Posts Tagged: OUR Walmart

Tomorrow, Walmart workers with OUR Walmart will join with fast food strikers, home care providers, airport workers, adjunct professors and many others to stand up in the fight for $15 an hour.

“I’m proud to be part of a growing movement of moms and dads, brothers and sisters like me, who are standing up for better jobs. A company like Walmart, which brings in $16 billion in annual profits, can afford to provide the pay and hours that our families need,” said Lisa Pietro, a two-year Walmart employee from Winter Haven, Fla., who made just $8.95 an hour before the recent increase to a minimum of $9 an hour. “The raise we just won at Walmart shows what working people can accomplish when we stand together. I’m excited about what we’ll be able to do when we all come together to stand up and fight for $15 an hour.”

Nationwide, workers and supporters are planning rallies, marches and direct action in the streets, in front of stores like Walmart and on campuses across the country. These massive mobilizations are expected to draw some 100,000 protesters with workers from nearly every low-wage sector and will highlight the importance of holding companies like Walmart and McDonald’s accountable.

On April 15^th, Walmart workers will renew their calls for $15 an hour and access to consistent, full-time schedules. Last October, Walmart workers launched a petition for $15 an hour and access to consistent, full-time schedules. The petition spread like wildfire, garnering signatures from more than half – 2,200 – of Walmart stores across the nation. Then, following the largest Black Friday protests and strikes ever, Walmart announced that it would raise wages for 500,000 U.S. workers. This modest increase, especially with no guarantee that they’ll get the hours they need, means many are still forced to rely on government assistance programs like food stamps to get by.

If you would like to join Walmart workers at the #Fightfor15 protests, visit April15.org to find an event near you.

After years of mounting pressure, OUR Walmart members, community supporters, and union members won a raise for 500,000 Walmart workers just last month. The company announced that it would raise wages to $9 by this April and a $10 minimum by 2016.

While every little bit helps, $10 an hour isn’t enough to raise a family – especially when there’s no public commitment to providing workers with access to the hours they need. That’s why it is important to keep the pressure up and grow the movement to continue to make change at Walmart. On April 1^st, communities, union members, and Walmart workers will be leafleting workers and shoppers across the country. Learn more about how you can be involved in this day of action by joining the conference call on Wednesday evening.

A company with $16B in profit annually, owned by the richest family in America, can afford to do better for workers. Workers are standing up and winning, but there’s still a long way to go. That’s why it’s so urgent to spread the news that change is possible to Walmart workers across the country.