Across the country, Walmart’s own workers are rising up to challenge the behemoth corporation for its poor working conditions and abysmal wages. As Danny Duncan Collum indicates in “Standing Up to Goliath” (January 2013),” the Walmart workforce is making history by organizing strikes against one of the largest employers in the world.
During Black Friday, hundreds of Walmart workers walked off the job, risking arrest and loss of employment. Allies such as Stephanie Kimec, a US-2 missionary for the United Methodist Church, took part in the nationwide day of action. Here she shares her experience of standing in solidarity with the Walmart workers in Paramount, Calif.—From the Editors
As I reflect on my experience of being arrested at the Paramount Walmart on Black Friday, I find myself thinking of sacred space. What a sacred space to be in—to be surrounded by workers, activists, clergy, and supporters as I and eight others sat in the street to speak up against the ways Walmart treats its employees.
When I was asked the week before if I would be willing to risk arrest with a few others, including Walmart workers, I responded that I would pray about it. As I did, I thought about when I first became aware of what kind of a corporation Walmart is. When I was in college I attended a screening of a documentary about Walmart. My older sister worked there for a little while. The whole time I watched the documentary I thought about her, about the discrimination she faced, and the poor wages she was given, along with little opportunity for advancement. It was then that I decided I would try to limit my purchases at Walmart as much as I could.