" rel="nofollow">Salon</a> posted a story, "I worked all week for free?!: The horrifying, true story of $0 paychecks." He writes,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">...guest workers employed by Mister Clean Laundry and Cleaning Services filed a federal complaint and went on strike Aug. 19. “We were scared,” said striker Shellion Parris, but “we knew in the back of our heads that we need to do this, we have to do this.” </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Photos provided to Salon by the <a href="http://www.guestworkeralliance.org/" rel="nofollow">National Guestworker Alliance</a>, the group behind the work stoppage, show checks reading “No Dollars and No Cents,” and a page dated June 25 warning guest workers on H-2B visas that, “Any worker who does not show up for your assignment will be immediately removed from Mister Clean Housing and will be reported as AWOL (Absent Without Leave) to ICE (Immigration Custom Enforcement).” The statement, which was in all-caps, continued, “You will then be escorted to pick up your plane ticket and go back to Jamaica. You will have an ICE and Okaloosa County Sheriff Department Escort.” Workers say that warning arrived stapled to their checks. Mister Clean did not respond to a request for comment.</blockquote>Here's how most port trucking companies rip off their workers: The vast majority misclassify drivers as “independent contractors,” though they work the same way as employee drivers. Why? To eliminate the cost of having employees (payroll taxes, health insurance, vacations, retirement benefits, disability insurance), and to eliminate the cost of running a trucking business (truck leases, insurance, maintenance)!<br /><br />With the help of the <a href="http://teamster.org/" rel="nofollow">Teamsters</a>, drivers at ports around the country are fighting back. In California alone, nearly 10 percent of truck drivers serving the <a href="http://www.portoflosangeles.org/" rel="nofollow">Ports of Los Angeles</a> and <a href="http://www.polb.com/" rel="nofollow">Long Beach</a> filed claims with the <a href="http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/" rel="nofollow">California Labor Commissioner</a>. Industry liability could reach $100 million in stolen wages.<br /><div><br /></div>

misclassification port truck drivers wage theft Port truck drivers get paychecks for $0

Take a look at the paycheck of this port truck driver. He worked 32 hours for a net pay of zero. He actually owed his employer $196.30 for the “privilege” of working!The wages of port drivers all over the country are being systematically stolen throu…

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Walmart workers to strike in 15 cities tomorrow

