Warehouse Workers United

Sep 182012
 
Voices from the Wal-mart warehouse

Sixty-three percent of warehouse workers are injured on the job.

from Warehouse Workers United

Stand with these courageous warehouse workers and demand that Walmart executives hear directly from the people who move its goods.

Dear Walmart CEO Mike Duke, Board of Directors and Walmart Executives:

As warehouse workers who move boxes of goods destined for Walmart stores across the U.S., we and our supporters are asking Walmart executives to meet directly with us.

Marta injured her back because of the grueling pace inside the warehouses and now she is unable to work. Limber works under dangerous conditions, forced to use broken equipment and at risk of dehydration because of inadequate access to clean drinking water

Warehouse workers speak out the conditions inside the warehouses where workers move the mega retailers' merchandise

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Our work is unsafe, injuries are common, and the pay is so low we cannot make ends meet. Right now, the temperatures in Riverside and San Bernardino top 100 degrees daily and inside the metal containers the temperature can get up to 120 degrees. There is little ventilation and the heat and pollutants we inhale can make us vomit and bleed from the nose. We face intense retaliation from management if we say anything about the conditions.

We have tried several times to reach out to you, writing letters and using the channels that Walmart provides in its “Standards for Suppliers.” Even after we filed official complaints about health and safety violations and notified Walmart directly about illegal working conditions, you have ignored us. But we are not an isolated problem that will just go away: there are thousands of warehouse workers in Southern California, Chicago, New Jersey and elsewhere who labor to stock Walmart shelves – all facing similar conditions.

We, and our supporters who have signed below, are asking you, Walmart executives and Board members, to sit down with us to learn about our experience moving your goods and to figure out how you can ensure all of Walmart’s contractors and suppliers follow the law and live up to your own standards. Walmart, you set the standards for the industry; with a little good will, you can help ensure humane working conditions for thousands of warehouse workers in your supply chain.

Sincerely,

Limber Herrera
Warehouse Worker

Marta Medina
Warehouse Worker