Protesting Wal-Mart's Civil Rights Record in Newark (6/27/07)

RWDSU Local 108 President Charles N. Hall, Jr., speaks at Newark rally.

RWDSU members from Locals 108, 1102, and 1-s were among those who took to the streets on Tuesday in Newark, New Jersey to protest Wal-Mart's civil rights practices. Wal-Mart is currently being targeted by and a class action lawsuit charging that African-American truck drivers were denied jobs due to their race, another class action lawsuit charging sexual discrimination against 2 million women workers. In another recent lawsuit decision, a former Wal-Mart pharmacist was awarded $2 million for sexual discrimination.

"Anytime a large and powerful company like Wal-Mart makes bad decisions and follows immoral policies that hurt minorities and women, it is a civil rights issue," Local 108 President Charles N. Hall, Jr. told the protestors.

Critics of Wal-Mart's civil rights record cite the fact that while 33 percent of Wal-Mart workers are minorities, minorities make up only 23 percent of Wal-Mart management. It is also estimated that over 200,000 African-American and Latino Wal-Mart workers have no employer-paid health care.

Class action status granted for truckers' discrimination lawsuit