Activist 37
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Issue 37 November 2012
US WalMart Strikes Inspire Workers Around the World
Readers of the Activist will no doubt have been inspired by the news from the United States that workers for WalMart, the biggest retail company in that country and notorious anti-union employer, have recently engaged in successful campaigning and strike action against low pay and poor working practices. Below we present two articles, one, written by a supporter of the Activist, gives a brief overview of the first strikes and draws some lessons for USDAW members. The second, taken from the website of Socialist Alternative, the US sister party of the Socialist Party, reports on victory of warehouse workers and the next steps for the movement there.
march to draw attention to their working conditions (which include working in 120 degree farenheit temperatures). The strike was organised around a series of clear demands put forward by UFCWs Making Change at Walmart (which includes OUR Walmart). These include a minimum pay for Walmart employees of $25,000 a year (around 15,500 a year), compared to the $15,500 the average fulltime worker gets currently.
Walmart adopted a strategy of mobilising its members into active campaigning through a variety of campaign strategies from petitioning to protests, building towards industrial action. This also, makes a mockery of the ideas of some that retail workers will not take industrial action. This brings home all the points that the Activist has raised in opposition to the partnership approach of the USDAW leadership around John Hannett. Bold action to defend USDAW members interests can bring un-organised workers into our union.
US WalMart Workers Strike Against Bullying Bosses
On Thursday 4th October, US retail workers made history when they went on strike in several Walmart stores in Florida. Around 60 morning-shift workers picketed the Pico Rivera store, whilst other workers from later shifts and 9 other stores in the Los Angeles area joined them later. The strike was organised by Organisation United for Respect at OUR Walmart (OUR Walmart), which is backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and follows a several thousand strong march in Los Angeles a few months earlier and a fifteen day strike by Walmart warehouse workers in Florida, which included a six-day
It also includes demands around quality, affordable health care and Walmarts signature on a global union agreement to recognize workers right WalMart Workers to organise amongst others. OUR Taking Action Against Walmart has also raised the demand the Corporate Giant that full time jobs are made available to all that want them to current the Many workers and activists have been trend towards cutting workers hours excited by the recent reports of that many UK retail workers will walkouts and strikes against Walmart. unfortunately be familiar with. For years unions have tried to organize workers in this notoriously These events show that there should antiunion corporation. Walmart be no no-go industries for the trade employs over 1.4 million people in the union movement, industrial action can U.S. and many earn so little that they be organised in even the most bitter have to rely on food stamps and other anti-union employers with the most government assistance. downtrodden employees. OUR
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Activists want to know if the strikes at warehouses in California and Illinois and walkouts at retails stores in multiple states mark a turning point, or merely a ramping-up of the UFCW's public relations campaigns against the $400 billion retail giant? at organizing massive inland container ports - the Californian "Inland Empire"in the San Bernadino Valley and the giant warehouse complexes in and around Chicago which by some estimates is the world's biggest inland container port, built with public funds to take advantage of the existing The warehouse strikes were launched confluence of road, rail and water by two separate campaigns, the one in transportation in the center of the Illinois led by Warehouse Workers for continent - and handling almost a Justice (WWJ) with organizing staff trillion dollars of goods every year. from UE - the independent, Left-wing http://www.warehouseworker.org/ union that successfully occupied industry.html Republic Windows in December 2008 - and the California Warehouse Ongoing Campaign Workers United which is sponsored by the SEIU and UFCW. The United Food and Commercial Workers union or UFCW has been In these warehouse strikes, trying to organize WalMart stores "permanent temps" employed through since at least 1999. The only employment agencies (rather than successful NLRB campaign in the US, WalMart "associates" who are in which meat cutters at a store in subjected to an intensively anti-union Texas voted to join the union, was met regime, complete with token company by WalMart closing all meat cutting shares and an imposed rah-rah operations at its US stores. culture) were fighting back on behalf of workers who were fired for filing A handful of election wins in Canada, wage-theft claims. Having stepped to where labor laws are less anti-union the front of the struggle the warehouse than in the US, have been confronted workers then marched to take their with store closures and also in several message to company HQ in Benton, cases, decertification elections after Arkansas and to the retail stores, the union failed to win a first contract. dozens of which have now seen walkouts. The Elwood, Illinois All of the big-box stores in the U.S. are campaign was a smash success, with anti-union. Target, Home Depot, all employees returned to work after Menards, Walmart and Costco 21 days with back pay for the period (Costco, whose CEO was greeted as they were on strike. This is a sharp a savior at the Democratic Party victory