Turning Up the Heat On Wal-Mart

More than two dozen labor activists leafleted the Germantown Wal-Mart in the midday heat Thursday, as part of a national "Send Wal-Mart Back to School" protest this week. The activists – most from UFCW locals 400 and 1994, along with several from Progressive Maryland – distributed hundreds of pledge cards to shoppers. Many of the shoppers stopped to chat and fill out the cards, pledging not to buy back-to-school supplies from Wal-Mart until the retail giant promises to pay living wages, provide affordable health care, end discrimination against women and stop taking advantage of child labor. “It’s a war of attrition and we’re slowly but steadily wearing them down,” said UFCW 400’s Mark Federici, citing Wal-Mart’s retrenchment in expansion plans and changes in advertising and PR strategy this year.
-Report/Photos by Chris Garlock