Walmart workers across the country plan on putting their money where their mouths are on Black Friday.
Employees of one of the most profitable corporations in the world are pushing for a $15 minimum wage and more full-time jobs with benefits. To show how serious they are, 1,000 people plan to go on a liquid diet for one to 15 days to bring attention to how Walmart employees go hungry daily because of low wages and hours.
Andrea Dehlendorf, co-executive director of OURWalmart, the worker-led organization organizing the event, said in a statement, “We are seeing more energy around this Black Friday than any previous one. We have 22 partners that are engaged—with actions planned from coast to coast. There are few more powerful acts of defiance than fasting, and the number of people willing to go hungry to call out Walmart’s injustices is simply remarkable and unheard of. We feel confident this will be our most impactful Black Friday yet.”
Workers have announced the actions will take place in all 50 states and in cities that include Tampa, Fla., Miami, Baton Rouge, La., Seattle and Minneapolis. Starting this past Monday, workers gathered outside of Alice Walton’s estate in New York City to bring attention to their cause. Walton is the billionaire heiress to the Walmart fortune.
OURWalmart’s actions are supported by Demos, ROC United, CREDO Action and local Jobs with Justice chapters.
Jasmine Dixon, a Denver-based Walmart worker and mother of two, said in a statement that she’s struggling to feed her kids daily. “I’ve had to forego meals just so my boys would have enough to eat,” she said. “Too many times, I have had to go to food banks just to try and scrape up some rice and beans for my kids to eat. If it weren’t for food stamps and government programs for my kids, I don’t know what I would do.”
Dixon continued, “Even worse, I’ve seen Walmart throw away food everyday, all the time.” “If they gave Walmart associates that food, it would go such a long way. My situation is no different than the hundreds of thousands of other working moms at Walmart.”
Before last weekend’s Democratic presidential debate, OURWalmart members sent a letter addressed to all of the candidates hoping that they would attack income inequality.
“Over the next two weeks, hundreds of us will be fasting for $15 an hour and full-time,” read the letter. “Instead of hiding our hunger and hiding the reality of skipping meals, we are making our struggles with food insecurity public. We will share our stories and call on Walmart to pay us enough to get by.”
Workers wanted to remind potential White House tenants that all their employer has to do is a few things.
“There is a simple solution,” read the letter. “Walmart can afford to pay us $15 an hour and give us full-time, consistent hours. Our country is counting on you to lead on challenging income inequality. We all need our country’s largest employer to set a new standard and we need you to lead.”
