Bernie Sanders convenes Walmart Greed at shareholder meeting

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders appeared at Walmart's annual shareholders' meeting Wednesday to present a resolution urging the retail giant to put its hourly employees on the path to a minimum wage of $ 15 per hour.

Sanders was invited to speak as agent for Cat Davis, a Walmart employee. Three minutes later, he opened his remarks by explaining that "the question we are dealing with today is quite simple".

"Walmart is the largest private employer in America," continued Sanders. "It belongs to the Walton family, the richest family in the United States, worth about $ 175 billion. And yet, despite the incredible wealth of its owner, Walmart pays famine wages to many of its employees. Salaries are so low that many of these employees are forced to rely on government programs such as food stamps, Medicaid and social housing to survive. "

"Frankly, the American people are tired of subsidizing the greed of some of the largest and most profitable companies in the country," he said. "They are also outraged by the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality in America, as demonstrated by the Walmart CEO, who earns a thousand times more than the average Walmart employee."

Urging Walmart to increase its base salary to $ 15 an hour, Sanders pointed out that Amazon and Target, two of its major competitors, were companies that "have already moved in that direction."

Sanders also asked Walmart to add hourly employees to its board of directors, to give workers a voice and ways to exercise power within the company.

"The concerns of workers, not just shareholders, should be part of the board's decisions," he said.

Following Sanders' speech, Walmart Global Governance Vice President Rachel Brand thanked the Senator, but simply dropped her appearance. in [CEO Doug McMillon’s] remarks, and you'll find out more about this later in the meeting. "

It is not clear whether Sanders' proposal could be adopted if it was put to a vote. Nevertheless, the fact that he introduced himself and used his name and political capital to support a fair and concrete proposal is an idea that more politicians could take to heart.