Wal-Mart employees have called for a nationwide strike on Black Friday protesting against the retail giant's legal move against the union which the workers allege is an attempt to silence them.
In an attempt to subside the worker protest at its stores over the Thanksgiving holiday, Wal-Mart filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint against a union the company says is behind the protest plans, reveals a Wall Street Journal report.
The complaint filed against the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, demands the National Labor Relations Board to issue a ruling against rallies and pickets by its employees at Wal-Mart stores and warehouses across the country.
Wal-Mart workers under the label of Organization United for Respect at Wal-Mart (OUR Wal-Mart) have been demanding good jobs with decent pay, regular hours, affordable healthcare and respect. The campaigners call the strike as a "creative, non-violent action" in the "Making Change at Walmart" website.
The initiative urges supporters to take the Black Friday pledge, sponsor a protestor, use the Share for Respect Facebook app, join the conversation on their Tumblr, and connect with them on Facebook or Twitter. OUR Wal-Mart was founded in 2010 with financial support and advice from the UFCW.
OUR Wal-Mart plans nationwide protests at 1,000 Wal-Mart stores across the country on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping days in the United States.
"We will not be silenced. Throughout the holiday season, including Black Friday, we will be standing up for an end to the retaliation against workers who speak out for what's right for our families, our communities and our country," the organizers said in the website. "Wal-Mart workers across the country will be walking off the job in protest, and we hope you will join us in creative, non-violent action in solidarity with our strike."
