National women’s groups join Walmart Associates to challenge Walmart to create better working conditions for women
Posted on October 5, 2011 by
Contact: Janna Pea
Phone: 202-412-5362
Email: jpea@ufcw.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National women’s groups join Walmart Associates to challenge Walmart to create better working conditions for women
(Washington, D.C., October 5, 2011)—Today, national women’s advocacy organizations joined with Walmart Associates to call on Walmart to adopt policy recommendations to improve working conditions for women employed by Walmart. Walmart Associates from across the country have joined together to form the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) to improve their work environments and their lives. Together with representatives from the National Organization for Women (NOW), National Partnership for Women & Families and Family Values @ Work and others, OUR Walmart is developing a set of recommendations to Walmart about how to treat its female employees justly.
“Walmart recently announced a big women friendly initiative,” said Jackie Goebel, a Walmart Associate from Kenosha, Wisconsin and OUR Walmart member. “But, none of the things Walmart is promising to do will improve work or the lives of women who currently work for the company. That’s where the real problems with Walmart are: poor pay and treatment of female Associates. So I’m really disappointed that it would try to reform its image with women without addressing the real issues.”
The women’s groups have sent an open letter to CEO Mike Duke that calls on the company to meet with OUR Walmart representatives and their allies to discuss their concerns. The specific recommendations of the groups focus on how Walmart can improve its pay; system of resolution for employees’ concerns; scheduling practices; systems for promotions; and sick, vacation and family leave policies.
“We are all aware that Walmart still really hasn’t answered the charges of systematic gender discrimination in Dukes v. Wal-Mart,” said Terry O’Neill, president of NOW. “But since the Supreme Court ruled that the women in the suit can’t go forward as one class, we are going to have to find other ways of holding this company accountable. Some of those are legislative, others are legal. But, what we are announcing here today is our pledge to stand with the company’s employees and demand change. Walmart’s influence on how most American companies do business is too important to go forward unchallenged.”
“We are asking Walmart to transform itself from a symbol of some of the nation’s worst and most exploitive employer practices to a model employer with the kind of fair, compassionate policies that build employee and customer loyalty, strengthen families and communities, and improve the bottom line,” said National Partnership for Women & Families Senior Advisor Judith L. Lichtman. “That means offering fair pay and promotions and adopting reliable and flexible schedules, a transparent paid sick days policy, paid family and medical leave, and other modest workplace standards that women workers – and all workers – deserve.”
The women’s organizations have joined Making Change at Walmart, a movement of union members, elected officials, minority coalitions, religious leaders, small business owners and community allies seeking respect for Walmart Associates at work and jobs that strengthen our communities and our nation.
“As the largest private employer in our county, Walmart is currently setting job standards for the retail industry and beyond,” said Jennifer Stapleton, assistant director or Making Change at Walmart. “How this company treats women has an impact on what all other companies do. So, to change America for all working women, we must start by changing Walmart.”
Additional supporting organizations that have joined Making Change at Walmart include 9 to 5: National Association of Working Women, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Labor Project for Working Families, National Congress of Black Women, and United Food and Commercial Workers Women’s Network.
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