Group of Santas protests Walmart’s holiday pay policy
In a scene reminiscent of the mythical Festivus holiday from Seinfeld, Santa stood on the sidewalk in front of Walmart on Monday airing his grievances.
Actually, there were eight Santas, and they had one particular grievance: holiday pay.
The coordinated event outside the Walmart Supercenter in Memphis was part of a 13-city, 11-state effort to highlight the retail giant’s policy regarding holiday compensation.
Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1529 participated. The union does not represent employees of Walmart, which is not unionized.
Holding signs and chanting, the boisterous group of Santa-clad demonstrators — one wore a Grinch mask along with a Santa costume — got waves and honks from the passing traffic.
According to a statement from the group Making a Change at Walmart, which staged the event in conjunction with the UFCW local, Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart eliminated holiday pay for hourly employees in 2016. It was replaced with a paid time off policy under which workers accrue time off based on hours worked, according to the statement.
UFCW spokeswoman Amy Ritter said Walmart glossed over the loss of additional pay for employees who work holidays. Walmart stores are not open on Christmas Day.
“Holiday pay, for those who work on the holiday,” typically includes a premium above and beyond what they are paid hourly,” the joint MCAW-UFCW statement said. “And, in the case of many union retail workers, they are given holiday pay even if they don’t work that day.”
Walmart said the statements are an inaccurate characterization of a change made in response to employee feedback.
“Walmart’s [PTO] program is designed to give associates more stability in their lives,” the statement reads. “Both full- and parttime associates receive a paid day for each Walmart holiday, and it’s important that our people have the control and flexibility to decide how they use that extra paid time. At the end of each year, hourly associates can roll over some unused PTO and can cash out the remainder to use as they please.”