which needs to be publicized convention!) try to brainwash far and wide. employees with anti-union videos as a condition of employment and require The warehouse organizing campaigns managers to report anyone who they are of vital importance. In both cases suspect of pro-union sympathies. This these well-planned actions are aimed can reach such ludicrous extremes as supervisors being told to try to prevent employees from socializing off the job or even from learning each others' last names or friending each other on social media. WalMart was targeted by the UFCW and other unions because it's by far the biggest and fastest-growing, with more than 1.4 million workers in the US and profits so fabulous that the Walton family owns assets worth more than 42% of the rest of the inhabitants of the USA. WalMart has the most aggressive cost -cutting practices, subjecting workers to dangerous and discriminatory working conditions and pay and benefits so low that Human Resource staff routinely send workers to apply for public benefits - a taxpayer-funded subsidy for low pay and unaffordable medical benefits. (WalMart supported the passage of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare). The UFCW began its campaign when it saw that grocery chains like Safeway and Albertsons with whom it has existing contracts were threatened by competition from WalMart. Those companies' response to this competition was to demand concessions from their employees and this led to the initial organizing drives. When organizing was stymied by WalMart's highly sophisticated antiunion methods, the UFCW resorted to a series of campaigns that aim to enlist small businesses, environmentalists and organizations of women and people of color to paint WalMart as a bad corporate citizen and try to keep it out of urban markets. The problem with this approach has always been that it relies on people who don't work at WalMart to do the job. It is in effect a popular front, in which the feelings and agendas of small businesses and middle-class pressure groups, as well as the union's existing relationships with other employers, were given more consideration than the needs of the employees themselves. Following internal struggles within the UFCW, in which more militant tactics were given a boost by successes in Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / usdawactivist@gmail.com / Facebook: Usdaw Activist
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the meat-packing field as well as elsewhere in the retail supply chain, the "OUR Walmart" group, an association rather than a union, which any employee can join for $5 a month, was launched as a counter to this problem and as a way for retail associates to gain a voice and some ownership over future campaigns. OUR WalMart The OUR Walmart campaign differs from previous unionizing efforts in that it is not immediately trying to organize workers into UFCW. OUR Walmart works to ensure that every Associate, regardless of his or her title, age, race, or sex, is respected at Walmart. We join together to offer strength and support in addressing the challenges that arise in our stores and our company everyday. know and which they justly fear may be unable to effectively protect them from employer retaliation. OUR Walmart is also building international links. The Swiss-based organization UNI (http:// www.uniglobalunion.org) held a three day conference in Los Angeles on October 3rd to prepare to launch a Walmart Global Union Alliance. All of this has enormous implications for the future of union organizing. To quote Sarah Frances, an OUR Walmart organizer who was interviewed for this article:
Mailbag
Dont Mention October 20th I look forward to hearing the clank of the letterbox on the arrival of my copy of Network, our union Usdaws magazine. I am unfortunately unable to participate actively and so Network is my link to the union. Evidence documenting the attacks on our members by this vicious Con-Dem coalition is clearly shown. JJB Sports job cuts, attacks on employment tribunals, pensions, etc, etc. The magazine is full of the campaign to raise awareness of violence against our members, first introduced by the health and safety executive and is commendable. However, where is the unions support for the TUC led campaign against poverty and austerity? It is a disgrace that only ten words, hidden in the interview of TUC general secretary Frances OGrady, give publicity to the demonstrations in London, Glasgow and Belfast on 20 October. Usdaw general secretary John Hannett should hang his head in shame at this omission which creates a split between shop workers and other trade unionists in the private and public sector unions. Robbie Segal Living Wage Needed Urgently A new report by accountants KPMG has shown that over 5 million people in the UK earn less than a living wage (although other figures put it at 10 million). The most shocking facts are how concentrated this is in certain sections of industry with 90% of pub workers earning less than a living wage. Retail workers will be unsuprised to hear that we make up the largest group of workers not paid the living wage, some 780,000. All the more reason to back a campaign on this issue as the Activist has urged. Dave Ingham
