Target: Warren Buffett, Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway
Goal: Don’t use coronavirus as an excuse to fire already vulnerable workers who are trying to unionize.
Companies across the United States are using coronavirus as an excuse to lay off and fire vulnerable workers who are attempting to unionize. Particularly, truck drivers and warehouse workers at Cort Furniture Rental in New Jersey, a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, were laid off and replaced by contracted drivers after trying to join a union.
Cort employees began meeting in January to discuss joining the local chapter of the Teamsters Union. Before they could take a vote to join, though, Cort replaced almost all of them with outside truck drivers. Julio Perez, a warehouse worker from North Bergen, New Jersey, said “They fired us because we tried to start a union.”
This trend has become common since the start of the coronavirus, taking place at other companies such as Trader Joe’s Supermarket and Amazon. Sign below to demand Berkshire Hathaway stop firing workers for trying to unionize during a global pandemic.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Buffett,
Your workers have attempted to unionize in order to secure better wages and benefits. Particularly during the spread of a global pandemic, it is cruel to fire them for making a decision that could increase their livelihood.
Workers at Cort Furniture Rental were already vulnerable, and now, they have nothing. I demand that you stop replacing workers who are trying to unionize, especially during the spread of Covid-19.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Fibonacci Blue
