Metcalfe’s 800 E Wash Project Doomed?

April 9, 2013 11:18 am

Uh, in this town, when the unions are against you . . . you have trouble getting votes on the City Council. Wonder how the committee that meets tonight will respond. Those pro-business-Chamber-of-Commerce-DMI alders are going to be fun to watch.

I was first alerted to this when Marsha Rummel sent this out to the neighborhoods:

800 blk north E wash committee got over 60 emails just like the one below from scfl action alert

________________________________________
From:
Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2013 2:41 PM
To: Rummel, Marsha
Subject: No public funding for a union buster

Dear Members of the E. Washington Development Committee:

Ask Tim Metcalfe these questions before you recommend that public subsidies be used to support the Gebhart-Metcalfe proposal:

· Will Tim Metcalfe guarantee in writing that there will be no discrimination against union workers or minorities?

· Will Tim Metcalfe guarantee he will not violate the National Labor Relations Act?

· Why is Tim Metcalfe using the same union busting law firm that Scott Walker used to orchestrate his attack on public workers?

· Why is Tim Metcalfe using the same law firm that attacked minority voting rights, and then withheld evidence in that case?

· Will Tim Metcalfe guarantee in writing that he will hire 100 full-time workers with living wages and fringe benefits that will sustain working families in the community?

· Why has Tim Metcalfe changed from an employer that was committed to negotiating with his employees to an employer willing to break the law and hide behind expensive attorneys to avoid negotiating with his employees?

· Will Tim Metcalfe guarantee in writing that he will give employees who are fired access to an impartial hearing at no cost or will Metcalfe retain the right to fire workers at will with no outside independent review?

· Will Metcalfe provide in writing a list of jobs he will create, how many hours each job will provide, and what wages and benefits it will provide before the review process is complete?

· What else will Tim Metcalfe change if he gets this new location?

Therefore, please vote against the Gebhart-Metcalfe proposal for the East Washington 800 Block development project.

Tim Metcalfe doesn’t believe in sustaining the community. Tim Metcalfe believes in lining his own pockets.

He states his business is about sustainability; but sustainable for who? Recently the National Labor Relations Board in Milwaukee determined that Metcalfe’s violated worker’s rights at their Hilldale and Wauwatosa locations. This shows Metcalfe’s does not believe in paying workers a fair and living wage or reasonable benefits so workers can sustain the community in which they live and work.

UFCW Local 1473 has successfully represented the workers at Metcalfe’s Hilldale store for over 30 years. UFCW Local 1473 began negotiations with Tim Metcalfe over one year ago for a new contract; however, these negotiations are drastically different from past negotiations. Metcalfe is using the same law firm to bust the Union that Scott Walker used to attack worker’s rights and Scott Fitzgerald used to attack Latino’s voting rights.

The employees at Metcalfe’s West-Town store also voted to be represented by UFCW Local 1473 on June 1, 2012. The results of that election were certified in September. In negotiations for the Meat Department employees, it is apparent to the Union that Metcalfe’s is continuing to commit unfair labor practices.