"This coordination in organizing along the supply chain is especially notable, not only because it's against the world's largest (under)employer, but because it doesn't even bother to More organizing drives should take on conform to the archaic NLRB rules. this model or some of the ideas from NLRB rules are for unions prethis model. Unions in their essence are globalization, in this day and age organizations of workers banded where we have a GLOBAL 1% that is together for mutual respect and power exploiting us as a GLOBAL working against the boss. A union is only as class, we absolutely need to think on strong as the workers are united in that GLOBAL scale. We have to cut their resolve to fight the bosses. No out all the "who's in the bargaining union can guarantee any raises or unit? who's not?" and "Buy American" improvements in working conditions to and just ask ourselves plain and workers, it can only promise that simple, "who all needs to fold their workers, by forming a union, will have arms to influence production?". This the tools necessary to fight for what campaign answers that question by they need. reaching out to the entire supply chainfrom retail store employees across the Union organizers and supporters must US, to warehouse employees at the return to making these class-based major ports in CA and IL, and textile arguments for building unions. Union employees in Bangladesh". bureaucrats have buried these ideas as a threat to their status quo of Momentum is now building for actions negotiations and lobbying to form at WalMart stores on "Black Friday", unions. the day after Thanksgiving. WalMart is This gives to workers the impression a huge foe of organized labor. The that they are little more than a dues boycotts and publicity campaigns of unit, an idea reinforced in some the past thirteen years have not unions that then discourage any shop organized one single store. It is vitally floor organizing in favor of call centers to handle grievances and organizing. If important that the labor and pro-labor community supports their efforts to union organizing drives operate only organize with their coworkers. All of on the basis of promises of vote for the union and youll get higher wages organized labor should be prepared to and benefits oh and dues will be help shut down WalMart with mass minimal then working people will be picketing at both retail stores and forced to choose between the warehouses on November 23. employer they dont really trust, but who promises continued employment, versus the union which they dont
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Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW TUC Marches Success - Next Step, Co-ordinated Strikes Against Austerity
months ago. The reality of the cuts, combined with the experience of the previous year's struggle, has lead to a greater awareness of both the urgency of a fightback, and for it to go beyond demonstrating and onto the industrial plane. their hands. Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT and seconder of the motion to 'consider a general strike' that was passed at the recent TUC congress, got massive applause when he called for a 24-hour general strike (see video below).
The TUC demos on 20th October have passed of successful, with several hundred USDAW members taking part in a colourful contingent with several large banners and balloons helping the union stand out. However, the turnout from USDAW, the fourth biggest union in the country, could have been much bigger. The contingent was dwarfed by those of the much smaller RMT and PCS contingents. As a letter in this issue points out, the union didnt really campaign to get members to attend the marches. This was reflected in half-full coaches with only 14 on the USDAW coach from Yorkshire. Activists need to build links through Trades Council etc to strengthen links with other union activists fighting austerity, as well as putting pressure on the USDAW leadership to make sure were fighting with them too. Below we reprint a short report published the day after the demonstration by the Socialist Party. For more reports and analysis of the way forward see www.socialistparty.org.uk Workers travelled from across Britain to London today to express their fury at the Con-Dem government's vicious cuts in living standards. The Trades Union Congress (TUC), which organised this march against austerity, estimates that over 150,000 attended in London, along with tens of thousands in Glasgow and Belfast. The mood of the demonstrators was different to the previous TUC march 18
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, also called for While massive, this was coordination of strike action across the nonetheless a smaller trade union movement. demonstration than on 26 March 2011 - when over half a Huge support was received for the million took to the streets. campaign by the Socialist Party and the National Shop Stewards Network Without doubt, having experienced the (NSSN) to demand that the TUC name capitulation of the leadership of the a day for a 24-hour general strike and TUC in the battle against pensions, then launch a massive campaign to some workers stayed away because mobilise the working class behind this they doubted that this demonstration call. would be the launch pad for an escalation of the battle against the Con In contrast to the enthusiastic -Dems. reception given to leaders calling for general strike action, Labour leader Ed The many who attended, however, Miliband was booed by many in the came determined to make sure that it crowd when he talked about the need was more than a 'parade'. for any government to make cuts, including Labour. Len McCluskey, general secretary of the union Unite, got the overwhelming This demonstration opened a new endorsement of the crowd when he phase in the war against austerity, asked all those who supported the giving a glimpse of a more hardened organising of a general strike to raise and militant working class.
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TUC Marches Success Photos from the USDAW contingent in London
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We have entered into the period where branches can discuss propositions for ADM 2013. The Activist is keen to encourage to submission of a wide range of resolutions tackling the impact of austerity upon retail and distribution workers, as well as outlining a strategy for mass campaigning amongst our membership to fight such attacks. Below we list a few propositions that take up some of these issues.
