Walmart has been hit by coordinated strikes at multiple stores simultaneously in different cities in a worker protest that has lasted three months. The strikes were coordinated on social media.
They happened in China.
Not only that, but these protest strikes are worker organized without any help from labor organizations. Two workers set up an online platform to mobilize support for the strikes. The striking, protesting workers call themselves the “Walmart China Workers’ Association” (WCWA).
According to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, a new work policy sparked the strikes. Walmart started using what it calls a “generalized work hour system” similar to the one used in the U.S. It does away with regularly scheduled hours regular work hours, essentially putting workers on call anytime.
Chinese workers hated it and membership in the Walmart China Workers Assoication quickly jumped to 10,000.