News Coverage
Oakley Citizen Group Sponsors Thursday Town
Hall About Wal-Mart
Oakley citizen group sponsors Thursday Town Hall About
Wal-Mart, 'Big Box' development in city
A Town Hall Meeting to discuss big box development and
environmental concerns over a Wal-Mart SuperCenter project will be
held here THURSDAY, March 13 at 7 p.m. at the Vintage Parkway
Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room, 1000 Vintage Parkway.
The main focus of the Oakley gathering will be to discuss the
proposed River Oaks big box project site and the pending
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) hearings being planned in the near
future by the City of Oakley, according to Save Oakley Now, a
citizen group opposing the project.
The proposed Wal-Mart SuperCenter, which was the only applicant
for this controversial 77-acre Main Street development project,
backed out of the project a couple weeks ago citing economic reasons
for their decision.
"Before we proceed with adopting any EIR on a dead project with
some kind of blind or blanket approval for future big box stores we
need to hold an open community discussion about the desirability of
such a development in our community and the impacts that it will
have on current city plans to redevelop our downtown," said Bob
Caughron, spokesperson for Save Oakley Now.
"It's not too late to include the citizens and taxpayers of
Oakley in the process of deciding what kind of commercial growth we
want in our community. Bigger is not necessarily better," he added.
Save Oakley Now also announced it will be releasing a report
prepared by University of Florida professor and
nationally-recognized business geographer, Grant Thrall, PH.D, on
the current conflicting big box and downtown development plans in
Oakley, reported Caughron.
Land use attorney Mark Wolfe, representing Save Oakley Now, will
also address the current big box development proposal pending in
Oakley.
The meeting is free and open to the public. Light refreshments
will be served.
Supes replace airport panel commissioner
By Danny Bernardini/Staff Writer Article Launched: 01/23/2008
08:46:08 AM PST
The discussion regarding the makeup of the Solano County Airport
Land Use Commission, already simmering, boiled over into the county
supervisors meeting Tuesday as the board replaced one member of the
commission and discussed changing by-laws. The Solano County Board
of Supervisors balked at the idea of no longer allowing a Vallejo
mayor to appoint a member of the ALUC, but voted unanimously to
appoint Dale Baumler to the commission.
Click here for rest of story
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, January 23, 2008 Contact:
California Healthy Communities Network 916-996-9170
Solano County Board of Supervisors replace airport commission
member who voted to kill Wal-Mart project; residents call it
‘retaliatory'
FAIRFIELD, Ca. – The Solano County Board of Supervisors Tuesday
succeeded – over objections of community groups – in replacing one
member of the independent Solano County Airport Land Use Commission
which voted to kill a Wal-Mart project in Suisun last November
because of safety concerns.
The board backed off adopting a new County ordinance that would
have effectively changed the composition and eliminated the term
protections for SCALUC commissioners.
The Commission angered Suisun local and county officials by
voting 5-2 in November to reject the 230,000 Wal-Mart Supercenter
development because it was in a "safety buffer zone" near Travis Air
Force Base and could threaten the safety of shoppers and residents.
The supervisors Tuesday replaced outgoing SCALUC member John
Peters with Dale Baumier, who was removed several years ago from the
commission for undisclosed reasons. Supervisor Jim Spering, former
Mayor of Suisun, who has a long history with the controversial
Suisun Wal-Mart project, recommended this appointment. Peters, a
retired air force pilot, opposed the location of the big box
project.
"This was political retaliation (for the vote against Wal-Mart),"
said Anthony Moscarelli, one of the county residents at the meeting.
And, Dwight Acey, another resident, agreed efforts by the Board to
emasculate the commission "look like retaliatory measures."
In a separate Board action, community activists and vets
convinced the board that it would look "suspicious" if it also
approved a measure to revamp and, in fact, "decapitate" the SCALUC
leadership.
"Taking action on the proposed reformation ordinance of the
SCALUC at this time is ill-advised and undermines the legal land use
process underway in Suisun and should be delayed until the SCALUC
Wal-Mart hearings are completed," said Phil Tucker, project director
of California Healthy Communities Network, a project of non-profit
Tides Center. Tucker also recommended against any new appointments
to the commission while SCALUC-Suisun hearings are in progress.
The next hearing on the proposed Suisun Wal-Mart project is
Tuesday, January 29, at 5 p.m. at Suisun City Hall. The city will
commence proceedings to overrule the SCALUC’s findings at that
hearing.
The SCALUC is not alone in questioning the location of the
Wal-Mart development. CalTRANS has written a letter in support of
the commission, and a national pipeline safety organization said it
was "troubling" that plans for the project did not recognize that a
potentially dangerous jet fuel pipeline would be in the adjacent to
it.
The SCALUC was authorized by the California State legislature in
2002, to develop and review the compatibility of all development in
the encroachment areas (“safety buffer zones”) of Travis AFB,
largest area-employer, with a primary responsibility to oversee
development consistent with their airbase plan and to protect the
base from closure. According to a 2004 UC Berkeley study authorized
by the State of California, encroachment is the number one reason
for military base closure in the U.S.
In addition to the $1.5 billion in annual county revenue, over
65,000 military retirees reside in Solano County and depend on
Travis for important services, including healthcare.
NEWS CONFERENCE ADVISORY
Monday, January 22, 2008
Contact: Dwight Acey, Suisun Citizens League 510-589-1439 or
916-996-9170
Attention: Daybook/Assignment Desk
Jet fuel pipeline, planes pose safety risk to Wal-Mart project;
Officials ignore threat, set to oust members of airport advisory
group that voted to reject store
FAIRFIELD, Ca. –Elected officials here are ignoring warnings
about a public safety threat from a Wal-Mart Supercenter project –
and instead have initiated a plan to oust military pilots sitting on
a county airport commission which voted in November to oppose the
project because of those same safety concerns.
A news conference will be held TUESDAY, 10 a.m. at the Solano
County Board of Supervisors Meeting (675 Texas Street), regarding
not-too-secret plans to "decapitate" the Solano County Airport Land
Use Commission (SCALUC) leadership for political reasons.
The Solano County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on a
proposed ordinance amendment to allow firings of SCALUC members
without just cause, undermining the regulatory powers and
independence of the commission.
The 230,000 square foot Wal-Mart project in Suisun was scheduled
for a public hearing Tuesday, but the Suisun City Council abruptly
postponed it when they learned thousands of Travis Air Force Base
retirees and residents had been alerted to the hearing.
