You're watching...
Former Walmart Employee Kenny James discusses why he and other Wal-Mart employees have joined the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
Some -- -- employees are now joining the protests on Wall Street.
Just as the nation's largest private employer announces its scaling back on health benefits for those not working a full work week but.
What do Wall Street banks have to deal with Wal-Mart joining me now is -- Is Kenny James He is a former Wal-Mart manager and a member of organization.
United for respect.
At Wal-Mart getting good to see so what is Wal-Mart have to do with occupy Wall Street.
Basically there are people from all over the world the thing that we have in common with with Wall Street is the fact that we have big corporation and a lot of the -- at at that are at the top.
Who are raking in the big bucks off the backs of the Wal-Mart workers we have people that are working very very heart of their jobs and can't take care of the families don't have health care.
And I'm -- I personally didn't have health care.
And you were -- manager Alex now how many people do you think benefit from Wal-Mart I'm wondering if there's a cause I mean we do cost benefit analysis all the time.
Is certainly they sell products that huge discounts to people that's gonna help a lot of families around the country.
Whenever there are job applications put out for employment -- Wal-Mart you see long lines of people trying to get work so do you think that that net net.
If Wal-Mart is a positive or negative for the United States as think it's negative in some aspects of what we don't want Wal-Mart to go -- we do want to hold them accountable for some let me just marketer you said negative in some -- what I am asking -- overall I mean I think of you know they say that there's a net positive of 2300 dollars per family of Wal-Mart that is that's how much an average -- -- saves as a result of shopping there.
You see the millions of workers worldwide two point one million workers at Wal-Mart United States one point four million workers who want.
Isn't that overall.
A positive.
How it.
It is possible positive however it is very difficult for the people to take care of the -- and they don't have health -- And it's very difficult for them to to carry out.
The things -- supposed to carry out with their family when you're creating a job and -- -- cutting their hours when you go from forty hours to eighteen hours it's very difficult to care for only -- so why I think it's obviously very difficult times for everybody right now that's the bottom line but you still see people lining up for jobs at Wal-Mart and why.
We'll have because they do need jobs with there is a difference between a good job and it a good job in a regular job because you are employed but they do find tactics in the all the way that's a get people and they move into neighborhoods as they want to come into different.
Markets and they move into the neighborhoods and then they change they change their practices and they end up not having a job.
And they end up on welfare or what would you advocate that that Wal-Mart do that it's not doing because again it's a private company they're looking to make as much profit for the shareholders as possible.
Which is what a private company should do absolutely so within those guidelines what could they do that they're not doing what we did try to sit down with him in and tell them we went to Bentonville to talk to you investors into the home office.
And let them know that what was going on the -- to the associates and we would give them ideas but they wouldn't talk to us.
I'm here in new York and we went to the New York headquarters to talk to Mike Duke.
So we delivered a declaration.
But when we went to bit bill.
A week ago we went twice the first time we talked to Karen Casey and she said there would be no retaliation for joining us organization so that we could talk about sit down at the table and talk about things.
Let me just ask you the organization itself who pays for -- and how do you get paid for example they have backing from local you have CW 21.
But what we're doing USC is what from what united food and united food income absolutely but that's that's a member of the AF LCI so -- it's a union organization of course they -- trying to.
Unionize wal mart's.
Have they succeeded at all and don't know they haven't.
-- it's a free country and and you can lobby anybody to do anything in this absolutely.
But again we got -- wanna be specific your organization supported by union group that is trying to unionize Wal-Mart.
Well we did try and 2009 to unionize but it didn't work and that's what we started with our Wal-Mart organization made a former.
And current associates so they could stand on their own without being retaliated with there's a heavy message of anti union busting.
And the managers will tell you if you -- if if you're affiliate with this organization you could I was could be cut or you would retaliated against they won't admit that but those are cases that we have from.
Alright well in those cases can be worked out in court certainly we have an NLRB right now that if anything favours a union so you can take that to them.
And we'll see how they that I believe we did try to go to the home office that was our purpose -- went to the home office to talk to.
Mike -- into those people but they still haven't responded to us and that's why my purpose was for being in New York -- McKinney -- we thank -- for coming -- appreciate -- thank you.
