Wal-Mart Worker Strikes And Protests Hit 100 Cities In Almost Every State
var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};Wal-Mart workers are protesting and striking in 100 U.S. cities across the nation in 46 states, hoping to draw attention to Wal-Mart’s tragically low wages and strong anti-union policies.
“A Walmart press release this morning downplayed what commentators have called historic strike actions by Walmart workers this Black Friday across the United States,” Salon.com reports:
The release noted that “the same number of associates missed their scheduled shift as last year,†but hundreds of protests in 46 states beginning Thursday evening have drawn attention to the retailer’s poor labor practices…
Salon also has a list of strikes and protests.
Over at The Nation, Josh Eidelson is live blogging updates of actions against Wal-Mart. In his latest update he writes:
According to a spokesperson for Making Change at Walmart, a group tied to the United Food & Commerical Workers union, hundreds of Walmart retail workers have now gone on strike. He added that there are Black Friday strikers in at least 100 cities and protests in 46 states. The spokesperson accused Walmart of making up numbers to minimize the strike, and said that it will take time to tally more exact figures because many strikers are walking off the job on their own in stores that haven’t seen past OUR Walmart actions. He reiterated the group’s position that the strike is legally protected, and pledged support for any workers who face illegal retaliation for participating.
Meanwhile, a guest post at AmericaBlog by Brian Young, a co-founder of the Corporate Action Network explains:
Walmart matters. It’s so large, it sets the standard for wages and worker treatment. You can see when Walmart announces that they’re moving up Black Friday sales to eat into more of its workers’ Thanksgivings, other retailers follow suit. A new report by the policy think-tank Demos said, “Walmart has used this power to lower wages, cut hours, and deny benefits to its workforce, reducing the quality of retail jobs as a whole,†it says.
The mistreatment of its workers really does go far beyond the low pay.
You should take a few minutes and read about how Walmart treats its workers, then punishes them when they speak up. Workers in California who staged one of the first protests against Walmart in September had their hours cut back and faced termination for their acts. And Walmart is giving signs that they have no intention of ending this.
With Walmart executives on edge because of the planned walkouts on Black Friday, company spokesman David Tovar told CBS News Monday night that there “could be consequences†for workers who stay off the job on Black Friday.
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Image via Twitter via Preeti Tweets

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