Walmart strike goes nationwide on Black Friday

Angered by low pay and poor treatment, Walmart employees across the US went on strike during the retailer’s Black Friday event, protesting to draw attention to their working conditions.
For the first time in Walmart’s 50-year history, workers at multiple stores walked off their jobs to go on strike. Walmart’s 1.4 million US employees are not protected by a labor union and have recently filed more than 20 charges of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relation Board (NLRB).
In the weeks leading up to the planned strike, Walmart attempted to get an injunction to halt the protests planned for the Thanksgiving weekend. But federal labor officials said there was not enough time to make a decision on the injunction before Thanksgiving, thereby making it impossible to halt the protests.
When Walmart opened its stores to begin its Black Friday sales at 8 p.m. Thursday, a number of workers walked off their jobs and picketed the retailer. More than 70 Los Angeles employees from nine stores left their jobs Thursday and 250 workers and supporters protested outside the Pico Rivera Walmart store, the Huffington Post reported.
Holding signs that read, “One Strike for the Freedom to Speak Out” and “Walmart Strike Against Retaliation”, the workers, who organized under a group they called OUR Walmart, hoped to draw attention to their cause.
“We’re not trying to shut down business; we are supporting our co-workers who speak out for better working conditions,” OUR Walmart member Yesenia Yaber told the Wall Street Journal.
The protesters are demanding a minimum hourly pay of $13, more full-time work and more affordable healthcare.