Natiowide protest speaks out against retailer’s labor
practices
Gilroy – A dozen people huddled in winter coats and held candles Friday night outside Gilroy’s Wal-Mart Supercenter, as part of a nationwide protest over the retail giant’s labor practices.
The vigil was one of more than 40 occurring nationwide, organized by WakeUpWalMart.com and supported by local groups like United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 428.
“It’s really shameful that the largest, wealthiest corporation in the world is making its profits on the backs of workers”” said Reverend Carol Been, of the Interfaith Council on Religion, Race, Economic and Social Justice.
The protesters delivered a letter to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott, handing it to store manager Vernon Parker.
“We’re busy right now taking care of our customers,” Parker told Been.
Union workers fought the opening of the Supercenter last fall, arguing that the retail giant’s foray into discount groceries would undercut better-paying, union jobs at chains like Albertsons and Safeway.
Wal-Mart pays its workers an average $10.48 an hour in California and offers health insurance plans starting at less than $40 per month for individuals and less than $155 per month for families.
On Wednesday afternoon, workers from local grocery stores will gather in front of the Supercenter again and hand out fliers detailing their complaints: a restrictive attendance policy, shifting work schedules, and salary caps, to name a few.
Wal-Mart has made some efforts in recent years to improve its public image, most recently introducing a low-cost prescription plan for generic drugs.
“We are doing a number of things to improve the shopping experience for our millions of customers while also at the same time making Wal-Mart a better place to work for our 1.3 million employees,” said David Tovar, a spokesman. “In our new store in Chicago, out of 325 available jobs, we had more than 25,000 applicants. The reason is simple – Wal-Mart offers well-paying jobs, offers affordable health care, and we’re doing good things for local communities.”
Such efforts have been tempered by negative changes in other areas, according to Local 428 spokesman Tony Alexander, who pointed to salary caps as one of the more recent examples.
Even for Alexander, some change is better than no change.
“Wal-Mart never paid any attention to what anybody said about them,” he said. “Now all of a sudden they are changing their policies. They are caring about their public image. One of the reason there’s a difference is because there are smaller groups like us who say, ‘You need to watch out for your workers.'”
