Our Perspective
For Retail Workers,
Difficult Times
in a Seemingly
Strong Economy
By Stuart Appelbaum, President
Retail, Wholesale and Department
Store Union, UFCW
Twitter: @sappelbaum
Caribbean L 12 ife, July 19–25, 2019 BQ
OP-EDS
Right to info in the Caribbean
Venezuela.
This problem carries with it
the concern for broader potential
consequences such as deepening
political polarization or the erosion
of trust in the media. Indeed, over
the past few decades years, the
dissemination of false information by
political parties and levels of political
polarization are increasing in tandem
in LAC.
This is a challenge not only in
LAC, but in many regions around the
world. This global preoccupation was
reflected in the theme chosen for this
year’s World Press Freedom Day—
which focused on journalism and
elections in times of disinformation.
Several of the countries in Latin
America are holding presidential
elections later this year: Argentina,
Bolivia, Guatemala, and Uruguay.
There is a concern in the region
about how disinformation campaigns,
coupled with microtargeting of
political messages and sophisticated
online advertising through social
networks and online platforms, could
affect the outcome of elections.
There is a lot we can do in this
area to protect the information value
chain and the quality of elections—
such as “clean campaign” agreements
between political parties, the creation
of independent fact-checking services,
greater enforcement by social media
companies, and the promotion of
information literacy among citizens.
In Latin America, these initiatives
are still nascent, but they are growing.
It is important to recognize, however,
that combatting the challenge of
disinformation campaigns will require
the coordinated action of multiple
stakeholders such as electoral courts,
the media, civil society, academia and
tech businesses (such as Facebook,
Google, WhatsApp, and Twitter).
Without a strong coalition of actors,
it will be difficult to successfully repair
the information value chain and
achieve accountability.
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and misinformation has been facilitated
by the rise of technology. Technology—
particularly the rise of social media
and messaging apps—has reduced the
cost of disseminating information to
massive audiences.
This has made the “publicity”
industry more competitive and created
a new social dynamic in which people
often take access to information as
equivalent to knowledge.
While knowledge is difficult to build
and constantly update, information
has become easy to get, and public
debates are increasingly based on
false—and often deliberately false—
information.
Indeed, a recent study by scholars
at MIT found that false news spreads
much more rapidly than true
news—and this effect is particularly
salient for false political news (in
comparison to false news about topics
such as terrorism, natural disasters,
science, urban legends, or financial
information).
According the 2018 Reuters Institute
Digital News Report, citizens in LAC
countries are facing high exposure
to false information, and are very
concerned about what news is real and
what news is fake on the internet.
In each of the four LAC countries
included in the study (Brazil, Chile,
Mexico, and Argentina), over 35% of
respondents stated that they were
exposed to completely made-up news
in the last week—reaching as high as
43% of the sample in Mexico.
Moreover, over 60% of respondents
stated that they are very or extremely
concerned about what is real and what
is fake on the internet when it comes
to news—reaching as high as 85% of
the sample in Brazil.
This high level of concern is
consistent with recent experiences
with political disinformation in the
region—for example, the use of
automated bots to influence public
opinion in Brazil, Argentina, and
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While the economy seems to be doing
well, and retail companies, their CEOs,
and their stockholders seem to be doing
well, there’s a group that’s in danger of being left
behind; retail workers, many of whom find daily life a struggle to not only
advance, but to survive.
And that’s wrong, because traditional retail is still a strong and growing
sector of our economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
retail industry continues to be one of the largest employment sectors in the
U.S. and is projected to add half a million jobs through 2026. And while ecommerce
is having an impact on brick and mortar retail, it still makes up
less than 10 percent of total retail sales in the U.S. Traditional retail is still
the dominant player today in the retail industry.
Unfortunately, retail workers have not benefited from growth in the
industry, just like most working Americans haven’t seen any of the
benefits of a supposedly strong economy. The median annual wage for a
retail cashier stands at just over $22,000, and for a retail salesperson at
just over $24,000. The Federal Poverty Level for a family of four hoovers
at around $25,000.
Besides chronically low wages, especially for non-union retail
employees, retail workers face a number of challenges that can make life a
daily struggle of frustration. Scheduling issues abound, with many workers
struggling with insufficient and inconsistent hours. The practice of
“clopenings” – where workers are scheduled for late night shifts followed
by early morning opening shifts – can wreak havoc with workers’ lives.
Harassment and inappropriate treatment by customers and supervisors is
an issue for many retail workers, who are predominantly female.
E-commerce also presents challenges for retail workers, even while
traditional retail remains strong. Stores often encourage customers to
shop online, even while they are in the store, which can cost employees
valuable time and commission pay. Customers will order products online,
find they don’t fit or just don’t like them, and return them at brick and
mortar stores, where employees have to process returns instead of
making commission sales on the floor.
Above all, retail workers in the U.S. are getting fed up of being treated
like commodities and having no say in their schedules, pay, and treatment.
That’s why over the past decade, many have sought union membership. In
New York, workers at H&M and Zara have joined the RWDSU, negotiating
strong contracts that give them the representation they need to help build
better lives with their jobs. Longtime RWDSU members at retail stalwarts like
Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and Modell’s have continued to negotiate good
contracts that are helping adapt to the new realities of the marketplace and
the competition and challenges brought upon by e-commerce.
There are almost 16 million retail workers in the U.S., and they are an
important part of our communities, neighborhoods, and our
economy. And while the retail industry is working for
CEOs and stockholders, it isn’t working for many of
the retail workers whose efforts are the
underpinnings of an industry that continues to
grow. For our economy to be truly strong, that
needs to change.
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