Justice

These Photos Perfectly Capture the Feelings of Thousands of Striking Walmart Workers Right Now

November 28th 2014

Walmart is the largest non-government employer in the United States, and this week thousands of its employees across the nation are protesting low wages, poor working conditions, and Walmart's practice of remaining open on Thanksgiving, precluding thousands of workers from spending the holiday with their families.

Earlier this week, Walmart associates walked off the job in Washington, California, Arizona, Missouri, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Washington DC, Maryland, Colorado, Massachusetts, Virginia, Louisiana & Texas.

Here's what Walmart protests look like today in Texas:

And in Louisville: 

Protestors at the Walmart in Ferguson:

The scene in Chicago:  

Walmart workers and fast food workers protesting together for raising the minimum wage:

In Minnesota: 

In Philadelphia: 

In Orlando:

In Atlanta:

​Here is an explanation on the Black Friday protests: Today at Walmart Is Going To Be Interesting

And here is a first hand-account from Walmart worker Cantare Davunt, who is striking today: I Am A Walmart Worker. Here is Why I Am Striking Today...

I hear my cashiers and associates tell me about how they’re struggling, about how they can’t afford to make it to work, but that they can’t afford not to either. They’re not alone; I struggle to pay rent on the hours Walmart gives me. They won’t give me full-time, so there are times when I have to skip paying some bills, like student loans, electricity, and car payments—at least until my car was repossessed—now the money I thought I’d be saving on gas and car insurance, goes to paying for public transportation to get me around the cities to take care of things like applying for healthcare and food stamps since my employer won’t give me enough hours to live off of what I’m making now. 

It’s because of living on the edge like this that I decided to go on strike; I’m not going to keep living my life like a victim, struggling for scraps and crumbs. I’m a hard working American and a human being. I have an education and I deserve the opportunity to live off a paycheck, not hoping and begging for the government to extend welfare hand-outs. Many of my co-workers at my store support me, but they can’t afford to stand up and go on strike with me. They’re scared because every paycheck at Walmart could be your last. And when you’re living on the edge, it’s hard to take risks with your life. But we can’t keep living on the edge and expect that things will get better, and it’d be foolish to think that things would even stay the same. It’s up to us to make change happen.

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