Ralph Nader to Protest Minimum Wage at Avon Walmart

Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader plans on picketing in front of the Avon Walmart Saturday afternoon as part of an initiative calling for a raise in minimum wage.

Nader, a Winsted, CT native and political activist, is co-sponsoring the Time for a Raise project with the Center for the Study of Responsive Law, the organization website states.

"The picketing will focus on the issue of raising the minimum wage of Walmart workers from current levels to $10.50 per hour (based on an inflation-adjusted comparison from the 1968 minimum wage)," a Saturday post on the Time for a Raise website states.

In a column that Nader wrote on his website, nader.org, he argues that today's Walmart worker "does the work that two Walmart workers did in 1968 and receives less pay."

"There are 30 million working poor in our country who make less than 1968’s wages, inflation-adjusted, while the bosses of Walmart, McDonalds, and other big box stores and companies average over $10 million a year plus perks and benefits," Nader wrote in the nader.org column. "These companies employ two-thirds of the low-wage workers in the United States."

Nader's Avon appearance for the "informal" picketing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., according to the Time for a Raise website. He and others supporting the cause also visited Torrington and Waterbury Walmarts on March 9.

The Avon Walmart is located at 255 West Main St. in Walmart Plaza.

Are you planning on attending? Upload your photos to this article! Do you think minimum wage should be increased and what do you think about Nader's initiative? Tell us your reactions to his Avon visit in the comments, on Twitter (@AvonPatch), on Facebook or via email at Jessie.Sawyer@patch.com.