For what it's worth...

One of the most revolutionary ideas I'd ever heard was that my job wasn't the source of my income. I always thought that  the whole purpose of having a job was to have an income. But just that simple idea, that God is the source of my income, not my employer was so radical, so empowering. I had been unhappy in my job for nearly two years, before someone told me that and within two weeks of hearing it, I was able to transition into a position that was much better suited to what I wanted to do (and paid better too).

Lately I have spent a lot of time thinking about money and worth. Part of this is because I have been charged with organizing all the Walmart solidarity actions for the state of Washington during the Bentonville Strike. In leafletting Walmart I was met with a myriad of responses. Some employees were very receptive and excited that other employees were banding together to make change and to demand better working conditions. And some were very hostile. One woman in Mt. Vernon made a point to tell us we were way out of line and that it was none of our business how Walmart treated it's employees. She was the first lower level store employee I have ever heard defend their wage and it kind of threw me for a loop. Some of the managers make really great salaries, but for the most part the hourly employees are at or slighly above the minimum wage. Here in WA we have the highest minimum wage in the US, $9.19 which is still barely enough to make ends meet.

I don't mean to keep harping on Walmart, actually this post is not about Walmart, but rather about what people think they deserve. What I am realizing is that everyone has a different idea about what they are worth. Salaries are just one way that it's expressed. What is "good enough" for one person might be wonderful for someone else, or insulting. I once interviewed for a position where I would be running programs for a non-profit. The salary was competitive and the programs were very compelling, but then the funding for the position dried up. I was then invited to reapply for the position, but as an AmeriCorp volunteer. Sure the job itself would have been the same, but I couldn't imagine getting up everyday and working my ass off just to be eligible for food stamps. That is certainly not why I got my MA degree. But isn't that reality. Do the people who work low wage jobs work less hard? Is 8 or 10 or 12 hours of their time away from their families really worth so much less? Just something on my mind...

Why This Fight is My Fight

Month 5 of being a community organizer. It’s well past quitting time for the day and I’m in a cramped conference room at the library in Federal, Way with a bunch of Walmart associates who are getting ready to get on a bus for a cross country road trip to Bentonville Arkansas. There is an air of excitement mixed with a buzz of electric anxiety. Striking is a total “oh shit” moment. Jobs are on the line. It’s a moment of overcoming fear and anchoring the deep conviction that what you believe in is more important than what you have been taught to be afraid of. For most of the people who work at Walmart there is no huge financial safety net to fall back on. So this is serious.


At the end of a round of introductions, one woman raises her hand and asks: “For those of you Community Organizers who never worked for Walmart, why are you here?”

Strangely this is the first time I’ve been asked this question. Almost 10 years ago I watched the High Cost of Low Prices and I have been a staunch Walmart hater ever since. The more I’ve learned the more I’ve been disgusted. No one in my circle of friends or family even batted an eye when I told them I would spend the next 6 months taking on Walmart. I’ve never had to justify it before and don’t know where to start. Luckily another organizer starts to answer.

She talks about all of her family having similar poverty wage jobs and growing up and being treated poorly in her job. One by one the other organizer tell the same story. They talk about this fight being a fight for their family and friends, for themselves.

This is my fight, but this is not my story. I never worked at Walmart. In fact I grew up in mostly urban communities where there was no Walmart. I haven’t had a minimum wage job since high school and after getting two degrees, I haven’t even had an hourly job for several years. I make a good living and so do most of the people in my family. But when I wake up in the morning lately Walmart is on my mind.

In the end I didn’t have to answer the question for the group, but I can’t escape needing to answer it for myself. Why is this fight my fight?

I could talk to you about the facts. I could tell you that the average Walmart super center is costing tax payers $1 million dollars a year because the employees there get paid so little that they rely on welfare and foodstamps to get by. I could tell you about the numerous lawsuits that Walmart has had to settle when women and particularly women of color have been faced with systemic discrimination and not been able to advance in their careers. I could talk about the $81 million dollar settlement Walmart just had to pay out because of their crimes against the environment in California. I could even talk to you about meeting Sumi Abedin a survivor of the Tazreen Fashions Factory fire in Bangladesh that killed 112 workers that supplied clothing for Walmart.

But really what I would be trying to express is that there are some things that cannot be ignored, some injustices that can not be allowed to continue and for me Walmart’s standard business practices are beyond deplorable. No I don’t work at Walmart. I don’t even shop there, but I am still impacted every single day whether I admit it or not. Walmart has become the new business model that others want to replicate, but in doing so they are perpetuating a trend of poverty wage jobs that keep people stuck. This is not the world I want to help create. I want the legacy of my generation to be that we leave behind a prosperous economy where workers are valued and treated with the respect that they deserve.

So why Walmart? Because Walmart is everywhere, in countries around the world. They set a standard that others follow. What gets me out of bed in the morning is knowing that I can also help to set a standard that others will follow. I can put my skills and degrees to use as an advocate for self-empowerment. Standing up to live better may sound like a clever catch phrase, but to me it has become so much more. There is a light that comes on in someone’s eyes when they realize that they are worth more, that they deserve to be treated well and to work in jobs where their work is valued and respected. And once that spark catches, it spreads and it creates transformation. Sometimes it is a fragile fire. People let their fears stamp it out. Who wouldn’t be afraid when you have a family to feed? These jobs aren’t hobbies, many associates depend on Walmart for their livelihood and I never want to jeopardize that for anyone. But once associates take that first step and face their fears, everything begins to change.

Change is the nature of life. If you don’t change you die, but the way that Walmart has been changing lately has brought about several deaths both literally and figuratively. Literally if you’ve been watching the news about Bangladesh you know the death toll grows daily from the factory collapse to the numerous factory fires in locations where Walmart has not taken responsibility for creating safe work conditions. But the other murders are also insidious, the death of sustainable wage jobs, of employment with dignity, or fair treatment from management. It is truly time to stand up to live better and if standing beside someone helps them to have the courage to speak up for what they deserve, then I am honored to contribute to this fight.

Sumi Abedin, Me, Kalpona Akter at End Death Traps Rally Renton, WA