Alt Labor Rising: Organizing Walmart and the Fast Food Industry

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.demos.org/event/alt-labor-rising-organizing-walmart-and-fast-food-industry?utm_source=Demos&utm_campaign=acca5f9987-11%2F7+Alt-Labor&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e07d7f6936-acca5f9987-64819781



Moderator:

Josh Eidelson, Staff Writer, Salon

Panelists:

Sylvia Fabela, Organizer, OUR Walmart
Patricia Locks, Walmart worker
Kendall Fells, Organizing Director, Fast Food Forward
Amy Traub, Senior Policy Analyst, Demos

Time: November 19th, 6 p.m.

Location: 220 5th Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10001

Description: Almost one year ago on Black Friday, Walmart employees around the country risked retaliation in an unprecedented action and walked off the job to demand a living wage. And in August of this year, fast food workers staged walk-outs in more than 50 cities. Behind this pressure on the country’s biggest retailer and fast food companies are workers’ groups, or ‘alt-labor’ groups, who organize outside of traditional union representation and without the protections afforded unions to fight for better pay. And they’re on the rise.

Join us for a panel on the state of ‘alt-labor’ and what’s next for two groups: OUR Walmart and Fast Food Forward.

Moderated by Salon’s Josh Eidelson the panel will feature representatives from OUR Walmart and Fast Food Forward, and Demos Senior Policy Analyst Amy Traub who will introduce new research on the economic impact of improving worker pay—a follow-up to Retail's Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Overall Economy.