Walmart workers speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas, on Friday said the megastore’s staffing problems and poor pay were hurting the company’s image and contributing to lagging sales.

Their statement comes after a week of rallies across the country by labor activists, union representatives and workers in cities such as Chicago; Dayton, Ohio; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The demonstrators have taken aim at the plight of the company’s low-wage employees and the burden they say Walmart’s staffing policies place on working mothers.

On the floor at the shareholder meeting, Walmart worker and shareholder Charmaine Givens-Thomas, a member of activist group OUR Walmart, linked staffing shortages at Walmart stores to the company’s performance. Walmart has reported declining sales for five consecutive quarters, as well as up to $3 billion per year in losses due to stocking problems.

‘Backrooms are piling up because there aren’t enough people to get things on the floor,” Givens-Thomas was quoted as saying in a statement from OUR Walmart. ‘We struggle to deliver the customer service we pride ourselves on. And without excellent service, sales suffer.”

A study released Friday by Lake Research partners found 25 percent of Walmart’s ‘most loyal” customers were shopping there less because […]