MONTREAL, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Dozens of elected officials, religious leaders, and concerned community members from the United States and Canada joined Quebecor World Toronto workers from throughout the southern U.S. for a rally at Quebecor Inc.''s headquarters to highlight the hazardous and oppressive conditions faced by Quebecor World workers on the job.
During the rally, members of the Kentucky Workers'' Rights Board, including Kentucky State Representative Joni Jenkins and Peace and Justice Minister for the Archdiocese of Lexington, Ky., Father John Rausch, released a report based on the board''s investigation into abuses at Quebecor World''s Versailles, Ky., plant.
The report calls for improved workplace safety; adequate, affordable healthcare; and demands that the company end its campaign of coercion against workers who are forming a union.
Rep. Jenkins and Father Rausch met with top Quebecor management to discuss the reports'' findings.
"We came to Montreal and met with Quebecor management in May, and they said that they would look into our concerns," said Lloyd Mayes, a worker in Quebecor World''s Olive Branch, Miss., plant. "That was four months ago and we''re still facing the same harassment on the job."
"The problems at our plant in Versailles with safety didn''t get fixed for years until we, the workers, took it upon ourselves to pressure the company," said Don Butler who works at Quebecor''s Versailles plant. "In response to our pressures, the company made changes before the government inspected the plant, but there are still hazards that need to be fixed. We''re determined to make our jobs safer."
In addition to Tuesday''s rally, workers and their allies sponsored a community forum for Montreal-based members of social justice and labor organizations.
"The purpose of the Kentucky Workers'' Rights Board and of our trip is to expose the injustices that Quebecor World workers face in the United States," said Rep. Jenkins. "We''re here today to let the company know that the Versailles community will continue to take action until workers at Quebecor have the respect they deserve."
The Workers'' Rights Board is a project of Kentucky Jobs with Justice and strives to provide a community-based alternative to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers'' Rights Boards throughout the U.S. provide a forum for workers to call for safe working conditions and fair treatment. Jobs with Justice is the largest community-labor organization in the United States.
Two regions of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board have found merit in 22 unfair labor practice charges file by Quebecor World workers stating the company threatened, harassed, discriminated against, and fired workers because they stood up for a voice on the job. Currently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating discrimination at the company''s Olive Branch, Miss., plant.
Quebecor World workers in the U.S. are forming a union with the Graphic Communications International Union as part of the Justice@Quebecor campaign, an unprecedented effort by Quebecor workers and their unions to win basic human rights on the job at Quebecor World''s facilities throughout the globe.
Justice@Quebecor
During the rally, members of the Kentucky Workers'' Rights Board, including Kentucky State Representative Joni Jenkins and Peace and Justice Minister for the Archdiocese of Lexington, Ky., Father John Rausch, released a report based on the board''s investigation into abuses at Quebecor World''s Versailles, Ky., plant.
The report calls for improved workplace safety; adequate, affordable healthcare; and demands that the company end its campaign of coercion against workers who are forming a union.
Rep. Jenkins and Father Rausch met with top Quebecor management to discuss the reports'' findings.
"We came to Montreal and met with Quebecor management in May, and they said that they would look into our concerns," said Lloyd Mayes, a worker in Quebecor World''s Olive Branch, Miss., plant. "That was four months ago and we''re still facing the same harassment on the job."
"The problems at our plant in Versailles with safety didn''t get fixed for years until we, the workers, took it upon ourselves to pressure the company," said Don Butler who works at Quebecor''s Versailles plant. "In response to our pressures, the company made changes before the government inspected the plant, but there are still hazards that need to be fixed. We''re determined to make our jobs safer."
In addition to Tuesday''s rally, workers and their allies sponsored a community forum for Montreal-based members of social justice and labor organizations.
"The purpose of the Kentucky Workers'' Rights Board and of our trip is to expose the injustices that Quebecor World workers face in the United States," said Rep. Jenkins. "We''re here today to let the company know that the Versailles community will continue to take action until workers at Quebecor have the respect they deserve."
The Workers'' Rights Board is a project of Kentucky Jobs with Justice and strives to provide a community-based alternative to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers'' Rights Boards throughout the U.S. provide a forum for workers to call for safe working conditions and fair treatment. Jobs with Justice is the largest community-labor organization in the United States.
Two regions of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board have found merit in 22 unfair labor practice charges file by Quebecor World workers stating the company threatened, harassed, discriminated against, and fired workers because they stood up for a voice on the job. Currently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating discrimination at the company''s Olive Branch, Miss., plant.
Quebecor World workers in the U.S. are forming a union with the Graphic Communications International Union as part of the Justice@Quebecor campaign, an unprecedented effort by Quebecor workers and their unions to win basic human rights on the job at Quebecor World''s facilities throughout the globe.
Justice@Quebecor
