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Mostly Cloudy Walmart labor battle makes its way to Valley Stream
Former Walmart employees, union members and workers’ rights activists chanted and rallied on Sept. 5 in Valley Stream, calling on the large corporation to “improve wages” and “reinstate illegally fired and disciplined workers.”
The rally, which took place in the parking lot of Walmart’s Valley Stream location, saw roughly 30 protestors holding up signs and reciting chants as drivers passing by would honk their horns in support every so often.
“American workers should not be forced into a battle with the country’s largest employer just to get a decent day’s pay for their work and to have their rights recognized,” said Charlene Obernauer, executive director of Long Island Jobs with Justice, which organized the protest. Long Island Jobs with Justice is an organization that promotes workers and immigrant rights and economic justice.
Several union groups were represented at the rally, including the United Food and Commercial Workers union and the Long Island Federation of Labor, which acts as the umbrella organization for all local unions. “We’re here in solidarity with Walmart workers who are exercising their own rights and showing a lot of courage in getting themselves out there and standing up for justice where they work,” said Roger Clayman, the Long Island Federation of Labor’s executive director.
Walmart executives maintain that the protest was made up predominantly of union members and activists as opposed to Walmart employees. “You see so few current associates participating because they understand the unparalleled opportunity Walmart provides,” said David Tovar, vice president of Walmart’s corporate communications. “For example, 75 percent of our store management teams started as hourly associates, we have more than 300,000 associates who have been with the company for 10 years or more, and every year we promote 160,000 associates to jobs with higher pay and more responsibility.”
