Walmart Reacts to Plans for a Black Friday Walkout of Workers
By: KNWA News
Updated: November 16, 2012
This could cause a crimp in the checkout lines. A group of Walmart
workers are planning to stage a walkout next week on Black Friday.
The walkout builds on an October strike that started at a location in Los Angeles and spread to stores in 12 other cities. More than 100 workers joined in the October actions.
During that walk out, the union-backed groups OUR Walmart and Making Change at Wal-Mart, and a watchdog group Corporate Action Network demonstrated outside the retailer's Bentonville office.
The groups has been calling on Walmart to end what they call "retaliation against employees who speak out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care."
Walmart sent KNWA a statement today, calling the planned event a publicity stunt:
On Black Friday, the organization says they expect strikes or demonstrations at as many as 1,000 locations. But Walmart doesn't seem to be worried. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the number of workers who are raising concerns is very small and don't represent the views of the vast majority of its workforce of 1.3 million.
Labor experts say that even a small number of workers could make an impact.
A similar thing happened when workers at a Quebec store attempted to unionize in 2005, Bianco said. Wal-Mart closed that store a few months after that. The company said at the time that its decision was prompted by the union wanting to change how the store operated.
The walkout builds on an October strike that started at a location in Los Angeles and spread to stores in 12 other cities. More than 100 workers joined in the October actions.
During that walk out, the union-backed groups OUR Walmart and Making Change at Wal-Mart, and a watchdog group Corporate Action Network demonstrated outside the retailer's Bentonville office.
The groups has been calling on Walmart to end what they call "retaliation against employees who speak out for better pay, fair schedules and affordable health care."
Walmart sent KNWA a statement today, calling the planned event a publicity stunt:
"This is just another exaggerated publicity campaign aimed at generating headlines to mislead our customers and associates.
"We have a great group of associates
at Walmart. We'll have more than one million associates working
throughout the holiday weekend and they're excited about our Black
Friday plans this year. This is the Super Bowl for retailers
and we're ready.
"We've been working on our Black
Friday plans for almost a year now and we're prepared to have a great
event. Our associates care about providing a great customer experience
on Black Friday and we're confident that's what
customers will have at Walmart this year.
"The fact is, many of these ongoing
tactics being orchestrated by the UFCW are unlawful and we will act to
protect our associates and customers from the ongoing illegal conduct."
On Black Friday, the organization says they expect strikes or demonstrations at as many as 1,000 locations. But Walmart doesn't seem to be worried. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the number of workers who are raising concerns is very small and don't represent the views of the vast majority of its workforce of 1.3 million.
Labor experts say that even a small number of workers could make an impact.
A similar thing happened when workers at a Quebec store attempted to unionize in 2005, Bianco said. Wal-Mart closed that store a few months after that. The company said at the time that its decision was prompted by the union wanting to change how the store operated.
