This Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, tens of millions of Americans will travel to Wal-Mart stores to look for holiday discounts on computers, toys and cell phones as well as to buy groceries and basic household items. But at more than 1,500 of Wal-Mart’s 4,000 stores, shoppers will be greeted by Wal-Mart employees handing out leaflets and holding picket signs — “Wal-Mart: Stop Bullying, Stop Firing, Start Paying” and “We’re Drawing a Line at the Poverty Line: $25,000/year” — protesting the company’s abusive labor practices, including poverty-level wages, stingy benefits, and irregular work schedules that make it impossible for their families to make ends meet.
The Black Friday rallies and demonstrations represent a dramatic escalation of the growing protest movement among employees of America’s largest private employer. But they also represent the vanguard of a sharp challenge to the nation’s widening economic divide and the declining standard of living among the majority of Americans.
National leaders and community groups from every corner of the country will join Wal-Mart workers at protests leading up to and on Black Friday. Members of Congress including Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), women’s groups including the National Organization for Women and environmental and consumer organizations such as The Sierra Club and the National Consumers League have all pledged support, saying that the Wal-Mart workers’ fight is a fight for all Americans.
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Posted by Libergirl and quoting James Carville…
“If you work, you should not be poor.”
