November 19, 2012
Diane Cohen, LaborPress Washington DC Bureau
Just a month after strikes swept through Walmart stores in 12 states and weeks before the announced Black Friday Walmart strikes, Walmart retail workers and the warehouse workers who move Walmart's goods are already taking action.
Walmart workers in Northern California hold a sit-in at one store and then walk off the job after a manager attempts to silence workers. Workers in Texas go on strike and workers in California follow their lead.
The warehouse workers who move Walmart's goods go on strike. Store workers in Washington also go out in what is being called the first set of "viral strikes" given its potential to spread. And this is just the beginning.
Walmart workers from cities across the country have announced that these strikes are the first of 1,000 protests, including more strikes, rallies and actions, at Walmart stores leading up to and on Black Friday. Workers are planning to walk off the job in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Washington D.C., as well as Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Minnesota.
In just one year, OUR Walmart, the unique workers’ organization founded by Walmart Associates, has grown from a group of 100 Walmart workers to an army of thousands of Associates in hundreds of stores across 43 states. Together, OUR Walmart members have been leading the way in calling for an end to double standards that are hurting workers, communities and our economy.
When Walmart workers spoke out for change, Walmart unfairly silenced them.
Stand with Walmart workers as they go on strike this Black Friday.
