After a few incidents with unwanted "guests" at a hotel that will remain unnamed, our booth is live and attracting tons of attention at Netroots Nation.

People have been stopping by few seconds to take a jab (literally) at "The Mac", our celebrity greeter. If you can't quite make out our team's t-shirts, it's actually an artist's interpretation of the famous McCain-Bush bear hug... a perfect representation of the budMcCain and Walmart.

If you're at Netroots, stop by our booth to say hello--we might have some goodies for you. :) Until then, check back for more updates from Netroots Nation.

The WakeUpWalMart.com team decided to go on an adventure yesterday. We all hopped in a car and drove up to make our presence known at the Democratic Debate in Philly last night! We decided this would be a great place to show everyone that Wal-Mart is an issue that affects everyone.

As the 2008 Presidential Primary is still going on and seemingly everyone is volunteering their time to knock on doors or work their way down call lists, our VERY dedicated WakeUpWalMart.com supporters came out after a long day of canvassing. And maybe I�m wrong, but I�m pretty sure that we were just as loud as the Obama and Hillary supporters!

Over fifty people turned out in their cherry red t-shirts that reminded people of Wal-Mart�s cozy relationship with China and that Wal-Mart gets 70 percent of their goods from China. Check out the picture, though it doesn�t do our supporters justice (mostly because I�m short, but also because there were too many of us to fit in the picture). We are a good looking bunch, even after hours of canvassing and reminding people to vote for a candidate that will insist that Wal-Mart becomes a more responsible corporate citizen.

I just arrived in Denver, Colorado. I wish you could see the stacks of sign up sheets here. At Wednesday's rally here in downtown Denver, local organizers and volunteers signed up 3,500 plus new WakeUpWalMart.com supporters in less than two hours.

Across the country, our rallies generated well over 10,000 new supporter pledges. Click here to view some of the photos from the rallies. We will be adding more photos as they come in from local organizers.

We finished up the press conference this morning. Inside the conference, Wal-Mart executives delivered slick presentations trying to convince the American people that Wal-Mart is changing. Outside the conference, however, actual Wal-Mart workers told the truth about Wal-Mart�s negative impact on working Americans.

The workers delivered this letter to CEO Lee Scott.

April 18th, 2006

Dear Mr. Scott,

Sam Walton built this company by valuing the associates who wake up everyday and work hard to make Wal-Mart a success. Unfortunately, Sam Walton�s principles of caring about his associates, improving the community and truly putting the customer first, seem to be a distant memory at Wal-Mart.

Today, while Wal-Mart talks about change and says it cares about its workers, their families, and our community, it has done little to address the serious concerns raised by so many associates. Maybe, if you could live a day in the life of an average Wal-Mart associate, you would understand the fear we have of getting sick because we can�t afford health care or how hard it is to support a family on Wal-Mart�s wages. We cannot describe to you how powerless you feel when work schedules are changed for no reason, hours are cut, and good people are pushed out because Wal-Mart has decided they are �too expensive.�

Mr. Scott, your workers are not numbers on a balance sheet. All of your 1.3 million associates are real people with real feelings, real families, and real hopes and dreams. We have come here today, in spite of our fear and concern for our job, because we believe joining together and speaking out is the only way we can make Wal-Mart a better company � a company that once again reflects Sam Walton�s values.

We believe a �better Wal-Mart� begins with you meeting with us, listening to our serious concerns, and working with us to reverse the terrible direction Wal-Mart is headed. Together, we believe, and hope you will agree, we can make Wal-Mart a better place for your workers, their families, our customers, and our communities.

We believe Wal-Mart can start becoming better by:

Paying a living wage for all full-time and part-time associates. With over $11 billion in profit, it is wrong that so many Wal-Mart workers are at or below the poverty line and struggling to support their family.

Providing comprehensive, affordable health care with deductibles and premiums every Wal-Mart associate can afford.

Improving workplace conditions for all associates. Too many Wal-Mart associates have had to suffer the indignity of being told that workplace problems or our workplace injuries are not Wal-Mart�s responsibility. Wal-Mart needs to respect and treat all of its associates fairly and establish a new method to respond to associates� concerns immediately.

Respecting and honoring associates schedules. The recent move to cut hours, shift schedules without notice, and push out full-time workers is destroying morale, hurting Wal-Mart stores, and unnecessarily burdening Wal-Mart associates and their families. We ask you to immediately stop implementing the draconian changes outlined in last year�s memo by Executive Vice President Susan Chambers.

On behalf of all Wal-Mart associates, and the millions of Americans that share our concern, we hope you will meet with us and discuss these issues.

We know it will be a great day in America when Wal-Mart changes for the better and we hope you, and Wal-Mart, do the right thing.

Sincerely,

Ollie Wells
Cynthia Murray
Greg Pierce
Maria Lopez

WakeUpWalMart.com is in Bentonville, Arkansas today as Wal-Mart begins its "Media Days," a two-day Wal-Mart PR spin fest.

We have brought courageous current Wal-Mart workers to Wal-Mart's media fest so that reporters can learn the truth behind the spin.

This morning's press release:

BRAVE WAL-MART WORKERS TO SPEAK OUT AT WAL-MART MEDIA DAYS

Reverend Markel Hutchins Hosts Press Conference/Meet �n Greet with Current Wal-Mart Workers and a Former Wal-Mart Manager

Workers to Discuss Recent Changes at Wal-Mart Stores/ Impact on
Store Performance/Worker Morale

Rogers, AR � Current Wal-Mart workers and a former Wal-Mart manager will speak out about working conditions and the negative effects new company policies, such as changes in scheduling, cuts in hours, and reducing the number of full-time workers, are having on store performance/worker morale at Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart workers will be offering personal insight into the current state of affairs at Wal-Mart stores.

The Press Conference/Meet �n Greet will be hosted by Reverend Markel Hutchins. At the event, Reverend Markel Hutchins will challenge CEO Lee Scott and Wal-Mart to improve pay and health care benefits for all 1.3 million Wal-Mart workers by the end of this year. The Wal-Mart workers and Reverend Hutchins will also be releasing a joint letter that will focus on key areas of concern. The letter will be delivered to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott.

Hi. I am blogging to you this morning from Phoenix, Arizona. It's been amazing. The entire Wake-Up Wal-Mart team is out here with over 400 shop stewards from UFCW Local 99. The stewards are all committing themselves to getting 10 people to be at their house meeting on June 23rd to discuss our Fair Share for Health Care legislative proposal. Tell us how your house party is going. And don't forget to sign up to be a citizen co-sponsor. Changing Wal-Mart starts with you!

I wish you all could be with me here in Portland, Oregon. I have spent the last two days at the Oregon Convention Center signing up Wake-Up Wal-Mart and �Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart� supporters. It has been amazing! After only four hours of tabling, we�ve signed up over 600 Americans who believe that Wal-Mart needs to change. The support is overwhelming.

I am also here with Mike, Javon, and Ellen, members of Gresham First, a local Oregon group fighting a proposed Wal-Mart in their neighborhood. They brought some great �Always Low Wages, Always Low Morals� bumper stickers and everyone who has joined the national campaign today has also signed their petition to local Gresham officials.

Next weekend, we will be putting on over 50 of these tabling and clip boarding events at local community events like this across the country. We are asking all of our supporters to put together these events in order to build our national support and educate the public on the issue. Go to: http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/mom/toolkit.html and sign up your event and download a volunteer leader toolkit.

If it is as rewarding as my experience the last two days, I can assure you it is worth it. With shoe leather and local action, we will change Wal-Mart.

Jeremy

PS: Here is a picture from the event: