Walmart Employees Demand Better Working Conditions

In honor of the National Day of Action, Walmart employees gathered Wednesday in front of a Walmart in Paramount to take a stand and demand employers improve working conditions.

The delegation of Walmart workers, elected officials, faith leaders, and community supporters are asking for more work hours and more staffing. 

According to workers, the total income earned from the few hours they work is not sufficient enough to help provide for their families. Though Kory Lundberg, a Walmart spokesperson, says that the average hourly full-time wage is $12.92 per hour, Walmart does not provide enough hours to fulfill workers' living costs.

Also, due to understaffing, Walmart workers claim they have been forced to take on more duties on their own, rendering them overworked and inefficient.

"I gotta run a register. I gotta run the sales floor. And I gotta go and assist customers in another department near mine," Ana Nigo, a Walmart employee in Pico Rivera, said. "Yet I'm by myself at times. It's impossible, you can only do so much."

Lundberg cites that there are 75,000 Walmart associates in California, and around 12,000 associates in LA county alone.  

"We're very proud of the competitive pay that we offer and the competitive benefits as well," Lundberg said.

He also assures that in the next five years, the company plans to hire 100,000 newly discharged veterans for part-time positions. 

The National Day of Action has spurred employees around the nation to take a stand, spurring protests against McDonald's and other Walmart stores.