News

The UNI Walmart Global Union Alliance including striking US employees and Walmart workers from the around the world are taking part in a series of week long protests outside the company’s head office in Bentonville Arkansas before the annual general meeting. Walmart’s failure to sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord along has been highlighted by the protestors who presented the company with a one metre long banner with the list of the 40 plus companies who have signed the Accord. The banner included a space for Walmart CEO Mike Duke, to sign.

Preston Johnson, a striking U.S Walmart worker said, “1,239 folks have died because of factories that were unsafe and we found out that Walmart is one of the companies that had workers making clothes there.”

The UNI Alliance was part of a broad group of demonstrators, including “Our Walmart” - U.S. Walmart workers fighting for better conditions – who have travelled across the country on “The Ride for Respect” demanding Walmart respect its employees all along the supply chain. They had a blunt message for the company’s shareholders and staff gathered for the annual general meeting, chanting, “Which side are Walmart on? The side of safety or murder?”

Kalpona Akter, a labour leader from Bangladesh urged Walmart to sign the Fire and Safety Accord.

Walmart and GAP have become isolated by their decision not to sign the Accord and have put forward their own plan where they will act as judge and jury. That plan has been widely slated as unworkable and unenforceable.

For more see Josh Eidelson’s full account in The Nation