Warehouse Workers Announce 50-mile, 6-day Pilgrimage to End Illegal Working Conditions
Posted on September 5th, 2012Workers Call on Walmart to Take Responsibility for Warehouses
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Following a long, hot summer marked by repeated attempts to urge Walmart to eliminate illegal and inhumane working conditions in its contracted warehouses in Southern California, warehouse workers and their supporters will begin a 50-mile, 6-day pilgrimage from Riverside, California to Downtown Los Angeles at a press conference at 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 13.
In the tradition of the farm workers and janitors, dozens of warehouse workers and their supporters will march along the same route goods travel through the Los Angeles basin to and from the Inland Empire. They will march for basic, but critical improvements on the job: fans to combat the 120 degree heat, working equipment, clean water, regular breaks, and an end to inhumane work quotas and retaliation for speaking up about safety conditions.
More than 85,000 workers labor in warehouses lifting merchandise out of shipping containers that enter through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and onto trucks destined for retail stores like Walmart.
WHAT: Press Conference to Launch Warehouse Worker Pilgrimage
WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 13
WHERE: 601 S. Milliken Ave., Suite A, Ontario, California 91761
WHO: Warehouse Workers
Assembly member Norma Torres
Members of the clergy
Warehouse workers will embark on their 50-mile march Sept. 13. They will sleep on church floors and rely on community organizations for support and meals. Marchers will be joined daily by supporters and elected officials. Workers will hold daily media events and will be available for interviews in English and Spanish throughout the entire march.
Follow the march on social media using the hashtag #WalMarch.
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Category: Features, Press Releases
[...] things Walmart and its contractors are trying very hard to keep hidden. Warehouse workers are on a six-day, 50-mile journey from the warehouses to Los Angeles to draw attention to their working [...]
Right on!!!! I HEAR U GUYS LOUD N CLEAR!WE WENT OUT (SAFEWAY WAREHOUSEMAN)IN 2000 TRACY CALIFAS! YOU’VE GOT MY SUPPORT!!!
[...] Warehouse workers and their supporters launched a 50-mile / six-day pilgrimage in the US on Wednesday to demand Walmart take responsibility for its Inland Empire Warehouses. The six-day march from Southern California’s Inland Empire to Downtown Los Angeles follows months of tension and several appeals to Walmart and its contractors to treat workers fairly. Workers at the Mira Loma warehouse in California went on strike on the same day as the march began. They are calling for an end to what they describe as retaliation and unfair labour practices committed by their employers, NFI and Warestaff, a staffing agency. Guadalupe Palma, a campaign director for Warehouse Workers United, an organisation that advocates for warehouse workers said: “These workers have exhausted all options. They are walking out of the shadows in Riverside, gaining support and demanding that Walmart stop ignoring deplorable working conditions that affect its contracted workforce.” “The ITF applauds these courageous workers, who despite not having a recognised union are standing up against poverty wages, no benefits and dangerous working conditions, ” said Ingo Marowksy, ITF organising globally coordinator. He continued: “As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart has the power to uphold their 'Standards for suppliers' in the logistics and distribution industry. This would have a huge impact on the lives of 85,000 warehouse workers in Southern California. It’s about time we make these multinationals accountable and start acting like socially responsible corporations. Like transport workers, warehouse workers play an integral role in the global economy. We know their struggle is global and support should be global also.” ITF affiliates are being asked to support the workers in Walmart subcontracted warehouses by sending e-protests to Walmart CEO Mike Duke and donating to the Warehouse Workers Relief Fund. [...]
worked for walmart 5 years night shift got injured ,and there doctor gave pain killers with foot planters condition kept writing me up ,an fired me a month later heart bang ,i won law suit morgan an morgan ,,living on disability GET A GOOD LAWYER ,,THANKS KURTIS