Women’s Groups Tell Walmart “You Don’t Share New York’s Values”

Challenge Walmart to Explain Campaign to Deny 1.5 Million Women Their Day in Court;

Supreme Court Appeal Could End Women’s Right to Pay Parity

New York – Prominent women’s groups joined Walmart Free NYC today, claiming Walmart doesn’t share New York’s values.

Challenging Wal-Mart’s decision to appeal the largest class action gender discrimination law suit in the history of this Country, the groups are accusing Walmart of threatening the rights of millions of women to equal pay and access to promotions in the workplace.

The Supreme Court’s December 6, 2010 decision to hear Walmart vs. Dukes will decide whether the claims by the individual employees may be combined as a class action as is often the case in both labor and civil discrimination lawsuits. In the Walmart matter, over a million woman are seeking compensation from Walmart for discrimination against women in both pay and promotion policies.

“Wal-Mart with its enormous scope and influence has set a standard that blatant discrimination against women employees is great way to maximize profits,” said Sonia Ossorio, Executive Director of the National Organization for Women in New York City. “This is an employer who takes advantage of its workforce at every opportunity. The women of New York City deserve better.”

New quarterly wage data released this past December by the Department of Labor show that in 2010 women working full-time in sales and related occupations made only 64.0 cents for each dollar earned by men — the biggest wage gap in any industry.

Theresa Quinones, Chair of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500’s Women’s Network called out Wal-Mart for continuing to hide behind their lawyers, lobbyist and public relations people and not answering the questions of the people. “Stop with all the PR spin and answer questions from the residents of the communities you wish to enter and their elected officials.  Cowardice and being a bully are not New York values.”

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