Walmart runs on the rollback policy. “We’re rolling back prices,” it continuously claims. But with the way Walmart pays and treats its employees, it gives the message of “We’re rolling back standards, rights and wages.”
The current and former Walmart employees who make up the Organization United for Respect Walmart gathered in at least 15 cities, including Raleigh, to hold labor forums and protests on Thursday. OUR Walmart promised its protests would continue if its demands were not met by Labor Day.
The protesters requested the right to unionize, which stems from the fact that most Walmart employees do not earn enough to make a decent living, averaging only $8.80 per hour. If they cannot earn the right to unionize, they request a full-time salary of $25,000 or $12 an hour, according to USA Today. As we have stated in a previous editorial, the Technician is all for increasing the federal minimum wage.
North Carolina’s chapter of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations advertised Raleigh’s OUR Walmart forum on its website. The AFL-CIO “[helps] people who want to join together in unions so they can bargain collectively with their employers for better working conditions and the best way to get a good job done.”
The word “union” is often stigmatized. Despite the fact that unions charge dues, they benefit workers in many ways. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers on average cover 83 percent of health insurance premiums for union members and their families while they only cover 66 percent for non-union members. And in his blog for The Wall Street Journal, Ben Casselman said union members are “more likely to get paid vacation and sick time and retirement and life insurance benefits.”
But Walmart has done more than just deprive its workers of decent pay. According to OUR Walmart, the company has disciplined or fired more than 60 workers because they spoke out for change. This problem is bigger than the minimum-wage issue because while nothing in our Constitution guarantees a certain minimum wage, our Constitution prohibits laws that “[abridge] the freedom of speech.”
By firing and disciplining its workers for expressing their concerns, Walmart has scared its employees into silence. “People are scared because they see how Walmart retaliates,” said Colby Harris, a member of OUR Walmart and an employee at a Dallas location. And while many workers want to tell Walmart how they feel, Harris said “not everyone has spoken out because of the reality of losing their jobs.” Essentially, the employees are stuck in a cycle—it’s hard to speak out against a company that does not allow its employees to speak freely. Our Founding Fathers would be disappointed to hear that citizens are afraid of utilizing their rights for their intended purposes.
Walmart spokesperson Brooke Buchanan “shrugged off the latest protests,” according to MSNBC, describing them as “a handful of union-orchestrated media stunts.” It is important that Walmart employees continue to make their voices heard until the company comes to at least respect them, if not oblige their requests. Walmart ranks first on the Fortune 500 and should be setting an example for other companies.
Its sales increased to a whopping $443.9 billion in 2012, while its employees continue to just get by.
