TELL COSTCO: SUPPORT PALERMO’S PIZZA WORKERS

Laura Torres, a single mother of six, has worked at the Palermo’s Pizza plant in Milwaukee for 10 years. After safety issues led to thousands of dollars in fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, she and her co-workers began organizing to form a union to secure safe working conditions.^[1]

Palermo’s executives could have taken the high road and sat down with Laura and other workers to hear their concerns. Instead, they chose to start an intimidation campaign that has forced the National Labor Relations Board to investigate claims of unlawful threats and firings.^[2]

Laura and her co-workers have been on strike for two months now, but with every passing day management is digging in its heels. Workers, though, are not giving up and are joining together with working families across the country to take the next step in the campaign for justice at Palermo’s. And you can help.

As the largest purchaser of Palermo’s products, Costco can put pressure on Palermo’s to stand with workers. Thousands already have sent letters to Costco and held events outside Costco stores in multiple cities asking the company to support Palermo’s workers.

Click here to stand with pizza workers and let Costco know they should, too.

Costco has built a reputation on its commitment to a strong Supplier Code of Conduct. A major part of this code sets forth a “continuing commitment to the protection and improvement of employees’ rights” and allows Costco to audit its suppliers, like Palermo’s, to make sure they are in compliance with the code.

By asking Costco to take a stand and letting Palermo’s know Costco won’t tolerate the company’s lack of workplace safety and unfair treatment of workers, we can put pressure on Palermo’s to finally do the right thing for their workers and customers.

Tell Costco to put pressure on Palermo’s to end its intimidation campaign, improve conditions and let workers have a voice on the job.

Thank you for your support of Palermo’s Pizza workers in their struggle for dignity and justice on the job.

In Solidarity,

Andy Richards
Digital Strategies, AFL-CIO

P.S. Workers have been on strike for two months and have relied on the generous support of donations to the strike fund to keep them going. But the strike fund is dangerously low. Can you make a donation of $5 to support the workers’ strike fund?

^[1] www.theuptake.org/2012/06/10/records-show-palermos-strikers-safety-concerns-are-real/
^[2] www.milwaukeelabor.org/in_the_news/article.cfm?n_id=00276