Labor rights activists demonstrate outside Walmart's lobbying office in Washington, DC.
Amy Goodman, Opinion, The Guardian:
American workers are on the move
It's a huge symbolic moment as grassroots labor activists take on America's largest, resolutely anti-union private employer
American workers are on the move
It's a huge symbolic moment as grassroots labor activists take on America's largest, resolutely anti-union private employer
The great recession of 2008,
this global economic meltdown, has wiped out the life savings of so
many people, and created a looming threat of chronic unemployment for
millions. This is happening while
corporate coffers are brimming with historically high levels of cash on
hand, in both the "too big to fail" banks and in non-financial
corporations.
Despite unemployment levels that remain high, and the anxiety caused by people living paycheck to paycheck, many workers in the United States are taking matters into their own hands, demanding better working conditions and better pay. These are the workers who are left unmentioned in the presidential debates, who remain uninvited into the corporate news networks' gilded studios. These are the workers at Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States.
This week, Walmart workers launched the first strike against the giant retailer in its 50-year history, with protests and picket lines at 28 stores across 12 states. Many of these non-union workers are facing retaliation from their employer, despite the protections that exist on paper through the National Labor Relations Board. The strikers are operating under the banner of Our Walmart: Organization United for Respect at Walmart started with support from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Our Walmart members protested outside Walmart's "Meeting for the Investment Community 2012" in Bentonville, Arkansas. Demanding a stop to the company's retaliations, the group promised a vigorous national presence at Walmart stores on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the largest retail shopping day of the year. The workers have an impressive array of allies ready to join them, including the National Organization for Women.
Continue reading here.
Despite unemployment levels that remain high, and the anxiety caused by people living paycheck to paycheck, many workers in the United States are taking matters into their own hands, demanding better working conditions and better pay. These are the workers who are left unmentioned in the presidential debates, who remain uninvited into the corporate news networks' gilded studios. These are the workers at Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States.
This week, Walmart workers launched the first strike against the giant retailer in its 50-year history, with protests and picket lines at 28 stores across 12 states. Many of these non-union workers are facing retaliation from their employer, despite the protections that exist on paper through the National Labor Relations Board. The strikers are operating under the banner of Our Walmart: Organization United for Respect at Walmart started with support from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Our Walmart members protested outside Walmart's "Meeting for the Investment Community 2012" in Bentonville, Arkansas. Demanding a stop to the company's retaliations, the group promised a vigorous national presence at Walmart stores on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the largest retail shopping day of the year. The workers have an impressive array of allies ready to join them, including the National Organization for Women.
Continue reading here.
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