The nation’s largest retailer is trying to head off protests and promised walkouts by some employees.
Frustrated Walmart employees have formed groups like Our Walmart and Making Change at Walmart. They want better wages, benefits like affordable healthcare, and overall better working conditions and for these employees walking out on the busiest sales day of the year is their way of getting the message across.
While leaders of the groups have said the protest will spread nationwide, Walmart says the striking workers represent a very small fraction of their 1.4 million employees.
Katie Maw is a sales associate at the Ogden Walmart Supercenter. She says she hasn’t heard any talk amongst her coworkers about staging a walkout. She called the whole idea “ridiculous”
"Well I have my, everyone has there problems with their work but I don't think that's the way to go about trying to fix them. It's just going to cause a huge mob scene."
While there are protests planned in states like California, Utah Walmart managers are keeping mum on the subject.
One store manager did agreed to comment anonymously because it was against store policy.
"Well to tell you the truth, we don't really know what to expect but I think the management team is prepared for anything that might happen. But from the feedbacks we've gotten from our associates, it's all very positive. They almost gotten a little defensive aboutt the whole thing because they don't think it's right and that sort of thing, that's the feedback I've gotten. But I don't know. We'll wait and see."
For Walmart, Black Friday starts on Thursday evening. They’ll release their first discounted items that night at 8 and deals will continue for the next 28 hours.