The Suisun City Council said it will override the 5-2 vote of the
SCALUC, and the mayor has said they will replace SCALUC chairman
John Foster, a decorated military pilot. Region mayors have already
announced they will listen to arguments to oust Foster next month.
The SCALUC – which includes a number of retired or current pilots
and veterans – are being supported by CalTRANS, which wrote that it
agreed with the conclusions by the commission about the safety
factor of the project.
And, a national pipeline safety organization wrote Travis AFB,
congressional leaders, Suisun City Council and federal agencies,
stating it was "troubling" that a dangerous jet fuel pipeline
running near the Wal-Mart has not been addressed in project
planning.
Military retirees also fear the encroachment by the city on the
base could force Travis, the biggest area-employer, to close,
affecting services to 65,000 retirees in Solano County.
Airport commission sends letter warning not to
build Wal-Mart for 'safety' reasons
By Judyth Piazza
Airport commission sends letter warning not to
build Wal-Mart for 'safety' reaso Suisun City warned in letter by
airport board not to build Wal-Mart Supercenter because of safety'
concerns to residents
The Solano County Airport Land Use Commission
sent an urgent letter to the Suisun City Council this week
specifically asking it not approve a proposal to build a Wal-Mart
Supercenter because of safety concerns, said a community group
opposed to the Wal-Mart project today.
The airport commission, which voted 5-2 in early
November to oppose the Wal-mart plan because its proximity to Travis
Air Force Base would pose a safety threat to shoppers, has discussed
telling the city of Suisun would be taking full responsibility if an
aircraft accident should occur, according to published reports.
That part was left out of the letter, reportedly,
but the airport commission still urged the city to withdraw the
project. The city has suggested it would overrule the advisory
commission, which includes several longtime military and commercial
pilots within 45 days of the Nov. 8 vote.
"Residents are struggling to understand why the
mayor and the city council do not comprehend the seriousness of this
matter. Their support of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune over
public safety is simply malfeasance in office," said Dwight Acey,
spokesperson for the Suisun Citizens League.
"We are thankful that the Solano County Airport
Land Use Commission has made another attempt to reach the Mayor and
our City Councilmembers in an effort to point out the importance of
maintaining aviation safety in our city," he added.
judythpiazza@newsblaze.com
Copyright © 2007, NewsBlaze, Daily News
Commission: Proposed Wal-Mart inconsistent with Travis land use
plans
By Ian Thompson DAILY REPUBLIC
FAIRFIELD - A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter is too intense a
commercial use to be located so close to Travis Air Force Base, the
Solano County Airport Land Use Commission declared Thursday night.
It will be now up to the Suisun City Council to decide whether to
override the commission decision that voted 5-2 that the proposed
Supercenter was inconsistent with the Travis Airport Land Use Plan.
'It is the safety of Suisun City that is the issue,' commission
Chairman John Foster said following a public hearing where most of
the two dozen people who spoke opposed the Supercenter.
'It makes me uncomfortable,' commissioner John Kakacek said. 'I
love Wal-Mart, but the location bothers me too much.'
The retail giant wants to build a 227,000-square-foot Supercenter
on a 20.8-acre triangle of land just north of Highway 12 and just
west of Walters Road. Plans also include a service station and a
sit-down restaurant.
The commission majority overturned a Solano County planner's
staff report that stated the proposed Supercenter was consistent
with the base's land use plan.
The main issue centered on how many people per acre can be
allowed on the proposed Supercenter site.
Under the plan, the proposed Supercenter can't have more than an
average of 75 people per acre at any one time (averaged over the
entire site), or 300 people per any single acre at one time.
Suisun City's leaders contend that the number of people who would
be using the Supercenter would be well under the maximum allowed
while opponents state the number would exceed that limit.
Both Foster and several speakers cast doubt on the figures
contained in the staff report put together by Solano County planners
which said the supercenter is consistent with Travis' airport land
use plan.
'Staff is trying to use numbers to fit their decision,' resident
and former Solano County Supervisor Skip Thomson said.
Foster pressed his attack using news articles describing crowding
at Wal-Mart stores during special sales and reports of injuries
suffered by shoppers during these events.
Suisun City Manager Suzanne Bragdon defended the county staff
report calling it 'a sound conservative conclusion that assumed a
worst case scenario' of how many people would be at the Supercenter
when it's parking lot is full.
Ben Hulse, the city's consultant on the project, added that if
Travis would have commented on the proposal 'if they felt in any way
that Travis would be jeopardized.'
Wal-Mart opponents countered saying that Travis has long had a
tradition of not commenting at all publicly on land use decisions
around the base.
Supporters pointed out that the county staff report relied on
several sources for coming up with its recommendations while
opponents stated those sources were all ones supplied by Suisun
City.
Wal-Mart opponents initially asked that the commission delay its
decision until after a final environmental impact report was
completed on the Supercenter, but did not mind it that the
commission voted against the project.
A final environmental impact report on the proposed Supercenter
is expected out by late December. The Suisun City Planning
Commission and the City Council could approve the project as early
as January.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or
ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Commission rejects plan by Wal-Mart
By Danny Bernardini//Staff Writer Article Launched: 11/09/2007
07:35:07 AM PST
Citing inconsistent staff reports and a fear for public safety, a
county commission Thursday night shot down a proposal for a Wal-Mart
Supercenter in Suisun City.
The Solano County Airport Land Use Commission voted 5-2 that the
environmental documents for the store were not consistent with
Travis Air Force Base Land Use Compatibility Plan (TALUCP).
"Public safety is the issue,"commission chairman John Foster said
before the vote. "It should be a unanimous decision based on the
charter."
Commissioners heard reports from Solano County staff, Suisun City
staff and managers, legal teams for Wal-Mart and more than an hour
of public comment before voting against the project.
The proposed project would include 230,000 square feet of
commercial space including the 215,000-square-foot Wal-Mart
Supercenter, plus a fuel station with mini-mart, an
8,000-square-foot sit-down restaurant or commercial use site and
parking on a 20.8-acre site.
At issue was how many people would occupy the store, to be
located at the northwest corner of Highway 12 and Walters Road. The
TALUCP calls for no more than 300 people per acre on the site and no
more than an average of 75 people indoors per acre.
County staff maintained, that by using a formula of 1.5 people
per automobile and taking into account how many parking spaces were
in the lot, that only 70.2 people per acre would occupy the store at
a time. Staff said their calculations took into account that every
parking lot space would be occupied.
Much of the commissioners' discussions centered around how the
number of people per car was estimated. Foster had several issues
with the calculations of shoppers, and cited numerous news articles
that showed crowds of up to 2,000 people at special events or sales.
