Hundreds of people rallied outside a Landover Hills, Md., Wal-Mart on Friday morning registering displeasure with what they considered efforts to silence the company’s workers.
The protest was one of 1,000 planned for Black Friday by OUR Walmart, a national labor group. OUR Walmart has accused the world’s largest retail chain of retaliating against workers who speak out against low pay and understaffing. Group members said they saw the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy as a chance to draw attention to their cause.
Video
The holiday shopping season is underway. Black Friday shoppers hit stores around the nation on Thanksgiving day and lined up waiting to buy even more on Friday morning.
Related
From game plans to apps and tips on how to shop smart, here is the Post’s guide to the holiday season’s unofficial kickoff.
Cynthia Murray, a 13-year Wal-Mart employee was scheduled to work at the Laurel, Md., Wal-Mart Friday, but attended the rally instead. After attending previous protests, she has been taken to a locked room and threatened by her supervisors, Murray said. She was not sure if she would face similar intimidation this time.
“I’m gonna leave that in God’s hands and also in the hands of the federal government,” Murray said.
Several other Wal-Mart employees also walked out of work to attend the protest, according to the organizers. Supportive community members made up the rest of the crowd that marched through the parking lot of the Capital Plaza shopping center, shouting slogans such as, “Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart, you’re no good! Treat your workers like you should!”
“I’m here to fight for all the rights and for all the workers,” said Kuljeet Rathore, who works as a cashier at another retailer. “I just want to get them all to join the union.”
OUR Walmart receives its funding from the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which has previously tried to unionize Wal-Mart employees.
Wal-Mart filed a complaint last week against the union with the National Labor Relations Board to stop the rallies, but board said the issues were too complex to rule on in such a brief span of time.
Organizers’ attendance estimates for the Woodlawn protest varied. About 250 people arrived on chartered buses from around Washington and Maryland, and others came independently.
As protesters neared the doors of the Wal-Mart, they were met by store manager Bobby Williams. Rev. Edwin Jones, the rally organized, asked Williams to guarantee that workers who had participated in the event would not face retaliation.
WalMart stands begind the employees, Williams responded. “Our core principle is about respect for the individual, and our associates definitely know that their voices are always heard,” Williams said.
Shoppers continued to stream into Wal-Mart throughout the event. Day said she was not disappointed by the fact that the store’s parking lot remained full during the rally. OUR Walmart is trying to raise awareness, not put the store out of business, she said.
“We don’t want them to boycott us, because then we won’t make anything at all,” she said.
The protest was one of 1,000 planned for Black Friday by OUR Walmart, a national labor group. OUR Walmart has accused the world’s largest retail chain of retaliating against workers who speak out against low pay and understaffing. Group members said they saw the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy as a chance to draw attention to their cause.
Video
The holiday shopping season is underway. Black Friday shoppers hit stores around the nation on Thanksgiving day and lined up waiting to buy even more on Friday morning.
Related
From game plans to apps and tips on how to shop smart, here is the Post’s guide to the holiday season’s unofficial kickoff.
Cynthia Murray, a 13-year Wal-Mart employee was scheduled to work at the Laurel, Md., Wal-Mart Friday, but attended the rally instead. After attending previous protests, she has been taken to a locked room and threatened by her supervisors, Murray said. She was not sure if she would face similar intimidation this time.
“I’m gonna leave that in God’s hands and also in the hands of the federal government,” Murray said.
Several other Wal-Mart employees also walked out of work to attend the protest, according to the organizers. Supportive community members made up the rest of the crowd that marched through the parking lot of the Capital Plaza shopping center, shouting slogans such as, “Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart, you’re no good! Treat your workers like you should!”
“I’m here to fight for all the rights and for all the workers,” said Kuljeet Rathore, who works as a cashier at another retailer. “I just want to get them all to join the union.”
OUR Walmart receives its funding from the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which has previously tried to unionize Wal-Mart employees.
Wal-Mart filed a complaint last week against the union with the National Labor Relations Board to stop the rallies, but board said the issues were too complex to rule on in such a brief span of time.
Organizers’ attendance estimates for the Woodlawn protest varied. About 250 people arrived on chartered buses from around Washington and Maryland, and others came independently.
As protesters neared the doors of the Wal-Mart, they were met by store manager Bobby Williams. Rev. Edwin Jones, the rally organized, asked Williams to guarantee that workers who had participated in the event would not face retaliation.
WalMart stands begind the employees, Williams responded. “Our core principle is about respect for the individual, and our associates definitely know that their voices are always heard,” Williams said.
Shoppers continued to stream into Wal-Mart throughout the event. Day said she was not disappointed by the fact that the store’s parking lot remained full during the rally. OUR Walmart is trying to raise awareness, not put the store out of business, she said.
“We don’t want them to boycott us, because then we won’t make anything at all,” she said.