Walmart & DC: A Tale of Two Tables
Friday, June 24, 2011
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)One table was bare, the other overflowing with food. At one table sat dozens,
while at the other was just one person. The setting was Freedom Plaza, as over
200 DC residents gathered across the street from the Wilson Building to demand
that DC Mayor Vincent Gray negotiate a strong, enforceable Community Benefits
Agreement with Walmart. Seated at the long table full of empty plates, community
members jeered a costumed Walmart representative at a nearby table laden with
food. Speakers representing a broad spectrum of the DC community spoke to the
need for enforceable standards to ensure the community benefit, and newly-
elected At-Large City Council member Vincent Orange stopped by to show his
support. “Walmart has a track record of taking from and destroying
communities, but it can be different in DC,” said Rev. Howard Finley. “Their
record means we cannot just take them at their word, we need to make them put it
in writing and sign on the dotted line.” While Mayor Gray has said he will
negotiate a deal with Walmart, the Living Wages, Healthy Communities coalition
is demanding a transparent process that allows the community to be involved,
rejecting a “back-room” deal as unacceptable. The action concluded with a
delegation of 30 community members delivering messages to Mayor Gray written on
the empty plates. “Today we made our voices heard, and the Mayor and Walmart
should be on notice: we will not stop until we get a strong, enforceable CBA,”
said Mackenzie Baris of DC Jobs with Justice.
- photo by Lillian Walker
Shelton