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Walmart Whomp Whomp
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Despite Black Friday Protest, Retailer Rakes in Profits by Sarah Mirk
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ORTLAND is an anti-Walmart town. The city is home to only one Walmart (significantly less than the national average of one Walmart for every 70,000 people), where 150 Portlanders turned out to protest on Black Friday, despite icy temperatures and constant rain. “I’m thankful we live in a city where this many people turn out to an anti-Walmart protest the day after Thanksgiving,” quipped Commissioner-elect Steve Novick, joining a crowd that waved signs and chanted outside the retailer’s vast parking lot on SE 82nd and Holgate as part of a chain of reportedly 1,000 protests at stores—hitting 25 percent of Walmarts nationwide—on Friday, November 23. While Novick, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, a hearty crew of neighbors, Occupy Portland protesters, and union members protested Walmart’s low wages, treatment of female workers, and long holiday hours, no workers themselves turned out for Friday’s protests in Oregon or Washington. The Walmart Black Friday walkout and solidarity protesters were supposed to be a stab into the economic heart of Walmart. Instead, the retailer was able to spin the protest to its advantage nationwide. While the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union spearheading the protest complained that Walmart was stealing Thanksgiving from its workers, that exact strategy is what led the retailer to record profits. Before Portland’s biggest protest even began, at 10:30 am on Black Friday, Walmart was already crowing about record sales. Big box retailers raked in 13 percent more sales this year over 2011, according to the Associated Press. Walmart bumped its Black Friday sales to start at 8 pm on Thanksgiving Day—two hours earlier than last year. The protest organizers are still tabulating the number of Walmart workers who participated in the protests, estimating the count as “in the hundreds.” But Walmart downplayed the role of actual workers in the protest, snagging TV slots on Black Friday for company spokespeople who said fewer than 50 workers participated in the walkout (and then took a minute to note that Walmart offers competitive benefits). A small protest took place at Portland’s Walmart on Thanksgiving night, when an
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Open Until
7pm Monday - Friday SARAH MIRK
“I’m thankful we live in a city where this many people turn out to an anti-Walmart protest the day after Thanksgiving.” —Commissioner-elect Steve Novick Occupy-organized group lit up a sign outside saying “Walkout on Walmart.” One protester was arrested for “creating a disturbance” in the store and, when the larger protest got underway Friday morning, four Portland police officers stood at Walmart’s front door. Inside, business proceeded as usual, with a steady stream of shoppers filling baskets with electronics and clothes beneath bleak fluorescent lights. Shopper Brandy Simmons took a smoke break outside the store after failing to find a particular 47-inch TV. Simmons said she wasn’t aware of the walkout protest, but had heard about the worker pay issues. “I kind of agree,” she said. “They work really hard at Walmart and they don’t get paid as much as they should.” Last year, Walmart was actively negotiating on 17 lots near Portland, clearly eyeing expansion within the city, and has started construction on a store near Delta Park. There’s nothing city council can legally do to block the store’s plans, Commissioner Fritz said at Friday’s protest, regretfully. “We need good jobs in town,” she said, “jobs with benefits.”
In Other News H
ultnomah County’s elections office acker collective Anonymous has taken on Monday, November 26, certified the notice of the Portland Police Bureau’s results of the November 6 general election, willingness to help Multnomah County enforce giving us one more look at just how little Port- foreclosure evictions—and, more specifically, land’s voters liked either of their two choices one of the cops who’s been spotted at some for mayor, winner Charlie Hales and loser Jef- of the eviction confrontations with protestferson Smith. Based on the unofficial results, ers: Mark Kruger, the controversial captain we already knew that close to 20,000 votsuspended two years ago for erecting a ers decided to write in some other public memorial to Nazi soldiers. Late Leaving name on the ballot, a historically Sunday, November 25, the collecthe mayoral tive tweeted out a link to a docusignificant sum. But the official results carry another statistic just ballot blank! ment containing what appeared as interesting: the number of votbe Kruger’s home address and A cop with a to ers who looked at their ballots and phone number. Sergeant Pete decided to leave the race entirely (Nazi) past! Simpson, the bureau’s lead spokesblank. That number, called the “unman, said he couldn’t confirm whethdervote,” came in at 38,051 this election. er the information was accurate. But In May, during a heated primary race that also when asked about Kruger’s notoriety, Simpson featured Eileen Brady, only 4,934 voters sent in said, “He was disciplined. It’s done.” As for the blanks. This fall’s total also exceeds the under- continued attention, “There’s nothing we can vote in the city’s last fall mayoral runoff, back do about that, and he understands that… That’s in 2004. More than 24,000 voters decided an the world we live in. When there’s negative inempty dot was better than Tom Potter or Jim formation about you, you can expect it to come Francesconi. DENIS C. THERIAULT back again. And not just for police.” DCT
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November 28th, 2012 portlandmercury.com
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