7/17 UFCW 101 Mass Picketline at SF Macy's

The sleeping giant, labor, is finally waking up, and the unthinkable just happened, a picketline today, July 17, 2004 at San Francisco's Macy's department store, with hundreds of people at all entrances picketing for a union contract.

United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 101, called a one-day strike at Macy's San Francisco at Union Square and Stonestown. A good description of the contract dispute and the appalling low wages of the workers at Macy's may be found at:
http://www.local101.com/

In San Francisco, you cannot live on $8-$15 per hour. These are poverty wages. To add insult to injury, Macy's, is charging these poor people for health care and denying sick days, in addition to constantly changing their work schedules. And, of course, most of these workers stand on their feet for their entire shift, a very hard way to earn a living.

In addition to this being a labor dispute, this is a women's issue as 75% of the workers at Macy's are women.

We are black, brown, yellow, red and white and all ages walking that picketline.

YOU ARE NEEDED AT THE PICKETLINE AT MACY'S AT UNION SQUARE AND STONESTOWN TODAY WHICH goes until 11 p.m. even if you only have 15 minutes! Too many people of all colors and classes are crossing that picketline. It is wonderful that people have all kinds of causes that they work for, but without a labor movement, we cannot advance. That is the one cause that has been neglected and that neglect is the reason the United States is so backward. So, get off the dime, for now is the time to walk that picketline!

From the leaflet, the grievances and demands are:
--Health Care Costs Are "Over the Top." Macy's charges associaes in excess of $350 to over $500 a month for family coverage. MORE THAN HALF the workers cannot afford or are not eligible for benefits!

--Macy's Does Not Have Paid Sick Days!

--No Fixed Schedules or Guaranteed Days Off! You cannot plan your life without a fixed schedule.

--Macy's Credit Card. Macy's workers are pressured to ask every customer to obtain a Macy's credit card. These cards have very high interest rates. To all customers: Just say no to all these credit cards routinely. They are always a money-making anti-labor racket.

--Macy's Service Changes. Macy's salesclerks can no longer
"ring up" sales. This causes longer lines.

In the leaflet, the union has accepted the boss' terminology of calling a sales clerk an "associate" as though someone making $12 per hour has anything in common with the Board of Directors of this business, who make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, not including investments.

Let's make this the beginning of serious labor organizing in San Francisco so that we can once again proclaim that SAN FRANCISCO IS A UNION TOWN!

Solidarity Forever!