The Center for American Progress Action Fund's blog attacked Walmart on Wednesday for retaliating against employees as they were demonstrating for wage reform.
The post did not disclose that the Center for American Progress (CAP) received up to $1 million from the retail giant and partnered with the group to hold a large party during last year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
CAP Action Fund's ThinkProgress had some scathing words for Walmart:
Ten former and current Walmart employees were arrested at a rally in front of the retail giant’s offices in Washington, DC Thursday afternoon. The workers were blocking the door to the DC office to demand the company give them their jobs back and raise wages overall.
The activists say Walmart retaliated against them after they joined a strike calling for wage reform. The company is notorious for cutting workers’ hours while paying them poverty wages. Workers have also reported being denied bathroom breaks or basic medical accommodations. The protesters on Thursday called on Walmart to stop retaliating against workers and offer full-time jobs that pay at least $25,000 a year.
These ten workers are hardly the first to accuse Walmart of intimidation. According to The Nation, 20 workers who participated in a June strike against the chain were fired, while 50 others were disciplined. A spokesman admitted the company tells workers who ask about unionizing that they could lose their benefits. Other workers say they were fired, suspended, and disciplined after participating in strikes.
In recent years, Walmart has become a major partner of the left, despite its conflicts with organized labor.
Walmart was one of the founding members of Business Forward, a pro-Obama group founded by Democratic operatives that organizes briefings with high-ranking administration officials in return for the members supporting administration policies.
Obama even appointed a high-ranking Walmart employee to be director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.