Milwaukee's Secret Plantation

Albulena Shabani, 22.02.2008 16:14

This past Wednesday, people of all ages and backgrounds rallied in front of Capitol Returns, a pharmaceutical dispersing company on 6101 N. 64th Street, to show support to workers inside trying to unionize through the United Steelworkers Union.

Capitol Returns is the midway point between pharmaceutical companies and incineration plants. The workers unload and scan drugs into a computer system so that companies can keep track of what happens to their superfluous or expired medications before they are sent to a plant in Indianapolis to be destroyed for energy production. In an industry that’s still too new for regulations, the haunting reality of day to day risks is shocking. Sheila Cochran, a prominent Milwaukee labor organizer, stated that workers are not informed of inherent health risks in handling unidentified boxes of medications. Currently organizers of the rally estimate that roughly 800 workers, mostly women of color, many pregnant, are being exposed to dangerous chemicals. Daily! Cumulous clouds of toxic dust. No respirators. Mysterious headaches. Abnormally high rates of miscarriages.

Another union organizer and former Capitol Returns employee shared many of her concerns, “the workers do not make living wages,” an insult to the value of people and of life. “I’m here fighting for them. They deserve homes, cars, health care, and education. They have just as much of a right to the ‘American Dream’ as the rest of us”, she said.

A Capitol Returns employee who appeared to be on the clock, monitoring the rally shared his sentiments, “people inside are scared. They are being told that a union will make things strict, but rules are already strict [for the workers].”

The company seems to be doing everything in its power to ensure that workers feel intimidated to unionize. Allegedly, Capitol Returns has: hired “union busters” specifically to have anti-union conversations with workers otherwise not allowed to discuss unions at their work stations; it has shown workers anti-union videos; it has alienated employees from one another physically, with station dividers, and mentally with fear; it has hidden the truth during OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association) inspections; and it has targeted union sympathizers at the work place and during not-so-random, random daily searches.

Larry Goodman, also an organizer, said that “they called us for help”. He said that the workers must be allowed the chance to vote for a union. “Capitol Returns exploits them. They need living wages. They need benefits”.


The folks gathered in front of Capitol Returns this past Wednesday the 20th, were not deterred by the cold, or the police, or the lack of local media attention on an issue that should be covered a hundred times over yet remains dormant in popular air waves and papers. They were there to show solidarity to those working inside. They were there to let them know humanity is stronger than corporate plantations; that modern manifestations of slavery will be gone if we recognize the power of the people, if we recognize that despite fear tactics of manipulation, misinformation, and alienation, tomorrow can still be better. They were there to let them know, “You deserve better than this, we all do”.

To hear full worker testimonies and footage of the rally, please visit youtube.com/workerjust. For further information or to learn what you can do to help, contact the Faith Community for Worker Justice at 414-771-7541.

e-mail:: albulena.shabani@gmail.com

union 22.02.2008 - 23:04 it should be noted that being pro worker/class struggle, does not necessarily mean pro union and more often unions should be regarded as enemies of the working class. !> what are you talking about? 24.02.2008 - 12:47 unions are the enemies of the working class!?!? wtf are you talking about. ive got plenty to say about ineffectual unions, corrupt unions, business unionism, etc. but this is a pretty strong statement you are making. let's frame it in another way. a union is only as strong/effective as the local/workplace participation. a union at its essence is the workers organized. even if there does not exist a bureacratic organization, if the workers are taking collective action, then they are a union of workers. if they are organized into an organized union, then they have the benefits of the resources of that organization. but they also risk losing their control over the union. a true union of the workers is not an enemy of the working class. a true union is the workers themselves. btw, why would you post such an inflammatory comment? is it a critique of the steelworkers union? tell us more. don't just say unions are bad, because that is plain ignorant. union maid> some reasoning 27.02.2008 - 09:12 Unions are enemies of the working class because they control and mediate the struggle of workers, because their organization often mirrors the class division of society, because they reform capitalism into an easier to swallow form smoothing over the process the functioning of exploitation, because demands for work and to be wage slaves (even if this means higher wages) is like a slave asking for chains, etc. These are a few among many reasons. I do acknowledge the need for workers and the exploited to organize in general, but not by the same logic as the social order. An ignorant analysis is one that blindly worships the forms of struggle allowed and calls them revolutionary. !> This is ridiculous 03.03.2008 - 11:44 It's interesting that you point out that unions are the very thing that "mediate struggle of the working class." I ask you to please step outside of your ridicolus world of theory and step into the real world, where workers are suffering. You know, you can sit around and bitch about the imperfect world that exists and how unions reflect that. Well, you know what, we don't live in a utopia, we don't live in a world where your revolution is just going to happen the way that you want it to. Its real nice to sit around and talk about the inadequacies of capitalism, but when you don't act upon those thoughts and sit back in your arm chair, nothing gets done! I'll be the first to admit that labor unions have problems, they aren't always fair and yes, they sometimes don't do the right thing. But show me an organization that has attempted to do something positive that hasen't screwed up somewhere down the road, show me a group of anarchists who haven't created the same patricharies that they look to destory, show me a group of socialists who haven't ever bought anything from the 'capitalist' market. Sure there are plenty of logical, theoretical questions that unions have failed at and yes, because they exist within a capitalist system their organization often does mirror the division of society. But please give me a break and get up off your ass and stop criticizing the movement that you do nothing to help advance because of theoretical apathy. Jon> Go to www.iww.org 09.03.2008 - 22:52 . The Industrial Workers of the World Be sure to read the preamble & the constitution:  http://www.iww.org/culture/official/preamble.shtml  http://www.iww.org/PDF/2005constitution.pdf And an explanation of the IWW's philosophy:  http://www.iww.org/PDF/obu2001sadd.pdf Yes, the IWW considers itself a "union." I think that you will find that it is a DIFFERENT type than you may be used to. Joe Hill> Homepage:: http://www.iww.org huh? 14.03.2008 - 08:01 "Unions are enemies of the working class because they control and mediate the struggle of workers" ha! what struggle? there is a class war now being waged, but the workers are not the ones fighting. where are workers rising up in the USA, only to be put down by their unions? sadly, there is no movement for the unions to dampen. in fact, the unions are the only groups out even trying to organize workers. yeah, most are liberal, ineffectual, and clueless. and yes, there are plenty of unions with entrenched business-union leadership. yes, most unions have lost their bite. but come on, lets be real. why do you criticize workers actually trying to form a union in this instance. are YOU organizing them in your much more radical organization? no? then what the hell are you complaining about. i forgot> Duh 20.03.2008 - 15:34 Hmm...if working there is so terrible how about you quit and find a different job. Is that so difficult to figure out? paperjam>