US: Protests greet shoppers at Wal-Marts
to fight for it. You've always had to,'' said protester Charlie May, of the Industrial Workers of the World labor organization.
A union-backed group called OUR Walmart has said it was holding an estimated 1,000 protests in 46 states and estimated that “hundreds'' of employees participated nationwide. Wal-Mart has said the figure was grossly exaggerated.
OUR Walmart, made up of current and former Wal-Mart employees, was formed in 2010 to press the company for better working conditions.
Wal-Mart said roughly 50 employees participated in the events Thursday and a “few dozen'' took part Friday. Company spokesman Dan Fogleman said the number of associates who missed their shifts Thursday and Friday was 60 percent lower than last year.
“It was proven last night – and again today – that the OUR Walmart group doesn't speak for the 1.3 million Wal-Mart associates,'' the company said in a statement.
The retailer filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board last week against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, saying the demonstrations organized by OUR Walmart threatened to disrupt business and intimidate customers and associates.
Employee Victoria Martinez, 29, marched in front of the Paramount store on Friday. She worked her shift on Thanksgiving but skipped work Friday to “speak out.'' She said the company shows a lack of respect for employees, noting that she faced retaliation by local managers after speaking out about problems during an open discussion sponsored by the head
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