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A Labor Strike Over Shoplifting

The Wall Street Journal 

Opinion by The Editorial Board

A STRIKE THE JOURNAL CAN SUPPORT

Provided by The Wall Street Journal

Union walkouts these days are common for pay raises, but get this: Over the weekend hundreds of workers at three Macy’s stores in the Seattle suburbs went on strike to protest rampant shoplifting and risks to employee safety.

United Food & Commercial Workers Local 3000 says Macy’s “is not doing enough to address shoplifting, violent shoppers, and other safety threats to workers and customers.” Among other evidence, the union points to an incident involving Liisa Luick, a longtime employee at the Macy’s store some 20 miles north of downtown.

Ms. Luick says workers at her store “frequently observe shoplifting and even occasional violence,” and “the lack of security affects our customers too.” But when she called 911 about “a repeat shoplifter that even law enforcement was familiar with,” Macy’s suspended her without pay “for nearly three weeks,” she wrote in a letter to the Everett Herald last week. Now Macy’s workers “are afraid to call the police because we worry we’ll get in trouble or even lose our jobs,” she said.

Macy’s declined to respond to Ms. Luick’s claims but said “our top priority is to ensure the safety of our colleagues and customers in-store.” UFCW Local 3000 said it filed an unfair labor practice charge against Macy’s over its treatment of Ms. Luick and that the company “eventually provided back pay.”

Ms. Luick isn’t alone in worrying about crime. “Shoplifters and even violent customers are constant threats to our security,” wroteNicole Hardin, who has worked at the Macy’s cosmetics counter for more than 15 years. Yasmina Grainat, another longtime employee, told the Seattle Times that the stress of dealing with thieves isn’t worth her $20.73 hourly wage.

Macy’s and others can be forgiven for wondering if calling the cops is pointless. Theft up to $750 is a mere misdemeanor in the state, and many shoplifting cases are never prosecuted. Where crime is tolerated it proliferates.

A Forbes Advisor report last week ranked Washington as the worst state in the nation for retail theft: It “accounts for 48% more retail theft than expected based on its share of the U.S. population.” Last year Seattle ranked fifth among cities and metropolitan areas most affected by organized retail theft, according to the National Retail Federation.

UFCW 3000 ended its strike Sunday night, saying “our hope is that Macy’s will come to the table, ready to engage in good faith over solutions on safety” and other contract issues. The union could do more to ensure the safety of its members by exerting political pressure on Washington lawmakers to lower the felony threshold for shoplifting.