Walmart Workers Ask For Basic Rights, Walmart Calls Riot Police

reply to post by Svipdagr


Lol, so you're justifying Walmart's disregard for human rights by saying, "if you don't like it, get a new job?" Newsflash: Most people don't consider a career at Walmart a dream job; chances are if they could find better work, they wouldn't be working for Walmart. To say, "you can't have your cake and eat it too" is to say, "you can't work and expect to be treated as a human being, too." Maybe in China or India this line of thinking holds up, but America has a decent reputation (currently) in regards to human rights and working conditions.

This is an interesting story. I have only seen the one-sided reporting on it, but I have a few questions.

If it is a matter of safety issues, OSHA should be on this. Is Wal-Mart being allowed an exemption on OSHA standards and regulations?

As I understand it, this protest was led by and carried out by the workers, not a union and not as a union. If this is so, I applaud them and would cite this as a case why the world doesn't need unions. The people can collectively work together without being extorted for dues, union cronyism, or holding businesses hostage.

The scary aspect of this is the security. From what I have read, the pictures are not of law enforcement but private security. If so, isn't wearing something proclaiming yourself to be the police impersonating a police officer? Even if this protest occurred on private Wal-Mart property, if they are security, they cannot cuff and detain them. I also see either a sonic or microwave stand-off weapon. Are non-LEO/military allowed to purchase this? If so, can anyone purchase this?

I agree, that the conditions they are claiming to be forced to work under are wrong ethically and seemingly wrong legally. If so the case should be resolved quickly. However, if companies are allowed to force unsafe work despite OSHA regulation, then that is an issue that needs to be addressed.

I think that the issue with the security may be the most significant though.

they aren't police per say but rather Walmarts own well armed security force

But they're sporting "Police" on their uniforms.

If they are not actual Police, then they are impersonating Police...which is a crime.

Peace

If that private company is allowed to dress up in police uniform and use LRAD then I presume my window cleener, who is a private comany, can do the same ???

Yeah I worked for a remodel company and broke my foot and they #ed me over cause of various drug policies.

Wal mart is part of the evil #s on this planet whos only goal is to secure the future for themselves and their offspring.

Welcome to psycho mart may we #up you order?

Originally posted by Svipdagr
Simple Solution. Stop working there.....Im sure many other people would work in your stead. Treating people horribly is wrong, protesting sure....you'll get attention. But ask yourself this, they're obviously not willing to change, Why stay there?

We all know this will end with labor unions backing the protestors up, then the walmart will shut down and they'll all be screwed. Then there will be people who sue, and not win 1 cent. Decade later, someone will sue for some health or emotional trauma, and still not win 1 cent. Meanwhile the walmart is gone, and everybody loses their job.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Want to solve this problem, hold a meeting with the local walmart representative, don't block the business, have your labor union president come and meet the representative. Both parties will have to concede something to gain something. Maybe you'll get a little less pay, but having insurance, a discount and better working conditions might be worth it.

You can't get everything you want, or everyone would be a retired millionaire with butlers and maids, sipping pina coladas on your own tropical beach paradise.

You're reply is pathetic and an exact example of who should NOT be heard from.

It's very simple for you isn't it? Work and slave for the elite or starve for your principles and what is right as a human being.

Troll somewhere else or work for Wal-Mart and return here after a Month.



Any supporter of Wal-Mart is an enemy of the people.

reply to post by jude11


Then maybe they really are the police and the reporting is wrong?

Originally posted by Svipdagr



You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Want to solve this problem, hold a meeting with the local walmart representative, don't block the business, have your labor union president come and meet the representative. Both parties will have to concede something to gain something. Maybe you'll get a little less pay, but having insurance, a discount and better working conditions might be worth it.

It really helps to read the links provided.
Some of the warehouse employees did complain to the Walmart Representative and were FIRED.

They went on strike to protest unfair labor practices that include retaliation against workers, who brought concerns to management and demanded regular hours and a living wage. The workers were temporarily suspended when they went to management with these demands. Several of them were immediately fired.

edit on 1-10-2012 by olaru12 because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by Swills
reply to post by jude11

 

Then maybe they really are the police and the reporting is wrong?

