Strikers Ensure Wal-Mart Has a Very Black Friday

Workers struck and rallied outside a store in Dallas, but were dispersed by police. Workers walked off the job in San Leandro, California, and Clovis, New Mexico. Stores in Ocean City, Maryland; Orlando, Florida; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, each have a single worker out on strike.

Strikes are expected to grow this morning as people recover from their tryptophan-induced comas and head out to stores, either to shop or to join protesters. Marquee events are being held in Miami, Chicago, Milwaukee, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., and non-employees are more than welcome. In fact, OUR Walmart is encouraging communities to get involved on their website, ForRespect.org.

If strikes are large and widespread enough, they could upset sales, as Walmart stores try to operate with reduced staff while picketers prevent some potential customers from entering stores. In Kenosha, Wisconsin, where workers walked off the job last night, OUR Walmart says managers kicked customers out of the store on the mistaken assumption that they were there to protest. But shutting down stores is not the goal — rather, workers are hoping to inform the public of Wal-Mart’s mistreatment…