"I'm suspect of how this 1.5 was created," Foster said. "We
should be counting people, not parking spaces."
The issue will now return to the City Council of Suisun City.
Danny Bernardini can be reached at
county@thereporter.com.
URGENT NEWS ADVISORY Friday, November 9, 2007 Contact:
California Healthy Communities Network, 916/996-9170
Wal-Mart project location rejected; It would pose threat to
shoppers, violate air base safety rules, votes Solano Airport Land
Use Commission
FAIRFIELD, Ca. – A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Suisun City
should not be built because its proximity to Travis Air Force Base
would pose a safety threat to shoppers, the Solano County Airport
Land Use Commission decided in a late night meeting Thursday here.
In a 5-2 vote before more than 100 residents in an overflow
meeting room, the commission – which included several former
military pilots – agreed the 230,000 square foot Wal-Mart, gas
station and other buildings were "inconsistent" with the Travis AFB
Land Use Compatibility Plan for "safety" reasons.
Commission chair John Foster, in comments echoed by other
commission members and residents, said the county's assertion that
the Wal-Mart project would be within the safety limits allowed by
the air base plan was wrong, and suggested the "risk" to residents
was too great to approve the project, which would be built within
the air base "safety buffer zone."
"The county has used a low-ball figure to try to justify this
project, risking the safety of residents. This is the wrong
development at the wrong location," said Phil Tucker, director of
California Healthy Communities, a project of the non-profit Tides
Center.
The project will now move to the Suisun City Council after a
review of the Environmental Impact Statement. The airport
commission's rebuff was only the latest for Wal-Mart in the Bay
Area. Several stores have been rejected or delayed in the past 18
months because of citizen concern.
"The county's decision to compromise safety of residents to
(gain) tax revenue is improper," said Dwight Acey of the Suisun
Citizens League, while the spokesperson for Suisun Alliance, Paul
Greenlee, chastised the county consultants of "playing with the
numbers and playing with our lives" for recommending the project be
approved.
Suisun resident Sally Green, a pilot and Vietnam veteran, said –
along with several other former military pilots – said the weather,
and increased activity since the Iraq War began, would pose serious
risk to shoppers if a Wal-Mart at the Suisun location is built.
Bay City News Wire SOLANO CO.: SUISUN WAL-MART SUPERCENTER
SUBJECT OF DEBATE TONIGHT 11/08/07 3:45 PST SUISUN (BCN)
The controversy over a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Suisun
has landed in the laps of members of the Solano County Airport Land
Use Commission.
The commission is scheduled to decide whether the proposed
227,000-square-foot project that includes a restaurant and gas
station is compatible with the county's Airport Land Use Plan.
Citizens groups opposed to the Wal-Mart project, including the
Suisun Alliance and the Suisun Citizens League, say the Wal-Mart
Superstore project will add thousands of additional cars a day on
dangerous state Highway 12.
They claim the project violates a provision of the county's
airport land use plan that prohibits more than 300 people per acre
on the site and that that number will be exceeded during the
holidays.
The project is expected to generate 510 new vehicle trips in the
peak morning hours and 877 during the peak evening hours, according
to an environmental study.
Opponents say the Supercenter will threaten and encroach on
Travis Air Force Base. Supporters say the project will provide
needed tax revenue, perhaps $800,000 a year.
Paul Greenlee of Suisun Alliance said that extra revenue will
need to be spent on additional police and fire services. He said
there is a Wal-Mart store 3 miles away in Fairfield and another
Wal-Mart Supercenter is planned in Fairfield. That Supercenter is
the subject of a lawsuit.
Tonight's decision by the Solano County Land Use Commission is
critical, Greenlee said. If the commission decides the proposed
Supercenter is consistent with the Solano County Airport Land Use
Plan, only three members of the Suisun City Council will need to
approve it.
If the commission decides the Wal-Mart project is inconsistent,
four of the City Council's five members will need to approve the
project, Greenlee said. A vote is expected in January.
"We want the commission to hold off on voting until the final
environmental impact report is done in December," Greenlee said. A
draft environmental report on the project has been completed and
public comment on it ended Monday.
Commission rejects plan by Wal-Mart By Danny Bernardini
11/09/2007
Citing inconsistent staff reports and a fear for
public safety, a county commission Thursday night shot down a
proposal for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Suisun City. The Solano
County Airport Land Use Commission voted 5-2 that the environmental
documents for the store were not consistent with Travis Air Force
Base Land Use Compatibility Plan (TALUCP).
Click here for the rest of the story
Report: Wal-Mart won't interfere with Travis By Ian Thompson
DAILY REPUBLIC SUISUN CITY - Whether or not a proposed Wal-Mart
Supercenter in eastern Suisun City adversely affects Travis Air
Force Base lands back before the Airport Land Use Commission on
Thursday. 11/06/2007
Solano County planners will assert the supercenter won't attract
more people to the store than allowed by the Travis airport land use
plan.
'We agree that it is consistent and that it will not harm Travis
Air Force Base,' Suisun City Manager Suzanne Bragdon said of this
latest report.
The retail giant wants to build a 227,000-square-foot supercenter
on a 20.8-acre triangle of land just north of Highway 12 and just
west of Walters Road. Plans also include a service station and a
sit-down restaurant.
Initially, planners said the supercenter is consistent with
Travis' airport land use plan despite a caveat that stated that
during the holiday season it will attract more people to the store
than is allowed.
Under the plan, the proposed Superstore can't have more than an
average of 75 people per acre at any one time (averaged over the
entire site), or 300 people per any single acre at one time.
Just before the commission's early October public hearing,
planners recrunched the numbers and decided the supercenter violated
the airport land use plan because of what they called a holiday
season 'worst-case scenario.'
The new findings were presented just as the meeting started and
angry Suisun City officials successfully demanded the public hearing
be postponed to give them time to examine the new information.
Armed with studies from three different traffic-consulting firms,
Suisun City fired back in late October arguing that the county
overestimated how many people would be at the supercenter at any one
time.
In response, the county staff recrunched their numbers a second
time and now say that the Supercenter is indeed consistent with the
Travis airport land use plan.
Wal-Mart opponents slammed the proposal at a Monday morning news
conference, saying the superstore will encroach on the base and
threaten its future.
'It would encroach on Travis in a negative way and would prompt
the Air Force to move or reduce activity at the base,' Wal-Mart
opponent Dwight Acey of Suisun City said.
