And while RWDSU has made no move to organize the chain, "we\'re reaching out" to the firm\'s workers, union spokeswoman Zita Allen adds.
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum blasted the second round of firings. He said they showed the firm\'s managers are "poster children for corporate irresponsibility." The coming firings will cut 654 store managers nationwide and 200 workers in Richmond, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting Circuit City CEO Philip Schoonhover.
Earlier this year, the retailer fired 3,400 staffers nationwide, virtually all because they were its highest-paid workers. It told them they could reapply for their old jobs in two months, at half the pay, and in the meantime it stuck with lower-paid workers. Customers responded by abandoning Circuit City due to lack of expertise on the stores\' floors. The firings led to a crash in revenues in the first quarter of 2007.
That first round of firings also prompted protests, including one in Minnesota, where unionists emphasized that had Circuit City workers been organized--a prospect that could occur if the Employee Free Choice Act was law--they would have had protection against the arbitrary pink slips.
"Circuit City\'s management seems intent on leading the company into an abyss," said Appelbaum. "Management doesn\'t seem to understand that, at the end of the day, the only real asset it has is its employees."
Appelbaum said RWDSU is already fighting for the workers Circuit City fired earlier, even though they\'re non-union. The 100,000-member union\'s executive board voted to back a lawsuit against Circuit City filed by three California workers, and RWDSU plans additional action against the electronics retailer.
The Circuit City workers are also drawing support from other unionists. Iron Workers Local 396 President Charles Becker told the St. Louis Labor Tribune, he would personally boycott Circuit City "and tell my friends and family to do so." He added "Americans must care about what other workers earn and be willing to pay the price for underwriting decent wages and benefits." Schoonhoover earned $17 million last year in pay and benefits while "Circuit City workers in the trenches earned $7.75-$10 an hour" with few or no benefits, Becker added.
"Even though the employees at Circuit City are not members of our union, every retail worker has a stake in fighting what Circuit City is doing," Appelbaum said. "Big chain stores have been pushing retail workers around for too long; it\'s time to push back."
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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And while RWDSU has made no move to organize the chain, "we\’re reaching out" to the firm\’s workers, union spokeswoman Zita Allen adds.
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum blasted the second round of firings. He said they showed the firm\’s managers are "poster children for corporate irresponsibility." The coming firings will cut 654 store managers nationwide and 200 workers in Richmond, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting Circuit City CEO Philip Schoonhover.
Earlier this year, the retailer fired 3,400 staffers nationwide, virtually all because they were its highest-paid workers. It told them they could reapply for their old jobs in two months, at half the pay, and in the meantime it stuck with lower-paid workers. Customers responded by abandoning Circuit City due to lack of expertise on the stores\’ floors. The firings led to a crash in revenues in the first quarter of 2007.
That first round of firings also prompted protests, including one in Minnesota, where unionists emphasized that had Circuit City workers been organized–a prospect that could occur if the Employee Free Choice Act was law–they would have had protection against the arbitrary pink slips.
"Circuit City\’s management seems intent on leading the company into an abyss," said Appelbaum. "Management doesn\’t seem to understand that, at the end of the day, the only real asset it has is its employees."
Appelbaum said RWDSU is already fighting for the workers Circuit City fired earlier, even though they\’re non-union. The 100,000-member union\’s executive board voted to back a lawsuit against Circuit City filed by three California workers, and RWDSU plans additional action against the electronics retailer.
The Circuit City workers are also drawing support from other unionists. Iron Workers Local 396 President Charles Becker told the St. Louis Labor Tribune, he would personally boycott Circuit City "and tell my friends and family to do so." He added "Americans must care about what other workers earn and be willing to pay the price for underwriting decent wages and benefits." Schoonhoover earned $17 million last year in pay and benefits while "Circuit City workers in the trenches earned $7.75-$10 an hour" with few or no benefits, Becker added.
"Even though the employees at Circuit City are not members of our union, every retail worker has a stake in fighting what Circuit City is doing," Appelbaum said. "Big chain stores have been pushing retail workers around for too long; it\’s time to push back."
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
Related article
Rally at Circuit City puts spotlight on Coleman