Wal-Mart stores face closures over staff protests

America’s biggest retailer Wal-Mart is facing the prospect of possible store closures due to staff work stoppages over the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Set to culminate on this week’s ‘Black Friday’ — the biggest shopping day in the US — the strikes, already seen at the company’s distribution warehouses in Southern California and Seattle, are part of a wider campaign of 1,000 protests planned for stores in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Washington DC.

The workers, who are part of a union-backed employee coalition called ‘Making Change at Wal-Mart’ — are protesting low wages, increasing healthcare premiums, and alleged retaliation from management.