Day of Action: Thousands rallied on behalf of Wal-Mart workers

People’s Campaign for Justice @ Wal-Mart
Thousands rallied on behalf of Wal-Mart workers

Thousands Rally Nationwide Demanding America’s Largest Corporation Conform to American Values

Thousands rallied on behalf of Wal-Mart workers and American communities at more than 100 Wal-Mart stores across the country, demanding that the world’s largest corporation and retailer living up to American values.

More than 300 organizations joined the UFCW in sponsoring the National Action Day, including student, religious, and feminist groups.

"This Day of Action is not about protesting Wal-Mart," said UFCW International President Doug Dority while addressing a rally at a Wal-Mart in Alexandria, Va. "We’re here to demonstrate our support for Wal-Mart workers, our communities, and American values."

Wal-Mart needs new path

The People’s Campaign—Justice @ Wal-Mart is a movement to change the course, and chart a new path for Wal-Mart from a low wage, low benefits, high turnover employer to a company that provides good jobs with living wages and affordable health care.

From an employer that faces the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in history to a company that provides equal opportunity to all workers.
From an employer that faces 38 state and federal lawsuits for forcing employees to work off the clock to a company that pays a fair wage for all hours workers.
From an employer that has been charged by the NLRB with violations of worker rights in 25 states to a company that recognizes the right of workers to have a voice at work.

Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the U.S., and the largest retailer and corporation in the world. If unchallenged, Wal-Mart will shape the future for generations of workers and the communities where they live.

The future in a Wal-Mart America will have workers earning approximately $8.50 an hour for an average 32-hour workweek. Right now, two-thirds of Wal-Mart workers can’t afford Wal-Mart health insurance because to afford the company’s plan workers have to pay $192 every 2 weeks. Right now 700,000 Wal-Mart workers don’t have company health insurance---so who pays?

Here’s what Wal-Mart said: Our associates get heath insurance from a spouse of a state or federal program. That means taxpayer dollars and spouses’ companies are paying health care expenses for Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is a threat to other workers as well

When other companies get tired of paying the bill for Wal-Mart, they drop or reduce health care benefits for their employees. Then more and more workers are forced to choose between health care and the mortgage or health care and food. There are over 40 million uninsured working families. The more Wal-Mart grows so do the number of the uninsured.

The Walton family is worth about $102 billion—less than 1% of that could provide affordable health care for associates.

The People’s Campaign—Justice at Wal-Mart is not about low prices for consumers. It is about corporate greed and worker need, about excessive profits, and the practice of poverty-level American values by the world’s richest corporation.

Now is the time to tell Wal-Mart, If you want to be America’s store, provide for America’s workers, for America’s communities, for America’s families.

Download more facts on Wal-Mart's bad record.