Why else wear a Police uniform?

reply to post by jude11


I hear what you're saying but I wonder why that website reported them as a private? Take a look at that site, it's all about airing dirty laundry so why not get this right? Maybe these are off duty cops paid for by Walmart? Or they're actual riot police called in via 911. Grrr I want answers!

The 2nd pic in the OP you get a good close up shot of the police. On both arms near their shoulder, where a patch would be found, that area is covered up on every officer. Is that normal?

Originally posted by Svipdagr
Simple Solution. Stop working there.....Im sure many other people would work in your stead. Treating people horribly is wrong, protesting sure....you'll get attention. But ask yourself this, they're obviously not willing to change, Why stay there?

We all know this will end with labor unions backing the protestors up, then the walmart will shut down and they'll all be screwed. Then there will be people who sue, and not win 1 cent. Decade later, someone will sue for some health or emotional trauma, and still not win 1 cent. Meanwhile the walmart is gone, and everybody loses their job.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Want to solve this problem, hold a meeting with the local walmart representative, don't block the business, have your labor union president come and meet the representative. Both parties will have to concede something to gain something. Maybe you'll get a little less pay, but having insurance, a discount and better working conditions might be worth it.

You can't get everything you want, or everyone would be a retired millionaire with butlers and maids, sipping pina coladas on your own tropical beach paradise.

Were you actually born in this world?
Dont you realise it is NOT just for themselves these people are striking......
Deny ignorance

Originally posted by ldyserenity
Why didn't anyone make a formal complaint to OSHA?? That's the correct way to go about that if they did and nothing was done then they can protest but they need to take it to OSHA the protest. They didn't follow protocol for that.

Walmart probably pays off OSHA. I'll do some research into this, but I'm fairly convinced that they lobby and contribute to PACs to further their corporate agenda.

Originally posted by olaru12
reply to post by Swills

 

How does it feel to stare into the face of the future?

Corporate private police with the authority to arrest, detain and prosecute American citizens.

I there any doubt we live in a growing corporatacracy?

The Future?
Full circle into the past.

A contingent of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency arrived on the no. 29 morning train with orders to evict families that had been living at the Stone Mountain Coal Camp on the outskirts of town. The detectives carried out several evictions then dined at the Urias Hotel before walking to the depot to catch the five o'clock train back to Bluefield, West Virginia. Matewan Chief of Police Sid Hatfield had decided that enough was enough, and intervened on behalf of the evicted families.

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by Swills


I don't think you have any idea how easy you make it for someone to rip this whole story to shreds. Not only did your OP not contain 1 original word from YOU, your sources were so biased I don't know you even tried to pass this off as news. I'm trying to find one shred of fact in all this, but I just can't do it. And it all started with the very first picture you posted to help describe this story. Members of a teachers union? Sorry, I'm not seeing the relevance there. And if other workers in California are jumping on this bandwagon to boycott Wal Mart, or vice versa, all it shows me is how out of touch people are. That they'll take what an obviously spun headline says and run with it. God forbid anyone actually read a story with skepticism and ascertain facts on their own. We can't have that now can we?

The "logistics center" in question is owned by the Wal-Mart Corporation. They are, for all intents and purposes here, the landlord. They have many tenants within that building, Roadlink being one of them which is the actual company that most of those arrested worked for and the company that these workers have an issue with.

While the building is owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., all but two of the strikers are employed by Roadlink Workforce Solutions LLC, a Bethlehem, Pa.-based logistics firm hired by Wal-Mart, according to a spokeswoman for Warehouse Workers for Justice. Two workers are employed by another outsourcing firm.

They are not a subsidiary of Wal Mart. They are, if anything, independent contractors

www.glassdoor.com...

Of the 38 people arrested, 36 worked for Roadlink. 2 for another company. This is a union issue. Wal Mart does not have a union. I thought this was common knowledge. Apparently it's not. Also, this building is in a foreign trade zone.

Foreign trade zones are ports of entry to the United States where goods from overseas can arrive duty-free to be processed or incorporated in products before being sold in the U.S market or, in some cases, exported to foreign customers. The concept allows overseas producers to better compete with domestic industries, though import fees and taxes are paid on the material once it leaves the foreign trade zone for the U.S. market.

The below article describes the different uses for foreign trade zones, which is where this 1.6 million square foot logistics center is. It's relevant because it gives you a clearer picture of what's really going on with this story in Elwood.

bangordailynews.com...


www.chicagobusiness.com...

