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News and Updates
Industry News
May 8, 2012
Market Basket Enforcement Shows OSHA is on the Right Track
WASHINGTON – The almost $600,000 settlement announced Monday between the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and DeMoulas Super Markets Inc., commonly known as Market Basket, is a step forward for the safety of retail workers everywhere. The settlement requires safety fixes at all of the companys more than 60 stores across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, along with real safety programs for workers going forward.
Its critical that OSHA continues to take company-wide actions like these to protect workers, said Jackie Nowell, Director of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Occupational Safety and Health Office. Rather than addressing problems with employers like Market Basket piecemeal and leaving workers at risk OSHA can make real changes to systematic problems that occur across an entire company.
The enforcement action came after repeat safety violations by the company including two serious injuries to Market Basket workers in almost-identical falls from unguarded storage areas in two different stores. Workers at Market Basket dont have a union at their work, making it harder to stand up for safer stores.
This new enforcement program clearly shows that when OSHA finally gets tough with bad-actor employers, workers get better protection far faster than waiting on empty promises by corporate executives to comply with our basic safety laws, said Nowell. We hope the Obama Administration will continue using these new tools to give all workers especially the many retail workers who dont yet have a union a safe place to work.
May 7, 2012
UFCW PRESIDENT COMMENDS DNCC FOR RETURNING WALMART GIFT CARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C. Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement commending the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) for returning $50,000 in Walmart gift cards.
I commend the DNCC for doing the right thing. The allegations of bribery and corruption against Walmart are serious and there is no way to know whether these contributions are tainted. Furthermore, Walmart has a long track record of mistreating their workers, discriminating on the basis of gender, trampling on the right to organize, and fostering a race to the bottom in the retail industry that is bad for the middle class and our entire nation. Walmart is also a flagship member of the controversial right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has been linked to laws busting unions and weakening voting rights. Simply put, this is a company whose conduct flies in the face of the values we stand for as Democrats. I hope the DNCCs decision to return these gift cards signals the beginning of the end of the Democratic Partys relationship with Walmart.
April 25, 2012
Statement by UFCW International President Joe Hansen Calling for Walmart CEO and Board Chair Resignations
(Washington, D.C.) – Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and Chair of Change to Win, today released the following statement to join Walmart associates in the demand for leadership changes at the retail giant.The corruption scandal and reported cover-up exposed an unacceptable failure of leadership within Walmart. Walmart Chairman Rob Walton and CEO Mike Duke must resign immediately in an effort to restore integrity and accountability for Walmart associates, shareholders, customers, and communities. The New York Times exposed a widespread pattern of Walmart executives bribing government officials to secure permits to build stores in Mexico, followed by a cover-up led by corporate leaders including Duke and Walton. The article raises serious questions about whether Walmart has used the same tactics for its expansion in the United States and across the globe. For decades, Walmart has pursued a growth-at-any-cost strategy in cities and towns across the United States and globally. In the U.S., we have watched Walmart secure the building permits, variances, and zoning changes to open its stores, in spite of concerted community opposition.The public deserves a wholly independent and thorough investigation of Walmarts practices. Communities across the globe should take heed of Walmarts reported unlawful and unethical practices in Mexico, as the company works at a rapid pace to in expand its retail stores in South Africa, India, and China, to name a few, in addition to its global supply chain operations.
April 23, 2012
Statement by UFCW International President Joe Hansen on Walmart
(Washington, D.C.) – Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and Chair of Change to Win, today released the following statement in response to the New York Times expose of Walmarts corruption and purported cover-up by senior company officials.
The New York Times story about the Walmart Mexico corruption scandal and reported cover-up exposes serious violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and demands an immediate and thorough investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Walmart senior management exposed its lack of corporate morality and internal ethics to workers, shareholders, consumers and community members.
