EDITOR: With the dwindling of union membership and power, earnings disparity has soared. Perhaps non-union organizations can help restore the balance between ownership and labor that brought so much prosperity in the middle of the past century.
If MoveOn can induce Walmart to raise wages, Target and others will quickly follow out of fear and also because the higher wages will no longer make them uncompetitive.
Once fairer wages are paid, these chains will suffer far less employee turnover and find their increased labor costs have partly been offset.
Dear MoveOn member,
On Black Friday, the largest shopping day of the year, Walmart workers have announced a massive one-day strike to demand better wages and reasonable pay.
This. Is. Huge.
For years, Walmart has paid wages so low that employees are forced to survive on food stamps.1 The company has also been incredibly anti-union.2 Many of the workers who participate in the walkout will lose wages. Some may get fired.
So to help make sure they have the resources to win, we’re aiming to raise $100,000 before Friday’s strike.
We’ll contribute some of the money to the Walmart workers’ strike fund to make sure people who take part in the strike can still put food on the table for their families. We’ll use the rest for organizing for workers’ rights and social justice around the country. Can you chip in $3?
Yes, I’ll chip in to stand with Walmart workers this Black Friday.
Let’s face it. There’s only one reason Walmart pays such low wages: Greed.
Walmart makes $16 billion a year in profits, and the Walton family is worth more than $150 billion, making them the richest family in America.3 And yet Walmart pays the majority of their associates less than $25,000 a year.4
There’s another reason why this fight is so important. Walmart is the largest private employer in the world, and any concessions it makes will have a massive ripple effect across the economy.
So here’s the plan: First, MoveOn is using our huge online membership to help recruit people for the Walmart protests this Friday, and elevate their stories through petitions.
And we’ll make a donation to the Walmart strike fund to make sure these workers don’t have to go hungry just because they stood up for their rights.
Will you chip in $3?
Yes, I’ll chip in to stand with Walmart workers this Black Friday.
Thanks for all you do.
–Anna, Bobby, Jadzia, Stephen, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. “Report: Walmart Workers Cost Taxpayers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance,” Forbes, April 15, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=301837&id=105163-3394989-kgsgxjx&t=1
2. “Walmart Workers Get Organized—Just Don’t Say the U-Word,” Mother Jones, March/April 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=301838&id=105163-3394989-kgsgxjx&t=2
3. “Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,” MarketWatch, accessed November 25, 2014
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wmt/financials
“America’s richest families: 185 clans with billion dollar fortunes,” Yahoo Finance, July 8, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=301839&id=105163-3394989-kgsgxjx&t=3
4. “More Than Half of Wal-Mart’s Hourly Workers Make Less Than $25,000,” Bloomberg, October 23, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=301840&id=105163-3394989-kgsgxjx&t=4
I just know from following and working with this campaign for the last three years, that MoveOn puts out emails to its members but the work is really being done by Walmart workers and allied unions. MoveOn is welcomed, they have a big list, but they are not doing much.
It takes all of them (us) to defeat the largest retail corporation in the world.
It is so bizarre, because people have shown the Walmart board how raising wages would actually raise their profits. Raising wages would be a win in many fronts for Walmart. It is some old members of the board who just do not believe in increasing wages holding back progress. In the end they will have to give in.
KZ