skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Alabama woman works to help returning citizens rebuild their lives; Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on healthcare, safety, wages; NC dentists warn of crisis due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Teamsters choose not to endorse a presidential candidate, county officials in Texas fight back against state moves to limit voter registration efforts, and the FBI investigate suspicious packages sent to elections offices in at least 17 states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

$15 and Full-Time: Black Friday Protest Targets Illinois Walmart Stores

play audio
Play

Friday, November 28, 2014   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Some Illinois activists will join others from around the nation today outside Walmart stores, but
instead of shopping for Black Friday bargains they'll be protesting against what they consider low wages.

Walmart reports that it pays the average worker about $11.82 an hour, which Cathy Junia, communications director for the advocacy group Interfaith Worker Justice in Chicago, says is barely enough to cover the basics.

She says her group is calling for the company to pay workers $15 an hour and provide more full-time work.

"Even if you do get $15 but you are only given two hours a day and unable to know in advance when you are scheduled to work, then it still doesn't give you enough to support a family," she points out.

More than 2,200 demonstrations are planned at Walmart stores in almost every state.

In Illinois, protesters will be outside several Chicago-area Walmarts, as well as in Bloomington, Normal, Peru and Springfield.

While many other retailers pay similar wages, Junia says Walmart is the largest corporation in the country and sets the standard for how workers are paid and how they are treated.

"Because they are the biggest, they can turn the industry, they can set higher standards and they have the capacity and means to do that and can be a leader in that," she stresses.

In published reports, the company has said the protesters represent a small percentage of its workforce of 1.3 million in the United States.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021