UPDATE: July 31, 2015
El Super Workers WIN BIG!!! A Federal Court found that El Super commited unlawful actions against their employees including Fermín and ordered they immediately remedy the actions (see image below for more details). Congrats to El Super workers!
When a fellow worker is fired for wanting to join a union, there’s only one way to respond: stand behind them! That’s exactly what happened for Fermín Rodríguez, a worker who was terminated by El Super, a California-based, Mexican owned supermarket chain where he worked for 9 years.
Fermín along with his fellow El Super workers had been working without a union contract since September of 2013 with their boss refusing to negotiate with them for more than a year. The company even went so far as to try to take away their union representation.
In response, Fermín and his coworkers launched a boycott to protest unfair labor practices at El Super stores last December. They also created an online petition for others to pledge support for Fermín and his El Super grocery workers and to boycott El Super. The petition went viral and surpassed the goal of 15,000 signatures within three hours. If you didn’t get a chance to last week, you can sign the petition here now!
Fermín explained the goal of the petition:
The National Labor Relations Board announced it was seeking a rare injunction that could force the company to restore benefits and reinstate me to my position, so I can walk alongside my co workers, and return to the bargaining table.
But this fight is about more than my illegal firing: it's about respect for all workers and basic protections on the job. The ability to take sick leave when we or a family member is ill; a fair wage that reflects our contribution to the company’s giant profits; and guaranteed full-time hours for those willing to work.
We need to show El Super and their parent company — Grupo Chedraui, the third largest grocery chain in Mexico — that we will not stand for its illegal and intimidating tactics.
To show solidarity with Fermín and El Super workers, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union and Mexican trade union allies also protested last week in front of a Super Chedraui, the parent company of El Super, in Mexico City as part of an International Day of Action.
And the fight continues!
Follow Justice for El Super on Facebook for up-to-the-minute details.
