For the third consecutive year, Walmart employees went on strike on Black Friday to protest for a minimum wage of at least $15 per hour and for more consistent work hours.
Barbara Gertz, a Walmart worker who decided to participate, makes $12.40 an hour, but still encounters financial difficulties with that wage.
“I have dental insurance but I can’t afford the deductible [minimum payment] so for the last month I’ve been living in pain because I can’t afford to get a filling redone,” she told BBC.
Organization United for Respect at Walmart, or OUR Walmart, a union group of employees that has used Black Friday to stage protests, organized more than 1,600 demonstrations on Friday, Nov. 28.
However, Brooke Buchanan, a spokesperson for Walmart, told United Press International that less than 1,600 protests were expected throughout the country. She added that no Walmart employees had walked out of working to join the demonstrations as of Friday afternoon, but that some had participated in the protests after working their shifts.
At the Evendale Walmart store in Ohio, 30 people protested against the retail giant, chanting phrases such as, “Walmart, Walmart, you’re no good. Treat your workers like you should,” USA Today reported.
Rally participants were not exclusively Walmart employees, as labor activists also stood alongside them.
“We are here in support of workers that went on strike for respect on the job,” Rosa Lozano, 29, of Washington DC told USA Today. “They deserve more benefits, more pay and a better work environment. Especially now in the holiday season, they are struggling to support their families.”
Organizers say the goal of the rallies is not to affect retail operations, but rather to raise awareness about the low wages and inconsistent hours employees receive.
Shomani Lewis, a Walmart associate who protested at a store in Dallas, said on a Friday conference call that his $9.70 per hour salary is only enough for him to live off of “ramen and mystery meat.”
A 2013 report commissioned by Congressional Democrats found that per Walmart store, between $900,000 to $1.75 million of taxpayer money goes to Walmart workers annually because many of them rely on federal aid.
Fatmata Jabbie, 21, is a single mother who makes $8.40 per hour at a Walmart in Alexandria, Virginia. In addition to her earnings, Jabbie relies on food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing. She said a $15-per-hour wage from Walmart and full-time hours would be helpful.
“That would change our lives,” she told Mother Jones. “That would change our whole path. I wouldn’t be dependent on government too much. I could buy clothes for my kids to wear.”
The approach that OUR Walmart is taking is inspired by the Occupy movement. The organization is among “alt-labour” groups that pressure employers via strikes rather than pushing for unionization right away.
Organizers of the demonstrations say their efforts are working. Since 2012, Walmart has implemented a new scheduling policy to assist employees acquire more shifts, as well as a new pregnancy policy that provides accommodations for disabilities, including “a temporary disability caused by pregnancy.”
In October, Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said that in time, company plans not to pay minimum wage at all.
“We have to set up our associates to win,” he said. “They need us to get some things done so they can.”
McMillon also said only approximately 6,000 Walmart employees are paid minimum wage.
Walmart is the country’s largest employer with 1.4 million workers. It also rakes in $16 billion in profits each year.
(With reports from BBC, Businessweek, Mother Jones, United Press International and USA Today)
