More than 110 demonstrators against Walmart’s low wages and poor treatment of workers were arrested at protests across the country on the day after Thanksgiving, according to protest organizers.

The demonstrations, spearheaded by Organization United for Respect at Walmart and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, were held outside a thousand of the retail giant’s stores in 46 states and included strikes in 100 cities.

The actions were deliberately timed for Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Similar actions were held on Black Friday last year.

Walmart workers are calling on the retailer to end its illegal retaliation against employees who participate in protected labor activities and to provide more full-time work and a minimum salary of $25,000 per year.

“I’m here to fight for everybody who has been done wrong,” said Marc Bowers, who lost his job at a Walmart in Dallas after participating in a strike. “I feel like, if I don’t fight, our next generation of kids will not have a future. As a man, I have the right to stand up on my own two feet. And I’m doing it right now.”

The Nation, Nov. 29, Nov. 27
Chicago Tribune, Nov. 29