Walmart Strike Comes to DC Today

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)A nationwide strike against Walmart comes to DC today when AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre, union members, community groups and other allies march on Walmart in downtown DC, where they'll meet up with Walmart moms who are walking off the job. The march starts at 1P at Union station (see Calendar for details). Walmart workers have been striking across the country this week to protest Walmart’s illegal retaliation against workers who have spoken up about inequality and gone on strike.  Walmart workers have been calling on Walmart to raise wages to $25,000 a year.  This week Walmart’s new CEO will be convening his first annual shareholders’ meeting.  “Let’s make sure that Walmart executives hear us all the way in Bentonville, Arkansas,” say strike organizers.  “Our families are going without because we’re not getting the hours we need,” said Zacola Simpson, a Walmart worker and single mother. “And when brave moms like Barbara Collins struck to end illegal retaliation and spoke out about the problems at our stores, Walmart fired her.  It’s wrong, it’s illegal, and we cannot allow this to continue.”