wwu_revised

							In the warehouse industry, many workers, desperate for some source of income, suffer
through unfavorable working conditions just to get paid minimum wage. Often times they
will not receive any benefits, and there is always a risk that they will not have a job the
next morning because they work through a temp agency. With such high numbers of
these workers being immigrants, many of them do not know their benefits as workers or
do not stand up for those rights out of fear of getting fired. The Warehouse Workers
United was formed to help the warehouse workers understand their rights as workers and
aid them into fighting for better working conditions, health insurance, and the right to
unionize.

The Warehouse Workers Union (WWU) was organized 2 to 3 and a half years ago in
order to help warehouse workers in the Inland Empire get paid higher wages, work in
better conditions, receive health insurance and unionize without intimidation. Many of
the workers are not hired directly from the warehouse, but rather from temporary
agencies that send them there. Those that are immigrants often do not understand what
their rights as workers are and lack knowledge of the industry causing them to just accept
what they are given and hope that there will be work the following morning.

Warehouse jobs do not offer their workers with the consistent jobs and suitable pay to
maintain a comfortable lifestyle. Instead, many workers are paid minimum wage for part
time work. Yet, without many other alternatives, the warehouse workers hold onto these
jobs because it does offer a source of income. They endure the low wage work, lack of
respect, sexual harassment of women workers, and injuries that come with the job. There
is a fear to call in sick because oftentimes, they will not get a call back for days as a
punishment for calling out. Then there is the greater fear of speaking out in the case that
they fire the entire shift of workers or end up getting deported for being an illegal
immigrant.

“It’s a lot of folks who are immigrants. A lot of folks who are not in a position where
they’re clear on what their rights are. They’re not in a position where they feel like
they’re comfortable standing up for their rights as workers,” explains Sheheryar Kaoosji,
who has been involved in the movement. “They deserve the same basic protections as
any other worker in United States.”

Yet these workers do not receive the basic protections that they deserve. Many have gone
through injuries and have been discouraged from reporting it, keeping a lot of what
happens in the warehouses quiet. There is a group of former workers and part-time
workers that realize the lack of benefits they receive from their employers, which has
caused anger and the desire for change. These people do not really have anything to lose
in their current job, so they are trying to fight for the better treatment of the workers. The
people of the industry are not held accountable for their mistreatment and so the aim is to
change that.

The warehouses are an important part of the Inland Empire and it has the potential to
improve the region economically. A majority of imports go through the Inland Empire to
get transported to other parts of the country, making it an essential part of the logistics
industry. However, due to employers who deny workers proper pay or benefits, the
economy of the region has declined to one of the lowest in the state. Furthermore, with
the pollution in environment the cancer rates are well over the allowed limit. With all the
diesel emissions and the metal shavings scattered on rail tracks, San Bernardino is one of
the unhealthiest communities. Yet, the workers don’t have access to health insurance,
despite being those most exposed to all the pollution.

The industry has made many promises about improving the region so that it could prosper,
and yet San Bernardino remains one of the poorest areas in the state. As Sheheryar said,
“It’s something that has been promised to provide jobs and provide economic opportunity
for this region, but has continually failed to do so.”