Walmart has spent millions of dollars to rehabilitate its image and buy the support of key allies in an effort to break into new markets while making promises about the benefits of its business model. But by pursuing a relentless strategy in the U.S. and abroad of growth at any cost in pursuit of profits, Walmarts senior management has proven that it is willing to trample on worker rights, discriminate against women, damage small businesses and the environment, and now potentially violate laws in the U.S., Mexico and other countries.
The reported cover-up by Walmart executives at the highest levels exposes a core truth: Walmart cannot be taken at its word. A Department of Justice investigation into foreign bribery is an urgently needed first step. Congress should immediately convene hearings to examine whether Walmart is using these unethical business practices in their U.S. operations.</p
April 20, 2012
UFCW APPLAUDS USDA FOR EXTENDING COMMENT PERIOD ON POULTRY INSPECTION RULE
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), released the following statement regarding the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to extend the comment period on its proposed poultry inspection rule.
“The UFCW applauds Secretary Tom Vilsack’s decision to extend the comment period on USDA’s proposed poultry inspection rule in order to further study its impact on worker safety. We have said all along that this rule should be halted until it is proven that increased line speeds are safe for workers. The UFCW will use this 30-day extension to work directly with USDA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Obama Administration to determine a course of action to study the probable effects of increased line speeds on worker health and safety. Today is a victory for all poultry workers who can rest assured that their safety on the job is being taken seriously.”
April 17, 2012
Concerned over Walmart’s performance, shareholder associates file new resolution on executive pay
Concerned over the consistent underperformance of Walmart, four Walmart Associates who are shareholders have filed a resolution that will be voted on by all shareholders calling on the Wal-Mart board to review executive performance pay goals to ensure they are not creating incentives that undermine shareholder value. Today Wal-Mart Stores, Inc released its annual proxy statement to investors disclosing the annual salary paid to senior executives. According to the filing CEO Mike Duke was paid $18.1million, a slight decrease from the $18.7 million he was paid last year. Duke’s incentive compensation is largely tied to Walmart’s Return on Investment (ROI), which has been declining over the past several years. His 2012 payout would have been smaller last year had the board not lowered the target ROI, the fifth consecutive year it has done so.
Walmart shares have underperformed those of other retailers. For the three-year period ending April 12 2012, the S&P 500 Retailing index was up over 88%, while the price of Walmart shares had grown by less than 17%. Critical indicators such as same-store sales have also lagged behind other retailers, while ROI has declined for 5 years in a row. In 2011, after growing market share consistently since its founding in the 1960s, Walmart lost market share in the US for the second year in a row.
Concerns about executive pay at Walmart were raised last year when The New York Times reported that the company’s compensation committee had altered performance metrics used to award long-term incentive compensation. Specifically, by removing same-store sales from executives’ bonus formula and replacing that metric with total sales growth, The Times stated Walmart was “shifting the goal posts” on compensation policy, resulting in higher pay for CEO Mike Duke.
Shareholders will have an opportunity to weigh in on executive pay at the company this year when they cast their ballots on a new proposal which calls on the Walmart board to review executive performance pay goals to ensure they are not creating incentives that undermine shareholder value.
Mary Tifft, a 24-year Walmart employee in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and one of the shareholders who petitioned to place Proposal #6 on the ballot, said she hoped the proposal would bring more scrutiny to executive pay at Walmart. Tifft started buying Walmart shares through the company’s share purchase program in 1992, and currently owns 1,008 shares of Walmart stock.
“I’ve been a Walmart shareholder for 20 years, and an associate for even longer,” said Tifft. “Walmart used to be a good company, one that I was proud to work for, but I’m afraid the company has lost its way. We think this proposal is an important step in getting the company back on track.”
Along with Tifft, Proposal #6 is co-sponsored by Jackie Goebel, Girshriela Green and Carlton Smith, all of whom are current Walmart associates, with, collectively, over 60 years of experience with the company.
Important disclosure: The UFCW and OUR Walmart have provided technical assistance to the four shareholder sponsors of Proposal #6, and we continue to support their efforts to campaign on its behalf.
