Sorry, did the workers get "assigned" to Walmart through some criminal rehab program or did they apply and agree to work retail store hours?
If someone was hired with the GUARANTEE that they wouldn't work holidays, you might have a point. But I am fairly confident that this sort of arrangement was not done in the interview.
Are you showing the same concern for the fire department, police department, and other people that HAVE to work holidays or are you ONLY interested in RETAIL?
Do you work in a field that is booming in business? I do. I can
choose to work in about 60 different countries based only on the fact that I'm fluent in 3 languages. Have I worked in all 60? No but I've worked with teams from around 40. I'm also pretty aware of the fact that I'm not
amongst the general populace. My level of education has been constantly rising for years while I work. However, that's only been ensured because of the possibilities made possible through a combination of sheer luck, business savvy and networking. With all that said, I believe I'm an economic minority in the US. The majority do not have the level of economic mobility I've found. What does that mean for me? It means that I'm aware that simply
switching jobs is not a possibility for a large number of people. I'm also aware that most of these people are already working for minimum wage just to make ends meet. That means that leaving a job and risking being out of work for even 1 week can make the difference between paying rent and not having money.
That's what these demonstrations are about. Walmart is consistently ranked as one of the worst companies to work for. Not only do they have no issue with labor abuses in other countries, they also seem to have freedom to do as they wish in the US. Those who defend them say 'well, nobody is forced to work for them'. However, we know that's not really a
solution anymore than me telling the average moronic libertarian teenager 'if you don't like it, leave the country'. It's a way for the discussion to be silenced. However, it only works if all the
other individual has to offer to the discussion is complaining. As it stands, the supposedly
anti-Walmart crowd is offering solutions to the problem. These solutions include better treatment/payment of workers as well as an acknowledgement that the people working for Walmart aren't tools which can be discarded. These solutions
apparently aren't good enough for you.
So with that said, what is your solution for these people who are being forced to work overtime/holiday (for no extra pay), restricted from social mobility and generally treated as indentured servants? Are they supposed to swallow it because they
agreed to work for Walmart? They didn't agree to be mistreated by management. They didn't agree to be restricted from social mobility. The people in these communities didn't agree to be fired for the suggestion that workers
have rights which can be defended by unions. I'll wait for your answer.