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Retail, Walmart

As the Holidays Approach, OUR Walmart Members Prepare for Black Friday Actions

Oct 04, 2013

BF2013Over the last year, Walmart workers and members of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) have called on the retail giant to stop its practice of retaliating against workers who are simply exercising their right to speak out for a better life and improved working conditions.  Their calls for change have been met with Walmart’s extreme response of firing and disciplining workers who speak out for positive changes in the workplace—leading many to seriously question the company’s relationship with workers throughout its supply chain.

Leading up to the holidays, members of OUR Walmart and community supporters will continue to call on the company to publicly commit to raising wages and increasing access to full-time hours so that no worker at Walmart makes less than $25,000 per year. Members of OUR Walmart are also calling for the rescission of all illegal firings and/or disciplinary actions against more than 70 workers who participated in a legally protected unfair labor practice strike in Bentonville, Arkansas, earlier this summer.

Friday, November 29—also known as Black Friday—is the most important day of the year for retailers like Walmart, and OUR Walmart members have announced widespread protests leading up to and on Black Friday this year. As Black Friday approaches, please commit to supporting OUR Walmart members as they take action this holiday shopping season by signing the petition pledging to join Walmart workers this year in their calls for change at http://action.changewalmart.org/page/s/black-friday-pledge.

Retail, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart

OUR Walmart Celebrates Legal Victory and Prepares for Actions Leading Up to Black Friday

Sep 27, 2013

In response to last year’s Black Friday actions, Walmart filed a lawsuit in Washington state court against OUR Walmart and its supporters alleging trespass and requesting a court order to prohibit future OUR Walmart actions inside and outside of Walmart stores.

OUR Walmart fought the lawsuit and successfully persuaded the Washington judge to dismiss it because Walmart’s state court lawsuit violated federal labor law that requires Walmart to present its issues only to the NLRB. Walmart had filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB prior to filing its lawsuit.

This legal win means that Walmart cannot seek trespass injunctions against OUR Walmart or its supporters for future actions in Washington. The win will also help OUR Walmart’s legal team to make similar arguments in other states that have Walmart trespass lawsuits pending, including Ark., Calif., Colo., Fla., and Texas.

OUR Walmart members have announced widespread protests for Black Friday in 2013. As Black Friday approaches, the campaign is asking allies to commit to supporting OUR Walmart members as they take action this holiday shopping season by signing the petition at http://bit.ly/15H42nj.

Economic Justice, Legislation, Macy's and Bloomingdale's, Politics, Retail, Retail Food, UFCW Industries, UFCW Values, Walmart, War on Workers

OUR Walmart Members and Community Allies Support Living Wage Bill

Sep 19, 2013

Last week, Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray vetoed the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) which would have required big box retailers to pay a $12.50 per hour minimum wage.

D.C. residents from neighborhoods throughout the city took their calls for fair wages and good jobs to the D.C. City Council today in light of the override vote of Mayor Gray’s veto of the LRAA. The bill has been recognized by local residents, Council Members, policy experts, and economists as a bill that would help improve jobs and bolster the local economy.

At noon on Tuesday, hundreds of people – including OUR Walmart, UFCW Local 400, AFL-CIO, OUR DC, DC Jobs with Justice, and other community supporters rallied for an override. The rally came as Walmart workers in the D.C. area and nationwide have increased their calls to improve jobs at the country’s largest employer. Last week, 100 workers and supporters were arrested when refusing to end their calls for better jobs at Walmart.

On Tuesday, the D.C. City Council failed to override Mayor Gray’s veto of the LRAA. The bill faced fierce opposition from the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, which threatened to cancel three of six stores planned for D.C. if the LRAA was passed. The threat was made despite the fact Walmart had promised residents and elected officials it would pay a wage of $13 an hour to workers if the stores were approved.

Despite falling short of success, the wage ordinance has boosted living wage efforts across the country.

Less than a week ago, the California Legislature approved raising the state’s minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10 by 2016. This fall, New Jersey voters will vote on a referendum that would raise their state’s minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. And the Minnesota Legislature is moving toward passage of its own minimum wage increase.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, if the federal minimum wage had kept pace with the cost of living over the past 40 years, it would be $10.74 an hour today, not $7.25

DC RallyA report from the national public policy center Demos shows that better jobs at Walmart and other large retailers would help the store’s bottom line, as well as have an impact on individual families and the larger economy. A wage floor equivalent of $25,000 per year for a full-time, year-round employee for retailers with more than 1000 employees would lift 1.5 million retail workers and their families out of poverty, add to economic growth, increase retail sales and create more than 100,000 new jobs. The Demos report can be found at http://bit.ly/QRHf0m.

New polling shows that voters overwhelmingly supported the LRAA.  Seventy-one percent of voters voiced their support in a survey conducted last weekend, with large majorities saying the bill would have positive effects not only on workers’ wages, but also on jobs, employment and the local economy. Additionally, 63 percent of voters said that they would be more likely to support a mayoral candidate in 2014 who supported the LRAA.

The survey of D.C. voters on the LRAA can be viewed here and you can access results by clicking here.