Activists Rally Today to Demand a "Seat at the Table"
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Activists will rally today – 2p on Freedom Plaza -- to demand “a seat
at the table” as DC Mayor Vincent Gray prepares to negotiate a Community
Benefits Agreement with Walmart. “How can it be a true Community Benefits
Agreement if the deal is negotiated without community input?” asks Rev. Howard
Finley, a leader in the Living Wages, Healthy Communities Coalition. More than
40 neighborhood, labor, community and religious activists and leaders have
worked together for the past six months to develop the solution to the problems
posed by Walmart’s plans to open four new stores in the District of Columbia.
The coalition has crafted “an enforceable Community Benefits Agreement
guaranteeing that Walmart’s presence in the District will raise our standard
of living and improve our quality of life, rather than driving down both, which
is what usually happens when the world’s largest retailer enters a market,”
says Mackenzie Baris of DC Jobs with Justice. But the activists are
concerned about how effective the CBA will be without community representation
at the negotiations and are demanding that they be included. photo: Franklin
Carter at Respect DC rally earlier this year