Lakhota
Diamond Member
By Alice Hines and Christina Wilkie
Two years ago, when she started working at the deli counter of a Walmart in Illinois, Lisa hoped that her job would amount to the beginning of a career, one that would pay enough to cover her bills and enable her to stay current on her student loan debt.
But despite one raise since, Lisa, who asked that only her first name be used, now earns just $9.10 an hour, or about $13,000 a year on part-time hours. Seven months pregnant, she recently filed for bankruptcy. With no alternatives at hand, Walmart now seems like a dead-end to poverty, she says.
"I dont have underwear without holes in them," she said. "Everyone at work wears T-shirts that are threadbare. I have just enough to eat and get gas to make it to work for the next two weeks."
Lisa's experience sheds light on why a group claiming to represent tens of thousands of Walmart workers nationwide is planning strikes and other labor actions at as many as 1,000 stores next week on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. The actions are intended to protest what the group says are meager wages.
More: Walmart's Internal Compensation Documents Reveal Systematic Limit On Advancement