Walmart worker strikes go viral, hitting 28 stores in 12 states

Walmart worker strikes go viral, hitting 28 stores in 12 states

After Walmart workers started protesting a few weeks ago, it seems the "word" is spreading.

Now it's multi-state.

What's up with walmart ?

Walmart workers who recently went on strike in Illinois and California appear to have inspired some of their fellow big box employees, and now it looks like the movement is going viral.

Labor leaders said Tuesday, just one day before Walmart’s annual shareholder meeting, that workers at 28 stores in 12 states walked out and went on strike to demand the anti-union employer raise wages, improve working conditions and end retaliations against employees who attempt to form unions.

“It’s not a hard sell because these people are tired of being treated the way we are being treated by Walmart,” Evelin Cruz, a striking Walmart worker in the Los Angeles area, told Raw Story on Wednesday. “They disregard us as workers. They think that we are machines, we should have no emotions. We should not have families. We should not have the right to speak. So it’s pretty easy to convince people to get on-board. We need to have more voices around the country being heard with the same message, because it is the same situation in every store and throughout their supply chain.”

It looks like the unions are "Targeting" Walmart

( No pun intended )


Related thread from Oct 1st --> Walmart Workers Ask For Basic Rights, Walmart Calls Riot Police

reply to post by xuenchen


Wal Mart is legalized slavery!! I walked into one one morning when they had employees lined up and they were chanting some nonsense and it really reminded me of how cults brain wash people!

Never stepped back into a Wal Mart since......

Would love to hear from any current or former Wal Mart employees who can vouch for what I saw as conditioning and brainwashing.....

GOOD! I hope that behemoth collapses!

I do not shop at CHINAMARTnor do I buy food from MEXICOMART! And if you do you contribute to what is wrong with this country!

The sooner this Mega Horror of a so called Company is gone and we can take those warehouses they are built in and turn them into indoor race tracks or maybe something more beneficial to the environment the better!

reply to post by seeker1963


yup you are correct at what u saw . my cousin use to work for them and i use to work for Lowes that does the same thing.

Originally posted by seeker1963
reply to post by xuenchen

 

Wal Mart is legalized slavery!! I walked into one one morning when they had employees lined up and they were chanting some nonsense and it really reminded me of how cults brain wash people!

Never stepped back into a Wal Mart since......

Would love to hear from any current or former Wal Mart employees who can vouch for what I saw as conditioning and brainwashing.....

Actually I have a friend who's son works there as a cashier.

Smart kid (25 years old) but can't get another job with the jobs market the way it is.
(he has some college too)

He actually gets 40 hours most of the time.

The brainwashing is rampant in the "meetings".

He says the best part is that many employees have no idea what the managers are even talking about !!

The smarter ones ignore and just collect the paychecks for now.

A lot of the managers seem more brainwashed than the employees !!

Huh? what?

Wall mart says their workers are not to have families?

Where the heck does that come from?

Methinks there's some scamming going on here.

And the unions are corrupt as hell. That money won't go to the workers, it'll go to the union bosses and Wall mart will be forced to raise prices to compensate.

Yeah, sure the unions are for the little guy.

What utter nonsense.

And this is the union striking for another store.

Which I believe is illegal.

So I hope those bastards get sent to jail.

reply to post by abeverage


I wouldnt really want it to collapse... Although if there is ANY hope of rebuilding a middle class in America, it unfortunetly will have to come from retail. I hope they unionize, get the pay rates, and human rights they deserve. The company can more then afford it. Who knows, maybe someday we will all be trying to get on at Wally world so we can afford to have nice things.

Originally posted by Selfsecurity
reply to post by abeverage

 

I wouldnt really want it to collapse... Although if there is ANY hope of rebuilding a middle class in America, it unfortunetly will have to come from retail. I hope they unionize, get the pay rates, and human rights they deserve. The company can more then afford it. Who knows, maybe someday we will all be trying to get on at Wally world so we can afford to have nice things.

There is plenty of room for them to collapse, maybe allow some smaller businesses they took over to come back and thrive! We have created a monopoly and stagnant growth in the medium to small business owner because of these Mega Crap Corp Monstrosities! It's failure could stop China from owning the US because a low low prices...

No Wally needs to fail!

reply to post by abeverage


What would it do to the American economy right now if it collapsed? There are tons of small towns where it is one of the very few places to even work! Do not take me wrong I dislike walmart, avoid going there as much as I can. You look at a town, with a super walmart and a hundred employees. Say each one of those employees make 20,000 a year. That is 2 million dollars not being pumped back into the local economy. If thats a town of 25,000 people. That is alot of small business shutting down!

