Los Angeles Times (07/24/13) Ricardo Lopez

Thirty workers at a warehouse supplying Wal-Mart went on strike yesterday to protest retaliation from managers resulting from employee complaints about poor working conditions. Workers complained about a lack of drinking water access and ventilation, as well as blocked fire exits and other poor conditions.

The corporate secretary for Olivet International Inc., which owns the warehouse, insisted this was not the case and that the warehouse complies with standards set by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The logistics industry provides 114,000 jobs to California’s Inland Empire region. California in 2011 fined labor subcontractors Impact Logistics and Premier Warehousing Ventures, which operate in the region, more than $1 million for failing to maintain proper pay records and itemized pay statements for hundreds of temporary workers. California also fined Warestaff, a staffing firm, $57,000 last year in another case involving worker complaints about poor conditions.