JLC Western Region President Arrested at L.A. Protest against Poverty Wages
From left, Gary Lasley, Secretary/Treasurer, Professional Musicians Local 47; John Acosta, Vice President, Professional Musicians Local 47; Joe Ayala, Vice President, NABET-CWA Local 53; Leslie Gersicoff, Executive Director, Jewish Labor Committee Western Region; Floyd Glen-Lambert, President, Jewish Labor Committee Western Region; Barbara Huss Hartmann, Board, Jewish Labor Committee Western Region, AFSCME 36; Ethan Harris, Lead Organizer, Professional Musicians Local 47. Photograph via the Jewish Labor Committee Western Region.
November 7, 2013: Los Angeles, CA - Hundreds of labor, faith and community activists rallied in the street in front of the Los Angeles Chinatown Walmart to protest that corporation's low-wage poverty policies. Enthused by great music, speeches, puppets and the presence of Our Walmart workers, even those still inside shopping could not help but notice that something very important was happening here.
As darkness fell and the permit to be in the streets expired, civil disobedience began. Among those who sat down in a large circle on W. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. in front of the store was our very own Jewish Labor Committee Western Region President Floyd Glen-Lambert. Led by Maria Elena Durazo, Secretary-Tresurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Floyd and the others sat and awaited arrest for failure to disperse. Their lingering presence echoed the malingering injustice Walmart employees face daily.
Poverty wages, coupled with insufficient hours, leave most Walmart workers dependent on local social services just to make it from day-to-day. Workers are asking for annual earnings of $25,000. Many face earnings of half that with a demand that they be available for flexible scheduling. This makes it difficult to secure child care and find a second or third job.
Jewish Labor Committee Western Region Board member Barbara Huss Hartmann, photographer, captured the action through its joyousness and darkness. It was a night to remember for us all.