- Listen to the entire program<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"\/home\/graphics\/walmart_strike2.jpg\")
Imagine two people working for the same company doing the same job but one of them gets paid much less and has fewer benefits. Would you think that was fair? Well, unfortunately, this is the situation for American employees of the world’s largest company, Walmart. While Walmart workers or associates in Europe, Brazil, Argentina and even China are allowed to unionize, and hence get better wages and benefits, Walmart\u2019s US employees are forbidden from joining a union.<\/p>\nTo help remedy this, Walmart workers have been organizing sporadic one-day strikes across the nation and here in Southern California over many months. Just last night police arrested 54 people at a walkout at the Walmart in LA’s Chinatown. The day before, workers at a Walmart store in Paramount walked off the job demanding better working conditions and pay. <\/p>\n
The labor organizing group OUR Walmart has been helping coordinate the walkout efforts which they are hoping will result in Walmart offering a minimum wage of at least $25,000 a year for their full time employees. <\/p>\n
Workers are building momentum for their next big walkout action on Black Friday which is the nation’s biggest shopping day the Friday after Thanksgiving. Last year’s Black Friday saw 400 associates walk off the job. <\/p>\n
GUEST: Josh Eidelson is a staff reporter at Salon.com who has been covering the Walmart walkouts<\/em><\/p>\n
Click here<\/a> to read Josh Eidelson’s work. <\/p>\n
Visit www.forrespect.org<\/a> for more about OUR Walmart’s campaign. <\/p>\n