OUR Walmart Crashes the Party

Corporate shareholder meetings aren’t a place one typically hears arguments for workers’ rights. But in between upbeat performances by big-name pop artists and puffed-up speeches by Walmart’s top brass, that’s just what happened during Walmart’s annual shareholder meeting in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in June.

The labor group OUR Walmart—which had staged a week of protests leading up to the meeting — gained access to the festivities via the International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund, which holds stock in the company. In partnership with the Teamsters, OUR Walmart introduced a shareholder resolution calling for an independent chairman to replace Rob Walton — the eldest son of Walmart founder Sam Walton and the 12^th-richest person in the world. Activists hope that an independent chairman will enhance the Walmart Board’s accountability.

While the proposal failed during preliminary voting — the Waltons collectively own the majority of Walmart stock, giving them an effective veto over shareholder resolutions — it gave activists the chance to speak to shareholders about the low wages and poor working conditions they face.

“[Walmart associates] create enormous wealth for Walmart shareholders, including the Walton family, the richest family in America,” said Charmaine Givens-Thomas, who works at a Walmart store in Evergreen Park, Illinois, and traveled to Fayetteville for the meeting. ​“Something is wrong when the richest family in America pays hundreds of thousands of associates so little they cannot survive without public assistance and the charity of co-workers.”

Givens-Thomas also noted that many stores have struggled to keep their shelves fully stocked, contributing to a five-quarter decline in same-store sales—evidence, she argued, that poorly paid workers cause customer service to suffer.

Despite the disappointing results of the shareholder vote, the associates did score one victory: Confronted by a group of approximately 20 OUR Walmart members after the meeting, McMillon agreed to listen to Walmart associates air their experiences and concerns then and there.

In a public statement, OUR Walmart was cautiously optimistic: ​“While we hope this is the beginning a new direction for Walmart, workers need to have a full and substantive conversation with him and know that when they raise concerns they won’t face retaliation.”