Acey and others reiterated that the Supercenter would make
Highway 12 more dangerous and bring blight to nearby neighborhoods.
Supporters say Wal-Mart will not threaten Travis or other
businesses in Suisun City but attract more of the retail dollars
Suisun City residents now spend in Fairfield.
If the commission agrees that the Superstore is consistent with
the Travis airport land use plan, the Suisun City Planning
Commission and the City Council could approve the project as early
as January.
The Airport Land Use Commission meets at 7 p.m. Thursday in the
Solano County Administration Center at 675 Texas St.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at
ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Suisun City Superstore Battle Heats Up Written by Dan Adams,
Reporter
News 10 ABC, Dan Adams Reports on Suisun City WalMart Plans,
11/05/07 6 p.m.
Residents of Solano County will have among their final chances
this week to provide their input on a WalMart Supercenter that is
proposed for Suisun City. The store, the size of four football
fields, would be built on vacant land at the intersection of Highway
12 and Walters Road.
Suisun City planners accepted comments up until 5 p.m. Monday and
this Thursday night, the Airport Land Use Commission will hold one
of its final hearings. After accepting input, the commission is
expected to make a non-binding recommendation to the city as to
whether or not the project should proceed.
Click here for the rest of the story
Click here for News 10 ABC TV coverage of story
Posted: Monday, 05 November 2007 7:42AM
Critics Say Proposed Wal-Mart a Threat to Travis Air Force
Base
SUISUN CITY, Calif. (KCBS) -- A Wal-Mart superstore proposed for
Suisun City is drawing the fire of critics who claim the massive
store would violate the buffer zone surrounding Travis Air Force
Base.
That violation could be used as a reason to close the base,
according to Cress Vallucci. "You can't have more than 300 people
per acre, for obvious reasons. If something falls off a plane, like
it did earlier this year, and falls into an area that's densely
populated, like the middle of the sales line at Walmart, there could
be some major injuries or deaths," he said.
Opponents also say the site’s environmental impact report
underestimates the risks.
The project is still in the earliest stages. Suisun City’s Vice
Mayor, Jane Day, said there hasn’t even been a formal presentation
yet. "We are waiting until it comes in front of us in order to look
at the pros and cons of anything," she said.
Travis Air Force Base is the county’s largest employer.
Click here for Holly Quan
Podcast
Suisun Residents to Hear Report Sunday on Wal-Mart Impact on
Air, Water,
Traffic
SUISUN CITY, Ca. - Residents will learn at a special Community
Meeting here Sunday that a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter will
increase traffic by nearly 50 percent on nearby Highway 12 - known
as "blood alley" - and surrounding streets, and will also dirty air,
water and threaten to close Travis Air Force Base.
The meeting, set for Sunday, Oct. 28, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at
the Joe Nelson Community Center (611 Village Drive), will be the
first public look at the Draft Environmental Impact Report on the
Wal-Mart project.
Click here for rest of story.
Protesters rally against proposed Wal-Mart center - Group
hopes for poetic justice at City Council meeting
Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2007
By LESLIE ALBRECHT
lalbrecht@mercedsun-star.com
The City Council got a taste of political poetry Monday night
from young activists fighting Wal-Mart's plan to build a
distribution center in southeast Merced.
Two students from Golden Valley High School read poems against
the proposed distribution center during the council meeting's public
comment period. One poem, called "Taming the Beast," described the
trucks that would serve the distribution center as "mindless
predator(s) ...belch(ing) excrement."
Before the meeting the students joined about 40 other protesters
to rally outside the Civic Center, chanting, "Whose air? Our air!
Whose City Council? Our City Council!"
The protest marked another chapter in the increasingly vocal
opposition to the Wal-Mart distribution center, which has become a
regular feature of City Council meetings over the past several
months.
Wal-Mart announced plans to build the distribution center two
years ago; the project is now undergoing environmental review. The
council will vote on the center when the environmental review is
complete sometime this fall or winter.
Proponents say the project -- slated for a 275-acre parcel
between Childs and Gerard avenues west of Tower Road -- would
eventually bring 900 jobs to economically depressed Merced.
Opponents say the 900 diesel truck trips the center would generate
each day would worsen Merced's already poor air quality.
In April, Merced's Stop Wal-Mart Action Team announced a campaign
to educate council members on its cause. Since then the group's
members have been regular speakers at council meetings, bombarding
the council with information about Merced's air quality and other
issues. The group has also tried to drum up support by hosting
events, including a picnic featuring pinatas shaped like Wal-Mart
trucks.
Patrick Lauppe, the Golden Valley junior who read the poem called
"Taming the Beast," said he wasn't worried that the council could
grow weary of the sustained anti-Wal-Mart campaign.
"The more we attend these meetings, the more they'll realize
we're unequivocally against this project and we won't let it into
our town without a fight," said Lauppe.
In July, Wal-Mart representatives paid their own visit to the
City Council. Spokesman Keith Morris told the council then that
although the project's environmental review is taking longer than
originally expected, Wal-Mart is "still committed to building the
facility in Merced."
The anti-Wal-Mart folks showed up elsewhere on Monday night's
council agenda. The group also submitted a letter applauding a
proposed resolution on development policies, but the council failed
to vote on the measure.
One policy would have directed city staff to carefully study how
building shopping centers near the new Mission Avenue highway exit
could affect area traffic. The site where Wal-Mart wants to build
its distribution center is about three-quarters of a mile from new
Mission Avenue exit.
The other policy would have told commercial developers that the
City Council "is not inclined to entertain" requests for discounts
on the fees developers pay when they build in Merced. The policy
would also state that the City Council "refrains from negotiating
impact fees (with developers) on an individual basis."
Councilwoman Michele Gabriault-Acosta said she worried that the
policy on fee discounts could sound hostile to developers, and asked
city staff to come up with some new language.
"To me it seems the door is shut and there's no ifs, ands or buts
about it...I'd like to see something that explains (the policy)
without shutting the door and saying (to developers) 'head to
Madera,'" she said.
But Councilman Bill Spriggs urged his colleagues to OK the
no-discount fee policy, noting that developer fees pay for critical
infrastructure such as streets, parks and sewer capacity.
"It's incumbent on us to set policy that lets developers know
that they're not going to blow into town, blow out of town, and let
us live with their problems for the next 50 years," he said.
The council voted unanimously to send both items back to city
staff, asking for more clarity in the resolution's language.