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIr_LUtNeDF5EhqZekWEY7Zj6FL6zJXrnOok0o7_x-29EOzkS8o2MWKKRQsEgTmAcnx2GgboryAjSip4xoMMmKUCqp7_bxCuIGw8ugCO4q6__Kuy7xesee5TXQdMf6QLgOELCCtcFuzFT/s1600/walmart+real+wage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIr_LUtNeDF5EhqZekWEY7Zj6FL6zJXrnOok0o7_x-29EOzkS8o2MWKKRQsEgTmAcnx2GgboryAjSip4xoMMmKUCqp7_bxCuIGw8ugCO4q6__Kuy7xesee5TXQdMf6QLgOELCCtcFuzFT/s320/walmart+real+wage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Tomorrow is shaping up to be another big day of action among low-wage workers as Walmart employees prepare to mount widespread protests and walkouts. <a href="http://forrespect.org/" rel="nofollow">OUR Walmart</a> organizers are hoping the day of action will be the biggest since last year's <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2012/11/wal-mart-strikes-in-100-cities-46-states.html" rel="nofollow">Black Friday strike</a>. <br /><br />Josh Eidelson at <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/175995/protesting-activists-firings-walmart-workers-plan-biggest-mobilization-black-friday#"><em>The Nation</em> reports</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">This week’s rallies follow an August 22 civil disobedience action at which the campaign announced a Labor Day deadline for Walmart to raise its wages to at least $25,000 per year, and reverse the terminations of twenty workers who participated in a June strike.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Thursday’s actions will include a march through downtown Los Angeles to the site of a proposed Walmart in Chinatown, and a demonstration in Washington, DC, where all sides are awaiting word on whether Mayor Vince Gray will veto a bill (passed by City Council in July but formally sent to his desk last Friday) that would require “large retailers” like Walmart to pay employees at least $12.50 in total hourly compensation. Thursday actions are also planned for cities in the East, West, South and Midwest: Baton Rouge, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle.</blockquote>Walmart protests tomorrow follow strikes last week involving low-wage workers in the <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/LA-port-drivers-strike.html">port trucking</a> and <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/fast-food-strike-sweeps-naton.html">fast-food industries</a>. Walmart workers are fighting back against management retaliation against OUR Walmart supporters, and they are part of a growing movement to raise wages and standards for America's growing population that is trying to survive on poverty wages.<br /><br />Eidelson adds:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Thursday’s rallies will have the largest total turnout by Walmart employees, and the biggest overall number of participants, of any Walmart mobilization since the one-day November 23 strike last year, in which organizers say 400-some workers walked off the job and thousands of supporters turned out to support them. Since then, organizers say hundreds of workers took part in collective confrontations with local management over scheduling on April 24, and over a hundred participated in the longer June work stoppage, which included a week of protests in and around Walmart’s Arkansas hometown. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The OUR Walmart campaign has asked the <a href="http://nlrb.gov/" rel="nofollow">National Labor Relations Board</a>, whose pace and penalties labor has long charged are insufficient for protecting workers, to seek an injunction to more quickly address Walmart’s recent alleged retaliation.</blockquote>Last week, <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/08/la-port-strike-ends-with-return-to-work.html" rel="nofollow">port truck drivers staged a historic one-day strike</a> in their drive to become Teamsters and raise standards at the Port of Los Angeles. <br /><br />While corporations in retail and other low-paying industries are rolling in record profits, low-wage workers represent the fastest-growing segment of American workers and the country's expanding income gap. <br /><br /><a href="http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/" rel="nofollow">Making Change at Walmart</a> wrote in a <a href="http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/2013/09/03/walmart-workers-supporters-plan-for-largest-mobilization-since-black-friday/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=walmart-workers-supporters-plan-for-largest-mobilization-since-black-friday" rel="nofollow">statement</a> yesterday:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Economists, labor market experts and others have been increasingly voicing concern about the growing income inequality and its impact on the economy. Walmart, the largest company on the Fortune 500 list, made $16 billion in profit last year, and the majority of owners of the company, the Waltons, have the combined wealth of nearly half of American families. Meanwhile, many Walmart workers continue to earn on average poverty wages of $8.81 an hour.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Rather than providing good jobs that American workers need and deserve, Walmart is trying to silence workers who are standing up with their co-workers to live better and spending its time and money trying to deny workers a decent day’s pay. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Since June, Walmart has illegally disciplined nearly 80 workers, including firing 20 worker-leaders. More than 100 Unfair Labor Practice charges have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Walmart.  </blockquote>Not only do Walmart and other low-wage workers represent a growing part of the labor force, they represent a huge upsurge of collective action against corporate greed and the fight to save the middle class.<br /><br />Teamsters and supporters everywhere are encouraged to stand in solidarity with Walmart workers tomorrow. Visit the <a href="http://corporateactionnetwork.org/campaigns/stand-with-the-walmart-60" rel="nofollow">Corporate Action Network</a> website to find a protest in your area.<br /><br />SOLIDARITY!

fast food strike low wage workers our walmart port truck drivers Wal-Mart walmart strikers Walmart workers to strike in 15 cities tomorrow

Tomorrow is shaping up to be another big day of action among low-wage workers as Walmart employees prepare to mount widespread protests and walkouts. OUR Walmart organizers are hoping the day of action will be the biggest since last year's Black Frid…

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Port drivers fighting abusive employers all over the US

