Breaking: Whole Foods workers striking for right to stay home on Thanksgiving
Source: Salon
“I think it will be disruptive, but that’s kind of the point," says one of the Chicago workers striking today
JOSH EIDELSON
A handful of Whole Foods workers plan to strike today at two stores, joining this month’s wave of non-union low-wage worker strikes and highlighting their opposition to an escalating trend: Employees stuck spending Thanksgiving with throngs of customers rather than in the company of friends and family.
Whole Foods employee Matthew Camp, a member of the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago (WOCC), told Salon he expects about ten workers to join the walkout, which will include an afternoon rally with fast food and Wal-Mart employees and other supporters. “I think it will be disruptive, but that’s kind of the point: to disrupt the flow of things,” said Camp. He added, “Causing a disruption also provides us with a platform – you know, we have to make some noise to get our point across.” Whole Foods did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As I reported yesterday, major retailers have come under criticism for increasing Black Friday’s encroachment into their employees’ holidays by pushing store openings and sales even earlier into Thursday. Blake argued that supermarket employees also deserve a reprieve. “We work hardest for this holiday,” he told Salon, so “everyone can enjoy the holiday,” but “we would like to be able to participate in the holiday ourselves.” He suggested that supermarkets “close the doors” on Thanksgiving itself, and said that if a customer finds themselves missing an ingredient that day, “you improvise, and you let the people who work the hardest for the holiday have the day off. I mean, really I think it’s a question of respect.”
Asked about the strike, Whole Foods spokesperson McKinzey Crossland e-mailed, “As a company founded on the ideals of respect for the individual, self-empowerment and free speech, Whole Foods Market supports fair wages and the rights of all workers, and we support groups who want to express their opinions and raise awareness for their cause, as long as they remain on public property.” She said the company “takes pride in helping our shoppers for this special food-focused holiday, whether it’s weeks or even minutes in advance,” and noted that Chicagoland-area employees working on Thanksgiving receive time-and-a-half pay and “added dollars thanks to our gainsharing program.”
Read more: http://www.salon.com/2013/11/27/breaking_whole_foods_workers_striking_for_right_to_stay_home_on_thanksgiving/
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