Today everyday Walmart workers are standing up to live better. SMWC is standing in solidarity with them.
Video is here!
Just a month after strikes swept through Walmart stores in 12 states, Walmart retail and warehouse workers in more states are taking action and beginning what is becoming known as the first set of “viral strikes.â€
Two weeks ago, Walmart workers in California held a sit-in at one store and then walked off the job after a manager made racist comments in an attempt to silence workers. Days later workers in Texas went on strike. Last Thursday, workers in Washington went out.
When Walmart workers stood up for higher wages, better benefits and regular schedules, Walmart illegally retaliated against them and has tried to silence them.
This is a national day of action. Many organizations are working with Walmart workers and holding solidarity actions across the country. Learn more at OurWalmart.org, MakingChangeAtWalmart.org, or Interfaith Worker Justice.
The high cost of low wages…
In Maine three Walmart stores alone have received $22 million in taxpayer subsidies.
(http://www.walmartsubsidywatch.org/state_detail.html?state=ME).
A study in California showed that one 200-employee Walmart store costs taxpayers $840,000 in subsidies including: food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, subsidized school lunches and subsidized housing.
(http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/walmart.pdf).