Labor Beat: WalMart Warehouse Strike of 2012

In September 2012, temp workers at the WalMart warehouses in Elwood, IL, went on a successful 21 day strike against manager retaliation, unsafe working conditions, wage theft, and sexual harassment. Their struggle garnered many allies, as it was part of the strike wave that began to erupt in the wake of the massive and victorious Chicago Teachers Union strike of that month.

In this Labor Beat video, Warehouse Workers for Justice organizes and empowers employees of the temp agency Roadlink. We also speak with the workers' supporters as the campaign to shame WalMart into compliance with the law, which culminated in direct action on Oct. 1 to stop goods from moving in and out of the warehouse, resulting in many arrests by IL State riot cops deployed that day with an LRAD sound cannon.

Produced by Labor Beat. Camera and editing by Andrew Friend, with photos by Louis Guida and Aurelio Jose Barrera.

Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat. For info: [email protected], www.laborbeat.org. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube.com and search "Labor Beat."

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