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Although many Occupy camps have been cleared in cities nationwide, the anti-corporate greed movement shows no signs of subsiding.
On Monday, protesters nationwide are planning massive "D12" demonstrations — for Dec. 12 — aimed at disrupting ports on the West Coast and operations at Walmart distribution centers.
Occupy SLC plans to participate with actions the activists claim will be difficult to ignore.
Its website, http://www.occupyslc.org, said the group will stand in solidarity with Occupy Denver and others by disrupting Walmart's distribution system, describing the behemoth corporation as "excessively oppressive" and destructive to communities throughout the nation.
Salt Lake Occupier Jesse Fruhwirth said that Walmart is the perfect D12 target.
"Walmart's low prices mean exploitation of workers across the world," Fruhwirth said. "We'd like to question their legitimacy. They only speak in money, so we'll speak their language Monday."
While he wouldn't give details, Fruhwirth said that more information would be posted online before Monday.
On Saturday night, the website urged supporters to meet at Gallivan Center at 8 a.m. Monday. They were told to bring bicycles or take part in car pools to another location, where the planned disruption would take place.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said authorities try to balance interests so that everyone has the right to express beliefs, but also so the rights of those trying to operate businesses are protected.
"If you start to interfere where you cause a public safety concern, then law enforcement will act appropriately," he said.
Gill said if protesters cross the line, they could possibly face misdemeanor charges related to disturbing the peace, failing to comply with law enforcement and blocking roadways, which would generally be handled by a municipal prosecutor. More serious charges could be filed if warranted.
"It all depends on how law enforcement interacts with protesters," he said. "It really becomes an issue of public safety."
The Occupy movement has criticized the influence of corporate power in politics and the wealth inequalities in the nation, which makes Walmart an ideal target of Monday's action, organizers say.
A recent report written by Sylvia Allegretto, a labor economist for the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics, showed that the wealth of six members of the Walton family — offspring plus one daughter-in-law of Walmart founder Sam Walton — equaled the total wealth of the bottom 30 percent of U.S. households.
Those were 2007 figures, Allegretto said, with the Walton six boasting a combined worth of $69.7 billion. In 2011, the Forbes 400 lists their inherited worth at $93 billion.
The Occupy Wall Street movement took root in New York's Zucotti Park in mid-September, protesting the widening gap between rich and poor and the undue influence that corporations have on politics. From there, the leaderless movement spread throughout the nation and other parts of the world.
Occupy Wall Street protesters want to shut down ports on the West Coast on Monday in a bid to gum up the engines of global commerce.
Occupy groups in cities such as Los Angeles; Oakland, Calif.; San Diego; Portland, Ore.; Tacoma, Wash.; Seattle; Anchorage, Alaska; and Vancouver plan to blockade their local ports. There are shutdowns planned on the East Coast too, Occupy supporters say.
Organizers who are partly billing this effort as a show of solidarity with longshoremen, who they clam are being exploited, have not won the support of the powerful union representing thousands of dock workers.
Organizers say the shutdowns are meant to highlight what they see as abuses inflicted by wealthy companies taking place well beyond Wall Street itself. They also hope to show that Occupy activists can still muster a major national protest despite the scattering of their camps by police raids.
"Even though there's not an encampment, there's still a huge movement," said Barucha Peller, who is part of the Occupy Oakland group that launched Monday's planned blockade and successfully forced a shutdown of the Port of Oakland in November.
Salt Lake City's Fruhwirth said that Monday's D12 action is about workers' rights and retaliation.
"This is a much bigger and larger wave of resistance," Fruhwirth said. "We're striking out against the 1 percent we feel are ultimately responsible for clearing out our camps."
Walmart's corporate website said that the company operates 38 supercenters, five neighborhood markets, eight Sam's Clubs and three distribution centers in Utah. As of Oct. 31, it employed 17,392 associates. Their average wage, if full-time, is $11.85 per hour.
The site also said that Walmart spent $1.5 billion for merchandise and services with 649 Utah suppliers, effectively supporting 29,513 supplier jobs here. It also states that Walmart collected over $149 million in sales taxes for Utah this year and paid more than $25 million in state and local taxes.
Walmart operates distribution centers in Corinne, Grantsville and Hurricane.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Twitter: @catmck