Walmart workers rally for better pay and working conditions at City Hall. (Gracie Zheng/Neon Tommy)

A small group of striking workers and union members rallied against Wal-Mart at City Hall Friday morning, demanding better working conditions and higher pay.

Protestors held up signs and chanted from time to time, as speakers took to the podium.

“They’re just trying to keep us down. They’re just trying to treat us like slaves,” said Josue Mata, an overnight maintenance Wal-Mart worker from Dallas, Tx. “We’re asking just for a livable wage where we’re going to have enough money and enough hours to raise our family and kids.”

Mata has four children. He said he had to live with his parents because he couldn’t afford his own place.

“I only see my kids every other weekend. It’s a little hard for me as a father to get my kids where I want them to be.”

Dan Hindman, 28, has been working at Wal-Mart three and a half years, making $9.20 per hour. He said Wal-Mart promised him full-time hours. Instead, he works 15 hours per week.

“It’s hurting me, not just me, but my son’s future,” Hindman said. “You don’t give us the hours to stock the department right. You don’t give us enough men to work with the customers to get our quota. We’re all getting kicked in the butt by it.”

He and other protesters said Wal-Mart retaliated against workers who spoke out by cutting their hours.

More than 70 workers from nine Wal-Mart stores in Los Angeles went on a strike Thursday, according to Huffington Post. This is the first time it's happened in Wal-Mart's 50-year history.

They were joined by foreign unionized Wal-Mart workers from Latin America, Africa, the U.K. and Canada to discuss how to join efforts and advocate for better working conditions and decent pay.

“It’s a common strike against exploitation through various forms in different parts of the world,” said Mduduzi Mbongwe, a member of SACCAWU, a labor union based in South Africa. “We pledge our unwavering support and commitment to your strike.”

“Workers at Wal-Mart can’t live off their job,” Alke Boessiger, a member of UNI Global Union based in Switzerland. “They don’t have enough hours, they don’t have enough influence on their scheduling. If they raise issues with their managers, they get retaliated against.”

Wal-Mart stores are free from labor unions in the United States, while its workers in other places of the world are generally unionized.  

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Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on Wal-Mart here.

Reach Senior Staff Reporter Gracie Zheng here.