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Unitarian join in Wal-Mart protest, show free film on Commercialization of Christmas

Anita Mills and Pat McAfee hold up the banner for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff

 

On a sunny Friday morning, at 9:00 am, November 28, the day after Thanksgiving, people gathered by Walmart Stores across the country.  But they weren’t there to shop.  Instead a myriad of organizations – labor, faith and community groups -  joined together to protest the treatment of Walmart employees.

Among the groups protesting were the Common Ground Choir, an outgrowth of a group started by Anita Mills, past president and active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff (UUCOC) and current president of North Texas Unitarian Universalist Congregations.  The Common Ground Choir sings their protest songs at various peaceful protests and demonstrations.

For this event, they joined with North Texas Jobs With Justice and to raise their collective voices singing labor and solidarity songs as part of the protest.  These included“Solidarity Forever” to the tune Battle Hymn of the Republic and “Come and Go with Me to that Land” with words adapted for the occasion.

Labor, faith and community organizations join in the Black Friday protect by the Walmart Superstore in Grand Prairie.

According to Jobs with Justice, some Walmart workers have formed a workers’ association called OUR Walmart (Organization United for Respect at Walmart).  OUR called for a strikes on Black Friday, “the biggest shipping day of the year, in protest of the company’s illegal silencing of workers who have stood up for better jobs.”  The 1,900 strikes were planned across the country. from New York City to Seattle, WA.

As the largest U.S. employer, Walmart sets the standard not just for the retail and service industries, but for the economy as a whole. Thus Walmart’s poor labor practices and standards put pressure on other businesses to lower wages and benefits in order to compete.  A number of sources, including Forbes, slate.com and Huffington Post, have reported that Walmart’s low-wage cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $6.2 billion in public assistance including food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing, since the wages their workers earn cannot support them. To that extent, these protests call for Walmart to “raise pay to $15 an hour and provide consistent, full time work for its workers, provide working women with good jobs with decent ages, and create a workplace that fosters inclusivity, appreciation and understanding,” according to Jobs With Justice.

Jobs for Justice maintains the Walmart economy results in jobs, health care, and labor standards being downgraded. Changing Walmart, they believe, will improve the lives of all working people.

      

   

Follow Rev. Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on ther mission to save Christmas.

On the consumer side, the First Tuesday Social Justice Films will be presenting a free showing of “What Would Jesus Buy” will be presented at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff, 3839 W. Kiest Blvd. on Dec. 2, 7-9 pm. The film, serious and funny, takes a look at the commercialization of Christmas as it follows Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt! 

 

Friday, 28 November 2014