Things stirring up in Queens....

We've been meeting with tons of workers from the BJ's Queens locations, most workers are begining to bring us more and more unsatisfied workers from BJ's. We know most workers are still scared to post on the blog but leave us some comments on how you think our campaign is going or how you think we can improve it...We love hearing from everyone and are looking forward to hearing and seeing everyone at our next meeting in Queens!

BJ’s Wholesale Elects Zarkin President and CEO

NATICK, Mass. — Herb Zarkin has been elected president and chief executive officer of BJ’s Wholesale Club, the company said yesterday. He had served as interim CEO since November 2006 and will continue as chairman of the company’s board of directors. Zarkin has served as a director since November 1996 and as chairman since 1997. From 1993 to 1997, he was president, CEO and a director at Waban Inc., which operated BJ’s Wholesale Club as well as HomeBase, another warehouse merchandising business. Tom Shields, BJ’s presiding director, said, “The board’s decision is a vote of confidence in Herb’s ability to lead the company. He has done an outstanding job as CEO in recent months, and we are confident that his continued leadership will benefit all BJ’s stakeholders.”

CNN Uncovers E-COLI at BJ'S

(Taken From CNN.com)

BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion

Warehouse club operator pulls items from shelves after routine testing finds possible presence of deadly bacteria.

February 20 2007: 7:30 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. said Tuesday it was recalling packages of fresh mushrooms after it a routine inspection revealed the possible presence of the deadly bacteria E. coli.

The warehouse club operator said the products affected were Wellsley Farms brand fresh mushrooms purchased between February 11 and February 19, 2007.

Video More video Simple safety steps can help prevent one of the most serious food borne illnesses. CNN's Judy Fortin reports (February 2) Play video

The company, which had not received any reports of illness, said it had removed all the potentially affected products from its shelves as a precaution.

Customers who had purchased the product are encouraged not to eat it and may return the unused portion for a full refund.

If tests by BJ's confirms the presence of E. coli, it would mark the third food outbreak of the bacteria in the U.S. over the past seven months.

More than 70 people fell sick in December last year because of an E. coli outbreak linked to Taco Bell restaurants in the U.S. Northeast. Federal health officials said contaminated lettuce was the likely cause.

In September, the Food and Drug Administration had linked the infection of 158 people with a strain of E. coli to spinach manufactured by the three companies. The death of at least one child was linked to the outbreak.

Consumers who have further questions may contact BJ's toll free Member Care line at 1-800-BJS-CLUB.

BJ (Charts) shares finished 1.3 percent higher in Tuesday trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

---

BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion

BJ's recalls mushrooms on E. coli suspicion

(Taken From The Marler Blog)

According to CNN Money: Warehouse club operator pulls items from shelves after routine testing

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. said Tuesday it was recalling packages of fresh mushrooms after it a routine inspection revealed the possible presence of the deadly bacteria E. coli. The warehouse club operator said the products affected were Wellsley Farms brand fresh mushrooms purchased between February 11 and February 19, 2007. The company, which had not received any reports of illness, said it had removed all the potentially affected products from its shelves as a precaution.

Tags: Case News, coli BJ's, e.

BJ's out Home Depot in

The city is allowing Home Depot to build a 135,000 square foot store in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx. There was no major outcry from citizens, politicians, labor activists, religious, or community leaders. Why, When a year ago all of these groups came out against a proposed BJ's Wholesale Club? Well, first and foremost as Councilmember Annabel Palma said, "Home Depot is accustomed to paying a living wage". The implication that BJ's does not is deafening. This decision really reflects the importance that corporate responsibility is taking in the decisions that the city and the citizens make about their neighborhood. BJ's is notorious for not paying their employees a living wage. Finally, people from all sectors of the populace are standing up and saying that if, as company policy, you treat your employees poorly, if you do not provide benefits, and you do not recognize their right to organize a union, then you are not welcome in our neighborhood. We see this trend happening all over the place, like Staten Island keeping Wal-Mart from building stores, to the rally at Albee Square in Brooklyn last week, where Wal-Mart again was blocked from opening a store. Maybe BJ's will learn from this rebuff (most likely not) and begin to treat their workers with respect. We understand that it is now time to make work pay. By denying BJ's expansion into the Bronx, it lets them know that they will not be able to make money in New York City without recognizing their employees right to MAKE WORK PAY.

Discontent in Middle Village...Workers Not Happy

We're hearing rumblings again... Workers in Middle Village are not happy. Constant complaints over cut hours, and even workers being repremanded for asking about the sale of the company... For the abundant amount of complaints and response we continue to get in Middle Village we know that we're on the right path for bringing help to BJ's Workers. With the support of former BJ's employees we have a message for BJ's workers in Middle Village: "Help is On the Way!"

BJ's Flyer

We've been getting a lot of emails requesting to put the flyer up on the site...We're in the process of creating a new one but feel free to print these out at your homes!