More than 40 Penn State students and local residents gathered in front of Wal-Mart, 1665 N. Atherton St., on Saturday to protest what they called unfair labor practices and workers' rights violations.

Protesters holding signs that read: "Wal-Mart: Always a bad neighbor," said the demonstration was a response to what they called the company's unfair business practices, which include a failure to provide health care to 52 percent of its employees.

They also said Wal-Mart is facing a large number of child labor law violations.

According to the Child Labor Coalition, the U.S. Department of Labor fined Wal-Mart several thousand dollars in February for allowing employees under 18 to handle hazardous materials.

The Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) joined the United Students Against Sweatshops and the national Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign to bring the demonstration to State College. The protest aimed to educate consumers and make them aware of Wal-Mart's unfair labor practices, SLAP co-founder Zach Scheid said.

"This is a very important event because Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the nation and sets the trend for the rest of our corporations," Scheid said. "The effects of Wal-Mart's unfair business practices extend to every corner of the business community."

He added that Wal-Mart also faces the largest class action gender discrimination lawsuit in history.

More than 1 million women are charging the company with sexual discrimination in hiring, pay and promotion. The suit alleges that Wal-Mart frequently pays its female workers less than men for the same jobs, and the company rarely gives women key promotions, according to CNN's Web site.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the protesters gave customers fliers with information about Wal-Mart's business practices and alternative shopping locations. Some of the protesters engaged in conversation with the customers as well, asking them if they were aware of the realities of Wal-Mart's business practices.

Shoppers' responses varied. Some took the fliers and read them, while others threw them away. Other shoppers

became even more engaged and started debates with protesters about the issues they were addressing.

"I was surprised to hear that these protesters actually knew what they were talking about and had some good points," said Ron Heichel, a Boalsburg resident who stopped to talk to the demonstrators. "I'm still going to shop at Wal-Mart, though, because they really do have the best prices."

SLAP also held a Teach-In on Wal-Mart on Friday night. The event included speakers such as author and activist Liza Featherstone and Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign coordinator Kate Keller. It also included discussions with current and former Wal-Mart employees and a satirical skit about Wal-Mart.

Keller, Class of 1997, spoke Friday about the Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign and its goals.

"The purpose of Wake-Up Wal-Mart is to improve wages and health care for all Wal-Mart workers and to make Wal-Mart become a responsible corporate citizen that reflects the values of all Americans," she said. "It's important to realize that there are high costs for such low prices."

SLAP members said the event was a success.

"This event turned out to be very effective," SLAP co-founder Olivia Guevara said. "We were able to reach a lot of people and help them see the big picture."

There are a number of upcoming events SLAP is planning, and members hope that even more students will get involved next time, Guevara said.

The next event is the screening of the new film Wal-Mart: The High Costs of Low Prices at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in 121 Sparks. The film is open to anyone, and viewers are being encouraged to donate $1.