Union Members Stage Black Friday Protest of Walmart in White Plains

By Jon Craig

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten led a Black Friday picket outside Walmart in White Plains to protest low wages and poor benefits the multibillion dollar corporation provides its employees.

About 50 members of various unions participated in the morning protest outside the Main Street store. In addition to teachers unions, health care workers and public service employees also took part in the event. Participants dressed as The Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge also joined the protest.

Weingarten said despite record high stock market levels, Walmart, the world’s 15th most profitable employer, provides its workers the lowest pay, benefits and rights of any major American company. She said the average Walmart employee makes $25,000 annually with few benefits and no voice in his or her work shifts.

“Walmart is the epitome of this,” Weingarten said. “Many of these (retail and grocery) companies don’t even give their employees Thanksgiving off any more. They are neither great as a store nor great as a community member.”

Walmart has 1.3 million workers in the U.S and 2.2 million employees worldwide at 11,000 stores in 27 countries. Last year, Walmart sales were $466 billion, according to the Arkansas-based corporation’s website.

Unlike demonstrations against the nation’s largest employer at 50 stores in other parts of the U.S. on Friday, the local picket was peaceful.

One Westchester resident who participated, math teacher Karen Magee of West Harrison who is also president of the Harrison Association of Teachers, said organizers were pleased by the turnout considering it was the morning after Thanksgiving and in sub-freezing temperatures. It also attracted some retired union members who have much less fear of reprisals than active employees, she said.

In a statement, a Walmart representative said the protests in a dozen major cities across the nation were the work of paid political activists and labor unions, not average people or employees.

“Black Friday is a big stage, and we’re one of the biggest players in the retail industry,” said David Tovar, Walmart’s vice president for communications, in a prepared statement. “We’re not surprised that those trying to change our industry are using this platform to get their message out, and we respect their right to be heard.”

Dozens of anti-Walmart protesters were arrested or pepper-sprayed by police in New Jersey, Texas, California, Virginia and other states, including someone in a Santa Claus outfit.

Despite the activity outside, holiday shoppers at the White Plains Walmart had no trouble gaining entry or leaving the store or the adjoining Dunkin’ Donuts. Most shoppers acted disinterested about the commotion outside, instead hoping to find hot holiday bargains inside.

About a dozen police officers looked on as the crowd, led by representatives of several teachers’ unions chanted, “This is what Democracy looks like” and “What’s disgusting? Union busting!”

Earlier this month, the general counsel of the federal National Labor Relations Board found that Walmart unlawfully ran surveillance, threatened, intimidated and fired workers in 14 states for exercising their right to try to improve working conditions and pay.

Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, called the NLRB findings “extremely serious.” She said Walmart has been looking to preserve holiday sales by trying to avert attention away from the federal allegations and protests and toward upbeat events such as employee-organized food collections for fellow struggling Walmart workers.