Warehouse Workers For Retail Giants Rally

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/10953

Lede: A rally by Warehouse Workers United turned into a sit-in a few days ago as efforts to organize the workers who move and store goods for America’s retail giants heats up. Doug Cunningham reports.

By Doug Cunningham

: “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”

Half of the 100,000 warehouse workers are employed by temp agencies and are paid $8-10 an hour with few or no benefits. They are actively kept from being able to work full-time 40-hour weeks. Warehouse Workers United is fighting this injustice in an effort to turn these jobs into god middle class jobs. Isabel Castelan is a warehouse worker arrested at the recent sit-in. It took courage to defy authority in her struggle for justice, but she’s proud of taking a stand.

: “I believe in this fight. I believe that there should be changes, and – I mean I was really scared at the beginning. You know, I didn’t know what was going to happen. But then once when I was handcuffed and walking out I like saw these people, you know, and like in their faces. You know they were crying, and they were full of emotion. And I was felt honored and proud to do it because we want changes. We want a decent wage, we want health care benefits.”