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On January 28, Karen Casey, Senior Vice President of Labor Relations at Walmart, will testify at a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearing in Los Angeles about illegal retaliation against dozens of Walmart workers around the country. Casey oversaw Labor Relations at the multi-billion dollar corporation when Walmart executives allegedly authorized the illegal firing and disciplining of workers who stood up for improvements in the workplace, such as living wages and full-time hours.
On January 15, 2014, the NLRB General Counsel issued a groundbreaking complaint against Walmart for violating workers’ rights and federal labor law. The complaint says Walmart illegally fired and disciplined nearly 70 workers, including some who went on strike in June of 2012 to speak out for better jobs.
The NLRB argues that Walmart executives deliberately planned —and oversaw implementation—of an illegal retaliation policy against workers, executed by store managers in as many as 14 states and 34 stores. The complaint—the largest ever against Walmart in both size and scale—names 63 individual store managers and former company spokesperson and Vice President of Communication David Tovar as being responsible for illegal threats made on television to employees.
A favorable decision from the NLRB in this case could be a huge win for Walmart workers across the country, providing additional protection as they call on Walmart to publicly commit to paying workers $15 an hour and grant access to full-time schedules. Workers are determined to hold Walmart accountable and protect the right of the corporation’s 1.3 million employees to speak out for change.
Hearings began in May of 2014 and have taken place in Oakland, Fort Worth, Seattle and New Orleans. Be sure to follow Karen Casey’s testimony in Los Angeles this week on the Making Change at Walmart Twitter account (@ChangeWalmart).