United Workers

Check-out this recent article from Kari Lydersen reporting for Working In These Times.

For full article, go to http://inthesetimes.com/working

On December 10, Christmas shoppers at the Gallery Mall in Baltimore were interrupted by chanting and thousands of fliers fluttering from balconies of higher floors, where a banner was also unfurled.

The fliers called on one of the country’s largest mall-development companies, Gallery Mall owner General Growth Properties (GGP), to provide stable jobs, better wages, benefits and decent conditions for thousands of workers at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Harborplace mall, a tourist magnet across the street.

Early in the new year the group plans to again travel to GGP’s headquarters in Chicago, where the company owns the famous Water Tower Place mall. Along the way, they’ll be visiting GGP-owned malls for flier drops and actions in many locations.

To read past coverage, go here

The United Workers attempted a “letter drop” at the Towson Town Center mall on Thursday, December 15th. After harbor workers were blocked from carrying out the action, we returned the very next day! “Drops” will continue at GGP malls from Baltimore to Chicago, home to GGP’s headquarters, until GGP meets all demands.

On Thursday, December 15^th, the United Workers planned a “letter drop” at the Towson Town Center Mall, a GGP mall in the suburbs of Baltimore. When low-wage workers and allies arrived, we were greeted by the General Manager of the mall and swarms of security, police, and even a police helicopter circling above.

Flanked by police, General Manager, Charles Crenard, stood by the entrance of the mall and told us that we had to follow the code of conduct and if we didn’t that they would have to “take measures to make sure we complied with it”. Fearing that the their crystal palaces of consumerism might be shattered by the reality of human rights abuses at their malls, we were told no banners, no dropping fliers, no handing out fliers, no announcements. Essentially no action that might cause consumers to consider anything other than the façade GGP has carefully constructed. If only GGP would put as much effort and resources towards improving the working conditions at the Inner Harbor as they have towards protecting their image.

Blocked from carrying out the “drop”, we re-grouped, prayed and discussed next steps. We decided we would not be silenced, we would return the very next night unannounced and do the “drop.” And so we did and we will continue these drops from Baltimore to their headquarters in Chicago until GGP meets all demands to work with dignity, healthcare, and education for all low-wage workers at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Read the Towson Patch’s article announcing Thursday’s letter drop at the Towson Town Center mall.

The tents may not be coming, but a workers group wants to bring the spirit of the Occupy movement to Towson, with a side of the Christmas spirit.

The Baltimore group United Workers plans to drop letters at a to-be-decided location in Towson Town Center on Thursday.

The group will meet at 4:30 p.m. at the mall entrance at Fairmount Avenue and Towson Gate Drive, where protestors will sing Christmas carols before heading inside to unfurl a banner and release their flyers and letters.

The letter, dated Dec. 10, 2009, calls out the leadership of Chicago-based General Growth Properties, the mall’s owner, for not doing enough to encourage better working conditions at The Gallery at Harborplace, which the company also owns.

To read the full article, go to http://towson.patch.com

This holiday season, low-wage workers are bringing the spirit of Occupy to GGP malls! Next up: Towson Town Center. Tomorrow, Thursday, December 15th at 4:30 PM at the Towson Town Center Mall, we’ll be staging another “letter drop”. Join us in lifting up the message of dignity, respect, and human rights, by singing Christmas Carols and hearing from harbor workers about why we’re ramping up the effort to bring GGP to the table.

What: Towson Town Center “letter drop”
When: Thursday, December 15th at 4:30 PM
Where: Gathering at mall entrance at Fairmount Ave. and Towson Gate Dr.

Wish you had been at Saturday’s “letter drop”? Well, here’s the next best thing. Check-out this amazing video from our internal media team! Stay tuned for updates on upcoming “letter drops”.

The Baltimore Brew was present for yesterday’s “letter drop” at the Gallery Mall across from the harbor. Here’s an excerpt from the article.

The “letter drop” was not a merchandising gimmick, but instead marked the start of a renewed campaign by Baltimore-based United Workers to draw attention to what they call human rights violations tolerated by mall owner General Growth Properties (GGP).

To read the full article, go to www.baltimorebrew.com

Today’s “letter drop” marked a major ramp-up in the Human Rights Zone Campaign. Saturday, December 10, 2009, two years ago to this day, we mailed harbor developers a letter notifying them of the intolerable working conditions at their malls and calling on them to meet workers demands. For two years, GGP has deliberately ignored our repeated attempts at dialogue. Enough is enough, we demand action now!