Now yes some of those people might go on to make an awesome local grocery shop, there is a big market! They are doing so well in that town, that they decide to expand. In ten years we have another Walmart...

It sucks, I know but its the way things are now. I also know this is a very simplistic way of describing it.

Originally posted by Selfsecurity
reply to post by abeverage

 

I wouldnt really want it to collapse... Although if there is ANY hope of rebuilding a middle class in America, it unfortunetly will have to come from retail. I hope they unionize, get the pay rates, and human rights they deserve. The company can more then afford it. Who knows, maybe someday we will all be trying to get on at Wally world so we can afford to have nice things.

I have to agree -- we don't make or build things in America anymore (well, not like we used to). I don't think anyone on either side of the fence could argue we don't need a strong middle class.

I do believe, however, that companies like Walmart could be used to save the middle class. Some retailers actually look at their employees as investments. Costco is a good example of this. Sure, Coscto makes a profit, but it compensates it's employees fairly well, and people work there hapily for years.

I'm divided on unions. In some respects I have benefitted from mine. The union puts some of my money into a "legal trust" that I can use yearly. If I need a will drawn up, or maybe a neighbor that is causing problems....I can use that legal trust money to hire a lawyer of my choosing from an extensive list. I can't use for criminal/fellony cases though! It's still a pretty nice perk.

Mine only costs me about $100 a month, so $50 a paycheck.

As a collective bargaining unit, we can negotiate regular, planned pay raises to fight inflation. My union is pathetically small, and really dosen't do that job all that well -- but we do get new contracts negotiated and pay raises.

On the other hand, I've seen unions protect people that should not be retained for employment. It's frustrating to see people hiding behind the union, keeping their jobs when it's clear to me they deserve to be fired.

Another thing I don't like is that where I work, they make it seem as if you HAVE to join. No, you don't have to join the union, they just never tell you that. How messed up is that?

In my mind, unions are the counterpoise to the big corporations. Unions keep companies in line (some of the time), and gave us quite a few of the things we enjoy today -- like the 40 hour work week. They have flaws, some more than others -- but you can't stereotype and roll them all up into one group.

TLDR
If we want to expand, grow, and strengthen the middle class; we are going to have to bolster our retail economy. Perhaps unions are a readily available option for the immediate future to do so.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


Thank you! That was very well said.

I am a union steward, and an organizer.

Currently I am working towards defending a job, that I think personally believe is not worth defending. 'Just cause' is one of my favorite things about the union. If the case is lost, its no lose to me.

As far as your comment about people trying to force the union on people. I am sorry, I do not feel that ANYONE should be forced to pay dues. I do however believe you shouldnt get union protection if you dont.

Originally posted by seeker1963
reply to post by xuenchen

 

Wal Mart is legalized slavery!! I walked into one one morning when they had employees lined up and they were chanting some nonsense and it really reminded me of how cults brain wash people!

Never stepped back into a Wal Mart since......

Would love to hear from any current or former Wal Mart employees who can vouch for what I saw as conditioning and brainwashing.....

I used to work for them while I was in high school(circa 1996-1998). I think what you saw/heard was called the Wal-Mart Cheer. It was pretty lame but it was mandatory to do it in the morning when the store opened. It was just to get people pumped up for the day I guess. I only remember having to do it once that I recall. I cant speak for the working conditions now but when I worked there it was just a job I did after school. I didn't care too much about the job other than collecting my paycheck and getting off to go party with friends. I could tell working there for 20+ years till retirement would be disappointing career choice at best. The managers would take credit for any ideas you came up with and would rush to blame the workers if something went wrong. I do hope that work conditions improve with this protesting.

Originally posted by EvilSadamClone
Huh? what?

Wall mart says their workers are not to have families?

Where the heck does that come from?

Methinks there's some scamming going on here.

And the unions are corrupt as hell. That money won't go to the workers, it'll go to the union bosses and Wall mart will be forced to raise prices to compensate.

Yeah, sure the unions are for the little guy.

What utter nonsense.

And this is the union striking for another store.

Which I believe is illegal.

So I hope those bastards get sent to jail.

edit on 10-10-2012 by EvilSadamClone because: (no reason given)

You must not want anyone who disagrees with you to actually listen to you.

