From walmartmovie.com, we learn that the votes are in and the Wal-Mart movie now has an official name. And guess what? The title is going to stay the exact same as it was:

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

Here's a satirical op-ed from the Janesville Gazette (WI):

Dear Briar Crest resident:

For months, you've resisted, objected and even battled us in court over our plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter and Sam's Club adjacent to your subdivision on Janesville's northeast side.

This letter is to inform you that we've found a solution. The good news is we're changing our selected site. The bad news is we've reached agreement with the city of Janesville to acquire your property by eminent domain.

That's right. We no longer will have to listen to your whining.

How can we do this? Well, maybe you missed last week's Supreme Court decision. Led by the liberal wing, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision that cities may bulldoze people's homes to make way for shopping malls or other private developments, such as our Wal-Mart stores.

So you thought property ownership was among your most cherished and protected rights? Guess again. Since our country's founding, government has had the power of eminent domain to condemn land for public projects such as highways and schools. Local governments can take land even if the owners aren't willing to sell, as long as the owners are fairly compensated.

The Supreme Court has expanded that to commercial development in a case involving New London, Conn., homeowners. Liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, said New London could pursue private development under the Fifth Amendment. That will allow a government to take private property for a private project if the development promises to produce jobs and revenue.

We aim to bring more jobs, even if we can't provide all our employees with health care benefits. And our stores will send more property tax revenue to city coffers.

Sure, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor argued that the decision bowed to the rich and powerful at the expense of the middle class. Tough. Sam Wal-Mart's heirs, minus John T. Walton, who died in a plane crash Monday, demand more and more money. And some of you in the middle class may even want to shop our stores once you see our always low prices-always.

So you have 60 days to pack up and leave before we flatten your home. On second thought, we've waited long enough. Make that 30.

Sincerely,
I. Gotcha Nau
Vice President of Property Acquisitions
Wal-Mart Corp.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This letter is satire, but it illustrates the absurdity of last week's Supreme Court decision. We are confident that city officials would not consider using eminent domain for the Wal-Mart project, and we would oppose it if they tried.

From MSN money:

Standard Poor's on Wednesday lowered its corporate credit ratings on Kroger, Albertson's, and Safeway, the three largest traditional US supermarkets, citing competitive pressures from Wal-Mart and other discount retailers.

The agency said it was lowering its credit rating on their debt from BBB to BBB-, its lowest investment grade.

To continue reading this article, click here.

Small towns and cities across America were the backbone of the country's virile economy of goods and services. In my own hometown of 12,000 when I was growing up, thriving businesses included local and chain department stores, men's and women's shops, a dozen drug stores, supermarkets and grocery stores and a wide variety of others from auto and hardware to furniture stores.

Now these things still can be bought in my town and hundreds of others like it across the land, but only from one place - Wal-Mart.

Not since the government decided that Standard Oil controlled too much of the petroleum market - or that the cross ownership of Dupont and General Motors posed a similar threat to free enterprise - has the idea of healthy competition been as challenged as it is by the Arkansas-based retail behemoth "that is simultaneously the most admired and the most reviled in the world."

To continue reading this article, click here.

From the AP:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart heir John T. Walton, who died in the crash of his experimental, ultralight aircraft, was remembered as a friendly man who threw his considerable financial support behind efforts to educate low-income children.

Walton, of Jackson, Wyo., crashed shortly after takeoff Monday from Jackson Hole Airport in Grand Teton National Park, the company said. The cause of the crash was not known and park rangers planned an investigation, officials said. Walton was 58.

"I think all you can say is he was just a good man and today, you grieve," Jay Allen, Wal-Mart senior vice president of corporate affairs, told The Morning News of Springdale.

To continue reading this article, click here.

Wal-Mart seems to have their hands full in Connecticut, where one week after they were caught violating child labor laws, they now stand accused of selling illegal fireworks:

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Monday accused Wal-Mart of selling illegal fireworks in some of its Connecticut stores.

Blumenthal said he has sent a letter to the retailer and the fireworks' distributor, TNT Fireworks, ordering them to take the firework, "Piccolo Petes," off store shelves.

