BREAKING: Whole Foods Strike Wins Thanksgiving Day off, Workers Say
Source: Salon.com
Hours into today’s strike, Whole Foods told Salon its Thanksgiving policy had been misrepresented — and workers say the company has now caved to their demand.
In a Wednesday afternoon e-mail, Whole Foods spokesperson McKinzey Crossland told Salon that “it is not company policy to be open on Thanksgiving Day,” and that when stores choose to be open that day, “Our company policy is that working Thanksgiving day is voluntary.” Crossland added, “We’ve heard from many Team Members in the Midwest region and nationwide that the chance to be part of the excitement during this very busy time of year while earning higher wages is a welcome opportunity: We actually have more Team Members volunteering to work on Thanksgiving Day than we have spaces to fill.”
Asked about that account, striker Aaron King told Salon, “It’s pretty blatant that working on Thanksgiving was never voluntary.” His co-worker Matthew Camp said that in two years at Whole Foods, “I’ve never been told anything like that.” Based on conversations with co-workers, he said, “The expectation in my store is that you would work Thanksgiving…Either people say, ‘That’s to be expected in the business that we’re in,’ or otherwise, ‘It’s not fair, the store should be closed on Thanksgiving.’” He added, “If the company’s saying that there’s a volunteer basis, that’s just patently false.” According to Camp, management at his store said months ago, at least for employees who had not already been cleared to take the holiday off, “that Thanksgiving is a day that we may not take off without accruing a point or a demerit on our record.”
Deivid Rojas, a spokesperson for Fight for 15, a group behind Chicago’s fast food, retail, and Whole Foods strikes, told Salon what he’s been told by Whole Foods workers is that while “some people might request it and get it off,” otherwise “everyone is expected to work” on Thanksgiving, and in some cases the day has been among those listed as a “Blackout Day” when time off is particularly restricted.
“If that’s what the company is now saying, then I would say that’s a direct response to our organizing,” responded Camp. He said a strike rally scheduled for 4:30 PM CST would “certainly go forward, but now it might have a tinge of victory to it.” Rojas agreed: “Until this moment, the policy that the store was representing was different from what they’re portraying now.” The takeaway, he added, is that for lots of workers, “striking is working.”
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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