Strikers have returned to work with their heads held high and their wallets full at Walmart's largest North American distribution center. Warehouse workers in Elwood, Illinois, announced Saturday that they had won their key demand, reinstatement of all who were fired or suspended for on-the-job organizing, along with full back pay for everyone who participated in the three-week strike.
"I think there's been a hit in Walmart's armor," said Phil Bailey, one of the strikers who marched triumphantly back into the warehouse in matching Warehouse Workers for Justice t-shirts. "There's been this expectation that they can't be damaged at all. Not true!"
The returning workers also saw immediate improvements in safety conditions in the warehouse. They finally received shin guards, which they have been requesting for some time to protect them from heavy carts, and giant ceiling fans were installed to help cool the warehouse, which can reach 120 degrees. "[Management] kept coming around asking us if we needed any additional safety equipment," Bailey reported. "They're a lot more polite."
2 comments:
wally world the quintessential american crap company!
It will be interesting to see how many of those workers still have a job in another year. Wal-Mart has an army of lawyers and don't think for a minute that they are going to let this "insurrection" slide...
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