http://themilitant.com/2016/8022/802232.html
The Militant (logo)
Vol. 80/No. 22 June 6, 2016
—ON THE PICKET LINE—
Maggie Trowe, Editor
Militant/Bill Arth
Warehouse workers picket California Cartage, near Los Angeles, May 10,
demanding they be hired directly as permanent workers and protesting
retaliatory firings after several strikes.
Help the Militant cover labor struggles around the world!
This column gives a voice to those engaged in battle and building
solidarity today — including unionists striking Verizon and US Foods,
construction workers demanding safe conditions and workers fighting for
$15 an hour and a union. I invite those involved in workers’ battles to
contact me at 306 W. 37th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018; or (212)
244-4899; or themilitant@xxxxxxx. We’ll work together to ensure your
story is told.
— Maggie Trowe
Warehouse workers picket against Cal Cartage firings
WILMINGTON, California — Two dozen California Cartage Co. workers
picketed the company’s warehouse at the Port of Los Angeles May 10,
demanding to be directly hired by the company as full-time employees.
Cal Cartage workers have struck three times in the last eight months
demanding direct hiring, safety shoes, paid sick days and job placement
by seniority. In retaliation, the company forced all temporary workers
to apply to a new agency April 30.
Between 75 and 100 workers were not rehired, Javier Rodriguez, an
organizer for the Warehouse Workers Resource Center, told the Militant.
“This is the beginning of a big battle against the company,” he told
pickets. “We won’t stop until our coworkers are back to work. We want
the company to be responsible to hire everybody directly.”
— Bill Arth
Walmart worker speaks out against firing, gains support
LEDUC, Alberta — André Ouimet, 78, was fired from his job as a Walmart
greeter here at the end of April. While at work April 23, he felt short
of breath, left the store to get a fresh oxygen tank from his van and
inadvertently put some toilet paper he had planned to buy in the
vehicle. As soon as he realized the mistake, he informed management,
paying for the item on his next break. On April 29, after being
suspended without pay, he was told he would not be charged with theft,
but was banned from all Walmart stores for two years.
Ouimet has used oxygen since shoveling snow in extreme winter cold in
the Walmart parking lot a few years ago, his wife, Margit, told this
reporter and Danyn Mitchell, both workers at another Walmart, who phoned
to express solidarity May 5.
Coverage of the firing in the Leduc local paper and CBC Canada has won
Ouimet support, and many workers protested on social media. One regular
shopper who knows Ouimet started a GoFundMe page to raise money for him.
“He is extremely nice, always singing and friendly. He came right back
and paid for it — you can’t find more honest than that,” Amanda Gilbert,
a former Walmart worker, told the Militant. “I worked for Walmart for
six years. They say they’re family oriented. They mean the family that
owns Walmart.”
“I’m not a thief and I’m not a liar” Ouimet said by phone May 17, adding
that while he was grocery shopping, a woman recognized him and told him
she is no longer shopping at Walmart as a protest against his firing.
— Katy LeRougetel
Related articles:
Unions striking Verizon broaden labor support
1,700 CWA members also strike AT&T in Calif.
Rail union says two-man crew would’ve averted 2015 train crash
California blueberry pickers strike, vote in union
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