Supermarket Toxicity
[ From: "Janitors Protest Albertsons' Use of Allegedly Toxic Chemicals - Claim Grocery Store Chain Endangers Employees’ Health," By Sara Tan, SB INDEPENDENT, April 16, 2009 - click on "Supermarket Toxicity" for full text ]
Santa Barbara and Ventura county janitors... called for fairer wages, better healthcare, and a safer working environment...
Janitors claimed that their health is being put at risk by the toxic chemicals in the cleaning products, and criticized supermarkets — namely Albertsons... “A lot of these chemicals [used for cleaning] are outlawed in penitentiaries and schools,” Mike Chavez, SEIU Local 1877’s political coordinator. “How is it that we’re protecting criminals from these chemicals and we’re exposing the general public, in this case our janitors, to them?”
Protestors complained that after a day’s work, they either feel dizzy, nauseous, or that their throats hurt. “In some cases, [we] bleed in our nose because some of those chemicals are so concentrated,” said a SEIU member. “We contribute to this community, we do an excellent job, and we like what we do, but we need the company to commit to decent wages and respect [us].” Photos of worker’s hands, broken in rashes from chemicals, stood by the entrance of the supermarket, distracting customers as they walked in...
In addition to unsafe working environments, janitors also protested having to pay higher wages for healthcare, especially while supermarkets remain one of the few industries unscathed by the recession. “The supermarket industry is profiting because less people are eating out at restaurants and more people are eating at home,” said Chavez. “Yet, they’re crying wolf, saying that the economy is bad [which is why they’re] trying to scale back healthcare for our janitors. The combination of toxic chemicals and scaling back healthcare doesn’t make sense.”
Santa Barbara city councilmember Das Williams and Santa Maria city councilmember Hilda Zacarias showed support of the protest, speaking out against the supermarkets on behalf of the janitors. “[Janitors are already] working at wages that most of us couldn’t make it with. To ask them to take some of those hard-earned dollars and pay an increased cost in healthcare is unacceptable,” said Hilda Zacarias. “We’re going to ask you to tell Albertsons ‘No.’”
Williams, rallying directly beside the SEIU, also addressed the shoppers. “In the name of Santa Barbara, we ask Albertsons, Ralphs, and Vons to stop using toxic materials for their cleaning supplies, transition to green materials like so many other industries are doing, and treat their workers fairly. This is a worker friendly town, and people want to shop at worker friendly businesses.”
In response to Tuesday’s protest and others like it throughout Southern California, Albertsons released a statement...
“... We work closely with our cleaning chemical suppliers to provide safe and effective cleaning products. The sanitation cleaning chemicals used to clean our stores are compliant with the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations and used in accordance with the manufacturers labeled directions.”
"... we are disappointed that this is the SEIU’s response to our commitment at the bargaining table. Albertsons believes the only way to get a new contract is to negotiate at the bargaining table, but instead, the SEIU is focusing on conducting rallies about topics that are untrue.”
Protestors, however, maintain the chemicals are injuring not only janitors but also Albertsons customers due to the toxic environment their products are being sold in. “In an environmentally conscious community such as Santa Barbara, a lot of people buy organic products; but the chemicals that they are using in the store [that they buy them from] are not,” said Chavez...
The janitors hope their protest will result in a bargaining session with Albertsons, the last of the major supermarkets to concede to one. “We’ve had five bargaining sessions with Ralph’s. Albertsons refuses to engage in formal negotiations,” said Chavez. “We’re here to pressure them to go back to the table and [to] just be fair. We’re not asking for a lot, we know that the economy is bad. We’re willing to take concessions on wages, but we’re not willing to compromise the health of our janitors.”
Santa Barbara and Ventura county janitors... called for fairer wages, better healthcare, and a safer working environment...
Janitors claimed that their health is being put at risk by the toxic chemicals in the cleaning products, and criticized supermarkets — namely Albertsons... “A lot of these chemicals [used for cleaning] are outlawed in penitentiaries and schools,” Mike Chavez, SEIU Local 1877’s political coordinator. “How is it that we’re protecting criminals from these chemicals and we’re exposing the general public, in this case our janitors, to them?”
Protestors complained that after a day’s work, they either feel dizzy, nauseous, or that their throats hurt. “In some cases, [we] bleed in our nose because some of those chemicals are so concentrated,” said a SEIU member. “We contribute to this community, we do an excellent job, and we like what we do, but we need the company to commit to decent wages and respect [us].” Photos of worker’s hands, broken in rashes from chemicals, stood by the entrance of the supermarket, distracting customers as they walked in...
In addition to unsafe working environments, janitors also protested having to pay higher wages for healthcare, especially while supermarkets remain one of the few industries unscathed by the recession. “The supermarket industry is profiting because less people are eating out at restaurants and more people are eating at home,” said Chavez. “Yet, they’re crying wolf, saying that the economy is bad [which is why they’re] trying to scale back healthcare for our janitors. The combination of toxic chemicals and scaling back healthcare doesn’t make sense.”
Santa Barbara city councilmember Das Williams and Santa Maria city councilmember Hilda Zacarias showed support of the protest, speaking out against the supermarkets on behalf of the janitors. “[Janitors are already] working at wages that most of us couldn’t make it with. To ask them to take some of those hard-earned dollars and pay an increased cost in healthcare is unacceptable,” said Hilda Zacarias. “We’re going to ask you to tell Albertsons ‘No.’”
Williams, rallying directly beside the SEIU, also addressed the shoppers. “In the name of Santa Barbara, we ask Albertsons, Ralphs, and Vons to stop using toxic materials for their cleaning supplies, transition to green materials like so many other industries are doing, and treat their workers fairly. This is a worker friendly town, and people want to shop at worker friendly businesses.”
In response to Tuesday’s protest and others like it throughout Southern California, Albertsons released a statement...
“... We work closely with our cleaning chemical suppliers to provide safe and effective cleaning products. The sanitation cleaning chemicals used to clean our stores are compliant with the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations and used in accordance with the manufacturers labeled directions.”
"... we are disappointed that this is the SEIU’s response to our commitment at the bargaining table. Albertsons believes the only way to get a new contract is to negotiate at the bargaining table, but instead, the SEIU is focusing on conducting rallies about topics that are untrue.”
Protestors, however, maintain the chemicals are injuring not only janitors but also Albertsons customers due to the toxic environment their products are being sold in. “In an environmentally conscious community such as Santa Barbara, a lot of people buy organic products; but the chemicals that they are using in the store [that they buy them from] are not,” said Chavez...
The janitors hope their protest will result in a bargaining session with Albertsons, the last of the major supermarkets to concede to one. “We’ve had five bargaining sessions with Ralph’s. Albertsons refuses to engage in formal negotiations,” said Chavez. “We’re here to pressure them to go back to the table and [to] just be fair. We’re not asking for a lot, we know that the economy is bad. We’re willing to take concessions on wages, but we’re not willing to compromise the health of our janitors.”
Labels: chemicals, supermarkets, toxicity
posted by Malcolm
at
4/18/2009
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