Posts Tagged: White House Summit on Working Families

UFCW/RWDSU Local 1-S Macy’s worker Kay Thompson speaks at the White House Summit on Working Families.

Macy’s worker Kim Mitchell from UFCW Local 400 and Macy’s worker Kay Thompson from UFCW/RWDSU Local 1-S, along with 12 Walmart moms, attended the White House Summit on Working Families on Monday.  The summit convened businesses, economists, labor leaders, policymakers, advocates, and ordinary citizens to discuss policy solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of working families.

Kim Mitchell, who works at Macy’s in Washington D.C., attended the summit to bring attention to the union difference in the retail industry.  As the result of a strong union contract between Macy’s and its workers, Mitchell has been able to live comfortably and support her family. Mitchell, who is a single mother, earns $20 an hour and benefits from “predictive scheduling” which helps ensure her hours are both adequate and predictable.

“I am here with a simple message—union jobs are the best jobs,” she said. “My membership in the UFCW has allowed me to achieve my dream of financial security and peace of mind. That contract is more than a document to me—it’s my family’s livelihood.”

“I am glad the President is focusing on these important issues,” Mitchell said. “I am here to tell the White House that the best way to help workers is through a union contract. Strengthening the right to organize and bargain collectively should be at the top of any plan to lift up working families.”

Also attending the summit were a group of “Walmart Moms” who are speaking out for fair wages and respect on the job. Many of them were on strike earlier this month calling on the mega retailer to end retaliation against workers who speak out to improve the workplace.

“Millions of workers, especially working women, have stories similar to mine,” said Bene’t Holmes, a Walmart worker and single mother from Chicago. “They are trapped in a cycle of low wage jobs with unpredictable hours that make it so difficult to raise a family. My hope is this event will help elevate the ongoing national conversation about making today’s workplaces better for everyone, including working mothers like me.”

The financial struggles of Walmart moms, like many women who are increasingly the breadwinners for their families, are disproportionately impacted by the low-wage worker crisis. Even though Walmart brings in more than $16 billion in annual profits, the majority of Walmart workers are paid less than $25,000 a year – forcing many to rely on food stamps and other taxpayer-supported programs to survive.

Charmaine Givens-Thomas also attended the summit and launched a petition last year asking President Obama to make good on his promise to tackle income inequality and meet with Walmart workers that are calling for better jobs and an end to illegal retaliation. The petition has over 200,000 signatures.

“Walmart moms like me are living the reality of the income inequality the president has been talking about,” said Givens-Thomas, a mother and grandmother who has worked at Walmart for over eight years and only makes $23,000 a year. “We want the president to meet with us to hear how Walmart is fueling the income equality crisis—and how the company could easily fix this problem.”

Hundreds traveled to the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the “Working Families Speak Up!” event that focused on working women and the impact of the trends in the current workforce on their families and the economy.

On June 22, hundreds of women workers, union members, and community supporters from across the country traveled to the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C. to participate in the “Working Families Speak Up!” event.  “Working Families Speak Up!” focused on working women and the impact of the trends in the current workforce on their families and the economy. The event served as a rallying pre-event for the White House Working Families Summit that took place on June 23.

Event participants wanted to get the message out that women are coming together and improving their workplaces by fighting for policies that will better the lives of workers and families across the country. OUR Walmart member and working mother Linda Haluska was one of the many speakers who took to the podium during the event. She talked about how improvements in workplace policies such as more consistent and adequate hours in retail scheduling will directly improve the lives of workers and families.

Other policy changes included raising the tipped and minimum wage and making equal pay for equal work a reality.

“I believe addressing income inequality is the challenge of our time. We must do everything we can to tip the balance back in favor of workers. That means making the minimum wage a living wage. It means ensuring equal pay for equal work is the law, not just a slogan,” UFCW International President Joe Hansen remarked during the event.

Workers and supporters also called for policies to ensure that everyone has access to affordable child care and can receive basic workplace accommodations during pregnancy. Participants also expressed that workers know collective bargaining and collective action are important for achieving workplace policies that work for women and families.

Many of the “Working Families Speak Up!” event participants were eager to take their stories and their message that collective action is imperative to achieving better and fairer wages and working conditions for working women and their families to the White House Working Families Summit. In the lead up to the White House Summit on Working Families that took place on Monday, labor unions and worker organizations are highlighting the need to raise wages as key to improving the lives of all workers.  The labor movement has been on the forefront of the fight to raise wages including raising the federal minimum wage and tipped wage, raising the minimum wage locally in states and cities, and ensuring that all workers have the right to a voice on the job to demand fair pay.