April 11, 2012
UFCW OPPOSES BIG POULTRY-DRIVEN INSPECTION RULE
WASHINGTON, DC—The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) today announced its opposition to a Big Poultry-driven inspection process being considered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The proposed rule, which would increase the speed that birds are processed from 70-91 a minute to a maximum of 175 a minute, could put workers at poultry plants in increased danger.
“Increased line speeds means increased bottom lines for Big Poultry,” said Mark Laurtisen, UFCW International Vice President and Director of the Food Processing, Packing and Manufacturing Division. “For workers, it means more danger on the job.”
By increasing line speed so dramatically, workers will be at heightened risk of repetitive motion related injuries. In fact, a recent study by Wake Forest University showed that 59 percent of poultry workers had definite or possible carpal tunnel syndrome at current line speeds. Despite these alarming statistics, no comprehensive effort has been made to determine the impact this proposed system will have on the health and safety of workers.
“Quite frankly, it is no surprise that Big Poultry wants to rush this new system into operation,” Lauritsen said. “That’s why USDA—as the responsible regulator—must slow this process down until it can guarantee that workers are protected.”
The UFCW is calling on USDA to halt this rule until the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts comprehensive studies on the impact it would have on the health and safety of workers in poultry plants. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must then use that information to develop a standard that would adequately protect workers.
Many UFCW members have already submitted their opposition to USDA in advance of the April 26 comment deadline. The UFCW will continue its push for worker safety into the summer and beyond.
March 26, 2012
Retail Employees Work Towards a Better Economy and a Better Life
Today’s post is the first in what will be an ongoing series on the retail industry, its impact on our economy, and the opportunities and challenges its workers face.
A recent article in Good Magazine focused on telling the stories of workers in the service industry that anyone who works in the sector is all too familiar with. The piece is filled with examples of workers who are overworked, underpaid and do not have any job security or benefits. The fear of not being able to pay the bills, getting sick or getting fired at any moment is plaguing workers in an industry that will become the backbone of the American economy.
Retail jobs are growing, and they’re poised to become as important to the 21st Century American economy as manufacturing jobs once were. Yet, despite the growing demand of the service industry, retail jobs don’t always come with a path to the middle class, and instead leave workers struggling to meet their basic needs. If we want to have a middle class in America, it is crucial that millions of American retail workers have good jobs with solid work schedules, and a paycheck and benefits that pay the bills.
Make no mistake, retailers actively work to make these jobs “bad” jobs. Driven by the bottom line of profit, and emboldened by a struggling economy and a plethora of applicants, they’ve purposely created a broken system and negative working environment for workers. With the exception of a few responsible retailers whose workers have a union voice, most retail employers don’t pay a living wage. They depend on high turnover. They’re stingy with schedules in order to avoid paying overtime and providing benefits.
Retailers trap their workers in a cycle of inconsistent schedules and wages that leave them struggling to make ends meet and support their families. Many workers have to balance two or three different jobs at a time in order to make a 40 hour work week possible. The middle class cannot survive or prosper if its foundation of workers is scrambling between several jobs just to pay the bills or put food on the table.
Retailers and other service industry employers do this to send a clear message to workers: you don’t deserve good jobs. In surprising, stark contrast to the way we felt about manufacturing jobs, Americans are starting to believe retail jobs – the very foundation of our new economy – shouldn’t be decent, dependable, middle class jobs. Many workers are just grateful to have a job at all, and they expect low wages and benefits because it is part of the system that has been ingrained in them.
These workers will play a significant role in the American economy. It’s shocking to think about the consequences of a generation of workers whose primary job opportunities offer them no path to the middle class.
Many people see their retail jobs as temporary or as a stepping stone to other careers, so they don’t want to invest a lot in a position they believe will not serve them in the long run. But the fact is that many will end up staying in their service industry jobs because those will be the only opportunities available to them. That’s why retail workers need to unite and take action now to fight against the industry’s push to make retail jobs “bad jobs.”
