Local Walmart strikes for better working conditions

Union members, supporters and workers held Monday two hour-long protests at Cincinnati- and Dayton-area Walmart stores, saying employees were being retaliated against for speaking out against working conditions.

The protests were organized by Our Wal-Mart, an employee protest group, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 75, which represents food and grocery workers including those at Kroger and other retail stores. The demonstrations are part of a campaign around the country in advance of Black Friday, the big holiday shopping day that follows Thanksgiving.

The strike organized by UFCW took place around 5 p.m. Monday at the Evendale Walmart located at 2801 Cunningham Drive. Workers demanded more full-time employees making more than $25,000 a year, according to our news partners at WCPO.

“Last year I made $10,000. That’s it,” worker Jamaad Reed told WCPO. “I did the math, I get a 50-cent raise every year, a dollar every two years, and to get out of poverty I would have to work 16 whole years at Walmart.”

Read WCPO's full story online here.

About 70 people also protested at a Dayton area Walmart in Butler Twp., 3465 York Commons Blvd.

Staff Writer Steve Bennish contributed to this report.