MAKING CHANGE AT WALMART//OUR Walmart

Q&A for Communicators Note to communicators: OUR Walmart members and key allies are our strongest messengers. Communicators should be delivering these responses on background, and not for attribution, to help keep the voices of OUR Walmart members in the press.

WHAT WERE FIGHTING FOR Brief outline below; use language in press releases for specific issues at each moment in time Q. What are some of the issues that Walmart workers have been speaking out about? Walmart workers and community supporters are protesting/on strike because Walmart pays poverty wages and has retaliated and threatened workers in an attempt to silence them for speaking out for good jobs and a stronger company. The issues that Walmart workers have been speaking out about include things such as: Take-home pay so low that many workers families have to rely on public assistance just to stay afloat; OUR Walmart and supporters are calling for a minimum of $25,000 and full-time hours; Illegal retaliation and threats against workers who speak out; OUR Walmart is calling for an end to the retaliation and the reinstatement of workers who have been illegally fired; Understaffing that is keeping workers from receiving sufficient hours and hurts customer service; Safety issues; Respect.

Q. Are you trying to form a union at Walmart? We are not trying to form a union at Walmart, but our voices are stronger because we have come together associates from across the country to address problems at Walmart stores. Together, were trying to make Walmart a better place to work and shop.

PROTESTS ARENT REAL Q. Walmart says protests dont reflect the views of Walmart associates and involve very few workers. Is this a union orchestrated movement with very little worker involvement? Walmart would like all of us to believe there are no problems inside the stores and will say whatever they can to distract us from whats really going on. OUR Walmart has been voicing concerns about the gross understaffing problems for two years now these problems of stocking issue and declines in customer service as a result are widely reported. I would be happy to connect you with one of the workers at todays protest/strike, etc OUR Walmart members are speaking out for changes that will improve customer service, as well as create better jobs for themselves, their families, and for our country. Even in the face of Walmarts aggressive anti-worker campaign, OUR Walmart members are speaking out for 1.3 million workers at the company, many of them not even earning $25,000 a year. Re UFCW UFCW and many other organizations, including the AFl-CIO, SEIU, Color of Change are proud to support the brave workers from Walmart who are standing up for their rights, and in turn, working to protect the rights of all workers in our country. Re community protestors No one has ever tried to say that OUR Walmart does not have community support. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people support the efforts of OUR Walmart workers. They know that our economy depends on Walmart providing better jobs so that working people have money in their pockets to cover the basics. Our economy doesnt work when workers at the countrys largest employer which is largely profitable are forced to rely on food stamps and other taxpayer funded supports. [Off-record youd think that Walmart would actually be more concerned about the growing group of supporters, also potential customers, who are concerned about the companys business practices.] Q. Are protestors paid to appear at protests and strikes? No. This is just another example of Walmart trying to distract from the hard truth: workers and the community are more frustrated than ever with Walmart. There is no money paid to workers to attend or participate in any protest or strikes. Q. Walmart says turnout is consistently low at events. What is your response? Tens of thousands of people came out on Black Friday last year and the movement only continues to grow. In just a week, more than 150,000 people signed a petition calling on Walmart to reinstate illegally fired workers and improve jobs http://action.changewalmart.org/page/s/ARealWage. Thousands of people were calling for changes in more than 15 cities on September 5, when 100 workers and supporter were arrested for refusing to end their calls for change at the company. As an organization, OUR Walmart continues to grow with members in 700 stores in 46 states.

