Author: Erica Smiley

Original photo via Flickr user zooboing

This week, news reports revealed that Target, the second largest U.S. retailer, will raise its starting minimum wage for all of its employees to $9 an hour next month. This news comes on the heels of Walmart, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and The Gap announcing wage raises across their stores. Make… Read More»

Photo: OUR Walmart / Flickr
Photo: OUR Walmart / Flickr

After facing years of ongoing strikes and protests from its own employees, Walmart announced plans today to give raises to nearly 500,000 of the company’s 1.3 million U.S. employees. In a letter to Walmart associates, CEO Doug McMillon outlined a series of “comprehensive changes” to the company’s “hiring, training, compensation,… Read More»

In a highly anticipated announcement, a federal judge issued its decision against Walmart yesterday for taking illegal action against employees who participated in strikes at two California stores. An administrative law judge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordered the company to stop making unlawful threats against members of… Read More»

Walmart, America’s largest corporation, dodges an average of $1 billion in U.S. taxes every year through loopholes and is scheming to avoid billions more, according to a new report published today by Americans for Tax Fairness. The profitable mega retailer is well-known for its aggressive efforts to cut costs and maximize… Read More»

Respect DC held a rally with Walmart workers outside one store in the District earlier this year.

Less than one year after its opening, small business owners within the immediate vicinity of a new Walmart Supercenter in the nation’s capital say their establishments are already in danger of closing, according to a new report released by Respect DC and Ward 4 Thrives. The report cites several local… Read More»

Walmart is illegally incentivizing employees to contribute to the company’s political action committee (PAC) to fund candidates for public office, according to a new complaint filed today with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The complaint, filed by Common Cause, Public Citizen and Walmart employees Cynthia Murray and Evelin Cruz, alleges… Read More»

Photo via Flickr user cambodia4kidsorg

Since January, workers in garment factories in Cambodia making clothes for companies like Walmart and H&M have been calling for fair wages, asking their employers for a base wage of $177 per month. Workers have also been asking the companies to commit to ongoing negotiations with garment workers’ unions and… Read More»

The civil rights movement argued that all workers should be able to organize as a civil right, demanding access to jobs and fair employment practices. Photo via http://officialmlkdream50.com

Last week, Representatives Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and John Lewis (D-Ga.) introduced a bill that would strengthen protections for workers who are retaliated against for supporting a union. The Employee Empowerment Act would give leverage to workers trying to exercise their right to organize without fear of intimidation by their employer.… Read More»

Walmart, the nation’s most profitable corporation, may also be the greatest beneficiary of the taxpayer-funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as food stamps. But how has Walmart managed to make so much money off of taxpayers? For the short answer, take a look at the chart below… Read More»

Several former Walmart managers have come forward to allege recurring inventory fraud at the world’s largest retailer, according to The Nation. In an effort to improve their store’s apparent profitability on paper, several managers claim they were encouraged by higher-ups to manipulate inventory records to reduce “shrinkage,” or the cost… Read More»