Black Friday labor protesters march on Wal-Mart, get inside
On Black Friday, also known as Buy Nothing Day, labor protesters including striking Wal-Mart associates marched on the 1st and H st Wal-Mart in the third protest there this week. Some of the protesters managed to get inside first in a trickle, then a flood before police pushed them out. Several protesters were shoved by the same cop, and some were also threatened.
The striking Wal-Mart associates were apparently singled out by cops outside the store to be photographed. This raises the question of whether Wal-Mart security will receive copies of those photos to target workers for retaliation. Some of the strikers said they were standing up for better pay and hours and had no choice but to risk facing retaliation. They are demanding $15 an hour and full time hours, which would be about $25K a year. Given outrageous DC rents this is a necessity.
In the meantime, Wal-Mart continues to go out of their way to encourage associates to apply for food stamps and Medicaid, this causing taxpayers to essentially pay part of the wages of Wal-Mart's workers. How Wal-Mart's competitors are supposed to pay both their own workers and taxes to pay Wal-Mart's workers must not be Wal-Mart's problem, hell it may even be part of their strategy for putting all competitors out of business.