Even THAT ^ headline got it wrong by the wording. Technically, yes, it is a Wal Mart warehouse, but only in the sense that they own it. It's like if I had a property LLC based in Los Angelos and part of my property was a strip mall with 5 tenants in Omaha, then yes, that would be the LLC's property. And if you want to get really technical for the purpose of driving my point home, I "hired" the tenants to occupy my building, with payment in the form of the savings that they get from my "competitively priced" rent, so I could keep MY business, the LLC, running. But as the owner, I cannot realistically be held accountable for the business practices of my tenants. If for any other reason, I'm based 1,000 miles away. I can put in my contract with them that they need to abide by all applicable laws, but that's about as much as I can do. I'm their landlord, not their babysitter. Same here with Wal Mart.

Makes me wonder though, what if any other company owned that building.....ANY other company.....would you be ripping into them? Doubtful. I'm not defending Wal Mart so much as I'm defending unbiased thinking. I'm picky that way.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


If it's so easy to rip to shreds then by all means try

I'm on the side this happened and that's because that's reality. My OP did too contain writing from myself. Original words? They are too original but I'm reporting news here, not writing a story so what are you looking for exactly? And all the sources listed are the ONLY sources I have found so far. The only MSM source that even mentioned this was the Chicago Tribune (Fox & NBC copy and pasted the Chicago Tribunes story) and they only mentioned there is a protest but nothing of todays arrests.

www.chicagotribune.com...

Separately on Monday, some 650 people gathered in Elwood, Illinois, to support employees of an outside contractor on strike at a distribution center outside Chicago that supplies Walmart stores. The workers have been on strike since September 15 to protest what Warehouse Workers for Justice called "management's illegal retaliation against workers attempting to present the company their concerns about wage theft, unsafe conditions and discrimination". Workers at a Southern California warehouse that supplies Wal-Mart also went on strike last month, for 15 days.

And you've inspired me to look some more & it appears there was a Walmart protest in New Jersey as well.

Local protest demands accountability in Walmart supply chain

www.mycentraljersey.com...|head

5:31 PM, Sep 19, 2012

NORTH BRUNSWICK — A group of about 50 workers, area residents and local activists conducted a protest at the local Walmart on Monday.

The protest was called by the New Brunswick-based New Labor organization in solidarity with nonunionized temporary workers from Walmart-contracted warehouses in California and Illinois. The workers have conducted a work stoppage over claims of unfair labor practices.

“Warehouse workers within Walmart’s supply chain have complained about unsafe working conditions, poverty wages and sometimes unpaid wages, and a lack of respect or threats to workers that have tried to address the situations,” New Labor spokesman Lou Kimmel said.

New Labor Protests Worker Treatment at Walmart

newbrunswick.patch.com...-11418157

September 20, 2012



The New Brunswick Labor Movement group joined in a protest at Walmart on Sept. 17 in solidarity with nationwide protests over worker treatment.

"Walmarch" ends and so does Chicago teachers strike

www.examiner.com...

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 18

Today is the last day of the "WalMarch" which began last Thursday. The march went 50 miles from the Empire Inland to downtown Los Angeles in order to bring attention to unfair working conditions in warehouses for loaders and packers who work for a distribution company contracted by Walmart.

Warehouse Workers Strike In California, Claiming Unsafe Conditions

www.huffingtonpost.com...

09/13/2012

A group of warehouse workers in Southern California has gone on strike, vowing not to return to work until their employer addresses what they describe as unsafe working conditions in the warehouse.

The roughly 30 workers are employed by a temp agency to work in a warehouse in Mira Loma, Calif. The warehouse moves goods bound for Walmart stores, according to Javier Rodriguez, one of the striking workers. The workers walked off the job on Wednesday morning, claiming they had to work in freight containers that became dangerously hot in the summer heat.

Out of dusty desert and shadows, LA Walmart warehouse workers march (video)

peoplesworld.org...

LOS ANGELES - Walmart warehouse workers arrived at City Hall here Sept. 18, after a 50-mile march from Riverside, Calif. Though they were tired and some had blistered feet, their hearts were filled with the love and support they had encountered along the way. (Story continues after video.)

Striking warehouse workers take over Chicago Walmart

peoplesworld.org...

