Seventeen-year-old Jackson Racicot was fed up with the way the Walmart bosses where he worked constantly mistreated workers. What attracted a lot of attention is how he went about making his opinions public.
He handed in a letter of resignation and then went on the intercom system at the Grande Prairie Walmart where he had worked in Alberta, Canada, Dec. 6. “Attention all shoppers, associates and management,” Racicot announced. When he had gotten everyone’s attention, he said, “I’ve been a loyal employee here for over a year and a half, and I’m sick of the bulls—, bogus write-ups, and my job.”
Racicot said managers “will make promises and never keep them.” He also said that his boss was disdainful, and had called Racicot “a waste of time.”
He described some of the things he’d seen while working there. “They preach to us about how they care about their employees,” Racicot said. “But management will try and save money every step of the way, cutting benefits and a full-time associate down to part time.”
On a one-minute video he made of his announcement and posted to his Facebook page, cheers and applause can be heard after Racicot finished his speech. They came from both customers and some other workers. The video has since gone viral, viewed over the next week more than 180,000 times, attracting thousands of “likes” and comments.
“I’m just a customer and we get treated pretty bad at Walmart, so I can imagine how bad they would treat their employees!” said one.
In an interview with the Star Edmonton, Racicot said that he decided to quit publicly to raise awareness of working conditions and other “labor issues” at the country’s largest retail company. “Don’t be treating your employees as if you own them, as if they are your property,” he told the paper.
Racicot said he’s been contacted by other Walmart workers and they’re discussing other pro-labor actions.