Walmart workers go on strike in Pico Rivera

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Workers are asking Walmart for more hours, better living wages, and more affordable healthcare, but employees also say they want the right to speak up. Carlton Smith, who has worked at the Paramount Walmart for 16 years said, "We are striking to let Walmart know that we're not going to tolerate intimidation and retaliation any more." Employees claim that when they try to join together to ask for better working conditions, the company punishes them. "This corporation tends to retaliate wh en people speak up against it, by cutting hours if they even give you enough hours to work, by cutting staff like they've done in my areas," said Evelin Cruz, a department manager at the Pico Rivera Walmart. "I'm worried for myself, I'm worried for the people that work under me. I have single mothers that work under me that aren't making enough money to support themselves and Walmart doesn't seem to care but we are the ones that make this corporation the money that they make." Walmart spokesperson Dan Fogleman told Salon.com that claims of workplace intimidation are untrue. He compared unfair labor charges to lawsuits, saying "Anyone can file them, regardless of whether it’s a valid claim or not." Fogleman also said he believes these workers strikes are meant to promote a political agenda. Politics was in the air at today's strike. At the event were members of other local unions, opponents of proposition 32, and California State Assemblyman, Democrat Chuck Calderon. Today's strike was organized by a group called OUR Walmart, an association of Walmart employees across the US. Evelin Cruz says today's strike was in part inspired by a 15-day strike staged by Walmart warehouse employees in mid September. "I said if they can do it, we can certainly do it." The strike in Pico Rivera will only last for today. Cruz says she'll be headed to work as usual tomorrow, but other striking Walmart workers will be at Los Angeles City Hall tomorrow morning to continue speaking out against the company.