An Oklahoma City Walmart is asking employees to donate food to help their coworkers make ends meet during the holiday season, according to a photo posted by the labor-backed coalition Making Change At Walmart. A sign on the collection bin reads, “Let’s succeed by donating to associates in need!!!” The company drew criticism for similar employee food drives a year ago. At that time, a spokesman characterized the efforts as “part of the company’s culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships.” A request for comment Thursday was not immediately returned, but a spokeswoman later told ThinkProgress that the food drive was started by the store’s Dairy Department Manager with the specific goal of aiding two coworkers who are on medical leave. “Two associates are on medical leave of absence and are unable to work, leaving their families who depend on two incomes down to only one. I think that putting a Thanksgiving meal on the table should be the last thing these people have to worry about, and so my next question was whether I could start a food drive at the store to help them out,” dairy manager Dawne Sulaitis wrote. Walmart does not offer paid sick leave, and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) has prohibited cities from enacting paid sick leave requirements. The worker who snapped the Oklahoma City photo released on Thursday did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation from the company, representatives of Making Change at Walmart said. The company has faced formal charges for illegally firing and disciplining over 100 workers for participating in the organizing efforts. It also trains store managers to monitor employee conversations, report worker sympathies with the union campaign to senior management, and dissuade workers from joining the OUR Walmart campaign without violating the letter of the law governing worker-manager interactions around union rights. Read more http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/11/20/3595067/walmart-food-drive-oklahoma/
