Monthly Archives: February 2017

Last week, Making Change at Walmart (MCAW) launched a celebrity  accountability campaign aimed at Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Antoine Fuqua and Marc Forster, who directed three Walmart commercials that aired during the Academy Awards.

“When you have the rich and famous using their craft to cover up the real story of the largest retailer paying many of their workers so poorly that they have to rely on food stamps to survive, you have to wonder when will working families have their story told?” said MCAW Director Randy Parraz.  

MCAW also published a “letter to Hollywood” in Variety magazine to draw attention to Walmart’s treatment of workers, which generated over 8,000 signatures; produced a 30-second commercial; and held an action the night before the Academy Awards near the Dolby Theater.

“For years, celebrities have performed at Walmart shareholder meetings, enjoyed exclusive promotional deals, and have profited from selling their products in Walmart stores, all while workers, many of them fans of these celebrities, struggle to make ends meet. American workers deserve better pay, better treatment, and better “values” from their employer and if Hollywood won’t tell their story, then we will,” said Parraz.

You can sign the “letter to Hollywood” petition here.

On Feb. 24, the UFCW International hosted a Black History Month lunch and panel discussion around the theme of “freedom.”

UFCW International President Marc Perrone and International Vice President and Director of Civil Rights and Community Action Robin Williams opened the program, and singer Lee Anderson led the participants with an emotional version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Panelists included Carmen Berkley, director of Civil, Human and Women’s Rights at the AFL-CIO; Fareed Michelen, special assistant to the secretary-treasurer at the New York State AFL-CIO; and Jamal Watkins, national outreach director at the AFL-CIO.

Panelists talked about the theme of “freedom” in relation to the current political climate.

“What does it mean to be free?” said Berkeley. “When you can’t be yourself, you can’t be free.”

“We are born free, but we are taught oppression every day,” said Michelen.

“If we allow oppression with the left hand, it leads to the right hand,” Michelen continued. “It’s a cancer.”

Watkins talked about the power of the ballot in terms of freedom. “Political power in this country equals freedom,” he said.