United for Respect at Walmart

Whose Walmart? OUR Walmart.

Our movement began in 2011 when more than a hundred Walmart associates came together in front of Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas to share our experiences and build a vision for change. Together, we created the Declaration of Respect to call on Walmart to publicly commit to raise pay and fundamentally change how the corporation treats associates.  

We’ve courageously spoken out, held national mass protests on Black Friday, and even gone on strike to protect our freedom to speak out. In our decade of coming together and building power, we successfully moved Walmart to raise base pay from $7.25 to $12 an hour.

When pregnant women working at Walmart were being denied extra bathroom breaks, a reasonable lifting policy, and water bottles at the register, a group of Texas Walmart associates met to share their experiences with Walmart’s failure to accommodate our pregnancies.

As we met and spoke about our experiences, one of the women in the room said, “they need to respect this bump” and that’s how our campaign – Respect the Bump – was formed. We began sharing our stories more widely, including with news media, and garnered support from national women’s rights organizations including PL+US and A Better Balance. As we built momentum with women all over the country experiencing similar issues, we launched our Women’s Economic Stability Program at Walmart.

We’ve won important changes to Walmart’s pregnancy accommodation policy, paid family leave for 500,000 associates working full-time, and secured six days of paid time off.

Walmart is the largest corporate employer in the U.S. as well as the largest corporate employer of Black, Latinx, and women in the country. The corporation brings in more than $500 billion in revenue a year. As heirs to the Walmart fortune, the Waltons own more wealth than 40% of everyone in the U.S. Despite this success, Walmart is increasing its reliance on an underpaid part-time workforce while associates across the board are experiencing cuts to our hours and benefits.

We work hard and we deserve a share of the wealth we help create. It’s time for Walmart to respect associates and publicly commit to raising our wages and addressing the obstacles to opportunity and full-time positions that we face in our stores every day.

We’re calling on Walmart to put our families first and change the way associates are treated on the job. And Walmart is listening. An increase in pay, a change in their pregnancy policy and unfair scheduling practices are just some of the changes Walmart has made. But they aren’t enough.

“I shouldn’t have to choose between paying rent or paying my light bill.”

Cierra Harrington, North Carolina

We need Walmart to change what decisions are made and who is making them. We’re demanding a say in what happens at the top because it impacts us at the bottom. We’re fighting for seats on the board of directors – associates need to be represented on the corporate board to ensure that our voices, issues, and experiences are a part of building real change at Walmart.

Winning good jobs at Walmart, the country’s largest corporate employer, is the gateway to changing the service economy as a whole.

Are you interested in joining the fight for respect at Walmart? Become a delegate.