Scattered Walmart protests don't dent bottom line

• OUR Walmart estimates 1,000 protests in 46 states
• Walmart dismisses protests as a 'publicity stunt' for union
• Workers call for higher wages, respect

Correction: An earlier version of this story contained information attributed to a fictitious website.

Scattered walk-outs and protests by Walmart workers and their supporters in at least nine states may have scored symbolic points Friday by taking on the retail giant head-on, but apparently they did little to keep shoppers away as the company quickly claimed its best Black Friday ever.

The company said in a statement Friday morning that its stores rang up almost 10 million transactions from the time doors opened for Black Friday shoppers at 8 p.m. Thursday until midnight, or about 5,000 items per second.

OUR Walmart, backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, claimed an estimated 1,000 protests were held from Thursday to Friday in 46 states, though the exact number is unclear, the Associated Press reports.

The UFCW, which is trying to organize Walmart workers, said the protests included "strikes, rallies, flash mobs, direct action and other efforts to inform customers about the illegal actions that Walmart has been taking against its workers."

At one protest in Los Angeles County, sheriff's deputies Friday afternoon began arresting demonstrators who blocked an intersection near a Walmart in Paramount.

Nine people were detained after a sheriff's helicopter broadcast an order to disperse. KPCC-FM says three are current Walmart employees, one is a worker's family member, one is a former employee and the four others are clergy members. No force was used, the sheriff's department said.

Hundreds of other protesters, the majority of whom CBS said were not Walmart associates, descended on the scene and sat down at the intersection of Century and Lakewood boulevards. A sheriff's spokesman said the protest had grown to more than 1,000 people by noon PT.

In Walmart's morning statement, Bill Simon — president and CEO of Walmart U.S. — said there were 26 protests at stores Thursday night, "and many of them did not include any Walmart associates." He said that fewer than 50 associates took part in the protest nationwide, "roughly the same number of associates missed their scheduled shift as last year."

Colby Harris, of Making Change at Walmart, which helped organize the protest, challenged Simon's numbers, saying that workers in over 100 stores had taken part and would continue to throughout the day.

Harris, who walked out from a Dallas Walmart, told MSNBC without elaboration, that "thousands" had walked off the job nationwide.

MSNBC also reported that workers walked out of stores in at least seven states and supporters held protests in at least two others.

The UFCW said workers in California, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana, Minnesota were expected to protest throughout the day.

The Nation reported that workers struck at stores in Dallas; Kenosha, Wis.; San Leandro, Calif.; and Clovis, N.M. At least one worker walked out at stores in Ocean City, Md.; Orlando; and Baton Rouge.

In Orlando, Lisa Lopez went out with Alan Grayson, a newly elected member of Congress.

Protests were also reported outside a Walmart in Quincy, Mass., and in Landover, Md., where hundreds of union workers wearing "OUR Walmart" T-shirts marched outside a store. OUR stands for "Organization United for Respect."

One woman, who said she and a colleague walked out from a Walmart in Laurel, Md., said the key issues were wages and an end to alleged retaliation against workers who complain about working conditions.

"We work hard, so we just want a decent wage," the unidentified woman told CNN.

Walmart denies that it retaliates against workers.

More protests were scheduled to roll out across the country as the day progressed, according to the website of OUR Walmart, which spearheaded the activity with the support of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

The Huffington Post reported that 70 Los Angeles Walmart workers from nine stores walked off the job Thursday in what the news site called the first walkout by workers in multiple stores in the retailer's 50-year history.

About 250 workers and supporters protested outside the Pico Rivera Walmart store, carrying signs that read, "On Strike for the Freedom to Speak Out" and "Walmart Strike Against Retaliation."

The workers said their complaints about working conditions and low pay have been met with threats, suspensions and terminations.

Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman called the protest "insignificant" in a statement to HuffPost, claiming fewer than five workers walked off the job. He dismissed the rally as "the latest publicity stunt" by a union seeking media attention.

CBS Los Angeles reported that about 19 people walked off the job in Paramount and that Walmart said five employees had called in sick.

Last Friday, Walmart requested that the NLRB issue an injunction against the planned protests outside its store, but the NLRB Office of General Counsel had said the issue was complicated and did not expect to have time to issue a decision before Thanksgiving.

Walmart, which does not recognize an official workers' union, has alleged that the UFCW was organizing illegal picketing at its stores.

Meanwhile, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, based in Arkansas and founded by Alice Walton, whose family created Walmart, noted the existence of a fake website that had been created under the museum's name and displayed a fictitious statement purportedly by Alice Walton that was critical of Walmart policy. The museum statement said, "We have been alerted to this issue; the website 'crystalbridgesfoundation.org' and all related content have not been generated by Crystal Bridges, and all information contained in the press release is false. ... The official Crystal Bridges web site, with accurate information, is CrystalBridges.org."