Housing Benefit Cuts The coalition government's cuts to housing benefit have meant under 35s can now only claim for living in shared accomodation rather than their own housing. David Cameron has since announced he favours removing housing benefit from everyone under 25. Housing benefit is a vital support for those who find themselves out of work or unable to get enough hours to earn a decent income. To cut it threatens people losing their home as a double blow to being out of work. Whilst the government justifies this saying that welfare spending is too high, money from housing benefit goes to pay rent, and therefore the real beneficiaries are landlords who can charge ever larger rents. Therefore this ADM agrees to oppose cuts to housing benefit, and instead support the introduction of caps on rent at affordable rates. NHS Cuts & Privatisation An estimated 21 NHS trusts across the country now have unsustainable debts as a result of PFI scheme repayments and socalled efficiency savings. This crisis is being used as an opportunity to carry out widespread privatisation of the NHS by the Con-Dem government, as a way of helping their private sector backers secure another source for enriching their wealth. The privatisation of the NHS would likely see a two-tier health system emerge Therefore this ADM restates its opposition to privatisation of the health service and calls for the NHS to be publicly owned, democratically run and fully funded. It also supports Labour groups on local councils calling in, for scrutiny, cuts and privatisation in local health services. inciting violence! Vadim Kuramshim, a prisoners rights campaigner was put on trial after he began an investigation of corruption within the Kazakh justice system, himself accused of corruption! Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan was relected after a rigged election in early 2012, has recently had himself declared 'leader of the nation'. Amongst the advisors to the Kazakh regime have been Alastair Campbell and Tony Blair (who allegedly recieved 10m for his Minimum wage services). Over the last few years Campaign This year the Low Pay Commission Kazakhstan has been set up to recommended no increase in the organise solidarity with workers minimum wage for those under 21. and social organisations in the Whilst USDAW has succesfully country. campigned to get companies such Therefore this ADM agrees to as Tesco, Co-op and Morrisons to support Campaign Kazakhstan. phase out lower youth rates of pay, this is not the case with the Living wage minimum wage which has 3 seperate age related rates. This ADM notes that the recent Differential age rates can Labour Party conference passed a encourage employers to hire resolution supporting the people on the lower rates and establishment of the living wage by undercuts the job security of those a future Labour government, which on higher rates. USDAW supported. Those under 21 do not get a With rising rents, utilities and other discount on their tax, rent, bills etc. costs of living, as well as cuts to for being under 21, so neither benefits and public services, should employers get a discount on USDAW members cant wait hiring them either. several years until such a wage is Therefore this ADM agrees to introduced, its needed now. campaign for a minimum wage An immediate campaign could with no age distinctions of at least attract huge support from the the European decency threshold. around 2 million retail workers not in a union. Kazakhstan A well publicised campaign would be necessary that could involve all Over the past year numerous trade forms of campaign action, including union activists and their supporters public rallies for a living wage and have faced vigorous repression for lobbies of MPs. standing up for their rights. Therefore this ADM supports the Workers on strike for a decent launching of a campaign for a wage in the Mangistau region were living wage for all retail workers. massacred by government troops and their leaders put on trial for
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Tesco drivers strike in Doncaster against shameful treatment
Nearly 200 Tesco drivers in Doncaster were transferred over to Eddie Stobart's Logistics (ESL) firm in August and immediately lost their pension scheme and other benefits. That is bad enough, but within one month of the transfer the drivers were all given three months notice, with no promise that they will be reemployed once the 90 days is up. Some of these workers have been driving for Tesco for twenty years but have been shown none of the loyalty that they gave to their employer. Tesco is the most profitable supermarket in Britain and made 3.8 billion profit last year. Its highest paid executive was paid over 1.6 million.
The strike will be well supported by the residents of Doncaster, a once Unite, their union, fully supports the proud industrial town. The local strike and has provided a mobile Tesco shops will be leafleted throughout the strike and I'm sure After the drivers voted by 91.7% to canteen for its duration. will see many local shoppers 8.3% for strike action they have The pickets are in a very angry but refusing to go in. gone on a 48-hour strike, which hopeful mood; there were a lot of This is just one more example of the naked greed of the capitalist bosses who show no respect to nor regard for the workers who actually create their profits. The 200 drivers who are being treated so shamefully deserve better but the system that is built on the exploitation of workers will continue to grind us down until we make a stand. The national TUC march on 20th October in London needs to be a launch pad for a 24-hour general strike to get rid of this hated government. Mary Jackson, Doncaster Socialist Party
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started at 12.05 am on Tuesday 9th October, and there is a picket outside the distribution depot for the full 48 hours.