Walmart Workers Protest In Paramount For Better Pay, More Full-Time Jobs
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Striking Walmart workers marched on the Paramount store Wednesday to demand better pay and more full-time jobs.
About a hundred people showed up from around the state to support workers at a half-dozen local Walmarts who walked off the job, claiming the world's biggest retailer retaliates against workers who demand more.
A former Walmart employee name Teá told KNX1070's Ron Kilgore she left her job at the Paramount store because she felt the company wasn't meeting workers' basic needs.
"I'm asking for better wages, I'm asking for better medical and I'm asking for support," she said.
Walmart Worker: 'Try Harder At Your Job'
The demonstration was organized by a group known as Our Walmart, whose members contend that 1.5 million people could escape from poverty if they were paid at least $25,000 a year.
To counter the protest, Walmart management offered Veronica Ramos, a longtime employee who told Kilgore she worked her way to a better situation.
"I started out in layaway in seasonal and I've been here 12 years in electronics," she said.
Asked if she supported the strike, Ramos said she's "not sure."
"I'm busy working," she said, offering a few words of advice to her peers.
"Try harder at your job," she said.
Another march is planned Thursday at the Chinatown Walmart.