Reporter Leslie Albrecht can be reached at 209-385-2484 or
lalbrecht@mercedsun-star.com
Wal-Mart still sees no love in the Bay Area
By Brian White , bloggingstocks.com
September 13th, 2007 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) may
not ever get any love in the San Francisco area. The world's largest
retailer had its hopes for more store frontage in the San Francisco
Bay Area dashed this week when the retailer's primary construction
vendor pulled out from its prior application to build the big-box
location. The vendor was controlled by a family that was apparently
sympathetic to the plight of chasing off new Wal-Mart stores in the
Bay Area, so it pulled its application for building a new Wal-Mart
Supercenter as a result.
The new Wal-Mart location, which was to be built in the North
Concord area, now has no firm to build it. North Concord residents
and the City Council there had cited the Wal-Mart proposal as
inadequate in addressing issues such as traffic, public safety,
urban decay, water control, energy and parking. In other words, the
usual suspects when a municipality wants to fend off a proposed
Wal-Mart location.
Of course, Wal-Mart has a history of trying again and again to
get locations built in areas that have significant shopper traffic
and good demographics, and surely the retailer won't put its tail
between its legs and leave town like Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott
indicated would happen in New York City recently. With only three
Wal-Mart Supercenters approved in the Bay Area in the last four
years, Wal-Mart has been beaten up pretty well in that area,
although it continues the fight.
Wal-Mart dealt another blow to Bay Area expansion; Development
company withdraws application to build Wal-Mart big box store in
North Concord
September 12, 2007
CONCORD – Wal-Mart suffered a major setback in its Bay Area
expansion plans here Tuesday night when the Winton-Jones Development
Company officially withdrew its application to build a Wal-Mart big
box discount store in North Concord.
Concord residents applauded the decision to end the long-running
Wal- Mart controversy, signaled by a 3-2 Concord City Council vote
in March to reject the project's Environmental Impact Report for
significant inadequacies in the areas of traffic, public safety,
urban decay, water control, energy and parking. Certification of the
vote was delayed until Tuesday for procedural reasons.
"While No More on 4 is pleased with the outcome, the fight is
still ongoing. Wal-Mart can come back tomorrow and propose another
ill- conceived store. I doubt it will be the last we hear of
Wal-Mart trying to build a store in North Concord," said Gregg
Davidson, chairman of No More on 4, a community group opposing the
Wal-Mart project.
No More on 4, which repeatedly noted the various ways in which
the current EIR failed to mitigate the impacts of a Wal-Mart big box
discount store, believed it clearly made the case that a Wal-Mart
would be bad for North Concord.
"The quality of life impacts we feel in North Concord need to be
considered first, and these kinds of big box discount stores do not
have a track record of serving communities well. We are pleased that
the Jones Family had the courage to end this controversy by
withdrawing the current Wal-Mart project from consideration,"
Davidson added.
It's been a rough year for Wal-Mart – only three Wal-Mart
Supercenters have been approved in the Bay Area in the last four
years. The City of Hercules is using eminent domain to stop Wal-Mart
from building there, Oakland, Alameda County, Livermore and Martinez
have big box ordinances and Antioch rejected a Wal-Mart expansion
earlier this year.
Suisun - Wal-Mart Supercenter Update -September
11, 2007
Click here for CBS-13 news report and video
California Healthy Communities Network, Suisun Citizens League
and Suisun Alliance held a press conference yesterday, 9/11, outside
Solano County Board of Supervisors Chambers discussing problems with
the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter site located at Walters Road and
Highway 12 in Suisun.
The proposed big box site is located in a restricted Safety Zone
(Encroachment Zone) adjacent to Travis AFB and is not in compliance
with the County's Travis Land Use Plan established by the Solano
County Airport Land Use Commission. Suisun residents concerned about
safety and the impact such a large commercial development may have
on sensitive urban encroachment issues that have forced or
contributed to the federal governments decision to close urban
military bases across the nation.
Travis AFB is the largest employer in Solano County with more
than 14,000 employers and contributes more than $1.2 billion a year
to the County's economy. Thousands of Solano County residents also
depend on Travis AFB for health services at the Travis AFB's health
care facility.
URGENT NEWS ADVISORY Monday, September 10, 2007
Contact: Cres Vellucci, media coordinator, Cal/Healthy Communities,
916/996-9170
ATTN: Bay Area Daybook/Assignment Desk
Wal-Mart facing big tests in East Bay cities Tuesday re: future
of planned Superstores; Fate of air base, disputed project in doubt
CONCORD/SUISUN – Wal-Mart's plans to build two more Supercenters
in the East Bay will face multiple tests here Tuesday – one in
Fairfield, where a proposed Suisun Wal-Mart threatens an air base,
and the other in Concord, where the death of one city counselor has
thrown a decision to deny Wal-Mart construction into political
limbo.
In Fairfield, the Solano County Supervisors will hear comments
from citizen groups (news briefing at 9:30 a.m. at County Government
Building, 675 Texas St.) who say a proposed Suisun Wal-Mart's
proximity to Travis Air Force Base, the county's biggest employer ($
1 billion a year / 14,000 jobs), could result in the closing of the
base.
According to letters from the chair of the Airport Land Use
Commission, and a Travis Base Commander, the Wal-Mart store violates
the Travis Airport Land Use Plan, and would "encroach" on the base
because it would place too many people in the runway path in an area
where aircraft parts have fallen. This violation could lead to the
base closure.
In Concord, the City Council members Laura Hoffmeister, Helen
Allen and Michael Chavez voted March 6 to kill a Wal-Mart project.
In line with common City practices, the Council would have simply
certified the 3-2 vote that the EIR holds significant inadequacies
in the areas of traffic, water control plans, energy, parking,
public safety and urban decay.
However, finalization of the vote was delayed and councilperson
Chavez died unexpectedly, throwing into doubt the status of the vote
and project. Opponents say the project has been defeated and will
comment to media outside chambers (6 p.m. at City Complex
Library/City Council Chambers, 1950 Parkside Drive)
It's been a rough year for Wal-Mart – a Hercules parcel was
seized by the city, another store in American Canyon is padlocked by
order of the court, and Oakland, Livermore and Martinez have bans on
big boxes like Wal-Mart SuperCenters. Antioch rejected a Wal-Mart
expansion earlier this year.
Click here for more...
THIRD ANNUAL SITE FIGHTERS
CONFERENCE
Friday and Saturday September
7th and 8th
San Jose, California, at the Wyndham Hotel
The Site Fighters Conference has been a tremendously
successful event in the past, with site fighters around the
country coming together to share information, successful
strategies and tactics, and best practices in their campaigns to
fight unwanted corporate developments.