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgxAejC7jNQtwgWGkjCudl0ktonkfAv69AnHLQKHMvQr4OeFv2n0VjrOiHpZFOBDIR7OOIx6tTLLQESsE389SfWfS4Br1Rs2DZoo_k32dFj9Z0wmnqmGNOEEWprveweY14P1ljXE45263/s1600/GFS+Committtee-Teamster+truck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgxAejC7jNQtwgWGkjCudl0ktonkfAv69AnHLQKHMvQr4OeFv2n0VjrOiHpZFOBDIR7OOIx6tTLLQESsE389SfWfS4Br1Rs2DZoo_k32dFj9Z0wmnqmGNOEEWprveweY14P1ljXE45263/s400/GFS+Committtee-Teamster+truck.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Fleet port truck drivers are ready to rally tomorrow</td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1395542780671801/" rel="nofollow">Tomorrow's large rally</a> to support abused truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles comes at a time when port workers are rising up everywhere against injustice.<br /><br />Hundreds are expected to gather at a Carson, Calif., warehouse tomorrow to stand with port truck drivers who are harassed and intimidated by Green Fleet Systems because they want to form a union.<br /><br />The company has hired union busters to frighten workers away from union organizers, adding to an already toxic work environment. Green Fleet driver Ramon Guadamuz said he has been forced to work when he was sick with fever. "They didn’t even let me go to my son’s high school graduation even though I had requested that time off,” he said.<br /><br />In Savannah, port truck drivers are speaking out against the<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/300-learn-how-to-cheat-worker-at.html" rel="nofollow"> theft of their wages</a>. In Hazlet, N.J., port truck drivers at Australia-based Toll Group<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/07/woo-hoo-another-teamster-organizing.html" rel="nofollow"> voted to join the Teamsters</a> in June, and will meet soon to negotiate a contract. They were inspired by the port truck drivers in Los Angeles who<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/01/amazing-teamster-contract-sending-wave.html" rel="nofollow"> joined the Teamsters</a> last year. In January, those drivers ratified an amazing contract that gives them a $6-an-hour raise, a pension, affordable health care, job security and clean restrooms.<br /><br />California port truck drivers are filing class action suits against wage theft. At least five trucking companies had charges filed against them for labor law violations by Jerry Brown, the current governor of California, in his last role as California attorney general.<br /><br />As of last year, California is one of 14 states actively partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s <a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/workers/misclassification/">Misclassification Initiative</a> to tamp down on worker abuse. Through this initiative, over <a href="http://blog.capital.org/tag/misclassification-initiative/">$9.5 million has been collected in back wages for more than 11,400 workers</a>.<br />Brothers Jose A. and Jose I. Estrada filed a lawsuit in May against Harbor Express Inc., one of the largest Southern California trucking companies, for wage theft and other basic violations after being classified as independent contractors.  Over 400 other port drivers could be affected by the outcome of the suit. Said Jose A. Estrada,<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">We filed this claim because we’re tired of being taken advantage of. They don't pay us a penny for the time we wait at the port.  I live paycheck to paycheck.</blockquote>Instead of being paid by the hour like normal employees, they are given a small lump sum for their work, which is often lower than minimum wage.<br /><br />Although the brothers have driven Harbor Express company trucks exclusively for years, Horizon Express refuses to acknowledge them as employees.  Jose I. Estrada was disabled after an accident at work and may never be able to work again.  As he was hired as an independent contractor, Harbor Express does not have to provide any worker compensation.<br /><br />As a result of trucking deregulation in the 1980’s, <a href="http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/Port%20Trucking%20Down%20the%20Low%20Road.pdf">an estimated 90 percent of port drivers at the Southern California ports are now illegally misclassified workers.</a><br /><br />

misclassification port truck drivers wage theft Port drivers fighting abusive employers all over the US

Green Fleet port truck drivers are ready to rally tomorrowTomorrow's large rally to support abused truck drivers at the Port of Los Angeles comes at a time when port workers are rising up everywhere against injustice.Hundreds are expected to gather a…

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