In February, the International Union of Electronic Workers – Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) held actions at Walmart locations around the U.S. to save jobs for workers who manufacture LED light bulbs produced by Walmart, who recently announced plans to move production to China.
“Corporations like Walmart love to send jobs abroad where they can exploit workers with low pay, dangerous working conditions and low environmental standards,” the IUE-CWA says. “Walmart makes more money exploiting workers while our communities suffer and good jobs disappear. This is opposite of Walmart’s claims that they are committed to supporting American manufacturing and reducing their carbon footprint.”
Their Saturday, February 20 action was a step in the right direction. On their Facebook page, IUE-CWA said:
“This Saturday hundreds from our union family came out to demand that Walmart keep LED light bulbs made in the USA by IUE-CWA Local 84704 workers at Savant LLC in Bucyrus, Ohio! We hit nearly 50 Walmart locations from coast to coast. Walmart shoppers joined to sign our petition, and to send the message to Walmart that they need to keep their promise to support American manufacturing! Thank you for all who came out, we are going to keep the heat on Walmart – stay tuned…”
They also encouraged everyone to sign their petition, which you can access here.