The first group of Wayfair employees walked off the job Wednesday at the store’s headquarters in Boston.
They are protesting “Wayfair’s $200K sale of furniture to a contractor of migrant detention camps at the southern border. ‘Get back to your desks!’ A man on the street yells at them,” according to USA Today correspondent Joey Garrison.
Happening NOW: The first group of @Wayfair employees walk out of the company’s Boston-based HQs to protest Wayfair’s $200K sale of furniture to a contractor of migrant detention camps at the southern border. “Get back to your desks!” a man on the street yells at them. pic.twitter.com/suxWlMEXEo
— Joey Garrison (@joeygarrison) June 26, 2019
The furniture in question is going to a Texas migrant detention center, which, like so many on the southern border, is hugely overborne by the massive influx of illegal immigrants who continue to seek asylum at the border. Wayfair said Monday that it would proceed with the order despite the protest. (RELATED: Democratic Mayor: ‘We Are Sick And Tired’ Of Government Inaction On Illegal Immigration)
Migrants are seen outside the U.S. Border Patrol McAllen Station in a makeshift encampment in McAllen, Texas, U.S., May 15, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
The malcontents managed to attract a crowd of “a couple of hundred people,” according to Garrison, at a downtown Boston square but it was “[h]ard to tell how many workers are here compared to other progressive activists.”
There’s a couple of hundred people at the @Wayfair walkout in Boston. Hard to tell how many workers are here compared to other progressive activists. Some scenes: pic.twitter.com/tdps0wue9V
— Joey Garrison (@joeygarrison) June 26, 2019
The walk-out has attracted some support from legislators in Washington. Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted her support of the demonstrations Tuesday, suggesting, “this is what solidarity looks like” as she continued to call migrant camps “concentration camps.” The congresswoman claims the “workers couldn’t stomach they were making beds to cage children.” (RELATED: ‘Progressive Congresswomen’ Vow ‘Not One More Dollar’ For ‘Criminal’ ICE, CBP)
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks during a meeting of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform June 12, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Wayfair workers couldn’t stomach they were making beds to cage children.
They asked the company to stop. CEO said no.
Tomorrow, they‘re walking out.
This is what solidarity looks like – a reminder that everyday people have real power, as long as we’re brave enough to use it. https://t.co/667abeLDTG
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 25, 2019
After months of denying there was a border crisis, Democrats are now seeking funding to alleviate the dearth of basic necessities available at immigrant detention centers. House Democrats voted in favor of an emergency aid bill Wednesday. When the Senate voted on a similar bill that afternoon, Massachusetts Democrat and presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren chose to skip the proceedings for a campaign event. The Senate eventually passed a bipartisan bill after rejecting a House version.