January 25, 2008

What is Tesco’s Fresh and Easy and why should you care?

Tesco is the world’s third largest retailer, and is planning hundreds of Fresh and Easy stores in the United States, with at least fifty in Southern California.   Newspapers call them the “Wal-Mart of Europe.”

And like Wal-Mart, Tesco is trying to open low-paying, non-union stores in the United States.

Tesco, whose English workers are free to join a union, has stubbornly refused to meet with representatives of the grocery workers union here and adamantly stated their intent to keep their stores “union-free.”  Even worse, their definition of a “good job” for us in the United States is one that pays just $800 a week or $10,000 a year – 50% below the federal poverty line for a family of four.

In England, the company has profited from child and sweatshop labor in Bangladesh and hired companies that pay farm workers less than the minimum wage.

This is clearly not a company we can trust.  But, like Wal-Mart, Tesco’s Fresh and Easy will have a lot of money behind it and a slick public relations campaign.  It’s up to us to educate the public about Tesco’s record.

That’s why we’re in the neighborhoods around the stores and in front of them as well, educating the public.  You can help us too – visit www.FreshandQueasy.com, sign our online petition and sign up for email updates.