Workers in retail can be empowered by coming together on the job, recognizing that they are a critical part of the national workforce, and demanding to share the success with profitable national and international retailers. Union workers at retailers like Macys, H&M, Modells, and Bloomingdales already know that having a union voice on the job means they’ll be compensated and treated in a way that reflects their hard work. They’re able to bargain the middle class wages and health care benefits they earn and deserve.
With a union on the job, empowered retail workers can bolster the growing service industry and re-create the modern middle class that workers had in the past, and what we certainly need now.
January 10, 2012
Is the meatpacking industry getting safer?
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle was published in 1906, sparking a public outcry around safety issues in the meatpacking industry. That’s how long the industry has been infamous for its hazardous working conditions.
The good news is, according to new reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), workplace safety in the meatpacking industry is steadily improving, with injury and illness rates for full-time workers on the decline.
The bad news is, in comparison to other industrial and manufacturing sectors, meatpacking and poultry processing are still among the most dangerous. Food manufacturing workers are twice as likely to experience injuries and illnesses than industrial and manufacturing workers as a whole. The meatpacking industry also ranks high for severe injury and illness cases – meaning those that cause workers to miss days at work or those that necessitate restricted work activities or even job transfers. Nationally, the poultry industry has the fifth-highest rate of worker illness across all industries.
Though progress has been made on worker safety in the meatpacking and poultry industries, we must understand what the numbers really mean, and make sure we are addressing issues that really make a difference in improving safety and health in these industries.
Some in the meat industry, like the trade association (read: lobbying outfit) American Meat Institute, are quick to highlight improvement using data that does not reflect the most dangerous jobs in the industry. That’s a slippery slope – and one that risks obscuring the truth on safety for the sake of profit-margin. The truth is, there is some doubt about the accuracy of the BLS numbers themselves. Studies conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conclude that both BLS and OSHA miss from 20 percent to as much as 50 percent of the nation’s workplace injuries. A number of factors can cause this kind of under-reporting: workers sometimes don’t report injuries because of fears surrounding their immigration status and retaliation by their employers; employers are motivated to under-count injuries in order to win safety awards, and managers are incentivized by low-injury bonuses; and finally, some employers have instituted programs requiring workers who report injuries or accidents to undergo drug testing – adding additional risk to reporting.
For all these reasons, we must not let a modest increase in overall workplace safety lull us into a false sense of security when it comes to the meatpacking and poultry processing industries. We must continue to strive for better and safer workplaces for all meatpacking and poultry processing workers – and for collective bargaining agreements as well as stronger regulations that make it safe for all workers to report hazards and injuries.
January 3, 2012
UFCW and Kroger Strengthen and Improve Pension Plans for Kroger Workers
Washington, D.C. – The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local unions and Kroger Company have announced today an agreement to improve and secure pension funds, or defined benefit pension plans, for over 170,000 retired and active Kroger workers. The pension plan, which will result from the merger of four plans, includes a ten-year review and will affect Kroger workers who are members of 14 UFCW local unions in 15 states, primarily in the Midwest and South.The combined plan will protect the current benefits of vested employees and enhance the benefits of new hires. The plan will also include automatic benefit increases as pay increases, with benefits proportionately pegged to salary levels, and will provide a more secure and stable pension fund in an unstable financial environment. The combined plan also includes a commitment by Kroger to pay off all of the unfunded liability in the markets covered by the 14 UFCW local unions. In a volatile financial environment, this plan represents a long term solution for a secure retirement for our hard working members who have chosen a career in the retail food industry, said UFCW International President Joseph T. Hansen. The UFCW is proud of our local union leaders and Kroger for working together toward an innovative solution for workers retirement security. Defined benefit pension plans are the most secure retirement system for workers. While many workers are forced to rely on their own investments, like 401 (k) plans, or have no retirement at all, UFCW members have retirement security through their pension benefits that provide for a monthly payment for their lifetime after they retire. Members of the 14 UFCW local unions are in the process of ratifying the new plan. Those members who have already met have overwhelmingly approved the proposal. More than 197,000 UFCW members work in Kroger stores across the country.