Walmart workers protest against retaliation and in favor of higher wages

(Image credit: Twitter.com/KTLA)

last updated 10 January 2015

Hundreds of Walmart employees and their supporters took to the streets of Pico Rivera, California, Thursday night, protesting against alleged retaliation by the company stemming from grassroots efforts to raise wages.

Protesters from across the country went on Twitter and used #walmartstrikers to post photos from different demonstrations. In Pico Rivera, the crowd sat down in the middle of a busy intersection, and dozens were taken into custody by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. One woman told KTLA she was protesting Walmart "retaliation" and didn't care if she was arrested. "We have a lot of associates who spoke up and were fired, and we need to stop it," she said.

OUR Walmart, a group supported by a union, is asking the company to pay $15 an hour and ensure that employees receive consistent full-time hours.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.