Part of this, of course, was due to typical union busting strategies from managment. But in the bigger picture, it became clear that our fight was and is significant not so much for the length or complexity of our battles, but rather for the battleground itself. We were told we were whiners. But Local 5 exists because two years ago a few brave employees decided they deserved to be treated with respect, not scorned as expendable labor. They began to cultivate self respect among their co-workers.
Retail workers are grossly under-represented in the unionized labor force.
And they suffer some of the lowest wages and highest turnover of any workers. Please join us in our efforts to create fair and democratic working environments for more workers like yourself.