To bring our message home, we staged a dramatic “letter drop” on GGP’s Gallery Mall across from the Inner Harbor. While consumers were busy doing their holiday shopping, we captured attention by releasing 10, 000 copies of the letter from third and fourth floor balconies. An explosion of color flooded the space, yellow and black balloons ascended and descended amidst a flurry of yellow paper. While shoppers gazed with curiosity, we chanted, “What do we want!? Human Rights! When do want it!? Now!” Consumers picked up the letters and began reading them. Some pulled out their phones and cameras to document the action. Others even joined in on the chanting.

But today’s “letter drop” was just the beginning. We plan on staging “letter drops” at GGP malls across the country until GGP meets our demands to the right to work with dignity, healthcare and education for all low-wage workers at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

What better time than the holidays to educate consumers about GGP’s human rights record. Stay tuned for videos from today’s action and more to come!

GGP, two years is too long. Today’s “letter drop” at your harbor mall is just the beginning. We have tried for two years to notify you of the human rights abuses of workers at your development in the hope that you would come to the table with workers to ensure basic human rights standards at the Inner Harbor. You have ignored us, turned us away and avoided us for two years. Enough is enough. Today marked a major ramp-up in the fight for Fair Development and we will continue “letter drops” at GGP malls across the country until you meet harbor workers demands to a right to work with dignity, healthcare and education.

Repeated Attempts

• First attempt— Letter mailed on December 10, 2009 notifying you of human rights abuses and workers human rights demands.
• 2nd attempt— Traveled from Baltimore to Chicago to your headquarters to ensure you received the letter and to attempt to talk to executives.
• 3rd attempt— Reached out to Harborplace GM, Chris Schardt, by going to office and requesting a meeting to resolve rampant issues of wage theft and other serious abuses at Harborplace.
• Repeated follow-up calls.

Stop the hypocrisy, meet workers demands

The abuses at the Inner Harbor are an affront to human dignity and go against everything that you claim to represent. You say, “We know that how we treat our employees and how our vendors provide for their employees touches the lives of hardworking families and impacts the communities where we do business.” You talk about sustaining “a work environment founded on dignity and respect for all employees.” You claim to, “support the communities where our properties are located” and “consider the human toll when making business decisions.” But your words and your deeds do not match. There is a word for it. It’s called “hypocrisy.” The time is now for you to “consider the human toll” of poverty wages, wage-theft, lack of healthcare, and barriers to education on workers and the community.

While shoppers flood your malls this holiday season, it will be the workers working late hours, overtime, who keep your malls running. We deserve to be treated as human beings, not robots. We demand action now!

On Saturday, December 10th, International Human Rights Day, harbor workers will make a major announcement in the Human Rights Zone Campaign.  Two years ago on this very same day while on the Fair Food Solidarity Tour with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, we mailed an important letter to Inner Harbor developers, General Growth Properties (GGP) and the Cordish Co, from a small post office in Immokalee, Florida. This letter notified the developers of serious human rights violations of workers taking place at their malls and called on GGP and Cordish to come to the table with workers to resolve these abuses.

Download PDF of the Letter Sent to Developers with Our Demands

Two years have passed since this day and no major efforts have been made by harbor developers to improve human rights standards at their malls. GGP has not once acknowledged workers demands, despite repeated attempts for dialogue. GGP’s silence and inaction have been an attempt at putting up moral blinders to the intolerable working conditions at Harborplace: poverty wages, rampant wage theft, sexual harrasment, and lack of healthcare to name a few. In their view, if they don’t acknowledge a problem exists, then they don’t have to deal with it. But by ignoring workers for two years, they are also suggesting that workers are beneath their most basic consideration.

How long must workers wait for their voices to be heard? Not long. That’s because harbor workers are making a major announcement that will be a dramatic step in the Human Rights Zone Campaign. Stay posted for this upcoming announcement!

We kicked off the Fair Development Conference with an evening of music, food, and keynote speeches. The three guest keynotes included: Janaina Stronzake with the MST in Brazil, Marian Kramer with Michigan Welfare Rights Union, and Jan Rehmann, professor at Union Theological Seminary and co-author of Pedagogy of the Poor. In addition to our guest keynotes, three leaders with the United Workers spoke about our work: Michael Coleman, Armando Tema, and Janice Watson. Here are some of the videos of these inspiring and rousing speeches. More to come!