Community Corner

Protesters March Against Walmart in Chinatown

The demonstrators oppose the construction of Walmart's first Downtown L.A.'s store.

Led by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and L.A. folk-rocker Ben Harper, thousands of protesters marched in Chinatown Saturday to protest the proposed construction of a Walmart department and grocery store.

The photo on right comes courtesy of the staff of Judy Chu, D-El Monte.  Chu, who represents Altadena, addressed the crowd.

From the Huffington Post:

Find out what's happening in Altadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Several protestors told HuffPost that they did not want a Chinatown Walmart because they wanted to preserve the culture and businesses of Chinatown. Others expressed concern about Walmart's non-union jobs and reputation for low wages and lack of benefits.

The call for union jobs was clear at the march's destination stage underneath the dragon gate entrance into Chinatown. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello performed a few union songs, including an "uncensored" version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" that some protestors sang along to.

Find out what's happening in Altadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Several Walmart employees and members of other unions spoke, including Marta Madine, who works at a warehouse in San Bernadino that supplies to Walmart. "We demand to be respected as humans, not objects. We want to end retaliation against Walmart employees when they speak up," she said.

Click here to read the full story at Huffington Post: Los Angeles.

Previously on this topic:


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