"Sales of these dangerous devices should stop immediately," Blumenthal said. "Wal-Mart or TNT Fireworks will face legal fireworks in state court, if they defy this order."

The following was sent in by a representative from "Residents Against A Sellwood/Ardenwald Walmart," a group in Oregon opposing a proposed Wal-Mart in their community:

Plans for the proposed Wal-Mart were stealthily developed. The neighborhood learned of them when city councilor Sam Adams wrote a strongly worded letter to Wal-Mart opposing its development on SE McLoughlin and Tacoma Blvd. The proposal impacts businesses and residents in both the Ardenwald neighborhood (in Milwaukie) and Sellwood neighborhood (in Portland). Howard Dietrich, of Nelson Development, is the owner and leading proponent of the Wal-Mart development.

The proposed Wal-Mart plans parking for 500 cars, all of which will have to travel via Tacoma Blvd from the west or Johnson Creek Blvd. from the east. The increased traffic is expected to deteriorate neighborhoods by being pedestrian-unfriendly, in opposition to neighborhood plans for reduced traffic on Tacoma Blvd (work that is already underway for several years), and require additional traffic controls. Significant traffic clogs could be expected at ramps on the Tacoma overpass and the Sellwood bridge. Additionally, the age and condition of the Sellwood bridge cannot handle the increased traffic.

A neighborhood coalition of businesses and residents has quickly formed to oppose the development. The group is already distributing information to area residents, local events, and other neighborhood associations. Petitions are circulating as neighbors canvass the area and are posted in area businesses. Signs are being posted on lawns, in cars, and on overpasses during drive times.

A web site, www.nosellwoodwalmart.com, has meeting times and locations, contact information, and email signup. Petitions can be downloaded, as well as posters and a sample letter stating opposition. The next meeting is June 30th at 7 PM at the SMILE building on SE Tenino and SE 13th.

Use this as a place to tell us what is going on in your community.

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) on Friday offered a motion on the House floor to effectively prohibit the 15 day advance notice the Department of Labor (DOL) agreed to give Wal-Mart stores before investigating for possible child labor violations. The agreement was part of a settlement reached between DOL and Wal-Mart in January after Wal-Mart was found guilty of child labor laws in 3 states - Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Arkansas.

"Granting a two-week advance notice is essentially daring repeated child labor law violators like Wal-Mart to conceal any further violations," said DeLauro. "It is evident from the additional child labor violations recently found at Wal-Mart stores in Connecticut that this company refuses to comply with labor laws designed to protect our children."

From CNN/Money:

The Supreme Court's decision Thursday clarified that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private and public economic development.
[...]
"Wal-Mart and Target have both been criticized for their eminent domain use," said Burt Flickinger, a consultant with the Strategic Resources Group.

Meanwhile, eminent domain opponents called the high court ruling a "big blow for small businesses."

While companies like Wal-Mart have been using eminent domain to seize private land in the past, this is a big step in the wrong direction, and means that nobody is safe from Wal-Mart anymore.

If your town wants a Wal-Mart and your house is in the way, you better start looking for a new house or better start working to keep Wal-Mart out.

From the Associated Press comes another example of communities working to maintain their identity by not allowing Wal-Mart to run over them without a fight:

When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. began looking around Freehold, N.J., company officials assumed it could just move into town with a standard super center and Sam's Club warehouse store. They were wrong.

Aiming to protect its rich heritage from retail sprawl, the town -- established in 1693 -- had adopted an ordinance in 2002 that dictated new commercial construction would have to embrace traditional architectural styles -- colonial, Federal, Georgian or Victorian.

To continue reading this article, click here.

Tonight, Senator Ted Kennedy will call on supporters of Wake-Up Wal-Mart to become the leaders in a growing movement to change Wal-Mart at the community level. Senator Kennedy’s recorded message will be played during a nationwide conference call with Wake-Up Wal-Mart supporters who are holding “Fair Share House Meetings” across the country. Supporters of Wake-Up Wal-Mart and members of Democracy for America will hold over 124 “House Meetings” in 53 cities and 38 states to continue a nationwide push for “Fair Share Health Care” legislation in all 50 states.

