Prosperity Hasn’t Been Trickling Down

Korean-owned supermarkets in Los Angeles have prospered for years, most notably in the large ethnic community of Koreatown. But this prosperity has not trickled down to the immigrant workers who form the backbone of their economic success.

In early January, workers at one of the largest of these markets gained a major victory when the National Labor Relations Board set a vote on unionization for Saturday.

These are not the mom-and-pop grocery stores.

For example, seven Koreatown supermarkets employ on average 80 to 100 workers per store. Each has a sales volume comparable to and in some instances exceeding that of the Ralphs and Vons in the same area.

The Korean-owned supermarkets serve as an example of how immigrant communities and businesses thrive and contribute to the economy of Los Angeles and California.

However, unlike workers at major supermarket chains in Los Angeles, workers at the Korean supermarkets have no union protection, which would allow for collective bargaining to negotiate fair wages, health benefits and job security.

These mostly Latino and Korean workers have been subjected to verbal and psychological abuse and threatened with termination and deportation when they have tried to organize to demand fair treatment.

These workers receive a wage increase only when state law mandates an increase in the minimum wage.

They receive no health benefits, vacation time or sick time. They toil under sweatshop-like conditions for years, while also training other workers, and yet earn no more than the minimum wage.

At unionized supermarkets throughout Los Angeles, workers earn up to $15 per hour and receive benefits.

The income generated by Korean supermarkets indicates that they are more than able to support their employees under union contracts.

Korean supermarkets do not operate in a vacuum. The actions of their owners have dire consequences for Los Angeles. Their labor practices and those in other industries have contributed to the rise in the number of working poor in Los Angeles over the last decade.

A 2000 Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy study found that, over the last decade, the ranks of the working poor grew by 34%.

Not surprisingly, more than 60% of the working poor in Los Angeles are immigrants, the majority of them Latino. More than 90% of the workers at Korean supermarkets are immigrants, with the majority of them from the Latino community.

The growth in the number of working poor can be tied to the lack of unionization among immigrant workers.

The 2000 study also found that unionization rates among the working poor of Los Angeles are significantly lower than in other groups.

Last November, Korean and Latino workers at Assi supermarket in Koreatown presented their demands for union recognition to owner Daniel Lee. Lee has retained a high-priced national employment law firm that is known for challenging workers’ attempts to form unions.

Instead of paying so much money to lawyers, Daniel Lee should be investing that money in paying living wages and health benefits. And he should allow his workers to unionize.

Lee and the self-described “union avoidance” law firm he hired have conducted an anti-union campaign to discourage the workers from supporting the union on election day.

A coalition of more than 50 organizations has come together to support these workers and their efforts to organize a union.

With the Saturday union vote, it is more critical than ever to come together as a community to support these courageous Korean and Latino workers as they risk their jobs to fight for better working conditions and a better future for their children.