Safeway Inc workers in Washington DC have launched protests to highlight the US retailer’s move to hire “replacement workers” to step in if industrial action is held.
Unionised workers yesterday (20 March) held protests in front of three pop-up store front hiring halls set up next to company outlets to recruit and train “replacement workers” to staff the supermarkets in the event of a work stoppage.
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The move came as talks continue between labour unions and Safeway’s over the retailer’s collective labour agreement, which expires at the end of the month.
The workers – members of United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 – said the move was an assault on their collective bargaining rights and condemned “management intimidation” of employees.
“Safeway is earning record profits and sitting on a pile of US$180.5bn in cash, yet rather than share the fruits of our labour with the workers who made their success possible, the company is trying to drive down our members’ economic standing – in many cases, even below the poverty level,” said Local 400 president Tom McNutt.
“Management might think that setting up scab hiring halls right next to the stores where our members work will intimidate them into accepting a contract that puts the American dream far beyond their reach, but instead it’s had the opposite effect,” McNutt added.
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By GlobalData“We are more united than ever and more dedicated to doing whatever it takes to ensure that retail jobs in the Washington DC area create a ladder to the middle class with health and retirement security.”
