100 Protest Outside Dearborn Wal-Mart Store
DEARBORN (WWJ) - Chanting "Wal-Mart has no heart," a crowd of about 100 marched in front of the retailer's Dearborn location on Wednesday as part of a National Day of Action against the store, calling on management to raise wages for 1.4 million employees.
Mary Walker of Detroit said the reported $7.25 an hour starting pay is just not enough to live on these days. "Because you have a mortgage, you have kids, you have bills, you know? And then you got to have a little extra money for yourself -- you need clothes. So how are you gonna survive on $7.25?"
One shopper, Sherrie Zatey, said the pay was alright by her when she worked for Wal-Mart in the Dallas, Texas area.
"To me, when I was at Wal-Mart, they took care of the people there," she told WWJ Newsradio 950's Stephanie Davis. "So we felt like a family in Wal-Mart and I was only there for a year and a half."
A Wal-Mart spokesperson talking to WWJ said they do offer jobs with good pay benefits, and opportunity for advancement. He said the retailer's average pay rate is $12.50 an hour.
