VA Ahold Workers Address Shareholder Meeting Today In Amsterdam

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Three Virginia grocery workers are in Amsterdam today to address the Ahold shareholders meeting. The workers will address the assembly on the unfair treatment they say employees at Ahold-owned Martin’s stores in Richmond, VA., are being subjected to and demand that management stop the attacks on workers and afford its Martin’s employees the same organizing and bargaining rights granted to Ahold workers elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe. “I used to go to work with a smile on my face because I felt more involved and appreciated,” says former Ukrop’s worker Shaquana Battle. “It was like a family and I was proud to work there. Since Martin’s took over a year ago, I don’t smile anymore. Now it’s just a job.” Added Giant employee and union member Kayla Mock, “In Northern Virginia, much of the U.S. and all of Europe, the employees of Ahold’s various operations have a strong voice in the workplace, living wages, health and retirement security, and fair and respectful treatment. Why should Ahold’s Richmond workers be denied these rights and treated as second-class employees?” Click here to watch the live (8A EST) webcast of the Ahold shareholder meeting, and follow the iHold campaign online, including worker video diaries, photos, reports and more updates on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
- photo: Waqas Ahmad, Shaquana Battle and Kayla Mock in Amsterdam