The “Fair Share House Meetings” are the latest part of Wake-Up Wal-Mart’s “Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care” campaign. Yesterday, as part of the campaign, Senator Kennedy, Senator Corzine, and Representative Weiner introduced the Health Care Accountability Act (HCAA). This important bill will help disclose the actual number of employees companies, like Wal-Mart, have on public health care and will help determine the true cost American taxpayers are bearing because Wal-Mart forces tens of thousands of its workers onto taxpayer-funded public health care. Currently, it is estimated that Wal-Mart, alone, costs taxpayers approximately $210 million a year because it fails to provide affordable health care coverage for its employees.

“Yesterday, Senator Kennedy, Senator Corzine, and Rep. Weiner, took a major step forward in exposing the true cost of the Wal-Mart health care tax. Tonight, in small towns and big cities, Americans will prove that we have the power to change Wal-Mart,” said Paul Blank, Campaign Director for Wake-Up Wal-Mart.

During the “Fair Share House Meetings” nearly 2000 Wake-Up Wal-Mart and Democracy for America supporters are expected to become the leaders and key organizers in statewide efforts to introduce “Fair Share Health Care” legislation in their respective state. The Fair Share legislation is modeled on similar legislation adopted in Maryland, but vetoed by Governor Ehrlich under pressure by Wal-Mart.

Local house meetings will be held in Bettendorf House, IA, Eastpointe, MI, Phoenix, AZ, Spokane, WA, and over 49 other cities and 34 other states.

Steve Westly is the State Controller of California and a board member of the California Public Employee Retirement System

When I started at eBay we had twenty folks sitting in lawn chairs dreaming about a new way to do business. We decided our business was about creating communities, giving people a chance to buy and sell responsibly in an environment of trust and respect. As a result eBay has changed the world economy and created economic opportunities for millions of people.

I learned a lot from our experience at eBay. I learned that doing the right thing for workers and for our communities is also the right thing for a bottom line. I learned that free enterprise does not come free of responsibility.

Instead of creating communities Wal-Mart is dropping prices right onto the heads of California taxpayers. A 2004 study by the University of California at Berkeley Labor Center found that Wal-Mart employee's reliance on public assistance programs costs California taxpayers $86 million annually, $32 million in health care costs alone.

At eBay we developed a feedback score where buyers and sellers can rate each other. It helps keep people honest and make sure they treat each other right. Wal-Mart’s feedback score is dropping fast. They need to wake up and listen. That is why I called on Wal-Mart to create a committee of independent directors to examine the accusations regarding exploitation of workers, mishandling of sexual discrimination complaints and breaching child labor laws. Addressing these problems is the right thing to do for Wal-Mart’s workers, communities and investors.

Instead of building trust, Wal-Mart isn’t playing fair. Just last week, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission fined Wal-Mart $188,000 in a civil rights case involving Krista Carver from Antioch. The commission found that Wal-Mart "willfully and consciously disregarded its obligations as a California employer" when it refused to reinstate Krista after she took maternity leave. Wal-Mart is also currently facing the largest class action law suit in the history of America, with 1.6 million former and current women workers seeking justice on unfair pay and promotion.

At eBay we learned doing the right thing makes sense and it makes money. Wal-Mart could learn a lesson from eBay about how to treat employees and communities. The price of ignoring these issues is too high. Too high for workers. Too high for communities. Too high for California.

The press conference held yesterday garnered a lot of media coverage. Here is a sampling of news articles:

Democrats Introduce Bill Targeting Wal-Mart (CNS News) - Link

Wal-Mart's healthcare policy rapped (Boston Globe) - Link

Wal-Mart Is Focal Point Of Democrats' Health Bill (Washington Post) - Link

Senators want Wal-Mart healthcare info - Link

Thanks to all of you who have signed up as Co-Sponsors of Fair Share for Health Care legislation. You are making a difference in our campaign to "Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care." If you haven't yet signed up, please do so now by visiting this page:

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/health-legislative.html

Today, Senator Kennedy, Senator Corzine and Congressman Anthony Weiner held a press conference with Joe Hansen, President of the United Food & Commercial Workers announcing the introduction of the Health Care Accountability Act (HCAA). The Act will help determine the extent to which taxpayers are subsidizing the health care costs of our nation's largest employers. Most importantly, this legislation marks the beginning of our campaign to make Wal-Mart pay its fair share for health care.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

Today, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Jon Corzine and Representative Anthony Weiner join with WakeUpWalMart.com to hold a press conference announcing the introduction of the Health Care Accountability Act (HCAA).

