Roundup: Walk off call has limited impact on Walmart' s Black Friday sale in U.S.
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E-mail Xinhua, November 24, 2012
The impact of a Black Friday walk off at the largest retailer in the United States seemed to be minimum as Walmart reported larger Thanksgiving and Black Friday shoppers than last year.
As of Friday afternoon, only a small number of workers joined union' s call for a walk off on Black Friday in Southern California as part of a nationwide union-organized protest.
No protests or walk off had been seen as of Friday noon at the Walmart store in Duarte, a suburban town in Los Angeles County, as announced by the union.
Only one worker at Duarte Walmart walked off the job. Ricahrd Reynoso told a local TV station that he walked off the job at 5:30 a.m. Friday local time (1330 GMT).
"I did it because I support our Walmart and I don' t like the way they treat their associates here. And I believe with our help, we could be able to change that," the employee was quoted as saying.
A small group of people were protesting outside of the Walmart store in Paramount, California on Friday as scheduled.
They were joined by members of the clergy, community organizations and other supporters to protest the company's attempts to silence them for speaking out for better jobs.
A total of 9 protesters were arrested at the Paramount Walmart by 3 p.m. Friday local time (2300 GMT). Local media City News Service reported that a video photographer on scene elaborated that the protesters were blocking traffic in both directions on Lakewood Boulevard when they were arrested peacefully.
Supporters were seen chanting and throwing flowers into the street. Those arrested are thought to be protesters who had pre-arranged to take part in the civil disobedience that would likely lead to arrest.
The protest, organized by the United Food & Commercial Workers union, hoped it would inspire other workers and "move a step closer to ending retaliation and improving their jobs."
However, even before the protest, Walmart expects "only a handful of associates" to participate in what it called "UFCW publicity stunts," according to Steven V. Restivo, Walmart's senior director of community affairs.
"Most of the people UFCW claims at their events aren't even Walmart workers," Restivo said. "They are union representatives and other union members."
Walmart workers have claimed they have been paid too low and asked for affordable health care.
But Restivo said Walmart's "pay and benefits plans are as good as or better than our retail competitors, including those that are unionized."
"If they weren't, we wouldn't be able to hire people and staff our stores," Restivo told the press. "Last year alone, we received 5 million job applications."
Walmart has 250,000 employees who have worked for the company for more than 10 years, according to Restivo.
He said Walmart promoted 165,000 hourly employees last year and that its 37 percent turnover rate is lower than the 44 percent retail industry average.
Nearly 75 percent of Walmart's store management teams started out in hourly positions, and 20 percent of the people it hired last year had previously worked at Walmart, decided to leave, and then returned, according to Restivo.
Walmart has long been a target of organized labor because it is not unionized.
Since Walmart is not unionized, the extent to which unions can influence Walmart's labor practices is estimated as pretty limited.
Restivo said he does not expect Friday's protests to have any impact on Walmart stores or its customers' shopping experience on Black Friday.
Wal-Mart started doling out its "doorbuster" deals at 8 p.m. Thursday local time (0400 GMT, Friday), just after shoppers finish their Thanksgiving dinners.
It offers special deals to customers who are in line inside its stores at 10 p.m. (0600 GMT, Friday), guaranteeing three special offers -- the Apple iPad2, an Emerson 32 inch TV and an LG Blu-ray player at discount price.
On Monday, the retailer tweeted: "Don't believe everything you read in the union press releases. We don't think their #BlackFriday activity will have an impact on customers."
Walmart spokesperson Kory Lundberg said in a statement that the walk out call will have no impact on the most profitable day of the year on Walmart.
"We are preparing to have our best Black Friday ever," Lundberg said in a statement.
Walmart reported larger Thanksgiving and Black Friday shoppers than last year. As of Friday morning, the company said it had processed nearly 10 million register transactions, and shares of Walmart rose 1.4 percent in Friday trading. Endi
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