On the evening of Thursday, September 27, leaders of the National Organization for Women will screen and discuss the off-Broadway political satire musical Walmartopia at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. Walmartopia is a hilarious and timely tale about a single mother and Wal-Mart employee who speaks out against her company’s working conditions and find herself and her young daughter jettisoned into a future where Wal-Mart dominates the entire world.
This is the first time NOW has endorsed a musical that is geared towards making a political statement about how women are subject to unfriendly workplace conditions at Wal-Mart stores. NOW is proud to be part of this unique and provocative look at how the largest employer in the United States engages in systemic discrimination, lack of benefits and low wages for its employees, all of which affects working class families.
As part of our “Women Friendly Workplace and Campus Campaign” NOW was the first women’s rights organization to publicize the complaints and accusations of discrimination in pay and promotions for women at Wal-Mart stores. In 2002, NOW named Wal-Mart the “Merchant of Shame”.
What: Promotion for Walmartopia, the musical, in New York City.
When: Thursday, September 27
Who: Interviews available with the originators of the “Merchant of Shame” campaign, NOW Executive Vice President Olga Vives, NOW Action Vice President Melody Drnach, NOW NYS President Marcia Pappas, NOW NYC President Sonia Ossorio; Walmartopia author Catherine Capellaro; and Martha Burk, Corporate Accountability Project of the National Council of Women’s Organizations.
Where: Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, West Village
Show Time: 8:00 p.m.; Post-theater discussion begins after the show
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