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Labor activists demonstrate at Wal-Mart(Newsday (Melville, NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 21--About a dozen labor rights activists demonstrated Sunday on Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream for better, safer working conditions at the Wal-Mart where a worker was killed by a stampeding Black Friday crowd. The demonstrators held up signs reading "Black Friday Kills" and "Solidarity with Jdimytai Damour family" -- referring to the 34-year-old Queens man who worked as a temp employee and was killed on Nov. 28 when crowds broke through the doors of the Green Acres mall Wal-Mart. "We're here to make sure that Mr. Damour's loss is not forgotten," said David Pratt, a health and safety specialist with the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. "This wasn't the crowd's fault. Wal-Mart should have had a plan in place to deal with this difficult situation." The Nassau district attorney's office has reviewed employee records and surveillance film of the store. Wal-Mart has said it is working closely with law enforcement investigating the case. On Sunday, the demonstrators held candles in a steady rain on an overcast, icy afternoon. Drivers honked horns in response to the protesters' signs before turning into the shopping center. "I hope that they don't go into Wal-Mart," said Nadia Marin-Molina, executive director of the Workplace Project, of the drivers. "If they do go into Wal-Mart, they should think about how they're walking where someone's blood was spilled." To see more of Newsday, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsday.com Copyright (c) 2008, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |