Hundreds of Walmart employees formed a picket line in front of the home office Wednesday, voicing frustration at what they call an unfair work environment.
Close to two hundred members of the group Organization United for Respect at Walmart held signs and shouted chants from the sidewalk.
"We're here so that the people that work hard every day, are actually respected and given the money that they need to take care of their families for the honest work that they give Walmart," says Lori Amos. "We also have our hours cut, there's safety issues in our stores. We aren't given a living wage."
Amos says she's worked for Walmart for thirteen years, and travelled from Seattle to join the protest.
"We pretty much got the same reception we have gotten every time," she says. "I don't believe that what they said today is going to make a difference."
Walmart invited the group to meet with human resource representatives one on one.
"There was a lot of people from different parts of the country, different stores, their circumstances were different," says David Tovar, Walmart's vice president of communications. "We just felt the best way to handle that was on an individual basis."
But the group refused, instead speaking as one to several members of the hr department in the parking lot.
"We're here as a group," they say. "We're here as OUR Walmart. We care for Walmart, we're not here to shut it down. We're trying to make it better, for our consumers and for associates and our shareholders."
Amos says in the past, the one on one meetings didn't work.
"When we meet individually we're bullied, and targeted," she says. "They don't stand up to what they say. They don't take what they tell us and take it to the managers of the stores."
Tovar says the company has a strict policy prohibiting retaliation.
"If we hear of any thing like that, we definitely take it seriously," he says. "We look into it and will take action."
Amos says she's heard it before.
"We've been coming here for over a year, and none of the problems are being fixed," she says. "The open doors that we have had, nothing's happening."
Tovar says the protestors are not representative of the 1.3 million employees who work for them in the United States. He says the company performs job satisfaction surveys once a year.
"Those scores have been steadily increasing, because we've been taking steps to not only make Walmart a better shopping experience, but a better workplace experience," he says. "The overwhelming majority of our associates have an extremely positive experience working at Walmart."
For more information about the group, click here.
Close to two hundred members of the group Organization United for Respect at Walmart held signs and shouted chants from the sidewalk.
"We're here so that the people that work hard every day, are actually respected and given the money that they need to take care of their families for the honest work that they give Walmart," says Lori Amos. "We also have our hours cut, there's safety issues in our stores. We aren't given a living wage."
Amos says she's worked for Walmart for thirteen years, and travelled from Seattle to join the protest.
"We pretty much got the same reception we have gotten every time," she says. "I don't believe that what they said today is going to make a difference."
Walmart invited the group to meet with human resource representatives one on one.
"There was a lot of people from different parts of the country, different stores, their circumstances were different," says David Tovar, Walmart's vice president of communications. "We just felt the best way to handle that was on an individual basis."
But the group refused, instead speaking as one to several members of the hr department in the parking lot.
"We're here as a group," they say. "We're here as OUR Walmart. We care for Walmart, we're not here to shut it down. We're trying to make it better, for our consumers and for associates and our shareholders."
Amos says in the past, the one on one meetings didn't work.
"When we meet individually we're bullied, and targeted," she says. "They don't stand up to what they say. They don't take what they tell us and take it to the managers of the stores."
Tovar says the company has a strict policy prohibiting retaliation.
"If we hear of any thing like that, we definitely take it seriously," he says. "We look into it and will take action."
Amos says she's heard it before.
"We've been coming here for over a year, and none of the problems are being fixed," she says. "The open doors that we have had, nothing's happening."
Tovar says the protestors are not representative of the 1.3 million employees who work for them in the United States. He says the company performs job satisfaction surveys once a year.
"Those scores have been steadily increasing, because we've been taking steps to not only make Walmart a better shopping experience, but a better workplace experience," he says. "The overwhelming majority of our associates have an extremely positive experience working at Walmart."
For more information about the group, click here.