The HCAA will expose a costly and growing national problem of large profitable companies, like Wal-Mart, shifting their health care costs onto taxpayers. Wal-Mart’s relentless pursuit of corporate greed has come at a high price for their workers' health care. Poverty level wages combined with high deductibles, costly premiums and strict eligibility requirements force tens of thousands of Wal-Mart’s workers, spouses and dependents onto public health care programs designed for needy families and children.

HCAA will require states to disclose which employers have a high number of employees on public health care assistance, like Medicaid. The Bill will also help determine the extent to which taxpayers are subsidizing the health care costs of large, profitable corporations, like Wal-Mart.

From the Associated Press, we learn that the class action sex-discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart will face an appeal on August 8:

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court said Monday that it would hear an appeal Aug. 8 by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of a San Francisco judge's order approving class-action status for a sex-discrimination lawsuit representing as many as 1.6 million current and former women employees.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not comment on the merits of the appeal.

The suit claims that the retail giant set up a system that frequently pays its female workers less than their male counterparts for comparable jobs and bypasses them for promotions.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer, said the company's 3,500 stores do not have a policy discriminating against women, and said the class of plaintiffs is so large that the case is "unmanageable."

If the appeals court does not overturn last year's ruling by U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins, the case will become the nation's largest civil rights lawsuit targeting one company.

Unmanageable? It's not the lawsuit that is "unmanageable." It is the size of Wal-Mart's discrimination that is "unmanageable" and morally wrong.

Brendan has already told you a little bit about the Dateline NBC report that ran Friday night on a Wal-Mart subcontractor in Bangladesh. As many of you have other things to do and the text of the report is 6 pages long, I thought you might appreciate some excerpts along with analysis.

For me, the heart of the story was when reporter Chris Hansen brought Masuma, a 21 year old Bangladeshi mother, textile worker and center of the story, to a Wal-Mart in Connecticut. There she found the same pants she sewed stripes on back in Bangladesh. While this event was obviously no coincidence, it was undeniably powerful.

[Masuma, through a translator:] “They make us work so hard, and they cheat us so much and we're human beings. I'm not an animal. I'm a human being. Of course I'm angry. This is really shocking.”

Masuma’s angry words come in the Wal-Mart parking lot after she’s learned the retail price of her work. Why is she angry? You can probably guess. She’s not angry because Wal-Mart charges so little per pair, but because they charge $12.84 and she gets the equivalent 17 cents per hour.

Furthermore, Masuma’s working conditions are less than ideal:

Masuma: “I have to sit in front of the machine the whole time. I can't move. I can't even go to the bathroom without my supervisor's permission. After sitting for so long, I feel pain throughout my body.”

[Narrator:] Conditions like these might seem unacceptable to Americans, but they're common in a poor place like Bangladesh. Extreme heat for instance. Factories like Masuma's aren't air conditioned, and even in a well-ventilated factory, we found temperatures can easily exceed 90 degrees.

Masuma says she has a quota: 80 stripes an hour. That means more than one stripe every minute, and they have to be perfectly straight. If she doesn't meet the quota, she says, she has to work extra for no pay.

And her hours are extreme:

[Narrator:] The factory director said his employees work a maximum of 10 hours a day and get out by 7 p.m. But Masuma told us her typical day ends later than that.

Masuma: “Usually I work until at least 8 pm, but often they will keep us and make us work until 10 p.m.”

[Narrator:] And she says she frequently has to work Fridays, the Muslim holy day, which by law is supposed to be a day off. On average, she says she works more than 70 hours a week. At least 10 hours more than allowed by the local law. It's not hard to confirm that many factories exceed that limit.

