Walmart Workers Seeking Wages

Black Friday is coming, and some Walmart workers are using the annual bacchanal of retail excess as an opportunity to push their political agenda in a headline grabbing way.

The organization, called “Our Walmart” plans to start a fifteen-day fast scheduled to end on Black Friday. The effort has been dubbed “Fast for 15”, an obvious connection to the Fight for 15 movement, a grassroots group demanding a $15 minimum wage.

According to press reports, the fast will include both current and former Walmart employees as well as other sympathetic citizens. The current roster of participants stands at well over 1,000. At this point, not every protester has pledged to fast for the full 15 days, while the founders of the (non)fast have promised to consume only liquids for the duration.

While most of the protests are planned to be conducted outside Walmart stores, some protesters have pledged to take their show on the road, and fast events are being planned near the NYC home of Walton heiress, Alice Walton, as well as the California home of Walmart heir and current chairman, Greg Penner.

Organizers say the point of the fast is to illustrate the quandary they say many Walmart employees face: they can’t afford to feed their families, even when shopping at Walmart. Organizers tell stories of employees having to choose between eating lunch during their shift or putting enough fuel in their cars to get home. It is those sorts of situations, they say, that necessitates such an extreme response.

This protest is expected to coincide with other protests that are becoming typical on or around Black Friday. This will be the fourth consecutive year that similar protests are planned.

All of this despite the fact that Walmart did indeed raise wages last year, and the starting wage for full time employees is expected to increase to $10 next year. Department managers will get between $13 and $15 per hour. Not a lot for a management position, but still more than they are getting now.

Walmart’s in a tough spot, though. The general public loves to shop there, but ask just about anyone who the most hated store in America is, and Walmart will likely end up on the list. Add to this common theme the fact that the last time Walmart raised wages, its stock price dropped, aggravating shareholders.

Now Walmart’s decision makers have that to worry about, plus typically dissatisfied employees and, now, this new PR nightmare. They need to come up with a solution, fast, or this one could spin out of control.