'Black Friday' Strikes Mark Start of Walmart Workers Fight

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/11/23-1



n what critics see as an insatiable and rapacious strategy to lure deal-hungry consumers, many of the nation's largest big box retailers opened their doors Thursday night in efforts to extend the available hours for the national shopping glut known as "Black Friday".

For some, however, the cultish behavior that has come to surround the start of the holiday shopping season has become an opportunity to voice opposition to the way retail behemoths conduct their business and treat their workers. Walmart workers, in particular, are using this day to highlight their ongoing and unprecedented campaign against the world's largest retailer, asking for better wages, improved working conditions, and demanding owners to respect their call for human dignity.

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Ultimately, however, there may no be tension between the workers' demands for better compensation and treatment and the desire for consumers more broadly to enjoy a thriving economic environment.

As a new report by the non-partisan think tank Demos points out: "The continued dominance of low wages in this sector weakens our nation’s capacity to boost living standards and economic growth. Retail’s low-wage employment means that even Americans who work full-time fail to make ends meet, and growth slows because too few families have enough remaining in each paycheck to contribute to the broader economy."