While many advocates of unfettered globalization such as New York Times columnist Tom Friedman suggest that workers in developing countries are grateful for their jobs, Masuma clearly stands in direct opposition to that argument. A harder question to answer is who is Masuma angry at? Certainly, she has a right to be angry at the people who run her factory. She was probably angry at them before she came to the United States, but her trip to Connecticut has given her another target: Wal-Mart:

She says the price of the pants leaves her feeling taken advantage of. If she was paid 25 cents an hour instead of 17, a 50 percent raise, she says she could lead what she considers a decent life.

Translator: “So these few hundred taka would mean I could have a diet that consisted of more than lentils and rice, I could buy a few good vegetables, fish. I could buy more food products for my daughter.”

Wal-Mart does not employ Masuma, but Wal-Mart has taken on the responsibility of inspecting her factory to make sure that it respects basic human rights and local employment law. Guess what? Wal-Mart admits it inspected Masuma’s factory in 2004 and "identified numerous violations of standards" and "worked with the factory to ensure better performance."

The company says "ensuring proper workplace standards is an ongoing challenge" and it will "discontinue business with factories that will not take corrective action."

It’s been a year and obviously nothing has happened. How long is it going to take, Wal-Mart? Frankly, I’m surprised they found any problems with Masuma’s factory at all, considering this:

[Narrator:] And one man, introduced to us by a local labor group, asked us to protect his identity. He is a supervisor at a large factory in Bangladesh. He says that when American companies send inspectors to check on the codes of conduct, they don't always get the real story because some workers are coached to lie.

Factory Supervisor: “You're supposed to say that this factory is closed on Fridays and that no one works here at night. If anyone tells the buyer otherwise, then the company will fire them.”

[Narrator:] He says they go so far as to make up phony records, including time cards showing a normal 10 hour shift ending at 7 p.m., even though the workers themselves say they were on the job until much later -- something he says they don't want American companies to know.

Factory Supervisor: “They hide the extra overtime from the buyer. The reason is that they want to show the buyer that they treat the workers well and follow all the rules.”

While this charade is undoubtedly true for many American retailers, Wal-Mart’s legendary penny-pinching ways gives it added reason to look the other way when conducting inspections. As one Bangladeshi supplier explained to Dateline:

Executive: “A few years back, I told Wal-Mart, "Give me one cents more a piece, one cent. I will use that money for these poor people.’ He says, ‘No, give us two cents less.’"

Another possible target for Masuma’s anger would have been Wal-Mart’s customers, but the report showed none of that even though they confronted a Wal-Mart shopper right in the store with Masuma’s story. However, in e-mails to Dateline regarding this report, Wal-Mart was more than happy to blame their customers for their actions:

The company also says it considers itself an advocate of lower prices for the customer and makes no apologies for driving a hard bargain with its suppliers.

In much the same vein, the reporter, Chris Hansen, spoke of “the demand we've placed on retailers to keep prices low” at one point in the report.

But is that real what Wal-Mart’s customers want? When shown Masuma’s story, two bargain-loving shoppers told Dateline they would have no trouble paying 25 or 50 cents more for a pair of pants if it made her life better. And that’s an important point about globalization to make. It’s not whether you have unfettered globalization or complete protectionism; it’s exactly how far are we going to let companies go in the pursuit of profit above all other interests?

The National Labor Committee, which collaborated with Dateline on the report, has started a “20 cents more” campaign, to force stores like Wal-Mart to get a living wage to the people who assemble the garments that they sell in their stores. You can read about it here.

In the end, I think Masuma’s trip to a Connecticut Wal-Mart is a lesson in the power of transparency to change the face of globalization. When people can attach a face and a story to the garments they buy, they might be willing to pay more and feel better about where they shop. At the same time, when workers realize what their work is being sold for, they might just stand up and fight for a bigger piece of the pie. Only Wal-Mart benefits by keeping both sides in the dark.

Until we can have an angry Bangladeshi worker in every Wal-Mart, we’ll have to count on programs like Dateline NBC to tell these stories.

