99% SPRING TRAINING WALMART TOOL-KIT

WHY WALMART?
As the largest private sector employer in the United States, Walmart has enormous power to set the trends not just for the retail and service industries, but for the economy as a whole. Wages and working conditions set at Walmart have a ripple-effect throughout all jobs: low wages, limited access to health care, and no retirement security. Walmart has a habit of making promises they arent keeping. Currently, Walmarts goal to expand their profits is leading them into key urban areas across the country. Walmart is campaigning to win support from community leaders and public officials that will help them expand into new urban markets. They are attempting to position themselves as a good corporate citizen and jobs creator, when in fact the company has a record of not creating good jobs, not paying their fair share of taxes, and having the effect of forcing neighboring small businesses to close down. Walmart employees can testify that what Walmart promises to communities, good jobs and fair wages, are not what the company is actually doing in practice. Now the Walmarts retail workers, called associates, have formed the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart). They are asking Walmart to meet with OUR Walmart and to begin a substantive dialogue to get on a constructive path towards improving conditions for workers and communities. Some say that Walmart cannot be organized. But many said the same about auto workers at Ford before 1935 or about janitors before 1985. Both victories not only changed the lives of the workers involved, but they raised the floor for working people and our communities across the country. They changed the entire economy for the better by creating sustainable, union jobs and dignity for our communities.
If we can change Walmart, we can improve the lives of all working people and rebuild America.

WHO ARE THE WALMART 1 PERCENT?

Taken from walmart1percent.org The Walton family is the richest family in the United States and one of the richest and most powerful in the world. They are heirs to the Walmart fortune and the companys largest shareholders, with a nearly-fifty percent ownership of stock in the retail giant. Sam Walton and his brother Bud opened their first Walmart discount store in 1962. Today three family members serve on Walmarts board of directors;[1] Rob is the chair, and sits on the board with his brother Jim and his son-in-law, Greg Penner. Six members of the family rank among the top eleven on Forbes list of wealthiest Americans,[2] with a combined net worth of about $93 billion. With their 49% stake in Walmart, they brought in an estimated $2.2 billion in dividends from Walmart stock last year alone. Through the millions the family spends on elections and its donations to right-wing causes, the Waltons are effectively gaining an outsized influence in our democracy. The Waltons arent just the face of the 1%; theyre the face of the 0.000001%. In 2007, when the six Waltons on the Forbes list were worth $69.7 billion, their wealth was equal to the total wealth of the bottom 30% of American families.[3] When new data on American wealth is available later

in 2012, it will likely show an even wider gap between the Waltons and the rest of American families. The Waltons are worth $93 billion now, while most Americans still havent recovered from the recession. Why does all of this matter? Walmart, the countrys largest private employer pays its associates an average of $8.81 an hour.[4] That means even full-time workers at Walmart make an average of just $15,500 a year. The Waltons make billions a year off of Walmart, while many Walmart associates struggle for respect on the job and enough pay just to make ends meet. As the largest corporation in the United States, Walmart sets the standard for other companies. Walmarts practices put pressure on many other businesses to lower wages and benefits in order to compete. Through their family legacy, positions on Walmarts board of directors, and their 49% stake in the company, the Waltons have the power to turn 1.4 million Walmart jobs into good jobs. Despite their power to improve the lives of Walmart workers, the Walton family has chosen not to do so.
[1] http://investors.walmartstores.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=112761&p=irol-govboard [2] http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/

WHAT YOU CAN DO!

1. SHARE YOUR STORY AND BUILD TOWARDS JUNE 1ST As Walmart turns 50, join with Associates and community members across the country by sharing your story at www.Walmartat50.org about working at or living in a community where there is a Walmart. Then pledge to join Walmart workers national day of action on June 1st at Walmarts annual Shareholder Meeting either at their corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas or at Walmart stores across the country. 2. ORGANIZE A COMMUNITY DELEGATION TO A WALMART STORE Organize a community delegation to a Walmart store near you and demand managers give workers the right to speak out at work and join the Organization United for Respect at Walmart! Share a leaflet with workers about how to get in touch with the Organization United for Respect at Walmart and demand that the store manager removes anti-OUR Walmart videos and signs, puts up a poster in the breakroom affirming workers right to organize and commit to no retaliation against workers who stand up for change. 3. ORGANIZE A DELEGATION TO A MEMBER OF THE WALMART 1% Gather your friends, neighbors or co-workers and visit a member of the Walmart 1% in your area. First, visit Walmart1Percent.org to find a member of the Walmart 1% in your community. The list will include members of the Walton family, members of the companys Board of Directors, Walmart executives and lobbyists. And, since Walmart and Waltons also spend millions on contributions to politicians and organizations, the list will also include some of the largest recipients of that money. We encourage you to take creative, non-violent, peaceful action to make sure that the Walmart 1% hear our concerns. Take photos and videos of your delegation and share it on the Walmart1Percent.org