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black friday
#BlackOutBlackFriday Protests Connect Ferguson with Consumer Boycott
'We demand an immediate end to the brutal treatment and inhumane killings of our loved ones; the lives of our friends, our parents and our children have value and should be treated with respect.'
Nov 28, 2014
Marking a convergence of public anger and dissent on the annual shopping bonanza of "Black Friday," people drawing the connection between American consumer culture, economic disparity, and racial injustice are targeting retail stores and malls Friday to voice ongoing critiques of the events and underlying issues in Ferguson, Missouri now galvanizing outrage across the country.
Organized by Blackout for Human Rights-- "a network of concerned artists, activists, and citizens" co-founded by Ryan Coogler, award-winning director of the film Fruitvale Station, which explores the 2008 police killing of Oscar Grant in Oakland-- the campaign called for a nationwide shopping boycott on the day after Thanksgiving to oppose the "staggering level of human rights violations against fellow Americans" by law enforcement officers too rarely held accountable. In a statement on the need for Friday's protests, the group explained:
We have witnessed enough. An affront to any citizen's human rights threatens the liberty of all. So, we participate in one of the most time honored American traditions: dissent. We demand an immediate end to the brutal treatment and inhumane killings of our loved ones; the lives of our friends, our parents and our children have value and should be treated with respect. Our right to life is secured not only by our humanity, but is protected by law both federally and internationally by the Constitution of the United States of America and the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Under the hashtag #BlackOutBlackFriday, organizers and participants in the St. Louis area and nationwide expressed the need to connect the dots between consumerism, institutionalized racism, and inequality:
And The Guardianreports:
Beginning on Thanksgiving night, dozens of activists turned up at major retailers around the St Louis area with protest signs. They chanted "Hands up, don't shoot!" as shoppers whizzed past in search of heavily-discounted TVs and vacuums.
The demonstrations, staged at an area Target and multiple Walmart stores, were brief and peaceful. As of mid-morning, there had been no reports of arrests related to the protests. In at least one instance, protesters were ordered by police to leave, and they did so peacefully, Reuters reported. More protests were expected throughout the day on Friday.
Th boycott was an extension of the Black Lives Matter campaign, meant to empower black voices by demonstrating their purchasing power.
As part of the campaign, organizers released several videos. The first, titled 'The Time Has Come,' was used to promote Friday's boycott and articulates the need for a serious engagement with the issue of police brutality and race:
#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Time Has Come'#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Time Has Come' is our latest video that we've produced to raise awareness about Blackout Black ...
And another, titled 'Most Wonderful Time of the Year,' depicts graphic video footage of police violence in recent years which has helped expose the trend of violence that has too frequently, thoughout U.S. history, gone undocumented :
#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Most Wonderful Time of The Year'Most Wonderful Time of the Year' is directed by Shaka King and edited by Kristan Sprague. Blackout for Human Rights (Blackout) ...
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Activists Plan Nationwide Walmart Protests for Black Friday
Nov 27, 2013
OUR Walmart, the group behind last year's Black Friday activism, has promised even more actions this year with 1,500 protests scheduled at stores all across the country. Walmart is clearly nervous ahead of this year's plans because the company has asked judges in Maryland and Florida to bar protesters from entering stores on Black Friday.
"This is yet another move from Walmart to try to bend the law to its liking. Walmart has made it a practice to pursue over-the-top legal maneuvers to try to avoid hearing the real concerns of workers and community members," said Derrick Plummer, spokesman for the organizer, Making Change at Walmart, in a statement.
OUR Walmart announced that Black Friday protests are scheduled in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Miami, Chicago; Seattle, Washington (DC), Minneapolis and Sacramento, and the group calls it the "largest mobilization of working families in recent history."
"Workers are calling for an end to illegal retaliation, and for Walmart to publicly commit to improving labor standards, such as providing workers with more full time work and $25,000 a year. As the country's largest retailer and employer, Walmart makes more than $17 billion in profits, with the wealth of the Walton family totaling over $144.7 billion--equal to that of 42% of Americans," the group said in a statement.
Anthony Goytia, a part-time worker who stocks shelves during the overnight shift, says he isn't protesting because he hates Walmart. Al Jazeera America:
"I actually do like my job. It's fast-paced, and time goes by quick," he said. "But last year I made $12,000. I'm a husband. I have four kids. It's not enough. I'm living in poverty."
Goytia is a member of Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), which is backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union. He has taken part in several protests for better wages and working conditions at the store, including one in early November, when fifty-four people were arrested during protests at a new Walmart store in Los Angeles.
But worker actions against Walmart aren't isolated to Black Friday. On Monday, Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) joined Walmart workers in Minnesota who walked off the job, and in Los Angeles, workers went on a two-day strike that culminated in the largest-ever act of civil disobedience against Walmart. Last week, workers in Seattle, Chicago, Ohio and Dallas joined them in walking off their jobs.
Additionally, Walmart workers at three Washington, DC, area stores went on strike Tuesday, calling on the company to end its illegal retaliation against workers, and calling for better wages and full-time work.
"I'm speaking out today because Walmart can afford to do better by its workers," said striking worker Tiffany Beroid. "We want to work full time, and earn above the poverty level. And we are taking action today because Walmart needs to publicly commit to ending illegal retaliation against workers and better wages."
In fact, the resistance against Walmart's low wages never really went away. Workers have continually organized, fought for higher wages, and engaged in creative civil disobedience. For example, these workers led a flashmob back in September at a Raleigh, North Carolina Walmart store:
Walmart Workers Flash Mob | Raleigh, NCSeptember 5th, 2013, Raleigh, NC - As Walmart workers petition managers to reinstate employees who have been unfairly treated ...
Since June, Walmart has illegally disciplined more than eighty workers, including firing twenty worker-leaders, and more than 100 Unfair Labor Practice charges have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the company. Recently, the NLRB regional office announced it found merit to OUR Walmart's charge, and found Walmart committed eleven violations of national labor law.
At a time when workers are struggling to survive on low wages, activists expressed outrage at the retirement pension of Walmart CEO Mike Duke, which at $113 million, is more than 6,200 times greater than the average worker's pay.
"Walmart should be ashamed of the vast labor mismanagement under CEO Mike Duke. From the low wages at Walmart stores to dangerous working conditions in warehouses and the inexcusable safety conditions in factories in Bangladesh and other countries, as the world's largest employer, Walmart can and should do better to create good jobs and safe working conditions," Sarita Gupta, executive director of Jobs with Justice, said in a statement.
Following the announcement that Doug McMillon will succeed Duke as CEO, Beroid said the change of leadership is "a testament to the pressure the company is feeling that they're changing leadership at this moment."
She added:
"We're happy to see Mr. McMillon acknowledge the hard work of associates in his statement this morning, and we hope that this appreciation translates into improving jobs for Walmart workers. Americans nationwide are looking to Walmart to improve jobs and strengthen our economy, and Mr. McMillon has an opportunity to be a leader in moving Walmart in the right direction, not just in offering more empty promises. We sincerely hope that Mr. McMillon will answer the country's calls for Walmart to publicly commit to paying $25,000 a year, providing full-time work and ending its illegal retaliation against its own employees."
I will be live-tweeting from Black Friday actions in New Jersey. Follow me on Twitter @allisonkilkenny.
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