Yesterday I wrote up recent developments in the strike of the Baker's Union against the American Licorice Company in Union City, CA over healthcare benefits and Occupy Oakland's actions in support.
Those actions prompted a local nurse, Mollie Costello to tweet an open letter to the American Licorice Company's management. It's a damned fine letter and I reproduce it here with her permission, fixing a few typos. (Red Vine is the red licorice signature product of the ALC).
I commend you on keeping your company & product in the USA and on your technique of using workers, not machines, to hand-pack Red Vine containers.
From what I read on the links you sent me, the major sticking point seems to be over healthcare/insurance with some concerns about pay increases as well as retirement benefits, but not much emphasis was put on the latter two issues in the links you sent. That could be spin/propaganda on yours/media's part or it could be that healthcare is really the major issue. As a nurse, it's the issue I will focus on in my comment to you about your workers.
Healthcare costs are the #1 cause of bankruptcy in our great country. And I realize that it is not only the worker who is experiencing the true cost of healthcare in America, the employers are also feeling this pressure.
Quick story: I have a nurse friend, she chose to work outside of the hospital serving the community working in a small medical practice. The doctor who owns the practice hires 4 nurses part-time instead of hiring 2 nurses full-time because he cannot afford to pay for the health insurance costs for full-time employees. Is this right in a country as great as America???
A doctor cannot afford to give his employees health insurance AND keep his practice open. This is an anecdotal story not necessarily meant as factual proof, bit more to prove a point.
AS THE EMPLOYER YOU ARE BEING SQUEEZED BY A BROKEN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM JUST LIKE YOU ARE NOW SQUEEZING YOUR WORKERS.
The solution is NOT to pass on inflated healthcare costs to your employees who are living paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet, this is NOT a long-term sustainable solution. I would challenge you to live on the same wages and benefit package as your employees and get back to me after a few years to let me know how it's going for you. I do not make that challenge lightly.
It's kind of like the "Food Stamp" challenge that some congress members did to identify with what it is really like to eat on food stamps for a week. I challenge you to live on what you are offering your employees in benefits & compensation for a few years. B/c of the nature of healthcare as compared to eating, a person eats 2-3 times a day on average but does not visit the doctor that often, on average. So, to make the challenge meaningful, you would have to do it long-term. I realize that you will not take my challenge, but perhaps you will understand my point, which is:
those of us who come from a place of privilege sometimes need to experience what it's like to live without privilege; that is what certain congress members like Jackie Speier and Barbara Lee did to more closely identify with their constituency.
If you want to continue to have your All American company that treats it's workers fairly, you should not be putting you time, money, and efforts towards propaganda against the striking workers or towards security from their supposed threats or any other useless waste of time that is taking you away from the real "enemy", who is NOT your workers. You should instead direct your efforts at the REAL PROBLEM, lack of equal and quality healthcare, NOT health insurane, but HEALTHCARE, in our country.
I implore you to consider what I am saying, it is not without great thought and consideration that I make this request of you.
It is short sighted to think that your hard working loyal workers are the problem; if you continue this line of thinking you will be sorry in the long term, and I would imagine your company is in this for the long term. So wake up Red Vine!!! Listen to me. Occupy Oakland does not seem like a joke to me, I'd give us and your striking workers a closer listen if you want to be successful long term, not just in the next 2-3 years.
Sincerely, Mollie Costello, RN
p.s. Things are really broken, unjust, an unequal in our country and it's very simple, either you believe in justice and equality for all, NOT JUST THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD IT, or you don't. Which side are you on???
Ms. Costello tweeted that she received a reply from the American Licorice Company
missmollie33 Mollie Costello
@OccupyOakland @RedVines @LicoriceStrike @oo_media @manjulamartin Red Vines got back to me right away and said I had a "poignant point"
missmollie33 Mollie Costello
@Occtopuss I have this really excited feeling that b/c of all the #Solidarity from #OO and local labor that @RedVines will consider my words
If you would also like to send a comment to the American Licorice Company you can do that in various ways:
RedVines twitter
2477 Liston Way
Union City, CA 94587-1979
(510) 487-5500
Contact form
American Licorice Company
Consumer Response
P.O. Box 826
Union City, CA 94587
(866) 442 2783