For some reason, Walmart thinks that its better to throw money at advertising to try to change the story rather than address the reality: workers and the community are standing up in record numbers. Calls will only continue to grow until Walmart commits to change. Q. Walmart is saying workers are not really on strike, that it is just a publicity stunt. Is that true? This is one more effort by Walmart to try to distract from the real issues at hand: Walmart workers across the country are facing illegal attempts to silence them for speaking out for better jobs at Americas largest retailer. It is not an easy decision for Walmart workers to walk off the job especially with Walmarts efforts to try to silence workers who do speak out. I would be happy to put you on the phone with one of the striking workers to hear from them directly. Q. Walmart says you cant find local workers to protest or strike, so you fly workers in. What is your response? In New York City - where residents, local leaders, community activists and elected officials have successfully prevented Walmart from opening stores because of the companys poverty wages and anti-worker practices Walmart workers from other parts of the country have come to the city to speak with members of the Walmart Board and financial analysts who are based in NYC. OUR Walmart has members in more than 700 stores in 46 states.

WAGE DEBATE Q. Walmart says full-time associates earn an average wage of $12.80 an hour, and only less than one percent of associates earn the minimum wage. What is your response? This is just another example of Walmarts selective disclosure of information. Im not saying that fact is untrue but it gives a false impression of the Walmart jobs by omitting information that gives a full story on Walmarts jobs. We put together some of these questions, and other information from independent sources here: http://makingchange.forrespect.org/files/2013/08/walmart-wages-8-22-13-b.pdf What we do know about the $12.80 an hour rate is that it does not include part-time staff. Walmart doesnt disclose the amount of part-time and temporary workers, but it could be as much as 49% of the companys workforce. It doesnt include temporary workers, who are being hired in greater numbers according to an investigative report from Reuters. Numerous job sites and the real-life experiences of Walmart workers show many workers earn between $8 and $10 an hour. But you dont have to take my word for it. I can put you on the phone with workers like Gail Todd from Washington, DC who has worked at Walmart for 2 years and still earns about $16,000 a year. Additionally, Walmart fought tooth and nail to prevent Washington, DC from passing the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) which would have required big-box retailers like Walmart with over $1 billion in annual revenue to pay a wage of $12.50 an hour- lower than Walmarts purported average wage. In response to the legislation, Walmart compared the LRAA to Soviet Russia. Q. Walmart says it pays competitive wages and told Goldman Sachs that over 475,000 associates earned more than $25,000 last year. Isnt that a good thing? $25,000 a year for full-time work is what OUR Walmart members are fighting for. For a company that makes $16 billion a year in profits and reportedly needs more staff, this does not seem like much to ask for. Walmart CEOs report of the half million employees that do make more than $25,000 a year tells us something more startling: 825,000 Walmart workers are making less than this poverty wage. On such low wages, Walmart workers dont have money in their pockets to support the local economy, and many of them are forced to rely on costly government programs just to keep food on the table. A Congressional report released earlier this year calculates the Walmart workforce reliance on public assistance including food stamps, healthcare and other needs is estimated to utilize $900,000 per year of taxpayer funds at just one of the companys 4,000 stores. And it wouldnt just be good for individual workers if Walmart paid a decent wage: A report from the national public policy center Demos shows that better jobs at Walmart and other large retailers would even help the store's bottom line, as well as have an impact on individual families and the larger economy. A wage floor equivalent of $25,000 per year for a full-time, yearround employee for retailers with more than 1000 employees would lift 1.5 million retail workers

and their families out of poverty or near poverty, add to economic growth, increase retail sales and create more than 100,000 new jobs.

Q. Walmart says its entry-level jobs serve an important role in this country, giving people a place to start, learn and eventually get ahead and join the middle class. Whats the problem with this? The problem is that Walmarts low wages and erratic schedules arent temporary. They are the norm for associates. Workers like Dan Hindman have worked at Walmart for nearly five years and still only earn barely $10 an hour. Walmarts low wages and inconsistent schedules keep workers in poverty, making it nearly impossible to get ahead.

