retail and food
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in retail and the food industry around the world.
JJB staff stage first ever strike
Staff at the Greater Manchester-based JJB Sports have gone on strike in a row over pay and conditions.
The GMB union said 266 of its members were on the picket line outside the warehouse in Martland Park, Wigan, in the early hours of the morning.
There will also be a ban on overtime from Tuesday morning as workers protest against a 3% pay rise.
Union negotiators are seeking a higher basic rate for staff and are calling for equal access to a bonus scheme.
Coca-Cola blockade ended after legal challenges
Former employees from the Venezuelan bottling plant have ended their blockade after Coca-Cola sought a legal ban on the blockade.
Production at the Caracas-based Coca-Cola bottling plant had been brought to a standstill last week after former employees mounted a picket, demanding the company pay out £1,220,800 of overdue social security payments between 1,500 workers. Coca-Cola maintain that they will only settle with 65 former employees.
Workers blockade Coca-Cola bottling plant
220 protestors began a picket of Coca-Cola's Caracas bottling centre on Monday, refusing to move until they recieve social security payments.
The ex-employees of the Mexican-run bottling plant endured a heavy downpour throughout Tuesday night. After sheltering under sheets of plastic and cardboard boxes, they remained firm on their picket line. Coca-Cola have confirmed that output at all four of it's Venezuelan bottling plants has been halted by the action. Admistrative offices have also been picketed.
JJB workers to go out on strike
The BBC are reporting that unionised workers at Greater Manchester-based JJB Sports plan to go on strike next week calling for better wages and conditions, according to the GMB Union.
The GMB said 266 workers at the JJB distribution warehouse in Martland Park, Wigan, are taking action on Tuesday and Thursday.
There will also be a continuous ban on overtime from Tuesday morning as workers protest against a 3% pay rise.
Union negotiators are seeking a higher basic rate for warehouse staff.
They are also calling for equal access to a bonus scheme.
Palestinian farm workers organise
In-depth article about the plight of farm workers in the Jordan Valley and their attempts to organise.
Work at Any Cost: Employment of Palestinian Agricultural Workers in Jordan Valley Settlements
Hundreds of Palestinian workers from Jericho and its surroundings are employed in Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley. So far, no Palestinian or Israeli body had taken upon itself to provide an accurate account of the numbers of these workers.
Sugar workers in Guyana on strike for second day
Sugar workers in Guyana came out in thousands to demand wage increases.
The Guyana Sugar Worker's Union is demanding automatic wage increases for sugar workers to compensate for the introduction of a 16% value added tax starting in the new year. Around 14,000 Workers from sugar cane fields and factories, had their second day of strikes on Wednesday, and belong to the country's most powerful labour union.
Walmart workers walk out on wildcat
Workers at a Wal-Mart in Florida went out on wildcat earlier this week over scheduling arrangements. According to both workers and the company, this is the first such action against the company ever to occur in the US.
Around 200 workers, or close to the entire shift, walked out of the store in Hialeah Gardens at 9am Monday.
Nestle threaten staff with job losses
Corporate giant Nestle has threatened workers with job losses if they refuse to accept a 15% reduction in wages.
Nestle has threatened to move more production out of York if unions do not agree to a 15% reduction in wages for its remaining workforce after announcing last month that it was axing 645 jobs and moving some production to other factories in the UK and Europe.
Starbucks gets Wobbly - Embattled baristas turn to IWW
The IWW continue to organise Starbucks baristas in the USA.
By Mischa Gaus - In These Times, October 4, 2006
When Joe Tessone and his fellow Starbucks baristas walked into a pep rally with management at their store in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood in August, the bosses were ready.
A Brief Interview with an IWW organiser, 1998
We recently heard of that the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) had managed to establish a job shop in Hampshire, and took the opportunity to interview Ray Carr, the IWW delegate involved, recently.
