Black Friday at the Walmart in Secaucus, NJ, may get more unruly than usual this year.
Workers calling for better wages and working conditions are planning a protest outside Walmart’s Secaucus location on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, The Post has learned.
The post-Thanksgiving event will cap a slew of demonstrations, strikes and walkouts that have hit hundreds of stores nationwide since October, when warehouse employees in California said they walked out to protest crackdowns against workers who spoke out against the retailer’s labor practices.
“Workers should not be silenced for wanting a safe work environment and decent wages,” said Stephanie Yazgi of Walmart Free NYC, a group that has fought Walmart’s efforts to open stores in the Big Apple.
Groups that have been backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union say actions have been planned for 1,000 Walmart stores in the days leading up to Black Friday.
In response, Walmart on Friday filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board to block the protests, claiming that they are illegal moves aimed at unionizing Walmart. The NLRB, a federal agency tasked with enforcing labor laws, pledged to act quickly.
Legal experts say Walmart’s success will turn on whether it can prove that demonstrators are trying to unionize the chain.
Demonstrators have emphasized they are merely protesting poor wages and working conditions, and have in turn accused Walmart of illegally cracking down on their protests.
A Walmart spokesman said union-backed protesters have exaggerated the scope of their recent activities, which he said have won the participation of only a “small minority” of the retailer’s work force.
“Most of the numbers of people the UFCW claims at their events aren’t even Walmart workers,” spokesman Steven Restivo said. “They are union representatives and other union members.”