Three months later

I have grown as a person throughout these series of events; I feel much more confident and brave now. If another act of civil disobedience ever comes up, I might join in and help out. Well, there hasn’t been any openings yet.

The current news on Wal-Mart is that they have stuck with their deal for the last three months, and no need for another protest has been needed. Because of these results, I feel like I can actually shop once in a while at Vancouver’s Wal-Mart. and feel ok doing it. The results have also given me more hope in that Wal-Mart can actually change into a better store. Unfortunately, other Wal-Marts haven’t changed anything due to our protest. But the good thing is that they are aware what just a group of people can do.

Results

The protest lasted for around two work days. In that time period, not one person entered Wal-Mart. Instead, about 70% of anyone who came near Wal-Mart’s parking lot joined us. During the last stretch of our protest, a representative of Wal-Mart came out and made a deal. He gave all the employees at that Wal-Mart, at least a $1 raise and health care benefits. In those moments, we all went wild in excitement. News reporters captured the moment and it was on CTV and CBC last night. The whole event also got the front cover for some local newspapers. Everyone was so pleased that evening, a group of us went on a celebration dinner. The whole experience was priceless. You feel so great knowing that you have made a difference in your community. Breaking the law was hard to do, but it was worth it in the end. Of course, I could never have done this by myself. I have to thank all the students who showed up to my civil disobedience meeting, my dad for helping write my speech, and everyone who helped out. So after this experience, I know that if another protest is in need, I have my back covered.

The Protest: Step 2

14 days after my meeting at school, and the 30 of us were ready for Wal-Mart. Everyone involved in the protest got together the other day to make signs and prepare speeches. Some of the signs included the phrase, PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT, or an unhappy face. We then drove to the only Wal-Mart in Vancouver, just off of Grandview Highway, and set up some chairs and stands. At this point we wanted just to be noticed, which we were. A couple bystanders joined us, but most just awkwardly stared. The best part of all was that one of our protesters entered Wal-Mart and noticed that the employees were looking outside. He said he could hear them whispering about us, and that they looked intrigued. Three of the bigger volunteers and I entered Wal-Mart and made our way to an empty till. Over the P.A. system I started my speech. I was talking about how Wal-Mart is a very, very successful business, and where does the money go? It wasn’t going to them for sure. I also mentioned a boxing term: kill the body, and the head will die, which I explained means that Wal-Mart only survives because of the workers. Without them, Wal-Mart can’t be what they are. Lastly, I said that we only needed one worker because with one, the rest will come. Throughout the speech, no security guards were trying to stop us because they were listening to my speech. We left Wal-Mart with what I think was a touchdown. After five minutes of waiting, the first Wal-Mart employee walked out of the building, picked up a sign, and joined the protest. Slowly after him, the rest trickled out the doors. Success!!! Now the rest was up to Wal-Mart.

The Protest: Step 1

I successfully put up posters all over my school and organized a civil disobedience meeting. About twenty people showed up interested in helping fight against Wal-Mart’s crimes. This was a very pleasant surprise; I didn’t know so many people cared about this topic. During the meeting I told my peers some disturbing facts about Wal-Mart. The facts included that Wal-Mart’s CEO Michael Duke, receives an hourly salary equal to the annual salary of an average Wal-Mart employee. Also that furniture sold at Wal-Mart has been made from wood that was illegally logged in protected Russian habitats for Siberian Tigers. One other fact that I said was that in 2006, a law was passed that required all corporations with more than 10,000 employees in the state to spend at least 8% of their payroll on employee benefits. Wal-Mart was the only know corporation to not meet this requirement before it was passed. These three facts and many others shocked the crowd that I had gathered. They all were convinced and most of them decided to get their parents to join the cause. I also got my whole family to join, all of them never agreed with what Wal-Mart was doing. The first part of my so called plan was complete and we were ready for step two.

Consequences

There could be a few negative consequences in protesting against Wal-Mart all including the ugly word: failure. Of course it would be terrible is I couldn’t convince anyone to join my cause. If only I go outside, no Wal-Mart worker is ever going to come outside to protest. Another consequence would be, if we fail, we would be publically embarrassed. Maybe our failure could even end up in the newspaper. The worst consequence I think would just simply be letting the workers down in failure. Other than the negative consequences, there would always be positive consequences. Firstly, just the fact that you are trying to make a difference in our world can be priceless. If we are successful, at least that Wal-Mart we were protesting at would have better conditions for their employees. Or, more than one Wal-Mart could change their policies. Even with failure, there would be a positive consequence because our protest would create awareness for future rallies. Looking at this list, there are way more positive consequences than negative ones. That’s why I am no matter what, going ahead with this protest.

The Plan

I know I can’t fight alone. The first step in my plan will be to get as many people as I can to come along with me to Wal-Mart. I would get people involved by posting posters around my school and maybe organizing a civil disobedience meeting at lunchtime. I would also send out emails and then get my family and friends included. Once I organized a big enough group, we would act. Sometime during February or March we would march/drive over to the closest Wal-Mart with signs and set up for a hopefully successful protest. The next step would be to go inside the Wal-Mart and non-violently say a speech over the P.A. system to try and convince the workers to stop working and join us. If we are or aren’t successful in that step, we would still get a couple of speeches going to try and create awareness. Lastly, if all works out, Wal-Mart would improve the working conditions and salary for their employees.

Past protests

How do you protest against the #1 retailer in the world? Well, I know that in the past, the most effective way was to get the employees to stop working. There was a case of this on October 16, 2006. Wal-Mart had begun a new policy that cut full-time hours and began pay-caps, which compelled workers to work at any time. All 200 of the workers at that Wal-Mart stopped working and walked out in protest against the policies. They chanted, “We want justice,” and criticized the policies as inhuman. In the end, Wal-Mart decided to give the employees justice, and cancel that policy. If those workers were successful, than I think it can happen again. My plan is to try to recreate that scene, and convince the Wal-Mart workers to join the fight against Wal-Mart.

Here are the facts

Wal-Mart’s heart has grown evermore black towards the treatment of their employees, and it shows. Around 70% of all Wal-Mart employees leave within their first year. With that percentage, you have to wonder why Wal-Mart still has 2.1 million employees. It’s easy if you put yourself in their position. Imagine being unemployed, maybe a single parent, little education, and low for money. Under those circumstances, they soon would get desperate, and guess who’s hiring? Wal-Mart in a way is a deadly trap; they lure you in and then snap, your life is damaged forever. To back this theory up, there are many, many facts. In 2004, the New York Times reported that 60,767 breaks were missed, 15,705 meal times were missed, and that there were at least 1371 instances of minors working too late on a school night. That same year, Wal-Mart representative George Millar said that the night-time employees were locked inside the building. Not only is that cruel, but what happens in a fire? In 2005, between 160,000 and 200,000 employees were forced to work off the clock with no breaks, and then were denied overtime pay. These incidents were terrible but I think the worst fact is an average Wal-Mart employee’s pay. The average annual salary is around $13,861 which is almost $1000 below the federal poverty line. Not being an actual Wal-Mart employee, I don’t know exactly how bad the environment is. But with just imagining, I know that these employees need help. So don’t just read this and think about, it’s time for action.

What's going on?

Save money, live better is the logo for the most harmful and powerful retailer in the world. Wal-Mart owns over 8,400 stores which hold around a shocking 2.1 million employees. Out of the 1.6 million US employees promised health care, only 44% of them received health care. How can anyone look at that and say that it's ok? Well, I know I can’t, so unlike many people, I am doing something about it. This blog is about my protest against the mistreatment of Wal-Mart employees.