Here's how you actually change minds and get people to listen about unions:

"While I empathize with their desire for a safe and just workplace, I can't help but think their aims are misguided if they're putting their stock in the help of organized unions. Here are a few links to credible examples of how unions scam money from their members, and how little actually goes to giving workers a fair and safe workplace: [credible sources and examples x, y and z, with links]"

As to your last charge, other unions have come in to picket for them, which is absolutely legal. But your assumption that they're doing something nefarious will just further turn pro-union people off.

That's my advice on how to *actually* change something, instead of just continuing to preach to the choir. Take it or leave it.

reply to post by 00nunya00


Don't give unsolicited advice.

I'm only out to express my opinion, and not change anyone's heart and minds.

And that is an impossible thing to do.

And if you're pro-union I just won't listen to you either.

Unions are corrupt and the only thing they care about is getting more money for themselves.

And that's it.


Edit:

But don't think I am about supporting the corporations either. They only care about the profit as well.

i'm very much for worker's rights. Unions are not, despite their claims.

My beef with unions is you absolutely have to join them, and they will force you to join them, especially if you want a job, and they will charge you for joining.

That's extortion, pure and simple.

Yes I know all the canned responses and justifications.

But if they were really the good guys they would not force people to join and not force people to pay them.

reply to post by xuenchen


Sam Walton had a very good thing going. Remember the slogan everything Is made in the USA?? Well, since Mr. Walton has passed on, whoever got the company threw a very good thing into the crapper.

I worked for Walmart two times. First time I was separated for my ex, and it was not a good time. He followed me, showed up at Walmart when I was working. One time he was calling me every name in the book, and of course there were customers, and kids. when a lady with a little girl turned the corner, I proceeded to bounce him off the wall. The next time I was at work my manager asked me why I was on tape doing what I did?? I explained my situation, I thought I was going to get fired,My manager told me the next time he comes in to page him and he would take care of it. I wanted to cry. ok fast forward 17 years...

the second time, wow, the training program, I was doing CBL's, and I had an epiphany, I don't work for Walmart....It is a damn CULT, there is a certain amount of programing as you do your training. My manager always treated me like crap. Another manager told me to straighten up a toy display cuz it looked messy, as she waved her hand with a look of disgust on her face, it wasn't even my area. got called to the office because two customers walked into TLE, I asked the guys in the shop to come in and help me, one wanted a key made, well five actually, and a guy wanted an oil change, the oil change write up takes about 15 minutes, so, I figured cutting the keys would be Quicker. I had 3 managers ask me the same question 4 times, why didn't you write the guy up...my answer of course, I was cutting keys. I guess I was in the wrong, because they were all sorts of mad. and so was I. by the time I left the office, I was beyond frustrated and flabbergasted. I wrote undercover Boss and asked if they could send a person to the store.

I just read the link and I think it stinks! I hope the employees of Walmart get themselves together, get unionized and force Walmart to give them the respect they deserve.

Look, if you don't think your employer is treating you "fairly" then you QUIT Wal-Mart is complying with state and federal laws. If you don't have the necessary job skills to be something other than a Wal-Mart cashier then be glad someone has actually hired you.

Originally posted by jjkenobi
Look, if you don't think your employer is treating you "fairly" then you QUIT Wal-Mart is complying with state and federal laws. If you don't have the necessary job skills to be something other than a Wal-Mart cashier then be glad someone has actually hired you.

That's real easy for you to say..YOU may have the luxury to quit jobs every time you feel a certain way about your empyer but ppl who live in the real world don't have that privilege...mitt jr


.so transparent..

The catch here is that striking really only works if you have unique an valuable skills with which to bargain. Walmart doesn't really employ people like that. The entire store is full of shelf stockers and cashiers. Neither of those positions is going to ever be worth more than maybe $10-$12 per hour. They're just too easily replaced. For every employee bitching, there are 25 people who don't have a job ready to pounce as soon as a spot opens up.

Originally posted by abeverage
GOOD! I hope that behemoth collapses!

I do not shop at CHINAMARTnor do I buy food from MEXICOMART! And if you do you contribute to what is wrong with this country!

edit on 10-10-2012 by abeverage because: (no reason given)

Everyone across this country needs to know by now that chinamart will crush any and all local businesses.

I honestly believe that the corporate giants have already enslaved a vast majority of our citizens by confining

their choices to just whats in the boundries of a super chinamart store. Our whole society has been over-taken

by these mega-corps.Every town accross America is the same. You drive down any boulavard in this country and you will see the same stores with the same products and all of it is inferior in quality and produced only to seperate you from your money. No pride, no good intention, none of the that.

Buy local, you can find everything you want somewhere besides chinamart, it just takes an effort to stay away

from them.
~rev