Stop Walmart Act would prevent large companies from buying back stock unless they pay all employees at least $15 an hour

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Stop Walmart

Bernie Sanders and California congressman Ro Khanna launched the Stop Walmart Act on Thursday – a campaign that would force Walmart and other large corporations to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The legislation would prevent large companies from “buying back” stock – when a company buys its shares back from the market, often enabling it to distribute more cash to shareholders – unless they committed to the $15-an-hour minimum and allowed employees seven days paid sick leave.

Sanders and Khanna wrote:



Walmart made more than $13bn in profits last year, while the median worker was paid just $19,177. Instead of using its profits to raise wages to a living wage of $15 an hour, Walmart plans to buy back $20bn of its own stock over a two-year period to enrich its executives and shareholders.

Another crucial part of the legislation would be that buybacks would be prohibited unless a company ensured that CEO compensation was not more than 150 times the median pay of all employees.

Sanders and Khanna say the chief executive of Walmart currently makes 1,188 times as much as the median worker.

Ocasio-Cortez making presence felt on climate change

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined 150 activists from the environmental organization Sunrise Movement for a protest at Nancy Pelosi’s office on Capitol Hill this week.

The demonstration called for urgent action on climate change now the Democrats have seized control of the House. Activists – including the progressive organization Justice Democrats – want Pelosi to create a select committee for a Green New Deal, which would have the power to push meaningful legislation to tackle climate change.

“Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic party leadership must get serious about the climate and our economy,” said the group’s communications director, Waleed Shahid, a director at Justice Democrats.

“Anything less is tantamount to denying the reality of climate change. The hopeful part is that we’re ushering a new generation of leaders into the Democratic party who understand the urgency and will help build a movement to create the political will for bold action.”

The select committee for a Green New Deal – a draft proposal for which is on Ocasio-Cortez’s website – would have the authority to develop a detailed federal plan to help the US economy transition to carbon neutral status. It would also have the power to investigate industries or groups that it “deems to be a relevant resource” – including holding public hearings.

What we’re reading

“Oil and gas corporations dumped millions of dollars into the 2018 elections to defeat the major initiatives that could have slightly reduced fossil fuel use,” writes David Sirota in the Guardian. That includes pouring $40m into opposing the modest Proposition 112 in Colorado, which aimed to force oil and gas wells and fracking sites back from from homes, hospitals and schools. And throwing similarly whopping amounts into tackling clean energy measures in Washington State and Arizona.

The expenditure – which didn’t start this cycle by any means – has some prominent Democrats “cowering in fear”, Sirota says. But he believes there is hope for those who don’t want the planet to wither and die – 14 states are now controlled by Democrats, who can wield that power to curb emissions and mandate renewable energy measures.

We’ll be taking a break for Thanksgiving – see you soon.