Musicians in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles are speaking out in support of a protest against the building of a new Wal-Mart store there. The protest, which is to begin on June 30th at the State Historic Park in Los Angeles, will be the largest protest of its kind, to date.
On June 29th, a benefit concert is scheduled to take place, with various acts performing their hearts out against Wal-Mart’s unfair labor practices. The concert is being organized by the worker’s rights non-profit, Unionosity, and the art space Ooga Booga.
The lineup for the benefit include No Age and the L.A. bands Tearist and LA Fog, plus DJs from the Chinatown radio station K-Chung, such as LA Vampires’ Nick Malkin and the Smell co-founder Jim Smith.
Performing at the June 30th, noon March Against Wal-Mart and Low Wage Jobs will be Tom Morello and Ben Harper. Morello, formerly of Rage Against the Machine, will kick off the rally with his anthem for workers’ rights Union Song! Both Morello and Harper will play at the rally in front of a banner that reads “Walmart = Poverty,” underneath the iconic Chinese dragonsd.
Construction of the store has already begun. On Tuesday, Wal-Mart officials and local business leaders exchanged traditional Chinese good-luck offerings as local performers did a dragon dance, reports the Los Angeles Times. And Kim Sentovich, a Wal-Mart vice president, told the crowd, “Everything we do is connected with our mission of helping people to save money so they can live better.” It’s the first of the chain’s planned ”Neighborhood Markets.”
Tickets for the show are $5 and will go towards groups fighting to stop the building of the store.
LittleQueen
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