Walmart Workers Ask For Basic Rights, Walmart Calls Riot Police

Well to be fair, they aren't police per say but rather Walmarts own well armed security force, although their uniforms sure do say Police on them.

Walmart workers are protesting the poor working conditions at a Walmart warehouse. Their protest is one of civil disobedience by blocking the entrance to a very important Walmart distribution center allowing no trucks to enter or leave. So Walmart called in men in riot gear armed with LRAD.

Strikes at Walmart Warehouses Expose Threats in Supply Chain

news.infoshop.org...

A strike at Walmart? Two of them. In a time when few union members dare strike, three dozen Southern California workers who move goods for Walmart were desperate enough to walk off their jobs September 12 even without union protection.

Three days later, 30 workers who’d been organizing with Warehouse Workers for Justice in Elwood, Illinois, southwest of Chicago, walked out, too.

Both groups of workers had taken legal action against their employers, contractors who move goods for Walmart, and their strikes were protesting illegal retaliation.

California strikers asked the NLRB to investigate a half dozen unfair labor practices: retaliation against and surveillance of those who’ve been organizing with the energetic Warehouse Workers United (WWU) worker center, an affiliate of the Change to Win federation, for better conditions.

Hundreds to Show Support for Demands of Striking Walmart Warehouse Workers

truth-out.org...

Workers have been on strike at the Walmart warehouse since September 15, 2012. The unfair labor practice strike was triggered by management’s illegal retaliation against workers attempting to present the company their concerns about wage theft, unsafe conditions and discrimination. They are demanding an end to retaliation against workers who speak up about poor conditions.

Warehouse workers labor under extreme temperatures, lifting thousands of boxes that can weigh up to 250 lbs each. Workplace injuries are common; workers rarely earn a living wage or have any benefits.

Warehouse Workers for Justice is an Illinois worker center dedicated to fighting for quality jobs in the distribution industry that can sustain families and communities.

Private Security Force Arrests Supporters of Striking Walmart Warehouse Workers

dissenter.firedoglake.com...

Community, faith and labor organizations mobilized this afternoon for a rally and civil disobedience action in support of thirty-eight workers on strike at a Walmart warehouse in Elwood, Illinois. They marched down to this distribution center, and, at least thirteen clergy and community leaders sat down and blocked an entrance to the center to prevent goods from arriving or leaving the warehouse. After the leaders sat down in the road, a private security force there to protect Wal-Mart, who were dressed in riot gear, marched out and surrounded the leaders.

The private security force arrested all of the people committing civil disobedience. They had an officer with a camera taking video of the action. They also drove a Humvee with an Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) out into the street and parked fifty to one hundred feet away from where people were being arrested. The warehouse was, according to Warehouse Workers for Justice (WWJ), completely shut down.

Related links,
www.buzzfeed.com...

www.chicagotribune.com...

reply to post by Swills




How does it feel to stare into the face of the future?

Corporate private police with the authority to arrest, detain and prosecute American citizens.

I there any doubt we live in a growing corporatacracy?

is this even legal?
insane that instead of actuly take care of folks that run the company... thay have them arrested!
its like slavery
insert Jackie Chan "wth?!" meme

Simple Solution. Stop working there.....Im sure many other people would work in your stead. Treating people horribly is wrong, protesting sure....you'll get attention. But ask yourself this, they're obviously not willing to change, Why stay there?

We all know this will end with labor unions backing the protestors up, then the walmart will shut down and they'll all be screwed. Then there will be people who sue, and not win 1 cent. Decade later, someone will sue for some health or emotional trauma, and still not win 1 cent. Meanwhile the walmart is gone, and everybody loses their job.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Want to solve this problem, hold a meeting with the local walmart representative, don't block the business, have your labor union president come and meet the representative. Both parties will have to concede something to gain something. Maybe you'll get a little less pay, but having insurance, a discount and better working conditions might be worth it.

You can't get everything you want, or everyone would be a retired millionaire with butlers and maids, sipping pina coladas on your own tropical beach paradise.

reply to post by olaru12


WOW... Walmart makes me sick. (not my first choice of words...)

Someone there should have called the POLICE about police impersonators..

Seems very wrong, that they can do that. So anybody with enough money can do this in the states now??????

HMM ..
Now they are impersonating police officers ..
I thought that was Romneys gig ?

reply to post by Jazz87

the only resone why thay might be able to pull this legaly is with property rights.... but yea i would like to see epic batle of local Police sqaure off with securty to "protect" employees

If they had unsafe working conditions why not just contact OSHA where they will investigate and God forbid somebody gets hurt while they are investigating then they will be paying a large fine and forced to fix the issues? Or did our government already go lax with the OSHA regs and I wasn't informed?

It was only 38 people protesting and they caused the warehouse to be shutdown preventing other employees who work there from doing their jobs and making a living.
They don`t have a right to conduct their protest on private property they should have been doing that on public property and they wouldnt have been arrested.

As I keep saying, The Crap wont Hit The Fan.
There wont come a day when all hell breaks loose.
All that is going to happen is what we see in the OP.

We are slaves. For the proof scroll back up to the OP.

reply to post by Tardacus


Actually only 13 blocked the traffic.

We don't know the full story here. Maybe all the other Walmart workers inside agree with the 38 protesting that the conditions are horrible but they can't protest because they NEED their job to pay the bills. I seriously doubt these 38 people are all alone thinking the working conditions are unsafe. I do believe they are the ones taking all the risk to speak for those who can't take any.

Edit: I found a new link I posted in the OP. More details.

Why didn't anyone make a formal complaint to OSHA?? That's the correct way to go about that if they did and nothing was done then they can protest but they need to take it to OSHA the protest. They didn't follow protocol for that.

reply to post by ldyserenity


I dunno. Contact either of 2 groups who are protesting. I'm sure they'll talk to anyone who will give them the time of day.

Since when is it legal to impersonate an officer of the law? They're just glorified security, right?

they would probably pass OSHA inspection with colors ..
Then the OSHA Inspector would pack afterwards for his free over seas vacation.

Feeling especially sarcastic at the moment.

The problem is those radical workers obviously
hate freedom.

Oh and if Wackenhut or Black Water
can arrest and hold me? It's On.

reply to post by hbarker


not likely if they get 38 complaints.

reply to post by Hushabye


From what I can gather yes they are a private security firm.

reply to post by ldyserenity


New information in the OP,

Strikers delivered a national petition to Walmart corporate offices north of Chicago, with 37,000 signatures supporting the California workers. They got support from striking Chicago teachers September 18 when 150 red-shirted teachers marched with them from a high school to a nearby Walmart store. The group received a police escort to march in the street and then went inside the store for 45 minutes, chanting.

So this is not just 38 people gone rogue.

I'm making a prediction.
In the end if private security firms
can use LRAD against striking workers,
I think there will be a ****load of Attorneys
that'll switch from chasing ambulances to Hum Vee's.