Defining Fair Food: CIW Launches New Campaign

By , on October 13th, 2010

Monday, Jobs With Justice ally the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) launched a new campaign and video demanding that supermarkets step up to the plate and treat workers fairly.

By leveraging its high-volume purchasing power, the U.S. supermarket industry plays an active role in farmworker exploitation.  Publix, Ahold, Kroger and Trader Joe’s all pack a very heavy punch when it comes to their market power in the produce industry.  And with great power comes great responsibility – both for the poverty and brutal working conditions from which they have profited for so many years, and for the work of reforming farm labor conditions in their supply chains that lies ahead.

With the four largest fast-food companies (McDonald’s, Yum Brands, Burger King, and Subway) and three largest foodservice providers (Compass Group, Aramark, and Sodexo) having signed Fair Food agreements with the CIW, the focus now falls squarely on the $550 billion supermarket industry.  Whole Foods signed an agreement with the CIW nearly two years ago, and now it’s time for the major grocery chains to step up and bring their considerable purchasing power to the plate.  For that to happen,

Continue reading Defining Fair Food: CIW Launches New Campaign

October 13th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Campaigns, Take Action | Comments are closed

Tell Supervalu to be good Parents! Support Striking Shaw’s Grocery Workers

By , on April 22nd, 2010

Supervalu, the parent company of New England grocery store chain Shaw’s, is behaving badly.  The 310 workers from Shaw’s Supermarkets Distribution Center in Methuen, MA, members of UFCW Local 791, have been on strike for almost 7 weeks.  Although Supervalu is the driving force behind negotiations, they refuse to take responsibility and come back to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith.  They claim that they are not responsible for their subsidiary Shaw’s.

Call and write Supervalu today to tell them to be good parents and settle the strike now!

  • Call Supervalu CEO Craig Herkert at (952) 828-4000 
  • Click here to send a fax to Supervalu.

    • Last month, union workers at Shaw’s distribution center voted to go out on strike after the company refused to return to the bargaining table.  Workers rejected a company proposal that would have increased employees’ health insurance payments, resulting in a net loss of pay. 

    To make matters worse, the company is threatening to permanently replace all striking workers, placing all the workers at the distribution center jobs in peril.  Shaw’s followed up its refusal to bargain with an announcement that they were going to Continue reading Tell Supervalu to be good Parents! Support Striking Shaw’s Grocery Workers

    April 22nd, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Take Action, Unions | One comment - (Comments are closed)

    Mass JwJ Rallies Support for Striking Shaw’s Warehouse Workers

    By , on March 24th, 2010

    Over 200 labor and community supporters turned out for a rally in at the Shaw’s Supermarket in Dorchester to support striking warehouse workers at the company’s Methuen Distribution Center.

    Click to see more photos

    Over 300 members of UFCW Local 791 voted overwhelmingly to reject the company’s final contract offer and have now been on strike since March 7th.

    The company’s substandard wage proposals combined with its demand for increased employee health care contributions would result in a net loss of income for workers during the term of the proposed contract.

    The company’s final offer would also allow for the use of outside agencies to perform work at the facility, costing union jobs.

    In addition to Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, the rally was sponsored by UFCW Local 791, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Greater Boston Labor Council.

    Don’t shop at Shaw’s until it respects its workers and reaches an agreement that preserves good jobs with decent wages and benefits!

    You can keep up with what’s happening by joining the Facebook group “We support the Shaws Methuen Distribution Center“

    March 24th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Unions | Comments are closed