Walmart Board Member May Have "Tunnel" Vision But He Sees Us Now

Members of OUR Walmart in the San Francisco Bay Area presented a live human trophy to Walmart Board member Jim Breyer, awarding him as "Tunnel Visionary of the Year." During his 10 years on the board, Breyer has suffered from tunnel vision. Rather than addressing the $24 million in bribes that Walmart made to Mexican officials to open new stores in that country, he rewarded and voted to promote the executives who purportedly covered them up. He's also overlooked problems we face trying to provide customer service with the staffing cutbacks and paying our bills with our hours being cut. Walmart Associates in the Bay Area "ran into" Breyer at the Silicon Valley Forum Visionary Award reception to tell him what it's truly like working for the largest retailer in the world.

"We've been trying to meet with Board members since last year, now they have to pay attention," said Enrique Bognot, OUR Walmart member at Store #2119. "We are determined to make our voices heard so we can get the changes we need."

Store #5129 Associates in MD Get Victory at Cook Out Meeting

Walmart Associates from the Capitol Plaza store (5129) in Maryland held a cook out last Saturday where they discovered that every Associate in attendance was part-time and wanted full-time hours. Together, they drafted a plan to address their concerns with management as a group.

Last year in Bentonville, OUR Walmart members decided that Walmart should make full-time jobs available for Associates who want them. By the end of the cook out, the four Associates made the decision to join OUR Walmart because they believe that every Walmart associate should be given an opportunity to work full-time.

"This meeting was a triple win! We came up with a plan to help us all receive more hours, four new members joined our movement, and on top of it, the food was great," said Carlos Torres, OUR Walmart member at Store #5129. "Connecting with other Associates and finding ways to improve our working conditions are reasons why more and more associates are joining OUR Walmart every day. It's what our organization is all about and I am happy to share my story with fellow co-workers."

Want to host a summer OUR Walmart cookout? Email us at info@forrespect.org to find out how!

Online action supporting Wessa and Angela goes viral!

Last Thursday 1,000 people participated in an online action to help reinstate Angela Williamson to Store #2533 and Wessa Milien Store #3625. Angela was fired for absences related to taking care of her sick grandmother and being in the hospital during a kidney infection. Wessa was wrongfully accused of an action she did not commit. "I know Associates across the country have seen incidents of unjust terminations like Wessa's and my own," said Angela. "If not for OUR Walmart our unjust terminations would have never been brought to light. I'm thankful for everyone who has stood behind us and given us support. I know Associates across the country are wrongfully terminated for a variety of reasons." Send Angela and Wessa a message of support in their fight to get their jobs back by emailing us at info@forrespect.org.