DC Activists Call for Resignations of Top Walmart Leaders

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)The widening Walmart bribery scandal hit the Pennsylvania Avenue Marriott Thursday morning when Respect DC activists burst into the hotel chanting “Hey Hey! Ho ho! Walmart greed has got to go!” The Marriott was targeted because Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson is on the Walmart board of directors. Respect DC  is calling for the resignation of Walmart Board Chairman Rob Walton along with CEO Mike Duke, demanding that the company’s top leadership be held accountable for Walmart’s extensive alleged bribery in Mexico (In Wake of Walmart Bribery Probe, Activists Call for Halt on DC Stores, UC 4/25/2012). “Twenty-four million dollars spent in Mexico” said Respect DC organizer Beth Pointer, “how much are they paying to be here in DC?” After a balloon banner reading "Mr. Marriott: Rob Walton must go" was pulled down at the last minute by security guards, chanting protesters headed across the street to the Wilson Building to convey their concerns to DC City Council members, who Respect DC says has been largely unresponsive to community concerns about the big-box giant’s plans to build as many as six stores in the District. - photos by Julia Kann (above) and Respect DC (below)