A crowd of University students descended upon Wal-Mart's two Durham locations Saturday-and they were not there to buy toothpaste or desk lamps. Armed with picket signs, multi-colored balloons, pamphlets and loud voices, members of Students Against Sweatshops protested Wal-mart's refusal to disclose the addresses of the factories that produce its merchandise.
The demonstration, which took place on the National Labor Committee's "National Day of Conscience," was part of a national campaign to publicly challenge Wal-Mart to end sweatshop labor. SAS members said Wal-Mart's tremendous size and power and its repeated failure to disclose factory locations were the major reasons they were singled out for protest.
According to the NLC, Wal-Mart's annual sales are larger than the gross domestic product of 155 of the 192 countries in the world. Wal-Mart became the focus of recent widespread media attention after it was disclosed that Kathie Lee Gifford's Wal-Mart clothing line was manufactured in sweatshops.
"[Wal-Mart] can easily afford to pay workers decent wages," said Kathy Barcus, an engineering freshman. "The conditions in American factories are worse than American prisons."
A group of about 60 people-comprising University students, students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and local activists-circled the entrance of the Wal-Mart at New Hope Commons on Highway 15-501 yelling chants such as, "Wal-Mart, have a heart" and "Hey hey, ho ho, sweatshops have to go." They held balloons that read, "Stop Sweatshops. Disclosure Now."
After about 20 minutes, Wal-Mart managers ordered them to leave the store's property or they would call the police. Protesters then moved to the entrance of the shopping plaza, where they continued to hold their signs and distribute pamphlets to people driving by for nearly half an hour.
Wal-Mart managers said they did not anticipated the protest but offered no further comment on their reaction to the demonstrators. Several Wal-Mart employees said they did not understand the nature of the protest.
The demonstration was particularly appropriate because the Wal-Mart store is located between Duke and UNC-CH, two universities whose students have been actively working together in the fight to end sweatshop labor in the college apparel industry.
"The fact that Wal-Mart, Duke and UNC are refusing to disclose factory addresses should make the public very suspicious," said Trinity freshman and SAS member Beth Moore. "The argument that full disclosure would release competitive information is just an excuse to cover up widespread human rights violations. We're just asking for the release of addresses, not competitive secrets."
After the first protest was broken up, SAS members proceeded to the Wal-Mart on Roxboro Road in Durham where they conducted a quieter demonstration that focused on handing out informative pamphlets and having conversations with Wal-Mart customers.
University students who participated said they were pleased with the results of the protest, but they added that continued efforts to inform the public about inhumane labor practices are needed.
"I was encouraged today by the good turnout from the community, and the general response from the public," said Trinity freshman and SAS member Justin McBride. "We still have a long way to go to raise awareness about what corporations are trying to hide from consumers though-I could tell this by the snarling old ladies."
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