Friday Regular Picket At Oakland Walmart

Rain or Shine! Join Us Every Friday
6:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Mass Union Picket Against Wal-mart
N. W. Corner of Hegenberger Rd & 880 Freeway, Oakland


Before going in to work this Friday, support the Brick Layers Local 3 and LIUNA Hod Carriers Local 166 on the picket line. While thousands of Oakland young people and skilled workers are out of work, Wal-mart is bringing in scabs from throughout the Western US to build non-union in Oakland. Wal-Mart corporation is opening a massive store in the center of the bay area and they will be using all scab labor in their operations from teamsters and construction workers to clerks. They have brought scab laborers, electricians, iron workers, teamsters, carpenters and bricklayers on the project already. Some of these scabs are living in trailers on the site since they cannot afford to live in the bay area. Many are from Nevada.
The Wal-mart invasion is being supported by Oakland Mayor Brown who is a candidate for California Attorney General and Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente who is running for mayor of Oakland.
"Council President Ignacio De La Fuente added, "This project can become the catalyst of economic growth for the City of Oakland. With generated tax revenues, the convenience of shopping in our city and the creation of over 700 new job opportunities, residents of Oakland can realize resurgence in our shopping alternatives without venturing to neighboring cities. We welcome SIMEON Commercial and look forward to a long standing working relationship". April 27, 2004 Business Wire
This invasion by Wal-mart in the bay area must be mobilized against. If they get established in central bay area, all unionized jobs are threatened. Every Friday there will be a mass picket. Get your local or community organization to build support for this action. Union busters out of the bay area.
The picket picket at the Wal-Mart job site and parking is available in the shopping center. being constructed at the 880 Freeway and Hegenberger Road in Oakland.
The picket will run from 6:00 AM until approximately 12:00 Noon
http://www.laboraction.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





When: Every Friday
Where: 880 Freeway and Hegenberger Rd. Oakland
Time: 6:00 AM 12:00 Noon

From: "Jim Bresnahan" <Jim [at] bac3-ca.org>



Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 13:50:41 -0800


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


Retribution against the labor market: Wal-Mart uses Frazier Masonry and Berkeley Concrete is terminated in Oakland, CA


Oakland, CA February 9, 2005 - The Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local #3 and LIUNA Hod Carriers Local 166 in conjunction with other Alameda County Building Trades will again picket the construction of Wal-Mart in Oakland on Friday, February 11, 2005 from 6:00 am to 12 noon. The sub-contractor, Frazier Masonry, has failed to respond to our recent protests of substandard wages and benefits. The only response we received was from the General Contractor, Heil Contractors, who decided to replace Berkley Concrete due to their pro-labor position most likely due to pressures from Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart is located on Edgewater Drive, Oakland, CA on the west side of 880 at the Hegenberger exit. It would be appropriate for representatives of the community to show their support by attending this job action.



Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local #3 and Hod Carriers Local 166 are committed to continue job actions until the issues of area wage and benefit standards are appropriately addressed by Frazier Masonry and Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart only requires “contractors and subcontractors to follow all laws … and do the right thing” (http://www.walmartfacts.com, January 24, 2005). Does terminating the services of Berkeley Concrete substantiate the right thing to do just because Berkeley Concrete supports union labor? It seems apparent that Wal-Mart supports a no tolerance environment to anyone that supports union labor. The construction of this site fails to address the issue of local community standards and the economic impact of allowing the use of contractors that pay substandard wages and benefits and employ out of state workers. Frazier Masonry continues to pay below the area wage and benefit standard. Wal-Mart seems to support the degradation of area wage and benefit standards by subcontractors to benefit their interests and not the interests of the community. Frazier Masonry and Wal-Mart are not attempting to create jobs for local workers during construction. The out of state workers are not spending money locally or paying taxes here. Local 3 has approximately 200 members who live in the Oakland area who are professional masons that are more qualified to do this work.



Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers represents approximately 3,000 Bricklayers/Stonemasons, Tile Layers and Finishers, Pointer Cleaner Caulkers, Marble Setters and Finishers, Terrazzo Mechanics and Finishers, and Refractory Bricklayers who work various aspects of the industry in the Northern 46 counties of California.