CHICAGO - Some 50 striking workers at a Walmart warehouse in Elwood, Ill. left their picket line this morning, traveled to a newly opened Walmart Express here, marched through the front doors and took over the store for half an hour.

The largest ever march against Walmart in San Diego history tomorrow (Video)

www.examiner.com...

Concerned citizens, community members, and union and political leaders of the Logan Heights and Sherman Heights communities invite the people of San Diego to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, Saturday Sept. 22, at Golden Hill Community Park for “The Largest Ever March Against Walmart in San Diego History” in protest of a Walmart opening in an iconic and historical community Farmer’s Market building - that has already been partially destroyed by the mega-corporation – on Imperial Avenue between 21st and 22nd street.

Nobody here is angry, I'm just not seeing the connection between the people who work in the leased warehouses of contracted companies that supply Wal Mart, the workers for the companies that distribute this product to the warehouses, and finally, Wal Mart itself........and you're not doing anything to connect those dots. If anything, I'm perturbed that this thread gets the attention it does on this website, which is supposed to deny ignorance. I would expect this sort of thing on Facebook, but not here.

Their main issue are wages and working conditions, no? Look at my post again and you'll see that not only do these workers work AT Roadlink, a contractor for the company in question, but they're being paid by a third party. Think temporary staffing agencies. Are you actually trying to distance yourself from the truth? Because if you are, you're succeeding. But I get it, it's easier to get attention by bashing people and companies that are constantly in the news then it is to bash unknown entities like Roadlink. Around here that's called fishing for stars. And all of the links you just provided are really all the same. A warehouse, A temp agency and the company in question.

People are not going to change the business practices of the company in question by the methods they're using. If the people who are protesting really want to effect change in their working conditions, they need to focus on the people who pay them. I really don't know why I have to spell this out for you. I mean really, if you want to fight to change something, why would you avoid David to get to Goliath? If you cut off the feet of the giant so to speak, it's not going to keep standing for very long

And just because people protest against a company, that doesn't mean that they know what they're doing. People protest wrongs that they perceive, not necessarily wrongs that can be proven with fact. There's a difference and this is a perfect case in point. They are protesting a company that is the end result of what they do for a living. Does Wal Mart pay them? No. Then why are the workers blaming them? Because Wally owns the land they work on? No wonder nothing gets accomplished. Nobody even knows who to blame when something goes wrong. They just aim for the biggest target. Talk about lazy.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


Well I appreciate you adding your findings here but trust me those dots you connected I would have never connected, so we can view that as your job. Mine was to bring this story to your attention so my work here is done, so to speak

I also edited out the angry poster comment of my post because I was posting with my emotions instead of just the facts.

Until John Q Public realizes what WalMart really is, things will not change.How many here complain about WalMart but shop there?

Boycott.. do not shop there. Yes, it is inconvenient... but it is possible to shop without WalMart.WalMart is like a drug that is easy to get hooked on... but now a days, it is easier tha ever to live without.

Their prices are not what they used to be... sometimes I will just walk in and look, just for the hell of it. There selection isn't all that great either. And a lot of what they sell is of lower quality than ever.

When you are with family and friends and refuse to go to Walmart to shop... that is prime time to educate them about the serious lack of ethics in dealing with their workforce. Everytime Walamrt shuts down an existing store in town and is relocating outside town limits and avoiding taxes.. that is a good time to illustrate how they have destroyed the local economy and independent retailers. Everytime someone talks about the great deal they got on meats at Walmart... explain to them those meats were prepacked in a literal meat factory with saline solutions to preserve "freshness" and add weight... paying retail meat prices for salty water... tell them to read the labels and see where all that fresh meat and seafood was IMPORTED... shrimp from VietNam... crab from S America... pork from Europe...Tell them to look at the team members and the haggard looking management

As long as we shop there, things will never change. Shopping at WalMart in America is like a starving man slowly cannibalizing himself one limb at a time to eat... eventually there will be nothing left.

reply to post by Swills


Okay. I'm still not convinced that you know what you're talking about but........okay

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


I'm not surprised but whatever you think is going on the fact is people are protesting Walmart and that's what I'm bringing to the attention of ATS. In multiple states people are protesting, now whether you agree that they are right or wrong still doesn't change the fact they are protesting Walmart. So again, thanks for adding your 2 cents but don't get all high and mighty on me because I don't think like you.