Fighting for Respect, Wal-Mart Workers Say, 'We Need Your Help'

Seeking respect and fairness, Wal-Mart workers took their "OUR Walmart" campaign directly to company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., last week.

As they struggle to exercise their rights at work and be treated with the respect they deserve, Wal-Mart workers are asking you to join their new "OUR Walmart" campaign and spread the word on social networks.

"We call ourselves OUR Walmart for short," workers say on the website for the Organization United for Respect at Walmart. "It's because we, the hourly associates, are the life-blood of our stores and of the company we work for, yet we are not treated with the respect we deserve. Here we are working to fix that, and we need your help."

OUR Walmart, profiled last week in the New York Times, had been quietly signing up members for months before going public June 16 with its website and Facebook page. Organizers told the Times that they have more than 50 members at some stores. The goal is to give workers a collective voice, even if they don't, for now, have a union.

Workers took their campaign directly to the company's headquarters in Arkansas last Thursday, a trip their website powerfully describes. "Because we spoke with one voice as OUR Walmart, a representative from corporate headquarters came out to hear our concerns and even pledged on camera there would be no retaliation against employees working for change," OUR Walmart said.

The campaign's launch came just days before the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to block a class-action lawsuit that charged Wal-Mart with pay and promotion discrimination against 1.5 million women.

The United Food and Commercial Workers, which is helping workers build OUR Walmart, said the ruling illustrates why the campaign is so important. "Employers like Walmart have long attempted to isolate workers and prevent them from solving problems together," UFCW said. "This decision will not stop workers from joining together, through collective action, or prevent them from continuing to pursue their individual claims against Walmart."

To join the campaign, use the links in the story or go to http://ourwalmart.org. Be sure to follow the links to Facebook, Twitter and other websites to spread the word to family and friends.