We ask you to attend our action on Friday, February 11, 2005 6:00 am to 12 noon to show support in defending the area wage and benefit standards that the citizens of this community have established. Please contact our office as soon as possible so that we may meet with you regarding this issue.



CONTACT INFORMATION:
James C. Bresnahan

Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 3

510-632-8781 x 11















http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=dc1314a1-5b10-44f7-9014-6072853a52fb
Wal-Mart denies charge of union-busting in announcing closure of Quebec store

Donald Mckenzie
Canadian Press


Wednesday, February 09, 2005

MONTREAL (CP) - Denying it wants to bust the union, Wal-Mart announced
Wednesday it will close a Quebec store whose employees were involved in
negotiations to become the first ever to establish a union contract from
the world's biggest retailer.

Wal-Mart Canada spokesman Andrew Pelletier said that anyone who assumes
the decision was made as an attempt to bust the union "doesn't
understand what went on over the past few months. "This store could
easily have closed months ago and we didn't do that. We made a
determination we were going to bargain in good faith."

The store, which will close in May, is located in Saguenay, about 250
kilometres north of Quebec City. Nearly 200 employees received union
accreditation last summer, making it the chain's only unionized outlet
at the time.

Pelletier said the company and the United Food & Commercial Workers
Canada union had been trying since last October to reach a collective
agreement that would allow the store to continue operating. Last week,
the union asked Quebec labour officials to appoint a mediator, saying
negotiations had reached an impasse.

"Last week, the union ended the collective-bargaining phase of the
process and applied for first-contract arbitration," Pelletier said.

"In doing that, they basically acknowledged that the two sides were not
going to reach an agreement. First-contract arbitration, within the
context of Quebec, means a contract would ultimately be imposed on to
the store."

Pelletier said the union's demands on scheduling and employee status
would have required the hiring of at least 30 new people and resulted in
extra work hours.

"Some of the union's demands failed to appreciate the fragile condition
of the Jonquiere (Saguenay) store. The store is already well-staffed and
has been struggling economically.

"It's a business decision, it's an economic-viability issue ultimately,
but it's been exacerbated through added pressures."

The union representing the workers refused comment and said it would
discuss the matter at a news conference Friday.

But Jean-Marc Crevier, a Quebec Federation of Labour spokesman in the
region, called the announcement a "very big blow."

"I'm trying to think of what the employees are going through," Crevier
said. "I've got goosebumps just thinking of it. It's sad."

Claudia Tremblay, a cashier at the store, said many employees burst into
tears when managers told them about the news Wednesday morning.

"Many people cried, including myself," Tremblay, 29, said in an interview.

"I'm a mother of two children and I'm separated from my husband. It's
very difficult."

Tremblay said she abstained from the unionization vote, adding she was
upset that her non-committal stance won't save her job.

Employees at another Wal-Mart store in St-Hyacinthe, east of Montreal,
have also been accredited recently.

Wal-Mart operates two other non-unionized stores in the Saguenay-Lac
St-Jean region.

The union efforts at both stores are part of a larger chess game labour
organizers are waging with Wal-Mart at stores across Canada. The
campaign, financed by UFCW money from both Canada and the United States,
is also geared to capture the attention of workers in Wal-Mart's home
country.

The closest a U.S. union has ever come to winning a battle with Wal-Mart
was in 2000, at a store in Jacksonville, Texas. In that store, 11
workers - all members of the store's meatpacking department - voted to
join and be represented by the UFCW.

That effort failed when Wal-Mart eliminated the job of meatcutter
companywide, and moved away from in-store meatcutting to stocking only
pre-wrapped meat.

Recently, some workers in the tire department of a Wal-Mart store in
Colorado have sought union representation, and the U.S. National Labor
Relations Board has said it intends to schedule a vote.

Wal-Mart's world headquarters are based in Arkansas. Its Canadian
division, whose head office is in Mississauga, Ont., operates 256 stores
and six Sam's Clubs across Canada with more than 70,000 employees.