Labor & Economy
Governor Brown Gets Bill to Help Warehouse Workers

For hundreds of warehouse workers like Daniel Lopez of Riverside, working in unsafe conditions for up to 16 hours a day, for months at a time, is not uncommon. Asking for safe and clean working conditions or a reasonable work schedule could mean losing his job. (Watch Daniel’s video, above, about his experience in the warehouse.)
Last week, Daniel and I, along with other workers, went to Sacramento to urge the California Senate to pass AB 1855. They did, and if signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, AB 1855, sponsored by Assembly member Norma Torres and Senator Juan Vargas, will extend basic protections to tens of thousands of warehouse workers.
Fly-by-night contractors dominate the warehousing industry and provide a buffer between retailers like Walmart and the workers who move their goods. We have seen it many times; staffing agencies that supply workers in warehouses disappear overnight and leave workers without a job and without a paycheck.
California law already prohibits labor contracts that are financially insufficient to comply with the law in agriculture, construction, garment, janitorial and security. Assembly Bill 1855, backed by the California Labor Federation, would extend this protection to hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers. Last year, the California Labor Commissioner issued massive citations against Walmart subcontractors for stolen wages from warehouse workers. This bill would make it easier for workers to hold their employers accountable and receive proper payment.
Assembly Bill 1855 currently awaits the governor’s signature. On behalf of the 85,000 warehouse workers working in Southern California, I urge Gov. Jerry Brown to make AB 1855 law and extend dignity and fairness to tens of thousands of more workers in California.
For more information visit www.warehouseworkersunited.org
Guadalupe Palma is deputy director of Warehouse Workers United, a new organization of warehouse workers in the Inland Empire. Her post first appeared on Labor’s Edge and is reposted with permission.
-
EnvironmentJune 21, 2022
Why Are So Many Firefighters Still Struggling to Afford Housing?
-
Politics & GovernmentJune 18, 2022
Inside the Fight to Force Makers of Plastic Trash to Clean Up Their Mess
-
EnvironmentJune 22, 2022
Oxnard Residents Fight Port’s Plan to Store Thousands of Cars Close to Their Beach
-
State of InequalityJune 2, 2022
California Public Schools are Losing Underpaid Teachers at a Steep Rate
-
ImmigrationJune 1, 2022
A Photojournalist’s Lens on ‘More Than a Wall’
-
Politics & GovernmentJune 9, 2022
AT&T Was April’s Top Donor to Lawmakers Who Voted to Overturn the Election
-
Latest NewsJune 10, 2022
A New Muckraking Newspaper From Ralph Nader Takes On Congress and Its Dirty Secrets
-
State of InequalityJune 16, 2022
In California, It Barely Pays to Take Care of Elders in Need at Home