CLEVELAND, November 25 — Teamsters nationwide are gearing up to join other union members in Black Friday protests against Walmart on November 28, and two new reports have come to light that expose the retailer’s unparalleled corporate greed.
A study released this month by Michele Simon is titled “Walmart’s Hunger Games: How America’s Largest Employer and Richest Family Worsen the Hunger Crisis.” Her report concludes that: “Walmart and the Walton family are at the center of a profit-building empire that allows them to build their wealth off of workers’ inability to afford food.”
The study reveals that 88 percent of food bank clients have household incomes of less than $25,000 a year. According to the study, as many as 825,000 of Walmart’s 1.4 million U.S. employees make less than $25,000 a year. Teamster members and other Walmart protesters are demanding that the company pay its employees a decent living wage above the $25,000 annual threshold.
A full copy of the report can be downloaded from the Eat Drink Politics website (PDF).
A second study, also released in November, is titled “How Walmart Is Dodging Billions in Taxes and Scheming to Avoid Billions More.” Published by Americans for Tax Fairness, the study concludes “that Walmart avoids $1 billion a year in taxes by exploiting existing federal tax loopholes.” The report further concludes that Walmart has bilked the system by forcing taxpayers to “spend an estimated $6.2 billion a year subsidizing Walmart’s low wages and meager employee benefits through food stamps, Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded programs.” Teamsters and other Walmart protesters are fed up with Walmart squeezing its employees and dodging its fair share of U.S. taxes.
A full copy of the report can be downloaded from the Americans For Tax Fairness website (PDF).
To show their frustration, Teamsters and other Walmart protesters are joining in numerous strikes, sit-ins, and other types of protests throughout the United States on Black Friday, November 28. Two websites are available for those interested in participating: BlackFridayProtests.org and www.Facebook.com/hashtag/walmartstrikers.
BLET members or members of the BLET Auxiliary interested in finding a protest in their area should visit one of the websites above.
“As you can see from these studies, and based on the fact that the Walton family is one of the wealthiest in the world, Walmart can easily afford to pay higher wages and provide better benefits to its workers,” BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce said. “I encourage BLET members and members of the BLET Auxiliary to join in a protest or simply avoid shopping at Walmart, especially on November 28. We need to make our voices heard in the battle against corporate greed because standing up for what’s right and helping our fellow Americans is what solidarity is all about.”