ELLSWORTH, Maine — Black Friday shoppers who head to the local Walmart to take advantage of day-after-Thanksgiving sales may end up getting an economic message with their merchandise.
Members of Occupy Ellsworth are planning to protest outside the business on Friday, Nov. 23, according to a press release sent out Wednesday by the group. The purpose of the protest is to encourage the retail firm to offer higher wages and better working conditions to its employees, the group claims.
“This is what these hard working Mainers deserve,” the group wrote in the release. “Getting paid decent wages would allow Walmart employees to purchase needed goods and services, thereby boosting commerce and benefiting deserving communities in and around Ellsworth.”
The protest is among several planned at Walmarts around the country, according to the group. The Ellsworth group says it plans to gather and erect banners on Myrick Street, across from the Walmart entrance, at 10 a.m.
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter Twitter at @billtrotter.
Free country.
Free speech.
I vote with my feet.
I stay away from Wal-Mart.
I don’t shop there unless I am desperate.
NO! NOT THESE PEOPLE AGAIN………………………..
Hopefully Walmart will tell them not to protest on there own property
They’re going there to exercise their first amendment rights.
Yeah, but Walmart can tell them not to protest on there own property.. It’s okay to on public property(sidewalk), but not private property.. I don’t understand why they feel like they want to exercise there first amendment rights they are just show offs.. get a job!
Use their in place of there.
and also in Brunswick at Wallmart by Occupy Bath Brunswick
That stinks…….. I feel bad for the people having to hear those protestors…. hopefully Walmart will at-least tell them not to protest on there property
How about WalMart’s “associates” having to apply for food stamps when they GET OUT OF WORK? Does that smell any better to you?
At-least they have a job and are working
Yes, I understand where you are coming from. I read somewhere that not all the slaves wanted to be freed. Some of them said “hey, at least we have a roof over our heads now.” :)
There not accomplishing anything by just protesting outside of Walmart… nobody is going to pay attention to them
Unfortunately, you are right Kirk. They will drive right by these people with little to no empathy or concern for why they are there in the first place. They will come out of WalMart with their carts loaded with cheap Chinese crap whistling Christmas music. They will remain completely oblivious as to why there are no jobs or money left in THIS country. Buy American, pay your FAIR share in taxes, and stay to hell out of WalMart while there is still one American left with a decent paying job. Or, go to WalMart and make it a very Merry Christmas for the People’s Republic of China. It is a free country. If we are in a race to the bottom, let’s just step on the gas!
That’s pretty harsh to say not every single thing in Walmart is made in China
I actually like Christmas Music
You read ???
I know right this person isn’t make any sense.. they are just going off in a rage
Do you use the English language much? There should have been a comma after know and one after right. There are three periods in an ellipse, not two. Make should have been making to read properly as well.
Actually I’m pretty good, but this a response to a newspaper article…. this has nothing to do with this article so maybe you should think before you comment
400 words per minute with a 90% comprehension rate.
Yes it does. They are trying and need a little extra help. They are going to work everyday, learning skills, good work habits, making contacts and most will move on to better paying jobs. Many of us have had to work min. wage jobs over the years. (myself included) With every job I learned a skill that helped me move on to a better paying jobs. Skills, eduction and training have a value and without these your value as an employee is low. And that’s how it is, everything has a value.
Well put..People forget what an “entry level job” is anymore..Nobody wants to start out in the mail room anymore and just expects a 70,000 dollar a year job , house and 2 cars just handed to them..Nobody wants to earn it…And if they are to lazy to earn it they sit around and cry and moan about the ones who did…
This is not all about what a person’s value in the work place is. There has to be some value placed on what it takes to just survive in 2012 America without public assistance. That is where the minimum wage should be. I resent my tax dollars being used to subsidize WalMart employees, among hundreds of other corporations that pay minimum wage, while they hoard billions. You obviously have no problem supporting WalMart’s “associates” with your tax dollars.
I feel bad for the people who have to smell them…LOL…
So, you are implying that these WalMart employees who are protesting do not bath? lol. How about the good little slaves who crossed the line and went to work pushing the cheap Chinese crap? Are they somehow more more hygienic than their “associates” out on the picket line, in your eyes?
Wal-Mart should be protested and boycotted. Their current business paradigm is central to the economic decay that plagues our country today. .
Wal-Mart has close to two million employees in the US who make an average of under $9 per hour–not nearly enough to take care of a family. Wal-Mart indoctrinates these low-wage workers in the ways of welfare so the bottom line is…….
we are all subsidizing Wal-Mart with our tax dollars–even those of us who refuses to shop there because we disagree with there business practices.
It would take 7 million years for the average Wal-Mart worker to earn the amount of wealth that the Walton family controls.
Six Waltons have as much wealth as 40 million American citizens.
I believe in the capitalist model but greed like this makes me wonder if I am wrong.
There are jobs that aren’t worth more than $9/hr. There are people whose skills and work habits aren’t worth more than $9/hr. Nobody is forcing anybody to work somewhere they don’t want to. Everybody is free to pursue a job/career that will pay what they feel is fair. If you’re looking to support a family, you need to raise your goals higher than being a Walmart sales associate. Some people are looking for a part time low pressure job without a lot of responsibility, and a $9/hr job fits the bill for them.
Edit: In regard to subsidizing, government shouldn’t be in bed with business. I understand that you’re probably talking about being able to afford health insurance and some of their workers having to apply for medicaid, but this is a problem that is certainly not unique to Walmart.
