SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

* indicates required
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release

50,000 Join Walmart Worker's Plea to President Obama

As Black Friday approaches, Walmart workers have been striking, protesting and risking arrest all in an attempt to defend their right to speak out about issues like Walmart's poverty wages without fear of being fired or punished. At an event in 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama said, "I don't mind standing up for workers and letting Walmart know they need to pay a decent wage and let folks organize.

WASHINGTON

As Black Friday approaches, Walmart workers have been striking, protesting and risking arrest all in an attempt to defend their right to speak out about issues like Walmart's poverty wages without fear of being fired or punished. At an event in 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama said, "I don't mind standing up for workers and letting Walmart know they need to pay a decent wage and let folks organize. ...This is about reminding [Walmart] that... the well-being of their workers and other workers should matter to them." Now, Walmart workers are turning to President Obama in the hope that he'll meet with them and discuss the difficulties they face at Walmart.

CREDO activist and Walmart worker Charmaine Givens-Thomas launched a petition urging President Obama to meet with the Walmart workers who are trying to get the retailer to change its ways. So far, 50,000 people have signed the petition, which reads: "President Obama, we ask you to make good on your promise to stand up for working people by meeting with the courageous workers who are risking termination or other disciplinary action by joining together as Organization United for Respect at Walmart."

CREDO, labor organizations and other allies in the progressive movement are joining Walmart workers like Charmaine Givens-Thomas in a massive nationwide campaign to pressure the nation's largest retailer to start paying its employees a fair wage and respect workers' rights. Charmaine Givens-Thomas's petition was launched on CREDOMobilize.com, CREDO's people-powered platform that allows activists to start and run CREDO-style campaigns.

Read the full petition here: https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/president-obama-meet-with-walmar...

"Although our economy has started to improve, especially for those on Wall St., many of us are still left without jobs or scrambling to survive on the much lower wages employers get away with offering," said Walmart worker Charmaine Givens-Thomas. "It's time for the president to meet with Walmart workers like me who are standing up to Walmart and hear about the reality of scraping by on Main Street."

CREDO Action, part of CREDO Mobile, is a social change network of over five million activists, sending tens of millions of petition signatures and hundreds of thousands of phone calls to decision-makers each year. CREDO Action members also participate in meetings, protests and other direct action for progressive change.