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Walmart protesters arrested in NYC
By James CovertSeptember 5, 2013 | 11:57pm
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Three protesters were arrested yesterday outside the swanky offices of a New York-based Walmart director as they raised hackles over the mega-retailer’s skimpy wages and benefits.
Walmart board member Chris Williams, CEO of investment bank Williams Capital Group, declined to meet with the protesters, who had gathered outside his office at 650 Fifth Ave. to present a petition demanding better working conditions.
“In my store, the part-time employees most of the time work five days a week,” said Barbara Gertz, a Denver-based Walmart worker, one of those arrested.
“They’re not paying overtime and they’re not paying benefits,” Gertz told The Post.
An official at Williams Capital Group said the firm’s CEO had no comment. The union-backed demonstration was part of a Boston-to-Los Angeles nationwide blitz.
Walmart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan blasted the demonstrations as “nothing but a union-orchestrated stunt to … garner attention.”
“The majority of them are paid activists — they’re union members,” Buchanan said. “They’re not Walmart associates.”
Protesters have countered that Walmart uses intimidation tactics to prevent workers from participating in demonstrations.
Gertz said she was disciplined after joining about 60 other employees on a trip to Walmart’s Arkansas headquarters for a June demonstration.
Walmart reversed its disciplinary action last week after determining that Gertz had given adequate notice of her trip, Buchanan said.
