Friends,

This is a critical week for the striking workers at Palermo's Pizza. 

Last week's successful nation-wide Week of Action led to informational pickets at Costco stores across the country, urging Palermo's largest supplier to stand on the side of worker justice and pull Palermo's/Kirkland frozen pizza from their shelves.

Click here to see photos from over 20 supporting rallies across the country!

This Friday, Palermo's CEO Giacomo Fallucca will meet with national AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in Washington DC, in an effort to resolve the ongoing labor dispute between the company and its workers' concerns over serious health and safety violations, low wages, and a lack of paid sick days.

We sincerely hope that this meeting will lead to a meaningful discussion and a fair resolution.

In the meantime, we are building for Friday and beyond with several key events to highlight this important moment in the campaign.  

Please note the following calendar and feel free join us at any of these events:

THURSDAY AUGUST 30

4 PM- COSTCO informational picket & action

Friday's meeting is a sign of progress, but now is not the time to let up!  Members of the Palermo's Workers Union are asking for help keeping the pressure on Palermo's this week in order to ensure a productive meeting this Friday in Washington. Costco members are especially needed.

Costco is a union employer and has a pro-worker Supplier Code of Conduct. The boycott campaign is taking a high-road approach by asking Costco to honor their own Supplier Code of Conduct and  cancel their contracts with Palermo's. 

If you are a Costco member, please contact Brian at rothgery@gmail.com.

We will be at the Costco store in Grafton, WI from 4 pm- 6pm on Thursday.  Meet at the Hwy 60 entrance, next to the Kohler Credit Union (off of Hwy 60 & Port Washington Road.

FRIDAY AUGUST 31

9 AM - Press Conference at Palermo's (3301 W. Canal Street, Milwaukee) with Palermo workers, Milwaukee Area Labor Council, and more.  

1:30 PM - Join the striking Palermo workers on the picket line as they march during the time that President Trumka will be meeting with Giacomo Fallucca!  

7:30 PM - Palermo Workers Union Fundraiser - Join us for an evening of song & dance to benefit Palermo's workers!  We will be also be reporting the results of the meeting earlier that day between President Trumka and Giacomo Fallucca.

Food/bar will be available.

Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

 For those who can't make it, you can also donate easily to the strike fund by clicking here.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3

11 AM - LABORFEST! Milwaukee Labor Day Parade & Festival

Voces will be marching this year with the United Steel Workers and the Palermo Workers Union in the annual Labor Day Parade in Milwaukee.  

The Palermo's struggle has become the post-recall campaign for all Wisconsinites who care about the right to organize for a voice on the job.  Palermo workers on strike will be marching shoulder-to-shoulder with supporters from across the state in the parade.

Join us and all community supporters of worker rights downtown at Veteran's Park next Monday!  

visit www.sliceofjustice.com for complete information on the Palermo workers strike

Donate to Palermo Workers Union Strike Fund

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Get the latest on-the-ground updates from Milwaukee.

AFL-CIO: Ask Costco to Enforce Suppliers Code of Conduct

The Palermo’s workers are proud to have the support of the AFL-CIO, which featured Palermo’s workers like Laura Torres fight on their blog.

Workers at Palermo’s Pizza in Milwaukee, Wis., have been on strike for nearly two months in a struggle for justice with one of the largest frozen pizza manufacturers in the nation.

Palermo’s Pizza workers are demanding safe working conditions and recognition for their union. They are also seeking reinstatement of workers who they say were terminated for organizing. The National Labor Relations Board is investigating the company’s conduct. The workers also say Palermo’s is continuing with its intimidation campaign.

You can help the workers—like Laura Torres, a single mother of six who has worked at the Palermo’s plant for 10 years—by asking Costco, Palermo’s biggest customer, to urge the pizza maker to respect workers and improve working conditions at the plant.

The workers are focused on Costco because the wholesale warehouse chain has built a reputation as the anti- Walmart with a commitment to a strong “Suppliers Code of Conduct.” A major part of that is a “continuing commitment to the protection and improvement of employees’ rights.” Costco can audit its suppliers, like Palermo’s, to make sure they are in compliance with the code.

Click here to sign on to the letter to Costco that emphasizes that many people shop there because of its commitment to the Suppliers Code of Conduct.

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South Central Federation of Labor Pickets for Palermo’s Workers

On Saturday, August 4, the South Central Federation of Labor organized a picket to ask Costco to support worker’s rights by joining the national boycott of Palermo’s products. Workers marched together with creative signs with slogans like “Give us a slice of justice!” and “No justice, no pizza!”

 

 

The Palermo’s workers are grateful for the support of the SCFL, an umbrella organization of almost 100 labor unions in Wisconsin’s Dane, Dodge, Sauk, Columbia, Jefferson and Iowa Counties. For more pictures of Saturday’s event, click here.

 

Posted on August 7, 2012

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Small Businesses Side with Palermo Workers

Palermo’s workers are grateful for the support of local small businesses in our fight for justice. We are happy to announce that Beans and Barley in Milwaukee has joined the Palermo’s boycott. They will not reorder Palermo’s Pizza for their shelves until the workers’ dispute is resolved fairly.

Please take a moment to thank Beans and Barley for taking a stand and demonstrating how local retailers can show real solidarity against the injustices happening in their own city.

Call Beans and Barley at 414-278-7878 and ask for the manager. If the manager isn’t there, leave a voice mail for them. Tell them thanks for taking a moral stand and supporting the Palermo workers.

Posted on August 6, 2012

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