In May, more than 30,000 Toys 'R' Us workers got laid off — without severance — as the company started the process to shut down all its stores. Meanwhile, CEO David Brandon got $2.8 million in the form of a retention bonus right before the company filed for bankruptcy.
"This corporate greed is hurting me and my family — and it's unacceptable," wrote Colleen Kleven, a Toys 'R' Us worker in the Bay Area, as part of a petition she started demanding that the private equity firms that used to own the company start a severance fund for the laid-off workers.
Days before Black Friday, private equity firms Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts announced each would contribute $10 million to a "financial assistance fund." The firms encouraged others to also put money toward the fund.
Experts say the move, which could have broader implications when other major retailers go under, is an organizing success.
"We're only talking about this because [the workers], like the Parkland kids, protested," Eileen Appelbaum, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told the Huffington Post. "They said, 'We built this, we're entitled to severance, and we want it.' "
It's not just Toys 'R' Us workers: Working in an industry that's increasingly under threat by changing consumer habits and technology, retail employees across the world are fighting for better wages and working conditions — most of them without unions. Here's a look at some of their recent activism.
The movement for a 'fair workweek'
Retail, fast-food, and hospitality workers have teamed up to speak out against unpredictable scheduling that they say wreaks havoc on their lives. They've won "fair workweek" bills that regulate scheduling in cities like New York, Seattle, and San Francisco.
Walmart workers organize
Workers from Walmart — the biggest private-sector employer in the country — have organized, protested, and gone on strike as part of OUR Walmart. It's not a union, though it was founded by one: United Food and Commercial Workers. Walmart subsequently expanded paid family leave and increased starting pay to $10 an hour.
