EAST GREENBUSH >> Protesters are planning to gather outside the Wal-Mart on Route 4 on Black Friday morning n support of Thomas Smith, 52, who was terminated from his job there after he was accused of cashing in bottles he found outside the store.
Alice Green, executive director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany, said she will be leading the 9 a.m. protest.
“We’re really going to be pushing at this protest to call for Mr. Smith to be given his job back,” Green said, “and we will have a petition that will be delivered to Wal-Mart management.”
Smith was fired Nov. 6 for redeeming about $2 worth of bottles that were left at the store. Smith had been trying to get his life back in order, Green said, after being released from a long prison sentence for bank robbery and took a job of collecting carts outside the start.
Wal-Mart officials have changed their public pronouncements of the reason for Smith’s dismissal several times since initial reports, first saying Smith, who had worked at the store only a few months, cashed in bottles found outside the store. He then said the bottles were found within its indoor bottle redemption area and then in the store’s customer service area. Most recently, the company said Smith lied on his application by not informing them of his conviction.
Company spokesman Aaron Mullins said Wednesday the firing was “an unfortunate and complex situation.”
“We believe in providing people with opportunities, Mullins said in an emailed statement. “We also value honesty and set high expectations for our associates in order to best serve our customers. In this particular case, we gave Mr. Smith that opportunity, and due to this incident, as well as the fact he did not disclose certain serious criminal convictions during the application process, we will not reinstate him.”
Green said Wal-Mart did not handle the situation properly,
“We are very disturbed with the way that Wal-mart fired [Smith],” she said. “It was really disrespectful and cruel, and they forced him into signing a statement that day he was fired.”
Green’s organization has the backing of several religious groups, including Bishop Emeritus Howard Hubbard of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, as well as assemblyman John McDonald, D-Cohoes, and Steve McLaughlin, R-Schaghticoke. Protesters are asking that Wal-Mart reinstate Smith immediately and to move him to a location closer to his home, repay any wages he has lost since being fired and issue a public apology.
They have given Wal-Mart a Monday deadline to meet their demands or they will calling for a nationwide boycott of the largest retail chain.
Supporters can sign the petition at actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-walmart-rehire-thomas-smith?can_id=&source=email-tell-walmart-enough-is-enough&email_referrer=tell-walmart-enough-is-enough.
Nicholas Buonanno can be reached at 496-8615.
