www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS,
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2003
Firing spurs Berkeley Bowl union rally
Berkeley, Cal.--Berkeley Bowl, a store noted for its
organic produce, has fired union organizer Chuck McNally. It came as a shock to
many shoppers in one of the most liberal cities in the U.S. that Berkeley Bowl
was not already unionized. On July 21 about a hundred people came to an informal
rally in front of the store to show their support for Chuck and for the
unionization effort. Employees have already voted, by signing union cards, to
join United Food and Commercial Workers, but the store refuses to recognize the
election. The store fired Mr. McNally on bogus, trumped-up charges.
It has engaged in other anti-union activities as well: telling employees that
they doubted the union would help them and distributing anti-union flyers.
Bosses have even asked workers if they signed union authorization cards, a clear
violation of federal law. For the workers the issues are uneven pay and arbitrary pay
raises, poor working conditions, lack of healthcare coverage (they have to wait
a full six months before becoming eligible for coverage) and management’s
ability to fire anyone at will. The people at the July 21 rally were, by and large, the
same people who fought to have Berkeley Bowl locate in its present store.
Several years ago, when the local Safeway closed, a chain McFrugal was slated to
occupy the space. Local residents pressured the city to instead give Berkeley
Bowl tax breaks so it could move into the space. One of them said, “We used to
be the Committee for a Full Service Supermarket, we now need to become the
Committee for a Full Service UNION Supermarket.” --Union supporter |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