RETALIATION Q. Walmart says the company has a firm anti-retaliation policy, and associates who were terminated were fired for other reasons that violated Walmarts policies. What is your response? Workers who have spoken out are facing a range of attempts to silence them. Walmart has a long history of leading one of the most aggressive anti-worker campaigns in our modern economy. These retaliationswhich include firing workers who were on legally protected strikesarent new or isolated. What Walmarts doing is not just wrong, its against the law. Workers in this country have a right to come together with their co-workers and what theyre speaking about are changes that would be good for workers and their families and also for the company and our economy. More than 100 Unfair Labor Practice charges have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Walmart. This includes illegal threats to workers' jobs, illegal surveillance and in one instance, a store manager threatening the lives of workers who joined OUR Walmart many actions taken in an effort to deter workers from striking on Black Friday. The Board is currently investigating our charges and we expect the Board to issue complaints on these charges. American Rights at Work/Jobs with Justice released a white paper in May detailing Walmarts extensive and systematic efforts to silence associates who speak out for better jobs including aggressive litigation tactics and more than 150 documented incidents in stores across the country. At that time, OUR Walmart had filed nearly 30 Federal labor charges against the retailer, including against the illegal firings of two longtime associates, Vanessa Ferriera and Carlton Smith a 2012 employee of the month. Since June when Walmart workers had their voices heard at the annual shareholder meeting, Walmart has illegally disciplined over 80 workers, including firing 20 worker-leaders who were on a legally protected strike. In large part because a growing number of workers are speaking out, there have been a number of victories for Walmart workers. In California alone, the National Labor Relations Board recently decided to prosecute Walmart for 11 violations of federal labor law from some threats made around Black Friday last year. In Kentucky, a settlement of one charge was reached between Walmart and Aaron Lawson after Walmart fired Lawson after he distributed flyers and spoke out against Walmarts attempts to silence those who called for better wages and consistent hours. As part of the settlement, Walmart agreed to rehire Lawson and provide full back wages for the time that he was out of work.

ABOUT AND UFCW AFFILIATION Q. What is Making Change at Walmart? Making Change at Walmart is a campaign challenging Walmart to help rebuild our economy and strengthen working families. We are a coalition of Walmart associates, union members, small business owners, religious leaders, community organizations, womens advocacy groups, multiethnic coalitions, elected officials and ordinary citizens, anchored by the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), who believe that changing Walmart is vital for the future of our country. The UFCW has no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with UFCW at the representative of Walmart workers. Q. What is OUR Walmart? The Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) is a nationwide organization, of, by and for Walmart associates who are standing up for change. As members of OUR Walmart, associates have been standing together and speaking up for the worlds largest private employer to publicly commit to a change of course, including better labor standards such as increasing flexibility and availability of hours in scheduling, respect for the individual, and increasing the pay for every associate to at least $25,000 per year. OUR Walmart has no intent to have Walmart recognize or bargain with OUR Walmart as the union of Walmart employees. In just two years, OUR Walmart has grown exponentially from 100 Walmart associates who came together to voice their concerns about the company to workers in more than 700 stores in 46 states. There has been a 25% increase in the number of stores where OUR Walmart members are building store chapters. On Black Friday in 2012, the group organized the first strikes in company history and helped bring more than 30,000 supporters to protest at stores. Given Walmarts aggressive anti-worker campaign, OUR Walmarts growth is particularly significant. Members are bravely speaking up for all their fellow associates who may fear retaliation. Q. Is OUR Walmart a direct subsidiary of UFCW? **PLEASE CONTACT LYNSEY@BERLINROSEN.COM AND DPLUMMER@UFCW.ORG IF THIS QUESTION COMES UP. THANKS! OUR Walmart is an independent organization of Walmart associates who have come together to call for changes at Walmart. The UFCW has no ownership, equity or other controlling interest in OUR Walmart. UFCW provides OUR Walmart with financial and technical assistance, but the bottom line is that OUR Walmart is separate from the UFCW. OUR Walmart has its own legal structure, Federal Tax Identification number and bank accounts. It is exempt from tax under Section 501(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code and does not derive its tax exempt status from or through the UFCW.