Jeff Milchen, Co-founder of the American Independent Business
Alliance, will be one of our Conference Workshop Presenters.
Programs and workshops to include:
- Holding the Line on Big Box expansion in market areas
- Land Use Strategies
- Subsidy Strategies for Social Justice
- Developing Alternative Growth Strategies
- What a National Comprehensive Wal-Mart Campaign Would Look
Like
- Distribution Center Campaigns
- Maximizing Leverage for local worker demands
Don’t Delay Go to
www.sitefighters.org for more information and registration
details or call Brennan Griffin at 504-943-0044 ext. 191
Conference Sponsors:
- Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
(ACORN)
- Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now (WARN)
- California Healthy Communities Network (Cal HCN)
The evil Lord Waldemart killed Harry's parents business. Now
Harry must stop him in his attempt to torture House Elves and suck
the magic from local communities!
Click here to watch the movie or go to
www.walmartwatch.com/ to find out how you can help! Photographed
and edited by Ian Brownell. Costumes by Tim Baum. Check us out at
www.walmartwatch.com/myspace
Local business Mom-and-pops
strategize vs. big boxes - By
Bryce Benson
"Local businesses—unite!" - August 6, 2007
That could have been the battle cry of the Chico Independent
Business Forum held at the City Council chambers Friday (July
27).
About 25 local business owners were there—instead of at the
Friday night concert going on across Main Street—to listen to
Jeff Milchen, co-founder of the American Independent Business
Alliance, outline a strategy for helping local businesses thrive
against "big box" stores such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Best
Buy. The California Healthy Communities Network and Lyon Books
sponsored the gathering.
View Full Story
Big-box battle - By J.M.
BROWN/Times-Herald staff writer
July 24, 2007
If independent business owners in Vallejo want to halt the
encroachment of "big-box stores," they must band together to prove
why consumers lose when they support discount retailers, a national
expert said Monday.
View Full Story
July 3, 2007
Area Wal-Mart Will Increase Crime,
Police Chief Says Internal memo from police chief suggests Wal-Mart
Supercenter will lead to more crime in Suisun; Rally against store
set for Saturday
click here for story
June 28, 2007
Store's food spoiled, project says
Farmer Joe's says report a union effort to harm them
click here for story
June 15, 2007
Wal-Mart Could Lead to Travis AFB Closure,
Claims Community Group -
click
here for story
June 12, 2007
Residents Say Wal-Mart Store May Lead to Traffic Deaths
click here for story
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, June 11,
2007 Contact: Cres Vellucci, communications director Cal/HCN,
916/996-9170
Residents call Wal-Mart a ‘pirate,' claim proposed Supercenter
may lead to more traffic, deaths along ‘blood alley' section of
Highway 12... click here to see the
rest of the news release
June 9, 2007 - KGO
Channel 7 News - Solano County Residents Rally Against
Proposed Wal-Mart - Story and Video...
click here
SAN JOSE, Ca. – California Healthy Communities Network (CHCN), in
conjunction with a host of influential labor and social justice
organizations, launched the "Mercados Campaign" here April 20 in an
effort to preserve the human and civil rights of unrepresented
Latino workers in small and medium sized grocery stores in
California. click here to see rest
of news release
Shop 'til you drop - Despite long battle,
shoppers swarm hard-won Wal-Mart Supercenter - By RACHEL
RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer Vallejo Times Herald
09/20/2007
AMERICAN CANYON - There was joy in the Napa Junction parking lot
Wednesday as the new, hard-won Wal-Mart Supercenter opened for
business. "We're thrilled. It's been quite a battle," said Pam
Wilkinson, American Canyon Chamber of Commerce president.
Several hundred Wal-Mart employees, officials, shoppers and
others braved the early morning chill for speeches, thanks and
congratulations, before being allowed in for a peek.
The 173,000-square-foot stone and stucco-faced structure,
includes a full grocery department, including bakery, produce and
meat sections, as well as wine and liquor, home and apparel
products, jewelry, shoes, electronics and general merchandise. The
24-hour store also contains nail and hair salons, a vision center, a
McDonald's restaurant and a bank, as well as a delicatessen with a
sushi bar and a lawn and garden center.
"To be opening the 30th Supercenter in California and the first
in the region is exciting," marketing
manager Mike Hedges said. Supercenter No. 31 also opened
Wednesday, in Lancaster, added regional manager Henry Jordan.
Wal-Mart serves about 6.5 million California customers weekly, he
said.
Mayor Leon Garcia called it "an exciting day that was a long time
coming."
More than two years of political and legal wrangling with
Wal-Mart opponents delayed the store's completion, but a final
ruling in May cleared the way for Wednesday's grand opening.
The new store replaces Vallejo's Wal-Mart, which closed Tuesday.
Wal-Mart's Supercenter is expected to generate about $600,000 in
annual sales tax revenue for American Canyon, said city finance
director Barry Whitley.
The new building was designed to reflect the region's railroad
history and its proximity to the Napa Valley, Jordan said. Its
numerous skylights and automatically dimming overhead lights help
reduce energy
consumption and are a particular source of pride, said store
manager Mike Sellick, a former Vallejo Wal-Mart manager. He and
other Wal-Mart officials noted the floors are made from
low-maintenance concrete which requires no special chemicals to
clean.
Many of Wednesday's Wal-Mart shoppers said they were just glad
it's finally open.
"I love to shop at Wal-Mart," said Joann Alcantara of Vallejo.
"It would have been nice to have it in Vallejo, but American Canyon
is still close enough."
AmCan Wal-Mart 7011 N. Main St.
• Sustainable design elements
• 80,000-square-foot grocery department
• Expanded electronics department
• Expanded lawn and garden center
• 24-hour shopping
• 27 full-service, check-out lanes, eight of them express lanes
• Vision center
• Pharmacy
• One-hour photo lab
• Wireless phone center
• "Family Fun Center"
Eager to peruse the new store's camera equipment, American Canyon
residents and bus drivers Harold and Kristina Jones said they're
hoping the new giant retail outlet will help thin out the congestion
at the nearby Safeway supermarket.
"I get groceries at the Safeway, and they got 20 people in line,
no matter what time you go," he said. "And the prices are lower
here."
Wal-Mart officials still hope to build a Supercenter in Vallejo's
long-vacant White Slough area on Sonoma Boulevard where the Kmart
Store once stood, but they face fierce opposition. Many of those
opposed to the plan say the "ecologically sensitive" wetlands site
isn't suitable for a so-called big-box store.