We can choose not to shop there, its what I did.
If we didn’t have people to work those jobs they we would have places like that
Many, Many people need these $9.00 hr. jobs. They don’t have the eduction or training. It’s called living with your life choices. Many of these entry level jobs give people the training and experience they need to move into higher paying jobs or careers. In my younger years I begrudged rich people for having what I didn’t. Then one day I realized I was at the point where my life chooses had taken me and rich people were at a point where their life chooses had taken them. Besides..if it weren’t for us poor folk, it wouldn’t be any fun to be rich.
Many people confuse the distaste for greed with the distaste for wealth. Earned wealth is a beautiful thing and I have been fortunate to have a taste of it here and there in my life. I prefer to be rich these days, as opposed to wealthy. However, I do have a problem with people like the Waltons or the Koch brothers. These people were born millionaires, became billionaires, and have made it their goal in life to drive the wages down for the working men and women of America. Like the actor Jack Palance once said “There are only two things in life that you can truly depend upon, gravity and greed.”
Sam Walton started as an employee at JC Penny…He was not born rich..He EARNED it…Educate yourself…
Sam Walton did, his family inherited it. This is about how Walmart treats its employees today, not 20+ years ago.
If you would bother to actually read my post, I said “Waltons” with an s, implying plural, or more than one. I was talking about his greedy kids. Sam Walton made his fortune by featuring American made products at reasonable prices and taking care of his employees. Two things his kids care absolutely nothing about. Maybe you should educate yourself on what s means.
actually, the walton family no longer owns the company. after sam walton died they sold the company and that then became the behemoth that it is today.
I Don’t remember a “Sam” in the show….which one was he?
good night Jon Boy.
WRONG…
“Sam Walton was an American businessman. In his early twenties, he began his training with J.C. Penney in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1962 he opened his first retail store, Wal-Mart, in Rogers, Arkansas. By 1992, he had more than 1,700. Unlike other discount retailers, he opened stores in small towns where there was little competition. At the time of his death in 1992, he was the wealthiest man in the United States.
C’mon, I liked the Waltons, they were poor and lived on Walton’s mountain. Just because they made good is no reason to pick on them!!!!
Buy American, pay your FAIR share in taxes, and stay to hell out of WalMart while there is still one American left with a decent job. WalMart is communist China’s largest customer. WalMart is America’s largest under employer. WalMart represents everything that is going wrong with our once great country. Screw WalMart, I buy local and I buy American.
Instead of picking on Walmart, why not try to change the minimum wage? They are just paying what the Government says they ought to….and doing what they must. By the way….I like to buy American products and look at all the labels for the things I buy. Have you tried to buy a toaster lately? Can’t find one made in the US….Are you looking for clothes? Just try and find some that are made in the US. Look at the LL Bean Catalog, everything says “Imported”. The problem is much bigger than Walmart friend, it involves the whole US and moving manufacturing overseas…… Why not boycott LL Beans too? Just sayin….
I agree…Let’s make it 20 , heck 50 bucks an hour…That will fix things for sure…(sarcasm off)
I have an idea.. Lets not give anyone money unless they work for it. That would push our brand motto :”everyone created equal.” No more passing money on to your spoiled children who never worked a day in their lives, and would scream like stuck pigs if they had to work even one half day in a Walmart warehouse.
The funny argument on this page is we dispise the “lazy poor” but give the lazy rich a pass.
Waring makes toasters in the USA you can order them on line (like I did mine)
http://www.overstock.com/ Home-Garden/ Toasters-Ovens/ Waring, Made-In-USA, / brand, other, / 1986/ subcat.html
You can also go to the “pronto” website if you don’t care for Waring. lots more there.
Here are sites for US made clothing …
http://www.allamericanclothing.com
http://www.allusaclothing.com
http://www.madeinusaforever.com/womensclothing.html
http://www.theunionshop.org
http://www.pointerbrand.com/
and shoes, belts and accessories:
http://www.overstock.com/Clothing-Shoes/Made-In-USA,/other,/7/store.html
http://www.shoebuy.com/usa-belts.htm
http://www.michaelbluejay.com/veg/nonleather.html
The internet is a wonderful tool. good for purposes other than complaining on the BDN forum. Just stick the item you want in your search engine, and add “made in USA. I also add “free shipping..”
Thanks for all the links Tux. Thanks to the internet, we are having an all American made Christmas this year. Four kids and five grand kids and not a single piece of Chinese made crap under the tree.
Notice how he said “YOUR fair share of taxes”…
When half of the population pays no income tax it’s hard for those of us getting taxed to death to give any credence to your FAIR tax plea. We spend $130,000 to educate every student in Maine. Then we spend even more for post secondary education. Anyone who is not disabled and doesn’t take advantage of that and is left taking a low wage job has only themselves to blame.
Wow what a scurlious argument. Employers like Walmart pay wages below the poverty rate, and then you complain they are not paying enough in taxes.
Did you know that Walmart has classes for its employees where they teach them how to access food stamps, heating assistance, and local temporary aid?
I pay income tax… lots of it. and I do not see the benefit of my taxes going to subsidize Walmart miniscule wage..
Better lay off of the facts Tux, you might give him an aneurysm! lol.
If they really cared they would be there at 12:01am, like the workers who they are protesting for have to be. Losers.
If you buy anything today, buy a locally made craft, or something in a thrift store, but please don’t buy anything from any box store. Send these greedy corporations a message.