Monthly Archives: June 2016

Last month, over 30 UFCW members from various regions of Myanmar took part in a shop steward development training program in Chicago. The training, which also had a health and safety component, was organized by Region 6 because of the high interest from workers. The training used new interpretation equipment to increase the capacity to interpret in Karen and Burmese simultaneously.

Many of the UFCW members who attended the training work in meatpacking plants, and talked about the discrimination they face at the workplace and in their communities. They also spoke about the challenges they face when it comes to access to information in their languages.

UFCW Secretary-Treasurer Esther Lopez visited with the participants and encouraged them to take their rightful place as leaders in their union. The participants expressed a strong interest in building solidarity with their coworkers from different countries and backgrounds, and left committed to talking to their coworkers about becoming members of our union and sharing the information from the conference.

“Coming together is the beginning,” said Tomas Lian of Local 1149. “Keeping together is progress. Working together is success! Unity is our strength.”

The UFCW’s Occupational safety and Health Office has developed a language identifier tool that can help locals learn more about the languages spoken by members. The UFCW Steward Handbook and basic OSHA rights booklets have been translated into Karen and Burmese and are available for local unions.

Last week, Making Change at Walmart (MCAW) and UFCW’s OUTreach group released an open letter to the nation’s leading LGBT Pride organizations calling for them to reject Walmart’s donations because of the retailer’s long history of allowing LGBT discrimination in its stores.

The letter states: “As you may know, one of the corporations sponsoring Pride events in your city is Walmart. Walmart is the nation’s largest employer and millions of Americans shop there every day. Their actions – or lack of action – matter. When it comes to LGBT issues, the sad reality is that they are trying to pass themselves off as an ally to the LGBT community by writing checks, while ignoring allegations of discrimination and hate. This must stop, and it must stop now.”

The new initiative is part of a larger MCAW national campaign during Pride Month that is calling on leading LGBT organizations to speak out against Walmart’s anti-LGBT practices. MCAW will also be educating Walmart customers and the LGBT community about the company’s real record on LGBT issues in front of Walmart stores and at Pride events throughout the country. As part of the education effort, grassroots actions will be held in at least 17 cities during Pride parades or celebrations.

“Walmart’s donations to Pride events is nothing more than an attempt to rainbow-wash its troubling history,” said Jess Levin, communications director at MCAW. “The truth is that Walmart all but ignores when LGBT customers and employees face harassment, bigotry and discrimination in its stores. We don’t expect Walmart to share its real record with Pride organizations, let alone the American people, but we will.”

To view the letter in its entirety, visit http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/2016/06/10/making-change-at-walmart-calls-out-walmarts-anti-lgbt-practices/.