"I'm hugely disappointed that Wal-Mart was able to shove this
down the people of American Canyon's throat," said Joe Feller of
Wal-Mart opposition group, Vallejoans for Responsible Growth. "Now
they're going to be stuck with a huge bill for widening Highway 29
to accommodate Wal-Mart traffic. It's insane, and I'm glad I don't
live in American Canyon because of it."
Feller vows to continue fighting against a Vallejo Supercenter
though company officials say they're equally determined to see it
developed.
The Vallejo project is "still at the beginning stages," with the
city having recently found consultants to produce an environmental
review, spokesman Kevin Loscotoff said. The EIR could take up to 16
months to complete, he said. But Wal-Mart is looking no where else
in Vallejo, Loscotoff added.
"We're focused squarely on the White Slough project," he said.
E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call
553-6824.
Local business Mom-and-pops
strategize vs. big boxes - By Bryce Benson
"Local businesses—unite!" - August 6, 2007
That could have been the battle cry of the Chico Independent
Business Forum held at the City Council chambers Friday (July
27).
About 25 local business owners were there—instead of at the
Friday night concert going on across Main Street—to listen to
Jeff Milchen, co-founder of the American Independent Business
Alliance, outline a strategy for helping local businesses thrive
against "big box" stores such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Best
Buy. The California Healthy Communities Network and Lyon Books
sponsored the gathering.
View Full Story
Big-box battle
- By J.M. BROWN/Times-Herald staff writer
July 24, 2007
If independent business owners in Vallejo want to halt the
encroachment of "big-box stores," they must band together to prove
why consumers lose when they support discount retailers, a national
expert said Monday.
View Full Story
June 28, 2007
Store's food spoiled, project says Farmer Joe's
says
report a union effort to harm them
OAKLAND —
A Martinez-based public health group asked the Alameda County Health
Agency to investigate Farmer Joe's Marketplace in Oakland Wednesday,
after releasing the findings of a 36-day project that documented
sales of dated and spoiled food.
click here for full story
June 15, 2007
Wal-Mart Could Lead to Travis AFB Closure,
Claims Community Group
[Top]
A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter here near a deadly part of
Highway 12 known as "Blood Alley" may also have a major impact - and
could lead to the eventual closure of - Travis Air Force Base,
according to information obtained by a community group opposed to
the Wal-Mart project.
A NEWS CONFERENCE is scheduled for THURSDAY at 11 a.m. at the
Travis AFB MAIN GATE (Visitor's Center), by the Suisun Alliance and
Suisun Citizens League -
click here for full story
June 12, 2007
Residents Say Wal-Mart Store May Lead to Traffic Deaths
[Top]
Residents call Wal-Mart a 'pirate,' claim proposed Supercenter
may lead to more traffic, deaths along 'blood alley' section of
Highway 12
Residents here rallied against a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter
Saturday, charging the retail giant is more of a "pirate" than a
savior - and predicted the Wal-Mart store could lead to more deaths
on an already deadly stretch of Highway 12, known as "Solano
County's version of blood alley."
Click here for full story...
Abusos en mercados de latinos
[Top]
Denuncian que los trabajadores ganan menos del
salario mínimo
Araceli Martínez Ortega Corresponsal de La
Opinión
21 de abril de 2007
SAN JOSÉ.— Varias organizaciones pro inmigrantes y sindicales,
junto con el Consulado General de México en San José, se unieron
ayer para lanzar una campaña que frene los abusos laborales contra
los trabajadores de los mercados de California que venden productos
latinos y asiáticos y se encuentran en áreas habitadas por
inmigrantes.
Entre los abusos más frecuentes hacia los trabajadores, en su
mayoría inmigrantes latinos y asiáticos, destacan el maltrato
psicológico y verbal, la falta de pago por horas extras, la ausencia
de descansos entre las horas de trabajo y hasta salarios por abajo
del mínimo.
Eso sin contar la ausencia de seguro médico y el acoso sexual.
"Este es un problema más común de lo que pensamos", dijo Gerardo
Domínguez, director de organización del Sindicato de Trabajadores de
la Industria de la Comida, Local 5.
Se estima que en el estado hay unos 100 mil trabajadores que
laboran para las tiendas de abarrotes conocidas entre los hispanos
como mercados.
Domínguez puso el ejemplo de un trabajador que laboró en un
mercado de Richmond durante cinco meses sin paga alguna. "Cuando
hablamos con el patrón, se justificó diciendo que al trabajador le
gustaba laborar de gratis y estaba satisfecho sólo con que le dieran
la comida", comentó.
La mayoría de los propietarios de los mercados hispanos son
mexicanos, pero también hay centroamericanos, del Medio Oriente y
asiáticos.
"La barrera más fuerte para denunciar es el miedo por la falta de
educación de los trabajadores", aseguró Domínguez, quien aclaró que
no todos los mercados latinos tratan mal a sus empleados. "Hay
patrones muy buenos, pero otros muy malos", precisó.
Sin embargo, instó a los trabajadores que son víctimas de abuso a
reportarlos al teléfono 1 (866) 917-5605, una línea gratis para
denunciar los abusos laborales.
También pueden llamar al Sindicato de Trabajadores de la
Industria de la Comida, al (925) 250-5700.
Norma Landeros, una mexicana que trabaja como cocinera para el
mercado La Loma 2, de la ciudad de San Pablo, en la bahía de San
Francisco, dice que el dueño es muy bueno con ella, no así sus
compañeros de trabajo.
"Constantemente me están presionando y diciendo cosas como,
Apúrese vieja", dice Norma, de 52 años de edad, y quien a diario
ella sola elabora entre 20 y 30 docenas de tortillas y 100 tamales.
Víctor Blanco, quien desde hace dos años labora para la tienda
Farmers Joe, en Oakland, uno de los supermercados que figura en la
lista de los que más maltratan a sus trabajadores, dice que
constantemente son molestados por los gerentes.
"Si nos paramos un minuto, nos empiezan a decir, ya estás de
holgazán. Eres un mexicano flojo. Mejor regrésate a México a comer
frijoles".
Afirma que debido al trato que reciben viven con la presión
constante de ser despedidos.
"Además, hemos notado que cuando contratan a trabajadores
americanos o asiáticos, les pagan mejor que a nosotros los
mexicanos", expuso.
Blanco sostiene que en el caso del supermercado para el que
trabaja, los hacen esperar hasta una hora y media para darles el
cheque de su salario o se los entregan minutos antes de que el banco
cierre; mientras que los empleados que son amigos y familiares de
los gerentes reciben sus cheques desde temprana hora.
