WalMart Action - 33 cities in 71 seconds (VIDEO)

[Cal Carpenter]

Which Side Are YOU On?

#walmartstrikers

[patrice]

1. Add Kansas City, KS-MO (Roeland Park, actually) We had about 100 people. Pics in a bit. :-)

[Cal Carpenter]

2. Woo! I've heard there are protests at 1000+ locations in 46 states

Not all of them include workers - many are just supporters from the community and other unions. But there are some sites with worker walkouts and strikers too.

I was watching a Ustream feed when several people got arrested (peacefully) in LA, CA for blocking the road into the Walmart and one of them had been an employee for 9 years.

Even if there aren't a ton of actual workers striking, the amount of support the workers are receiving will hopefully help them feel stronger in future actions.

It ain't gonna happen overnight, but there is no doubt that there is something significant happening.

[patrice]

4. AND - the traffic on busy busy Roe Ave. was very definitely OURS!

[whathehell]

9. Yep. I was a supporter standing outside a Walmart in a Chicago suburb & the response was great! n/t

[onethatcares]

3. but, the head guys said

there were only 50 protesters total sea to shining sea.


I ain't buying there no more.

[SoapBox]

12. "the head guys said..."

How does one know that a Corporate Spokesperson is lying?

Their lips are moving!!!!!!

[Aerows]

27. That looked like

a hell of a lot more people than just 50. If there were protests in 46 states, and even just a handful at each, it would be a lot more. They are scared and full of shit.

[Warpy]

5. There were even a couple of small actions here in NM

I think the world of these people. This is a warning shot across the Walton heirs' bows, that if wages aren't raised substantially, workers will organize and the Walton heirs are not going to like that, at all.

Good.

[Plucketeer]

7. I applaud what these workers are doing, but

the fact that the protesting is light and fractured is proof that we're well on our way to third world nation status. Like the folks in China - afraid to say a word, lest they lose their jobs - these demostrators are backed into a corner with no real exit. The friggin' Waltons could SHUT DOWN their whole enterprize, take outrageous tax write-offs for doing so and then spend the rest of their lives steeped in luxuries these workers can't even fathom.
We had a chance with the Occupy movement - now I think we're seeing the last desperate cries as these folks succumb to the gears of the globalization meat grinder.

[mountain grammy]

8. I'm glad the coal miners in Colorado didn't give up

and they didn't just lose their jobs, they were murdered, men, women and children, and homes burned by the Colorado State Militia.. which side are you on? It starts small, but it's starting, and it has to start with Walmart, the largest employer in the US. I hope it's not the last desperate cries, but the new cries of a new global labor movement.

[socialist_n_TN]

15. The fact that the protesting is light and fractured is only proof........

that it's just starting. History shows that these things build in fits and starts. Until a spark fires off mass actions. And there will be defeats. There are always defeats, but as long as you have oppression, you will have resistance to oppression. And Occupy itself was merely the second wave or continuation of the Wisconsin mass protests. It ALSO won't be the last. And the next wave will be even MORE militant than the second wave.

The only thing that can stop this from growing long term is if the capitalists pull back in their drive to own the rest of us. Do you think that's going to happen?

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. It's just begining

We are seeing more and more labor unrest and not just Walmart. I covered another protest just across the street on Monday.

[pinboy3niner]

25. It's not as light and fractured as the W-M PR machine wants us to believe, brother

They're coming out with their big guns--even their U.S. President and CEO--saying that few employees around the country are walking out.

Yet a CA newspaper reports 17 employees striking at a single store, and union organizers report 50 W-M associates walking out at just 5 tores in SoCal.

Check out my report on the Paramoumt, CA protest. This was a BFD--and it's only the beginning...

My thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021875581

[Plucketeer]

33. I genuinely HOPE my doubts are wrong - I really do.

And I say that with no small dose of trepidation. If corporate America was REALLY pushed into serious and meaningful transformation, our retirement funds would likely evaporate. In spite of that, I call for that change. There's things larger and much more important than my personal fate.
I think our nations workforce has been savaged to the point of desperation - and I'm no longer a member of it. But if the country isn't to become the equal of China and India, then some sort of "revolt" HAS TO happen. And BTW - I don't go to the MSM for my information for the most part. Most of it I get here or from FSTV.

[Cal Carpenter]

6. Stand Up, Live Better

This is why they are striking. This is why we gotta support them if we can.

DON'T CROSS PICKET LINES!!

[struggle4progress]

10. Florence Reece singing her song

... Borrowing from the melody of the old hymn ''Lay the Lily Low,'' Mrs. Reece wrote the union song in the 1930's to describe the plight of mine workers who were organizing a strike in Harlan County, Ky. Mrs. Reece's husband, Sam, who died in 1978, was one of those workers ...
Reece, Florence, 1900-1986
http://crdl.usg.edu/people/r/reece_florence_1900_1986/?Welcome

[Cal Carpenter]

11. Thanks for the link!

If anyone is interested in the backstory on this, I highly recommend the documentary "Harlan County USA". The movie includes a clip of her singing this at a union meeting, IIRC.

[SoapBox]

13. And in California...

just saw this article with some arrest/protester numbers.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014315402

[pinboy3niner]

19. I was there, with more than 1,000 other protesters!

I took 127 photos, but I don't have the energy to put together a photo OP yet. For anyone interested, here is the link to my album from the protest today, including photos of 9 protesters being arrested (best viewed as slideshow):

http://s948.photobucket.com/albums/ad321/pinboy3niner/WalMart%20Strike_Paramount%20CA%2011_23_12/

[WillyT]

14. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[Cal Carpenter]

16. And thank YOU WillyT

For putting so much excellent content on this site!!

[patrice]

17. Pics: Wal Mart worker solidarity rally Kansas city

me



early arrivals



Stand Up - Live Better!



about half of the crowd



Wobblie songs



Jobs With Justice organizers

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. San Diego

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021874865

[Superbot]

20. If the strikers

wern't 30+ lbs overweight I might have sympathy for them. However, most of them are 50+ lbs overweight.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. That is a strange slam if I have seen one

I must give you points for originality though.

[Cal Carpenter]

24. Yes, overweight people don't deserve livable wages

How could I have missed that. I have so much to reconsider now. And boy am I glad I'm only about 15 lbs overweight!!

[Aerows]

28. You must be a Wal-Mart executive

Getting nervous? Good. You probably should be.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. Yuck

What a horrid comment.

[Fire Walk With Me]

21. K&R!

[KharmaTrain]

26. Now To Keep It Up...

...to use the words of crashcart, this is a "long hard slog" ahead. Wally world is trying to frame this as an isolated incident instigated by outsiders. The pressure needs to be kept up...and those who are taking the chance and the fight to the corporates need all the support they can get...financial, emotional and legal.

It's great to see these people take the brave step of speaking out and they can only succeed if they are able to be persistent...to create a long term pain for the suits in Benton and on the bottom line. Unfortunately, as we've seen with even members of this community, avoiding Wally world is not easy...be it for economic or geographical reasons...but strikes are most successful when they're visible and constant. While someone may ignore a picketer among the large crowds yesterday, it's harder when they return after the holidays.

Here's hoping this is a clarion call for the unions...this is the new "Bethlehem Steel"...the front lines of today's labor force.

[RKP5637]

29. K&R !!! K&R !!! K&R !!! K&R !!! K&R !!! K&R !!! n/t

[Starry Messenger]

31. K&R

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. Talking points are out

Only 26 stores nationwide had protests... Ok, depends on your definition I guess...but by the organizers definition...there were 10 stores in San Diego alone

Only fifty people walked out. We will need to total this, but just from So Cal we have nine actual employees. Of course the intimidation tactics were full on.