Dear 5849376, Yesterday afternoon I, along with other recently fired Walmart workers, peacefully demonstrated in front of Walmart's office in Washington, DC, calling on the company to reinstate illegally fired workers. Instead of listening, Walmart had us arrested. We are not going to back down now. That is why I just started my own campaign on CREDO's new site that allows activists to start their own petitions. My petition, which is to Walmart and the Walton family, asks the following: Publicly commit to paying your workers a real wage of at least $25,000 annually so they can support a family, and immediately end your attempts to suppress workers' rights by reinstating and rescinding punishment of the more than 70 Walmart workers who were unjustly targeted for standing up.
I was raised by a strong single mother. I owe her everything. She taught me how to work hard and stand up for what is right. I did well in high school and loved sports. In college, I became an athlete and my future looked bright. That's when my mom got sick. She wasn't able to support herself, so I made a tough choice. I moved home and got a job at Walmart to help support my mom. I soon learned that Walmart didn't pay me enough to get by. We were constantly understaffed and stretched thin. Worst of all, we were treated with such a lack of respect that they made me feel like I wasn't even a human being. That's why I decided to stand up. I went on a legally protected strike in June and traveled all the way to Walmart's headquarters in Arkansas to defend my coworkers' right to stand up. But when I got home, Walmart fired me, and I'm not the only one. Since June, Walmart has fired or disciplined more than 70 of us for standing up. The company has written us up, cut our hours, bullied us, called the cops on us and even fired us for going on strike. With $16 billion in profits and wealth equal to the bottom 42% of Americans combined in their pockets, the Walton family, which owns Walmart, can afford to create good jobs. Yet, Walmart continues to trap workers in poverty, forcing us to rely on taxpayer-funded programs and live in fear of losing our jobs if we speak out. It's time to draw a line in the sand. With Labor Day approaching fast, we need everyone who supports us to show solidarity with our fight today. Will you join me and add your name to my petition to demand that Walmart respect its workers and pay a real wage? Thank you for your support. Brandon Garrett | 
