Walmart Fires Striker Source: The Nation Josh Eidelson The union-backed labor group OUR Walmart alleged Friday night that Walmart has retaliated against multiple workers who went on strike and traveled to its Arkansas headquarters this month, including Florida employee Lisa Lopez, whom the retail giant fired Friday. “I think they don’t want me to actually let people know what’s really going on at Walmart as an associate,” Lopez told The Nation. “So they’d rather get rid of me.” Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night. As The Nation has reported, about a hundred members of the retail workers’ group OUR Walmart, which is closely tied to the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, mounted a several-day strike in the lead-up to the retail giant’s June 7 shareholder meeting. That first-ever prolonged strike by US Walmart employees, which began May 28, brought Lopez and others workers from across the country to Walmart’s Bentonville, Arkansas, hometown, where they staged a week of protests. The OUR Walmart campaign described Lopez as a prominent activist, noting that she was the star of a campaign video, posted to Youtube May 31, which highlighted her reliance on food stamps and a second job to support her family. Lopez drew the attention of local and national media (including The Nation) during OUR Walmart’s November 23 “Black Friday” work stoppage, when US Congressman-elect Alan Grayson came to her St. Cloud, Florida, store to accompany her as she went on strike. Read more: Walmart Fires Striker | The Nation thenation/blog/174937/walmart-fires-striker#ixzz2WyfEBePi Follow us: @thenation on Twitter | TheNationMagazine on Facebook FULL story at link. Read more: thenation/blog/174937/walmart-fires-striker#axzz2WyeasSdH
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 20:47:56 +0000