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Circuit City Firings: We Won’t Forget
Remember Circuit City’s callous firing of 3,400 workers last March because—and this is Circuit City’s explanation—the company was paying those workers too much, not that they weren’t doing their jobs or were being rude to customers or sleeping in the stockroom? The workers’ extravagant salaries, an average of about $12 an hour, broke the bank, according to Circuit City.
No doubt the electronic giant’s top executives—including CEO Philip Schoonover, who the Rocky Mountain News reported was forced to get by on just $8.52 million in 2006—hoped they’d take a little media hit and be done with it.
The Oregon AFL-CIO says wait a minute. Earlier this month, the state federation’s executive board said a little bad publicity wasn’t sufficient punishment for such an act of first degree corporate greed. The board voted to put the chain’s state stories on the Oregon AFL-CIO’s Unfair/Do Not Patronize List.
Before taking the action, Robert Westerman, president of the Southwestern Oregon Central Labor Council, wrote to Schoonover and invited him or a Circuit City representative to sit down and discuss the issue. But a letter from a Circuit City vice president—who is presumably not overpaid or he would be out of work, according to company policy—slammed the door shut, telling Westerman:
It does not warrant any further discussion or meeting.
So the Oregon AFL-CIO is asking working families to stay away from Circuit City until it begins treating its workers with a bit of respect.
Click here to see how workers in Pennsylvania and Minnesota took Circuit City to task earlier this year.
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5 Comments
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I’m in Oregon. I wonder what took ‘em so long to respond to sumptin’ that happened back in March? Here’s what I say about it:
http://www.bloggerradio.com/2007/08/circuit-city-fi.html
BloggerRadio, thanks for your support of the Oregon AFL-CIO’s putting Circuit City on our Unfair/Do Not Patronize list.
Two things on why this procedure takes time:
1) We take this list seriously as a tool of holding employers accountable, so we have procedures that ensure that it truly reflects an employer who has failed to adequately justify or remedy their bad behavior. In this case, Brother Westerman gave Circuit City the chance to explain themselves. The company failed when they sent him their dismissive response, and reaffirmed that they deserved a place on our list.
2) Remember, unions are democratic, member-led organizations. Our members and leaders had the right to have time to consider the issue and vote on it at pre-scheduled meetings.
Sometimes the Democratic process takes longer than a leader acting unilaterally, but in the end it’s what gets the best results for the working men and women who make up this great movement. Thanks again for your interest!
Jennifer Sargent
Communications and Research Director
Oregon AFL-CIO
I have stopped reading the Circuit City Sunday circular ads and haven’t been in a Circuit City Store since the callous firing of it’s workers. I usually go to Best Buy even though I have to drive farther to get there, maybe a good old fashioned boycott will wake them up.
So what are the plans to organize these employees? Circuit City is a national chain and should be worth the effort economically speaking? What about organizing these national chains? Electronics chains, food chains, fast-food chains, etc.etc.?
Instead of giving millions of dollars in election funds to the corporate funded Demoratic Party, why not use the money to start a national radio (tv?) network with statation outlets in various cities, giving all working people the latest news about situations like Circuit City WHEN IT HAPPENS ! NOT MONTHS LATER!
Why all the stupid questions? (eg: which of these ten things are you most concerned?). ( HEALTH CARE, LIVING WAGE JOBS, SOCIAL SECURITY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING ETC.ETC.ETC.) Don’t the labor “leaders” know what the hell is going on??? ALL of the things are crucial to surviving in an economy that is going down the tubes as far as working people are concerned!!
Stop thinking about continally supporting the Democratic Party. Start thinking about what is to be now to first educate the mass of working people into an understanding of what is happening on a daily basis… via radio… to the economy, how the plunder of the resources of the federal government needed for maintaining the social support system needed by us all.
I absolutely refuse to purchase anything from Curcuit City anymore due to their unfair business practices. Prior to this outrage, I purchased a 50″ screen television, a DVD player/recorder/ a stand for the t.v/a Sony Video Camera, 3 Panasonic 3 chip Video Cameras, and acessories to go with all of these purchases. I paid cash for everything. I think I was a pretty good customer. Well unless and until things change, I will no longer be a customer and I will advise my friends to boycott as well.