Volunteers welcome for Saturday 'day of action' at Louisville Walmart

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

Ashley Snider plans to spend her lunch hour Saturday in a Louisville Walmart parking lot helping educate customers about the retail giant's "two-faced stance as a champion of 'Made in America” products.'"

Snider, a Louisville-based IUE/CWA political lead, is organizing a "day of action" from noon to 1 p.m. outside the Walmart store at 7101 Cedar Springs Blvd. Everybody will be masked against COVID-19.

Members from other unions and union supporters are welcome to come and wave signs and help pass out fliers.

Snider is also glad to provide signs and fliers to others interested in holding similar actions at their local stores across the state. But they need to contact her by Thursday via email at asnider@cwa-union.org or phone at 502-650-2789.

"I just need the address of their house and the address of the Walmart so I can get signs and fliers shipped to them."

Volunteers can participate in a day of action at the same local time on Feb. 13, also a Saturday. "We will be doubling the number of Walmart store locations to up the pressure."

This Saturday, similar actions are planned at 49 other Walmarts nationwide, according to Snider, who is also the Kentucky State AFL-CIO vice president. 

"Walmart’s website and TV ad campaign says 'We are committed to American renewal,'" Snider said. "'We believe we can create more American jobs by supporting more American manufacturing.'  We are calling on Walmart to live up to this promise."

Snider cited workers at the GE-Savant lighting facility in Bucyrus, Ohio, one of the few residential lighting plants left in the U.S. that makes bulbs for Walmart.

Explained Snider: "They received a WARN notice informing them that the company intends to move the LED residential light bulb line out of the facility to China and permanently lay off workers.

"Walmart is the exclusive customer of this line of LED bulbs, and the company can can tell GE-Savant to keep the bulbs made in Bucyrus. We are calling on Walmart to do the right thing - and keep these bulbs and these jobs in the USA."