Black Friday protests hit Walmart stores all over the US

MILPITAS, California — For the third straight year, Walmart workers, including Filipinos, staged protests all over the country on Black Friday, a much-awaited shopping day of the year.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the protest in Milpitas on Friday, November 28, saw union workers joining Walmart employees who demanded a $15/hour wage and full-time employment, among others.

A hundred protesters who wore green and blue union shirts carried placards signifying their support for the Walmart strikers. They gathered in a parking lot across the Milpitas branch and held a rally before proceeding to the main Walmart outlet where they marched around the compound’s parking lot area.

Daz Lamparas, president of the Asian Pacific Labor Alliance (APALA) San Francisco, explained that about 30-40 percent of Walmart workers in the Bay Area are Filipinos, and their common complaints besides low wage are that they don’t have health benefits, no sick and vacation leaves and that their schedules are always changed, resulting in having less time to be with their families.

“When they are sick, they have to go to the county hospitals. In effect, Walmart is being subsidized by the taxpayers because taxpayers are subsidizing our country public health clinics. Although they are saying that it is better to have a job, it is nothing much because of their very low wages,” Lamparas rued.

In the rally, Mary Kay Henry, national president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who flew in from Washington, DC to be with the picketing workers, stressed that Walmart employees who work hard for a living ought to be living a decent life.

“Just like our homecare workers who are demanding $15/hr in San Mateo a week ago, we want Walmart to recognize the union for workers so they can bargain for their schedules, their benefits, no retaliation, no discrimination and so they can join together to lead a decent life. We hope that this send a message to Walmart in over 1,200 stores across the nation who are gathering to say that ‘I stand with Walmart workers who think they should be paid a living wage,’” Henry announced.

Henry also believes that the movement has the momentum now that Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles Unified school workers just won $15/hour. Johns Hopkin’s Hospital has just ratified $15/hour.

“The movement since two years ago is growing and the momentum is building. Enough is enough. Walmart family earns about 26 percent of the wealth of everybody in this nation. This company is incredibly profitable and they can put the profits in the pockets of the worker who do the work on the frontlines every day,” Henry underscored. “Since we started, 6.7 million workers have already had their wages raised.”

Walmart Milpitas sales associate of eight years Shirley Bucsit of Davao lamented that her hope of working with the biggest retail store in the world to widen her horizon is turning out to be a big disappointment.

“I am here to step forward and defend my co-workers. My father served in the military during the Pearl Harbor bombing and I want to continue his legacy to fight for others and stand up for their rights to be given equality, respect, due benefits and decent wages,” Bucsit, a former tour guide in the Philippines for foreign dignitaries, related.

Bucsit explained that her co-workers were going to her regarding their complaints of low wages against Walmart, shortened time among others, and these motivated her to step forward. She made an appeal to the home office because she claimed that if Mr. Sam Walton were alive, his respect for individuals would still reign.

Representing Milpitas city council, incoming member Marsha Grilli showed her support by being at the rally.

“As elected officials and community members, we can stand with these workers and enforce a change in the minimum wage to a level that will allow them to live decently in our community,” Grilli stated.

“Walmart can very well afford to as it made $16 billion in profit last year. The six members of the Walton family that own 50 percent of Walmart have a net worth of $150 billion. They have more wealth than 49 million American families combined. In contrast, more than half of ourWalmart workers made less than $25,000 last year,” Grilli added.

In an earlier interview, Bucsit disclosed that she was offered a supervisory level position that she turned down because she is taking care of her daughter and her mother.

“While I can do the job offered to me, my daughter and mother are my priorities. Besides, they are just giving an additional 50 cents/hour pay increase while I have to work in two departments. If you are a supervisor with added stress, responsibilities and workload, a compensation of $9.50 is not enough to support a family, that is why we are asking for $15/hour minimum wage considering the workload and responsibilities,” Bucsit revealed.

Another Walmart Milpitas associate “Maria” of La Union pointed out that workers have their time taken away as they were only given four-hour days work.

“I am fighting also for my co-workers who remain silent when they are bullied by Walmart so they can keep their jobs. They are scared to stand up against Walmart, have to sacrifice with a heavy heart because it is hard to find another job. You are to be punished more with further cuts in your already shortened working hours that are not enough for a decent living,” Maria lamented. “We are always advised there are no more full-time positions, although some ‘favored’ ones were able to make it.”

Like Bucsit, Maria was also offered to be a full-time worker if she would be willing to manage a department.

“But I turned that down because of my poor health condition being a diabetic and cannot work with additional pressure and responsibilities. But I can work in my present position that has less job pressure for at my condition. Adding pressure would take a toll in my present health condition. The ‘favored’ ones were given full-time work hours without having to manage a department,” Maria bared.

Maria does not know what will happen to her after joining the rally,although her message to Walmart is that “they be nice and listen to their associates who are the ones working hard for them by granting their requests.”

On Filipino participation in the movement, Henry cited Filipino leaders in the APALA just as there are there are a lot of Filipino leaders of homecare in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Henry added that Filipinos help build trade union movement in California and they have been “incredible leaders on the frontline in the fight to make sure that people are paid a decent wage and we could create the next American middle class.”

Meanwhile, APALA’s Lamparas vowed to continue organizing, educating the Walmart workers and holding pickets and strikes so that the American public and Walmart would pay attention to their working conditions and demands.