Tag Archives: Costco

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Keep toxic chemicals off store shelves


Union of Concerned Scientists
If there’s one question UCS gets asked a lot it’s this: “Why don’t you folks all work together?” But here at the Union of Concerned Scientists, collaboration is a guiding principle. We partner with many of the nation’s leading scientists, environmental and consumer protection organizations, and decision-makers in government to achieve our common goal: a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
Right now, we’re teaming up with our friends at the League of Conservation Voters to pressure top retailers to keep hazardous chemicals out of their products.
Join us in taking action with the League of Conservation Voters. Send a message now asking the nation’s biggest retailers to keep toxic chemicals off their shelves >>
For years, UCS has worked as part of the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families Coalition to ensure that policy makers and consumers have access to accurate scientific information about the toxic chemicals in our communities and consumer products. Like you, we believe that people need access to adequate information about toxics if they are to make informed decisions that protect the health of their families. Now you can take the next step by taking action with the League of Conservation Voters to urge retailers to take toxic chemicals out of their stores. Tell our nation’s biggest retailers to take toxic chemicals out of their stores! Add your name to our petition for safe products here >>

Want to keep harmful chemicals out of our everyday products?

When you stopped to grab a bottle of shampoo, did anyone tell you that it could contain cancer-causing chemicals? Have you checked if that shirt you bought is kept wrinkle-free by formaldehyde? Do you know if that couch you bought is releasing chemicals that could harm your children’s mental development?
Most of the time, I don’t. It’s impossible to know all the right questions to ask when we go to the store to keep ourselves and our families safe. And frankly, it shouldn’t be our job. The stores where we shop should watch out for us by asking their suppliers to keep toxic chemicals out of their products. But they won’t do it unless we make them.
Sign our petition urging the biggest retailers to keep products with toxic chemicals off their shelves now >>
In April, we joined with the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition on a campaign called “Mind the Store,” which asks major retailers to protect us by keeping the Hazardous 100+ toxic chemicals out of their products.
More than 40,000 people took action and we were heard! Target and Walmart responded to our petition by announcing that they would take some of the most dangerous chemicals out of the products they sell.
Now we need your help to make sure that other major retailers like Walgreens, Costco, and Safeway follow suit. These retailers are often stuck in the same place we are. Our broken federal laws mean they have limited access to basic health and safety information on toxic chemicals sold in their very own stores.
But they have the power to ask the questions and make the demands to keep us safe. And as we saw with Target and Walmart, if they hear from enough of their customers, these major retailers will tell their suppliers to take theseHazardous 100+ chemicals out of their products.
So help us show these major retailers that their customers are demanding toxic-free products. Sign our petition here >>
Our nation’s chemical laws may be broken, but we don’t have to wait for progress in Washington to start making our stores and homes safer.
With your voice and the thousands of others dedicated to creating safer chemicals that will lead to healthier families, we can create real change and accountability for the suppliers now and make sure our neighbors are minding their stores!

Sincerely, Vanessa Kritzer Vanessa Kritzer Online Campaigns Manager League of Conservation Voters
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Palermo Workers Union


This past weekend we hit the three month mark since we began our strike for a safer workplace and voice on the job at Palermo’s Pizza.I’m not going to lie. It has been hard, at times, to keep the strike going over the past three months. But the recent actions outside more than 50 Costco stores all over the country and the thousands of emails and calls that have been generated to Costco have re-energized us.We can win this with your help. To say thank you and to keep your energized for the fight ahead, we wanted to share this new video from one of the Costco actions some of us attended recently.

Watch the video and share it with your friends here.

Your support forced Palermo’s CEO Giacomo Fallucca to meet with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumkalast Friday to finally begin a dialogue to resolve this issue for workers and Palermo’s customers.

But Fallucca is still refusing to meet with us, reinstate fired workers or recognize our union.

Fallucca and Palermo’s representatives claim they create a family atmosphere in the workplace. I’m not sure about you, but firing long-term employees for organizing to improve their workplace and then refusing to meet with them isn’t what I’d call a family atmosphere.

Let’s show Fallucca what people working together for justice can really do. Let’s keep the pressure up.

Click here now to watch and share our new video:

http://go.aflcio.org/palermosvideo

In Solidarity,

Orlando Sosa
Organizing Committee of the Palermo Workers Union

P.S. Can you help us keep the strike going by contributing $3 or more to our strike fund? Click here to donate online now.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Palermo Workers Union


A lot has happened since we last e-mailed you with an update on our fight for justice at Palermo’s Pizza.

You may have seen in the news recently that after tens of thousands of e-mails and dozens of actions outside Costco stores around the country, Palermo’s CEO Giacomo Fallucca reached out to us about meeting to come to a resolution to reinstate fired workers and recognize our union.

This is a good step and we couldn’t have gotten here without your help. Palermo’s executives are really feeling the pressure, but this doesn’t mean we can let up now.

Over the coming week, thousands of people will particiapte in a national week of action outside Costco stores, including at an event outside of Costco headquarters in Seattle today, to make sure the company keeps the pressure on Palermo’s to follow through with their commitment to resolve this issue in the right way for its workers and customers.

Even though there isn’t an action planned in your area, you still can help.

Call Costco now at 425-313-8100 (dial zero to speak with an operator who will direct your call) and tell the person you speak with you want the company to call on Palermo’s to reinstate fired workers and recognize our union. You may be put on hold for a few minutes while they transfer you but stay on the line.

The bottom line is Palermo’s is scared because you are helping to expose their dirty tactics and motivated Costco, the largest purchaser of its products, to question whether Palermo’s meets the high standards the company sets for its suppliers.

It is more important than ever that we do everything we can to show people are still watching and will not rest until fired workers are reinstated to their jobs and our union is recognized.

Can you help us keep the pressure on Palermo’s by calling Costco now at 425-313-8100 (dial zero to speak with an operator who will direct your call and stay on the line if they transfer you)?

We hope Palermo’s will end its misinformation campaign and sit down with us to find a resolution that will get everyone back to work, provide us with a voice on the job and create a safer workplace so we can continue to provide the best quality pizzas to Palermo’s customers.

But until that happens, we cannot let up. Thank for you for continuing to stand with us.

In Solidarity,

Raul de la Torre
Organizing Committee, Palermo Workers Union

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No Justice , No Pizza


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

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Tuna Industry’s Dirty Little Secret


There’s a lot more to a can of tuna than the friendly looking label might suggest. Behind every happy bumble bee and smiling mermaid there’s an ocean of destruction.

That’s why Greenpeace is launching a new campaign to get the canned tuna industry to clean up its act and end its destructive ways. And to kick things off we’ve teamed up with Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Mark Fiore on a brand new video to expose the industry’s dirty little secret.

Our goal is to reach 25,000 views in the first 48 hours. If we do that, we have a great chance of giving the video the momentum it needs to really get the tuna industry’s attention.

Together we have already transformed the supermarket seafood industry in this country — getting companies like Costco, Trader Joe’s and Target to adopt real sustainable seafood policies. Now it’s time to take on the companies most responsible for ocean destruction in the United States.

You’ll be hearing a lot more about this campaign in the weeks and months to come. I can’t wait to get started.

In the meantime, check out the video and pass it along on Facebook and Twitter. The more we spread the word the faster we expose the tuna industry’s dirty little secret and save the oceans.

Sincerely,

Casson Trenor

Senior Markets Campaigner

P.S. One of the fastest and easiest ways to get people to watch the video is to forward this email to the people in your email address book.