Sunday, 4 May 2008!
HandWritten on; 09:18
Ok I found some really interesting "WE HATE WAL-MART" sites, so here's some information about this giant corporation.
- Refuses to Release Median Wage. To defend its treatment of workers, Wal-Mart releases statistics on its average hourly wage for full-time employees. The store has never, however, published its median wage -- a data point that would give a clearer sense of what workers earn. Instead, the store uses misleading language that masks the fact that managers earn higher wages than floor workers -- a fact that skews the "average" wage of 'store associates' -- and refuses to release wage levels for specific job functions. [Walmartfacts.com]
- Opposed Release of Health Insurance Statistics. In 2005, Minnesota legislators introduced a bill that would require state agencies to gather and publish data about whether the employees and family members of Wal-Mart and other large employers use the state's public assistance programs. Wal-Mart sent two officials to St. Paul to lobby against the bill, and sent legislators a two-page letter stating the company's opposition to the law. [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/2/05]
- Misled Legislators About Pushing Employees to Public Assistance. In a letter to state legislators, Wal-Mart wrote that they "provide the mechanism for associates to remove themselves from public assistance" and that they "certainly don't encourage our associates to apply for public health benefits." Documents bearing the Wal-Mart logo, however, revealed that Wal-Mart issues printed "Instructions for Associates" that tell employees how to sign up for public assistance. Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott has said: "There are government assistance programs out there that are so lucrative it's hard to be competitive, and it's expensive to be competitive." [Wal-Mart Letter to State Legislators, 6/20/05; Wal-Mart Social Services Documents; St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/6/05]
- Silences Suppliers About Wal-Mart Relationships. "Wal-Mart has imposed a wall of silence around its operations, its relationship with its suppliers, even around the operations of its suppliers ...The silence is backed by muscle, the threat of losing business with Wal-Mart." [Charles Fishman, The Wal-Mart Effect, 2006]
- Uses Front Group to Lobby Against Port Security. Through a lobbying group, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), Wal-Mart opposed several port-security measures -- including proposals to make shipping containers more secure, to beef up inspections and to provide more prompt cargo information. According to Congressional Quarterly: "Why would Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, with its recently expanded in-house lobbying team, need to join a trade association? As it turns out, for largely the opposite reasons that other companies cite. The retail giant doesn't want to draw attention to its legislative agenda; it wants to use its membership in the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) as a buffer." [Reuters, 4/6/06; Los Angeles Times, 4/6/06, CQ Weekly, 5/1/06]
- Wal-Mart’s unwillingness to donate excess food to food banks was long a thorn in the side of community activists. The megaretailer often claimed it didn’t donate food for “liability reasons,” though there are several good Samaritan laws in place protecting companies from just such liabilities.
http://walmartwatch.com/issues/corporate_culture/"At Wal-Mart, we’re proud of the positive economic impact we have on communities—from the job opportunities we provide to the money we save working families; and from the tax revenue we generate to the contributions we make to local charitable organizations. Wal-Mart is a good neighbor that benefits local economies and makes positive contributions to the thousands of communities we serve and have a presence in nationwide." --
http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/FeaturedTopics/?id=8"Last April, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott announced the Jobs and Opportunity Zone, a program in which 10 designated Wal-Mart stores will work with the surrounding local businesses and suppliers to spur job creation and economic development. The West Side Chicago store – the first inside city limits – was the first Zone, and with today’s announcement, the company is fulfilling its commitment to nine other communities.
"Wal-Mart’s entire history is one of bringing benefits to American consumers who need them most, and today’s announcement is in keeping with that tradition. We’re proud you’ve selected Indiana as a site for this initiative," said Governor Mitch Daniels.
“It’s great to see a national retailer choose to locate in this neighborhood, which will bring new opportunities for local residents and the community,” said Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell. “The decision to locate here helps lure additional businesses to the area, providing residents with more convenient access to quality products, which in turn, keeps more consumer dollars in the community and translates into a better quality of life.”
Each of the Zones will be anchored by a Wal-Mart store and engage a host of local businesses and organizations with which the company will work to increase economic opportunities in surrounding neighborhoods. This initiative will create more opportunities for small businesses to capitalize on the benefits of having a Wal-Mart store in their community.
Wal-Mart will collaborate with local chambers of commerce, business groups, minority chambers of commerce and minority and women-owned businesses within these Zones to direct hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to these communities."--
http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/6275.aspxTruly, it is very difficult to see this happening because from the comic, instead of really "creating many job opportunities and helping to create more opportunities for small businesses to capitalise on the benefits of having a Wal-Mart store in their community", I think it will put the smaller stores out of business. Think of it this way: there is nothing that Wal-Mart does not stock in bulk (and therefore sells it at cheaper prices) that shops are selling. Since Wal-Mart is a discount megastore, due to lower prices, there is a greater quantity demanded of its stocks as compared to the same thing for a higher price at a small neighbourhood shop. Acknowledging this, I think the comic instead of the Wal-Mart guy is right.