"Cuando les reclamamos, nos dicen que guardemos dinero del
salario anterior para pagar nuestras facturas", anota.
Agrega que cuando empezaron a tomar descanso dentro de su horario
de trabajo, les mandaron advertencias laborales. "Nunca nos habían
permitido tomar descansos y, cuando comenzamos, no les gustó".
Bruno Figueroa, cónsul de México en San José, aseveró:
"Esperamos que con el lanzamiento de esta campaña, los
trabajadores denuncien a sus empleadores a las autoridades estatales,
los sindicatos y los consulados y que se informen de sus derechos".
Añadió que el segundo objetivo de la campaña informativa es que
los dueños de los mercados hispanos firmen un código de conducta en
el que se comprometen a dar beneficios a los trabajadores y con ello
se espera que disminuyan los abusos laborales.
"Dada la importancia de los mercados latinos, es deseable que los
trabajadores tengan un mejor ambiente laboral y los beneficios
consagrados por las leyes, no importa si son indocumentados", anotó.
La Opinión contactó a la Asociación Mexicoamericana de
Supermercados que representa a los mercados latinos, pero un
empleado no identificado informó que ayer no había nadie que pudiera
dar comentarios sobre las acusaciones.
También La Opinión llamó al supermercado Joe Farmers, de Oakland,
uno de los mercados mencionados como los que más abusan de los
trabajadores, pero mientras se explicaba el motivo de la llamada, el
empleado que contestó, colgó el teléfono.
La Opinión llamó en una segunda ocasión y de nuevo colgaron el
teléfono.
En la campaña contra los abusos a los trabajadores de los
mercados latinos participan la Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos
Unidos (LULAC), la Asociación de Organizaciones Comunitarias por una
Reforma Ahora (ACORN), la Red de Comunidades Saludables de
California, el Instituto Laboral de la Raza de San Francisco, el
Proyecto de Ciudadanía de Salinas, y el Local 5 del Sindicato de
Trabajadores de la Industria de la Comida así como el grupo
legislativo hispano, a través de su presidente, el asambleísta Joe
Coto.
"Wal-Mart hits road block as
council orders more studies"
[Top]
Big Win for SWAT!
At the April 16th City Council meeting, the Council recognized
the Merced-Mariposa County Asthma Coalition (MMCAC) for its good
work and expressed concern about the abnormally high local asthma
rate. An estimated 13,000 children in Merced County suffer from
asthma, making our children twice as likely to be diagnosed with
asthma than the national average.
Supporters of SWAT and Moms CAN commended the Council's
recognition of MMCAC, and reminded City Council that they, as
elected officials, have the real power to improve air quality and
reduce asthma. By making smart land use decisions they can keep
high-polluting developments like the proposed Wal-Mart Distribution
Center out of Merced and away from homes and schools.
In a separate action by the Council, all members agreed to fund a
health assessment study as part of the the Environmental Impact
Report (EIR) for the Distribution Center, which will generate 900
diesel truck trips per day. With the additional time required to
complete this study, the EIR is now expected out this Fall.
The inclusion of a health assessment study is a huge victory for
Merced residents!
Read the article in the Merced Sun-Star.
Come Celebrate!
Come celebrate and learn what is next in the fight against the
Wal-Mart Distribution Center at our community picnic this weekend.
Spirits will be high at the Stop Wal-Mart Action Team (SWAT) and
the Golden Valley Neighborhood Association Earth Day picnic in the
Sandcastle subdivision (directly next to the proposed Distribution
Center site).
We'll have free food on the grill and a bounce house and Wal-Mart
truck pinatas for the kids! Please invite your neighbors and
friends.
When: Sunday, April 22nd (2-5pm) Where: Sandcastle Community Park
(off of Blix Ave. between Childs and Gerard, east of Coffee)
Hope to see you there!
Unions call attention to worker abuses at mercados
[Top]
By Jesse Mangaliman Mercury News San Jose Mercury News Article
Scores of California workers employed in small neighborhood
stores in Latino and Asian communities are enduring abuse in the
workplace - unpaid wages, long hours without breaks, verbal and
sexual abuse - union and civil rights officials said Tuesday. A year
after receiving reports of these abuses in so-called "mercados," or
neighborhood markets, a coalition of labor unions and civil rights
organizations launched Friday a statewide campaign to educate
workers about their rights, and employers about their legal
obligations.
"We do support business," said Phil G. Tucker, project director
for California Healthy Communities Networks, an umbrella group of
social service agencies, churches and civil rights groups. "But we
do not support sweatshop operations."
Many mercado workers are immigrants, officials said, but whether
their immigration status in the United States is legal or not, they
have rights in the workplace.
Tucker's group joined with Local 5 of the United Food Workers
Union, the Mexican Consulate in San Jose, the League of United Latin
American Citizens (LULAC), the Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now, the Instituto Laboral de la Raza and
Proyecto de Ciudadania de Salinas. Assemblyman Joe Coto, D-San Jose,
said he supports the campaign.
Called "Justice for Mercado Workers," the campaign will work in
tandem with legal efforts now under way to obtain relief for some of
the abused workers, said Gerardo Dominguez, an organizer with UFCW
Local 5. In the past year, he said, the union and other labor rights
groups have obtained legal settlements worth hundreds of thousands
of dollars in back wages for mercado workers in Oakland, Richmond
and Concord.
Legal remedies for other cases - some in the Bay Area - are now
being sought, he said.
The extent of the abuses are statewide, officials said. There are
thousands of mercados in California, employing thousands of workers,
many of them Latinos.
In San Jose alone, officials estimated 5,000 workers in these
mercados. In Contra Costa, they estimated 1,000 workers.
Reyna Alvarado, 28, of Concord, said she worked for five months
as a cashier at a mercado in Concord at $6 an hour, under
California's minimum wage of $7.50.
"I worked 10 hour days and we never got breaks," she said,
carrying her five month-old son, Maximilliano.
Alvarado has been on maternity leave for about a month, but she
said she is worried about returning to work after learning that one
of her colleagues was recently fired after asking to take maternity
leave.
"These are serious violations that are occurring in these
mercados," said Angel G. Luevano, state director of California LULAC.
"Ya basta," he continued in Spanish, or "Enough."
Sarah M. Shaker, executive director of the Instituto Laboral de
La Raza, a San Francisco labor rights group, said her group worked
on 600 cases last year involving unpaid wages and benefits for
immigrant workers.
"The problems we're learning about mercados," she said, "are
problems we see every day."
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