Walmart Is Holding Food Drives Again to Urge Workers to Help Feed Their Co-Workers
The retail giant would rather hold a food drive than pay a living wage.Despite last year’s criticism, Walmart has brought the food bins back (pictured below), this time in Oklahoma. A press release from Making Change at Walmart’s public consultants stated that in addition: “A worker from Indiana reports that managers there are also organizing bake sales, encouraging workers to support their co-workers with food donations.”
The news comes on the heels of a new report by Eat Drink Politics, a food industry watchdog consulting firm, which found that Walmart is a major contributor to the country’s hunger crisis.
“National organizations and experts working to reduce hunger consistently cite low wages and part-time work as the most common root causes of hunger – both major problems for workers at Walmart,” the report states. “Walmart and the Waltons can have a direct impact in fighting hunger for the 1.3 million Americans that it employs.”
http://www.alternet.org/labor/walmart-holding-food-drives-again-urge-workers-help-feed-their-co-workers
= new reply since forum marked as read
Walmart employees who are organizing as part of OUR Walmart are promising the biggest strikes ever on Black Friday, saying more employees will participate than the previous two years.
Barbara Gertz, an employee from Denver, Colorado, said organizers are expecting to see protests in 1,600 stores. While they don’t yet have a headcount of how many workers will strike or in how many cities, she said they’ve gotten calls “every day” from employees who want to join in. Protests will hit Los Angeles and a number of other major metropolitan areas. Employees at more than 2,100 Walmart stores across the country have signed an online petition asking for higher wages and better working conditions.
Gertz explained why she’s planning to take part. “There have been many times my family can’t even afford the gas to get me back and forth to work, so my husband had to wait in the car to take me home after work,” she said on a call with the press. “Every time one of us speaks out for change, we take the risk that Walmart will fire us. That’s not right and that’s not legal. That’s why we’re going on strike.” The National Labor Relations Board has backed up some of the claims of retaliation against organizing workers.
She noted that while the company has made some changes — it has announced an increase in the wage for its lowest-paid employees above the federal floor of $7.25 an hour, overhauled its scheduling program, and made some changes for pregnant employees — “associates are still struggling and our stores are still understaffed.” Striking Walmart workers have been calling for $15 an hour, more full-time work, and an end to retaliation to those trying to form a union over the past two years, and those demands were repeated on Thursday as they staged the first-ever sit-in strike.
Originally posted in GD by MerryBlooms: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025817031
Related thread started by Omaha Steve:
Hey, Walmart, Want to Fix Those Sales Problems? Why Not Invest in Workers?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025823189
The workers of this f***ked up corporation should send a can of cat or dog food to the 4 to 6 jerk offs who epitomize the right wing creed of RIGHT TO WORK FOR LESS and the LAWS and what it stands for, making s**t wages and benefits.
Lets not forget that one of there drivers had not gone to sleep in over 24 hours and that it is FEDERAL MANDATE that a truck driver get at least 8 hours of sleep in a 13 hour driving period, (but WAL Mart and there HEIRS want to eliminate this MANDATE) and this guy was under pressure from his corporate cronies to get a product delivered no matter what the cost and a person was killed because of this lack of enforcement from the corporate office, when they knew the transponder on the truck showed he was driving over this period of time, is outrageous, and this firm should be charged with murder right along with this guy.
Last year this RIGHT TO WORK FOR LESS heirs made over 100 billion and these jerk offs hold more than 42% of the wealth when compared to everyone in this country and they want there "ASSOCIATES" have bake sales and food drives for there fellow employees----how nice---how about THANKSGIVING and CHRISTMAS off with pay.
And anyone that buys anything from this right wing backed company and then goes out and whines about your wages, benefits and other social items that you can't afford anything unless and you can only afford to shop in this RIGHT TO WORK FOR LESS company, then you really need to think about your standing at the station of self awareness and who has placed you in this box of being attacked for being poor or middle class, it is them.
If they are the only business in town and have driven the mom and pop out, then maybe its time to go to the local council meeting and ask why this company is getting tax breaks to operate in your town and you are still paying a different tax rate on your property when compared to this fascists organization, because the only reason they come to these towns is tax incentives being footed by the local and sate government and having this burden placed on the poor and middle class .
I DON"T SHOP THERE--------PERIOD
