Washington Retail Association

Unions will attempt to change organizing rules
 
Efforts are underway by unions on both a national and Washington state level to significantly alter the way unions attempt to organize non-union businesses.
 
The so-called Employee Free Choice Act, also known as "card check," would remove the secret ballot at workplaces where unions were trying to organize. Instead of private voting rights for employees, a union would be recognized if more than 50 percent of the affected employees signed a card saying they wanted a union. This would be the most radical change to labor law in the past 60 years.
 
"This proposal undercuts basic worker rights and protections," said Jan Teague, President/CEO of the Washington Retail Association. "The Washington Retail Association stands firmly against this destructive, radical and unnecessary legislation."
 
Organized labor has so far unsuccessfully supported such legislation on the national and state levels. Teague said the fate of the attempts could rest largely with this fall's federal and state elections for President, Congress, Governor and the Legislature.
 
Regardless of the election outcomes, though, Washington Retail Association members are opposed to the heavy-handed aspects contained in the bills put forth by labor unions in several states including Washington. Union lobbyists have funneled millions of dollars into this year's campaign cycle in hopes of increasing their chances of passing this legislation, which will be considered early in 2009.
 
The bills:
*Allows a union to be certified before the employer can respond. In effect, this eliminates the employer's free speech rights in educating employees about the organizing campaign.
*Allows unions to hold the authorization cards until they gain a majority of support and makes it difficult for employees to revoke the cards from the union.
*Would allow a federally-appointed mediator to impose contract terms that could force many retailers into layoffs or to go out of business.
*Allows unions to control the timing and process of union certification.
*Puts the bargaining pressure on the employer. It guarantees a union a first contract and takes away the right of employees to ratify it. A first contract including union dues deductions would be legally-binding for two years.
 *Forces contract negotiations into mediation after 90 days of collective bargaining, and soon after if talks fail, into binding arbitration.
 
WRA encourages our policy makers to protect freedom of speech and the current secret ballot by rejecting "card check" legislation.
 

Safeway urges steps to combat organized retail crime
 
As interest builds in Congress to curb organized retail crime, Safeway's Seattle loss prevention director offers advice for Washington retailers on how to help combat the growing crime.
 
"The solution that seems to work best is to get your employees knowledgeable about the problem," said Jason Moulton, Safeway's loss prevention director for the Seattle area.
 
The FBI pegs annual national retail sales losses at $30 billion from criminals who steal, and later sell on the Internet, popular items from store shelves. Groceries selling health and beauty products and pharmacies are some of the most vulnerable retailers, Moulton said.
 
Thieves who know they are being watched are less likely to steal, Moulton said. Sometimes, he said, crime prevention can simply come from employees asking shoppers if they need help finding something.
 
"Customer service is never wrong," Moulton said.
 
Fenced items that investigators typically recover include razor blades, powdered baby formula, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, hair-growth products, whitening strips for teeth and electronics, including DVDs, Moulton said. Stolen items typically have a sales value of at least $10, he said. Though some criminals are professionals stealing for profit, others are dependent on illegal drugs and looking for a source of income to prolong their habits, he said.
 
Competing retailers increasingly are cooperating to share investigative information on catching criminals involved in organized retail crime. Last year, they launched the Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network to share research on suspects involved in organized retail crime, according to a report in the Miami Herald newspaper.
 
"Although we as retailers compete in many other areas, we do not compete in this," Moulton said of retailers collaborating on fighting electronic fencing of merchandise.
 
Stores increasingly are attaching stickers to identify the retail source of products and limiting supplies of items to locked displays to cut down on the theft problem. Later, police can use the stickers as an investigative tool if they happen to notice someone with a large quantity of items obtained from one store, Moulton said.
 
A handful of bills introduced into Congress this year also would require online retailers to share the identities and contact information of high-volume sellers to help in possible prosecution.
 
Moulton, who joined Safeway in 2000, said he noticed a growth in organized retail crime starting in 2005.
 
"We've always had shoplifting," he said. "But the coming in and sweeping of the shelves really started in 2005 and 2006."
 
In an August letter, the Washington Retail Association thanked members of the state House Congressional delegation for their support of proposed federal legislation to address organized retail crime. In the letter, the WRA noted than unchecked theft threatens the well being of retail companies and their employees.
 
"Clear and targeted federal criminal statutes are needed to provide law enforcement with the tools necessary to combat and deter organized retail crime," the WRA letters stated.