- Jonathan Rees

At the same time Dateline exposes Wal-Mart's exploitation of Bangladesh labor, now it turns out Wal-Mart may have fired an employee for exposing such violations. From the Morning News (AR):

A Searcy man who says he was wrongfully terminated by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville after he reported "abysmal" working conditions in Central American factories used by Wal-Mart is suing the company.

...

James W. Lynn of Searcy says in the court documents that he worked for Wal-Mart's factory certification program in Central and South America from Jan. 12, 2001, to May 7, 2002, where he allegedly observed "unacceptable working conditions" in factories producing Wal-Mart clothing. After reporting the situation to Wal-Mart, Lynn says he was fired.

Lynn accuses Wal-Mart in his lawsuit of wrongful discharge, emotional distress, libel, invasion of privacy and breach of contract. He is asking for punitive as well as other damages, court costs and attorney fees in his suit.

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

In the waning days of the 2005 Legislature, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has declared war on Sen. Becky Lourey over a bill that would require public disclosure of big companies whose employees rely on state subsidized health insurance. We hope legislators find time in the special session to pass Lourey's bill, for Wal-Mart has taken the wrong position based on faulty premises.

Around the Capitol, Lourey's bill has been dubbed the "anti-Wal-Mart bill." But that's a misnomer. The DFLer from Kerrick, Minn., would require the state to compile a list of all large companies along with the number of their employees who use MinnesotaCare, the subsidized health plan for the working poor. When Massachusetts passed a similar law, Wal-Mart wound up on the list, but so did Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, several hospitals and the city of Boston.

To continue reading, click here.

Statement by Paul Blank, UFCW’s Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign director on child labor violations and NBC’s Dateline hidden camera investigation:

“Wal-Mart’s greed and blatant disregard for children in this country and abroad is outrageous. Today we have uncovered the true Wal-Mart – a company willfully violating morality in pursuit of profit.

Tonight, the American people will discover the true cost we all pay for Wal-Mart’s false prices. Despite having paid a $135,000 fine for child labor violations in February, the state of Connecticut fined Wal-Mart today for additional child labor violations. Most disturbingly, NBC’s Dateline documents how Wal-Mart exploits poor women and children in 3rd world sweatshops.

According to an executive who supplies Wal-Mart, when he asked for one penny more to ‘pay these poor people,’ Wal-Mart actually asked him to cut the wages of these exploited workers living in poverty. Wal-Mart’s own investigation into its sweatshops uncovered “numerous violations of standards.” Yet, Dateline demonstrates that Wal-Mart still uses these suppliers.

Wal-Mart’s greed is creating an unprecedented race to the bottom that is both morally bankrupt and endangers people’s lives. With total disregard for human dignity, Wal-Mart knowingly turns a blind eye to the horrors of sweatshops.

What will it take for Wal-Mart to change?

How serious will the violations have to be for Wal-Mart to wake up and finally do what is right by putting people first, not corporate profit and greed. Until Wal-Mart changes, we will continue to lead the campaign to make Wal-Mart live up to its responsibilities as America’s largest corporation."

To read the NBC Dateline investigation piece, click here.

From the Associated Press:

Three Wal-Mart stores in Connecticut have been fined a total of $3,300 for child-labor law violations, the state Department of Labor said Friday.

The stores in Hartford, Norwalk and Putnam were cited for 11 violations, including illegally assigning youngsters to work on hazardous equipment such as compacters and vehicles and working past 10 p.m.

The most recent fines were assessed this week, while others were imposed last month, said Gary Pechie, director of the wage and workplace standards division at the state Department of Labor.

I just came across this post on the Neighborhood Retail Alliance's blog. Here is an excerpt:

There is a strong conservative undercurrent, one that we believe will also manifest itself on Staten Island, against over-development and mega-development. Pundits like Malanga, Richard Schwartz of the Daily News and Greg David of Crain’s underplay the importance of small business, particularly neighborhood retail, to the quality of life in a community and as a result fail to grasp the true nature of opposition to companies like Wal-Mart.

From the conservative Washington Examiner:

In the 1960s, liberals started to look for the "root causes" of street crime. These days, free-marketeers point out the root causes of corporate misbehavior: Overactive, overspending, overtaxing and overregulating government at every level has created bad incentives for the corporation to feed at the public trough.

