Taking on Wal-Mart
ST. LOUIS — Leaders from unions that broke away from the AFL-CIO pledged Tuesday to organize Wal-Mart workers and reach out to those who lost their jobs due to Hurricane Katrina.
The Change to Win Coalition met for its founding convention in St. Louis. In between official business — adopting a new constitution and electing leaders of the new labor federation — the event resembled a rally for the 460 delegates. They often stood and cheered speeches by labor leaders or comments from workers who recounted their own battles.
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa and UNITE HERE President Bruce Raynor called on the coalition to organize workers at Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer.
Wal-Mart “contributes nothing to America but more poverty and they’ve got to be stopped,” Raynor said.
Labor leaders said they weren’t just repeating the same old message about Wal-Mart, but formulating plans to help those workers gain the right to organize.
“You bet your life there’s a renewed commitment,” Raynor told a news conference.
Wal-Mart officials said the average employee earns twice the federal minimum wage, and three-quarters of its store management team began as hourly workers. The company said it employs more than 43,000 in Missouri and 44,000 in Illinois.
Last year, the company spent $16 billion with more than 4,700 suppliers in the two states, supporting more than 260,000 jobs, Wal-Mart said.
“Wal-Mart is committed to making a positive contribution to working families and we do it every day,” spokeswoman Christi Gallagher said. “We’re disappointed that some continue to ignore the facts and fail to provide any real vision for the future.”
Hoffa said the new coalition will do what it can to assist hundreds of thousands of workers who lost their jobs when their Gulf Coast communities were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
“We have a strategy to train workers to rebuild their communities,” Hoffa said. “We must learn from this tragedy and help these workers start over. We must help our fellow Americans build new communities and new lives.”
The delegates adopted a new constitution by a voice vote. The delegates seated at long tables then rose to their feet, applauding in time to the beat of blaring music.
Coalition chairwoman Anna Burger said that when she was growing up, unions represented one of every three workers. Now, they represent one in 10.
The seven unions — including the Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, and the United Food and Commercial Workers — represent about 5.4 million workers.