Brave retail cleaning workers tell Supervalu to clean up its act

http://unionreview.com/brave-retail-cleaning-workers-tell-supervalu-clean-its-act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 20, 2011

Contact: Veronica Mendez (612)702-2120 or Kevin Whelan 612-325-9266l; kwhelan@mnfaireconomy.org

Community Support Builds for Low-Wage Workers Spurned by Supervalu’s (dba Cub Foods) Execs as Shareholder Meeting Approaches

Minneapolis, MN – Cleaning workers at Supervalu’s Cub Foods stores are calling on company shareholders to address the low wages and working conditions for workers who clean the retail giant’s stores.

“I work hard for my family. I work hard to keep Supervalu’s Cub Foods stores clean, but Supervalu evidently doesn’t value my work. Sometimes I cannot afford to shop in the grocery store I clean at night,” said Jose Garcia, cleaner at Cub Foods and member of CTUL.

Low-wage cleaning workers reportedly continue to be disregarded by Supervalu executives, despite a year of attempts to open dialogue by the CTUL workers’ organization, including sending letters, almost 200 petition signatures, and delegations, a 12-day hunger strike, numerous protest rallies, and community support that includes United States Representative Keith Ellison, ELCA Bishop Craig Johnson, State Senator Patricia Torres-Ray, State Representative Jim Davnie, and Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schiff, as well as a resolution in support of workers from the Minneapolis City Council.

Instead of meeting with the low-wage cleaning workers to discuss job safety and a code of conduct protecting cleaning workers, Supervalu, which operates as Cub Foods, has focused its resources on a lawsuit seemingly aimed at bankrupting the workers’ small non-profit organization Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL). In an apparent effort to try to silence the voice of workers and their community supporters, Supervalu (dba Cub Foods) has gotten an injunction order. Click here to read the injunction

FULL story at link.

Edited for spelling

Very commonly referred to as "sewervalu" in a lot of circles.