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June 19th, 2019
Greg Foran President and CEO Walmart U.S. Dear Mr. Foran, This Juneteenth, community leaders, elected officials, religious leaders and labor leaders are urging you to rehire hundreds of predominantly Black warehouse workers who were formerly employed by Schneider Logistics at your largest warehouse in the country in Elwood, Illinois. Many of the workers at your warehouse worked for years at your facility, loading and unloading trucks, moving your merchandize, keeping track of your products and making sure customers always got their products in time. Your workforce was hard working, loyal and took pride in their jobs. After you “in-sourced” your workforce you told predominantly black workers they would not be hired because of criminal backgrounds. Not only did these hundreds of workers lose their jobs, they lost out on raises and benefits you were giving to employees. According to the Bureau of Justice’s statistics, 2.2 million people were in jail in the United States in 2018, making the country the largest jailer in the world, both in total size and per population. While 8% of the total population has had a felony, 33% of black males have some form of felony. These kind of criminal records create barriers for all with criminal record, but disproportionately hurt black workers. Whether it’s the intent or not, your decision hurt the black community. Further, your decision happened during a time when Illinois recently legalized marijuana. This was done partially to alleviate the problem of criminalization of the black community. Throughout our society, there are deep conversations about race and criminalization and whether our justice system has been too punitive towards citizens, especially people of color. That’s why it’s so disappointing that you took actions that cost hundreds of worker their jobs. However, it’s not too late and you can do the following to address workers issues. We Demand the Following:
Sincerely, Warehouse Workers for Justice Walmart Workers for Justice Mark Balentine, Former Walmart/Schneider Employee, 3 years Laseant Sardin, Former Walmart/Schneider Employee, 2 years Doane Amerson, Former Walmart/Schneider Employee, 2 years Gerome Waller, Former Walmart/Schneider Employee, 8 months Matthew Metts, Former Walmart/Schneider Employee, 2 years Robert Jackson, Former Walmart/Schneider Employee, 2 ½ years Robert Peters, Illinois State Senator, 13th District Aaron Ortiz, Illinois State Representative, 1st District Alma Anaya, Cook County Commissioner, 7th District Jackie Traynere, Will County Board, 4th District Rachel Ventura, Will County Board, 9th District Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33rd Ward Dr. Robert C Jones Jr., Pastor, Mt Carmel Missionary Baptist Church Melissa Brice, Founder 350 Chicago Larry Coble, Vice President, Board of Directors, 350 Chicago 350 Chicago About Face: Veterans Against War Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 ARISE Chicago Centro De Trabajadores Unidos (CTU) Chicago Community and Workers Rights Chicago Jobs With Justice Chicago Workers Collaborative Farmworker Association of Florida Fair World Project Federation Du Commerce Food Chain Workers Alliance Food and Water Watch Grassroots Collaborative Greater Chicago Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) International Labor Rights Forum Just Say No To Northpoint Justice is Global Laundry Workers Center New York City/New Jersey Latino Union Migrant Justice Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church- Chicago Our Revolution National Organizations United for Respect (OUR) Partnership for Working Families Pioneer Valley Workers Center Raise The Floor Alliance Restaurant Opportunities Center- Chicago Sierra Club Illinois Shriver Center on Poverty Law Street Vendors Project Unite25 United Electrical Workers (UE) Western Region United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 (UFCW) United Working Families (UWF) Vietnam Veterans Against the War Workers Rights Board-Chicago |
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