The number of Walmart workers striking on Black Friday will be small compared with the number of allies who come out to support them at an expected
1,500 protests across the country. But workers are making themselves heard ahead of the big day with small strikes across the country this week, making sure that Walmart's PR department can't pretend they don't exist.
Tuesday, workers in Columbia and Laurel, Maryland, bringing letters to managers calling for $25,000 a year wages and an end to retaliation against activists. Tuesday's actions continued a string of strikes: Workers in a Miami and Minnesota Walmart walked off the job Monday, the Minnesota workers joined by Rep. Keith Ellison. Those followed strikes in Tampa, Florida, and Sacramento, California, in the previous days.
The continuing worker activism gains added momentum from recent stories detailing just how badly Walmart does by its workers, like asking workers to donate food to other Walmart workers or the news that the chain could give workers a big raise without raising prices.