Walmart workers launch prolonged strikes as America's revolt of the low-paid continues

Submitted by AWL on 30 May, 2013 - 2:05

Walmart workers in Miami, Massachusetts, and California struck on 28 May. The strike is the latest walkout in an ongoing campaign for workplace justice at the retail giant, coordinated by OUR Walmart, a labour movement coalition mainly animated by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).

The strike is due to last for over 10 days, until Walmart's shareholder convention on 7 June. Although the strike involves only a minority of Walmart employees, the tenacity and dynamism of the campaign (which also coordinated strikes in October and November 2012) has seen it punch significantly above its weight. The escalation from one-day or half-day stoppages to a prolonged strike is a significant step for the campaign. Speaking in The Nation, Walmart worker Dominic Ware said: “We’ve seen that Walmart is trying to hold out the best that they can. So I’m planning on going on strike as long as it takes.”

The strike is the first prolonged walkout in Walmart's history, and according to UFCW official Dan Schlademan, are "another example of the depth of leadership and commitment that this organisation is building."

OUR Walmart's headline demand is simply for Walmart to stop intimidating workers out of speaking up about grievances in the workplace. The grievances themselves are manifold, relating to low-pay, health and safety violations, and abuse of contracts.

The Walmart workers' struggle is paralleled by the growing strike movement amongst fast food workers across America, which is similarly coordinated through union-backed coalitions rather than through unions themselves. The fast food industry, where jobs are characterised by low pay, long hours, and precarious contractual arrangements, is growing twice as fast as the rest of the economy.

Workers employed by McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and others are fighting for a $15/hour minimum wage (most are currently paid less than $8/hour). Fast food workers in New York struck in November 2012 and April 13, with strikes spreading to Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Milwaukee. The organising drives in the fast food industry are backed by the SEIU, one of America's biggest unions.

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