While millions of consumers were looking for the best deal on certain items during Black Friday, thousands of Wal-Mart employees were taking part in protests, calling for more hours and higher wages.

Employees that pre-planned and engaged in protests were organizing as part of a group called OUR Wal-Mart (Organization United for Respect).

Like Us on Facebook

The organization has been protesting on Black Friday for the past few years to gain the attention of the company for certain causes. This year protestors were aiming to push Wal-Mart to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

According to The New York Times, more than 300 employees and supporters could be seen protesting at the Wal-Mart near Union Station in Washington, and thousands more at locations across the U.S.

Most of the protests were peaceful and didn't escalate into something more, but 11 employees were reportedly arrested for blocking traffic outside a Wal-Mart in Chicago.

Although Wal-Mart has previously increased its minimum wage slightly higher than the Federal limit of $7.25 an hour, the company's employees say they are still struggling to make ends meet on the salary and hours they're given.

"It's very hard on what I earn," said Wal-Mart cashier Ronee Hinton, mentioning that she only earns around $220 a week "Right now I'm on food stamps and am applying for medical assistance. It would help a lot to get full time."

The protestors among the organization are claiming that Wal-Mart has responded and announced that the company would increase the hours as well as raise the minimum wage for employees, The New York Times reports. However, the details of that and how much the wage will be raised are currently unknown.

According to an analysis by an economist for Bloomberg News, Wal-Mart can raise pay to a $10.10 minimum for its employees by simply raising the costs of a DVD by just one penny. 

TagsBlack Friday, Wal-Mart, protests, Minimum Wage, OUR Walmart, unions