December 23, 2024 06:19 AM

WalMart Walkout: Thousands of Employees to Protest Black Friday

Walmart employees are planning to walk out on the biggest shopping day in the country, Black Friday. The Daily Mail reported that strikes started in Los Angeles and now have spread to 12 other cities where Walmart's are last month.

There is an expected 1,000 protests, The Daily Mail reported. OUR Walmart, Corporate Action Network and Making Change at Wal-Mart are three groups in support of the protests and calling upon Walmart. Employees from cities like LA, Milwaukee, D.C, Chicago and Miami have signed up in for the walkout.

Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman said in a statement to Fox News that the protests were "another exaggerated publicity campaign aimed at generating headlines to mislead."

There are also planned work protests in Mississippi, Louisiana, Minnesota and Oklahoma. In October when the protests started Walmart employees in more than 200 stores held protests for better, schedules, pay and affordable healthcare.

Charlene Fletcher and her husband work at Walmart in Duarte, California and were angered when they found out they'd have to work on Thanksgiving and not get to spend it with their young children. She said to Fox News in a statement, "It's heartbreaking to miss the holiday with them, and it's just one more way that Walmart is showing its disregard for our families. But when our co-workers speak out about problems like these, Walmart turns their schedules upside down, cuts their hours and even fires people. We're going on strike for an end to Walmart's attempts to silence its workers."

Three groups - Making Change at Walmart, OUR Walmart and watchdog group Corporate Action Network - are now calling on the nation's largest employer to end what they claim are retaliatory tactics against employees who seek out better working conditions.

In a statement to FoxNews.com, Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman characterized the movement as "another exaggerated publicity campaign aimed at generating headlines to mislead" customers and employees.

Fogleman defended Walmart in a statement to Fox News saying, "We'll have more than one million associates working throughout the holiday weekend and they're excited about our Black Friday plans this year. This is the Super Bowl for retailers and we're ready. We've been working on our Black Friday plans for almost a year now and we're prepared to have a great event. Our associates care about providing a great customer experience on Black Friday and we're confident that's what customers will have at Walmart this year."

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