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Hope that everyone gets a few moments to relax and enjoy this National Day of Thanksgiving!

New York, NY - Everyone involved in the labor movement knows that organizing is hard. But Phil Andrews, director of the RWDSU’s Retail Organizing Project will tell you that trying to organize low-paid, retail workers is harder still. Watch Video

“Typically, the normal way of organizing where you just get a lead and you go in and run elections until you win just doesn't work in retail,” Andrews recently told LaborPress. “Mostly because retail union density is low. As a result, wages, benefits and working conditions are very poor - and getting worse.”

With the average turnover rate at typical retail stores running 200-300 percent in a single year, it quickly becomes abundantly clear why organizers like Andrews have such a difficult task trying to rally marginalized workers who hate their jobs so much, they’re constantly looking for a way out.

“If workers don't have that kind of longevity and dedication to their job, the idea of going through the process of organizing a union through traditional means is just not appealing,” Andrews says. “The person will say to you, 'Look, I don't even want to be here next month, let alone next year. So, why would I stick my neck out and do any extra work for this job that I don't care about? As soon as I find another job that gives me more hours or a 25-cent raise, I'm going to take it.’”

http://laborpress.org/sectors/union-retail/3060-the-hardest-organizing-job-in-labor

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has begun its holiday season with a special focus on greater career opportunities for associates. The Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer anticipates that in 2013, it will promote more than 160,000 associates to positions with higher pay and more responsibility, including 25,000 promotions during its fourth quarter alone.

As part of this initiative, top executives are making personal appearances at stores to congratulate promoted associates and thank them for their service. Executives visiting stores include Bill Simon, Walmart U.S. president and CEO; Gisel Ruiz, Walmart U.S. COO; Michael Bender, president of Walmart West; Joaquin Gonzalez, president of Walmart East; and Mike Moore, president of Walmart Central.

“Our success from day one is a direct result of our associates and the hard work they do in taking care of our customers,” said Simon. “Like most Americans, our associates want good jobs and access to a better life. Whether you are a cashier in Charlotte, or a stocker in Dallas or an assistant manager in Los Angeles, Walmart wants to see you succeed.”

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/national-supermarket-chains/id40294/walmart-touts-career-ops/

Can we say PR Campaign?

Transnational cereal maker Kellogg's has locked out 220 members of the IUF-affiliated BCTGM since October 22 at its factory in Memphis, Tennessee to force unon acceptance of a plan to radically increase the use of casual workers.

Kellogg's are proposing to hire some 30% of the current workforce at significantly lower pay and benefits over the next 3 years with no guaranteed hours. The company has organized this assault while the Master Agreement of 2012, which limits casual work, is still in force.

http://cms.iuf.org

The 3-1/2-year contract with United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1000 covers 9,450 employees at 92 stores. It was ratified by an 87% majority, according to a statement on the website of the union local.

Terms of the pact were not disclosed.


Read More: http://supermarketnews.com/retail-amp-financial/texas-kroger-workers-ratify-pact#ixzz2ilPjePw2

CHICAGO — Total retail store shopper traffic during the first week of the partial government shutdown decreased 7.5% compared with a year ago, according to a report released Friday.

During the second week — from Oct. 6-12 — foot traffic decreased 7.1%, according to the report, which was conducted by ShopperTrak, based here. The Washington, D.C., area saw an even greater decrease, with an 11.4% decline in year-over-year shopper traffic the week of Oct. 6-12.


Read More: http://supermarketnews.com/latest-news/retail-traffic-down-7-during-shutdown-report#ixzz2iJ8Oewgu

St. Louis Food Hub will open Fields Foods, a full-service grocery store that evokes a neighborly atmosphere, right near the heart of historic Lafayette Square near downtown St. Louis.

Located at 1500 Lafayette Ave., Fields Foods is scheduled to open Jan. 4, bringing more than 100 full- and part-time jobs to the area.

Fields Foods aims to feature the best homegrown foods selection by partnering with small- and medium-sized farmers who actively practice sustainable methods. The entire project, which includes Fields Foods and the St. Louis Food Hub’s food distribution and processing center, will cost $15 million.

In addition to local fare, Fields Foods will sell product lines from trusted brands including a large selection of gluten-free, organic and non-genetically modified foods. The 37,000-square-foot building features extensive retail space, a wine and beer bar, and specialized sections for seafood, cheeses, meats and prepared foods.

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/independent-grocers/id40145/new-store-targets-st-louis-food-desert/

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Highlighting the growing split in the GOP ranks over the government shutdown, Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt refused to assign them the total blame for the shutdown. “There’s enough blame here to go around.” Blunt says the shutdown was a mistake, and that tying the shutdown to de-funding Obamacare was a major error.

“My view of this from the very first was that it wouldn’t work,” Blunt said in a conference call with Missouri reporters. “When you have the government shut down and the president’s health care initiative launches that same day is one indication of why I thought it wouldn’t work. It should never have happened.”

Blunt said he has spoken to military personnel at Scot Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood, and had been told that the shutdown is hurting military morale. “The civilian employees who work there play a vital role. They have bills to pay, and they’ve been sent home without paychecks. This is also damaging national security. Around half of the employees at the CIA have been furloughed, and our enemies around the world know that.”

Blunt also raised the prospect that the shutdown could extend for another two weeks, until Congress has to pass an increase in the national debt ceiling by October 17. If the ceiling is not extended, the U.S. government could begin defaulting on some of it’s debts. “If this thing isn’t ended in the next 24 to 48 hours, it won”t end until the debt ceiling problem is resolved,” he said. “Which means this will go on longer than anyone wants it too.”

http://fox2now.com/2013/10/02/missouri-sen-blunt-says-govt-shutdown-a-mistake-defunding-obamacare-an-error/

Teamsters Local 118 members overwhelmingly voted on Monday to reject a Wegmans Food Markets contract offer that the union claims would eliminate the pensions of more than 900 employees in Wegmans’ hometown of Rochester, N.Y., and endanger health care for the workers’ spouses. Local 118 said it would request the participation of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to settle the outstanding contract.

“Our members flatly said no to an offer that would immediately cut their compensation package, eradicate our pension and leave our spouses’ health care in jeopardy,” said Kevin McIntosh, Teamsters Local 118 business agent. In rejecting the contract, Teamsters Local 118 also authorized strike action.

“It is extremely frustrating that the Teamsters’ desire to keep Wegmans from leaving its troubled pension fund put our employees in the position it did,” CEO Danny Wegman said in response to the union’s rejection of the company’s “last, best and final” offer. “We made an offer to provide a more secure future for our people, and the union responded with misinformation and pressure on its own members – our employees – to reject that offer. We are very concerned.”

According to Wegmans, its offer included an immediate $1,000 lump-sum payment for full-time employees ($500 for part-time); an 18 percent pay increase over the life of the six-year contract; a move to Wegmans fully funded retirement plan, and a package of retirement assistance options valued at more than $10 million. The grocer would also pay the financially troubled New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund millions of dollars in withdrawal liability to help save the benefits already due its employees from the fund.

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/retail-supermarket-industry-news/id40088/teamsters-turn-down-wegmans-offer/