Wal-Mart is no exception - it wants its share of the plunder. But if the company wants to keep its allies among defenders of the marketplace, it would be prudent to keep the handouts to a minimum.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Tomorrow night, June 17, at 8:00 p.m. (ET) NBC Dateline will air an
in-depth, undercover investigation of sweatshop production in Bangladesh for major U.S. retailers like Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is driving standards down all across the developing world and leaving millions of workers in misery.The National Labor Committee is proud to be working alongside the UFCW and grateful for the UFCW's support in this fight against Wal-Mart, which we consider the greatest sweatshop abuser in the world.

The National Labor Committee worked with NBC Dateline on this
investigation.

Young women in Bangladesh are forced to work 14 hours a day, often seven days a week for wages as low as 13 cents an hour, leaving them trapped in inhuman living conditions. If Wal-Mart and the other giant retailers would pay just 20 more cents per garment, these women and millions of others across the developing world could climb out of misery.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SPREAD THE WORD--BUILD THE CAMPAIGN--STAY INVOLVED

Alert everyone you know--and ask them to do the same--that the
NBC-Dateline undercover investigation of sweatshop production in
Bangladesh for Wal-Mart will air Friday, June 17 at 8:00 p.m. (ET)

More information on Wal-Mart sweatshops is available at www.nlcnet.org.

-National Labor Committee

In another obvious flip-flop, Wal-Mart pulled a complete 180 and rescinded the policy in a WV store that said all employees had to be available from 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. every day or they'd be fired.

What's most interesting here is that Dan Fogelman, Wal-Mart spokesman, is claiming that this is just a mistake by the store manager. But Fogelman is completely contradicting himself.

He was quoted yesterday as saying:

"This is something that is done throughout Wal-Mart stores," Fogelman said. "The reality of retail is that our busiest times are evenings and weekends, so it only makes sense that we have higher staffing levels at those times."

and this was his quote in the article today:

"It is unfortunate that our store manager incorrectly communicated a message that was not only inaccurate but also disruptive to our associates at the store," Dan Fogleman tells the Gazette. "We do not have any policy that mandates termination."

This was clearly a move, similar to the Nazi-ad apology, that was done only after public outrage was voiced. The intention was to slip one by the American public, but once again, Wal-Mart heard your voice and was forced to respond by changing.

From an Associated Press report:

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - A labor court has ruled that parts of Wal-Mart's ethics code, including a ban on relationships between employees, violate German law, a court spokesman said Thursday.

Wal-Mart's German arm, based in the western city of Wuppertal, declined to comment on the ruling, saying it had not yet received written confirmation.

A spokesman for the labor court in Wuppertal, who asked that his name not be used, said the tribunal ruled against the ban on relationships and against a proposed hot line for employees to report on colleagues' violations of the code.

To continue reading this article, click here.

This disturbing story is from the Charleston Gazette (WV):

Wal-Mart officials in Cross Lanes told employees on Tuesday they have to start working practically any shift, any day they’re asked, even if they’ve built up years of seniority and can’t arrange child care.

Store management said the policy change is needed to keep enough staff at the busiest hours, but some employees said it appears to be an attempt to force out longer-term, higher-paid workers.

“We have many people with set schedules who aren’t here when we need them for our customers,” said John Knuckles, a manager at the store, which is located in the Nitro Marketplace shopping center and employs more than 400.

“It is to take care of the customers, that’s the only reason,” he said.

Workers who have had regular shifts at the store for years now have to commit to being available for any shift from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. If they can’t make the commitment by the end of this week, they’ll be fired.

Chris Kofinis, our Communications Director here, issued the following statement:

“This is a chilling new direction for Wal-Mart. It shows that when you work at Wal-Mart, you can neither afford a decent standard of life or even have a life.”

To continue reading this article, click here.

This week's dose of humor comes courtesy of The Simpsons. Click here to view [Windows Media Player File]

Enjoy

-Brendan

Does a company with $10 billion in profits need to be spying on its competition to engage them in price wars?

From the AP:

SKIATOOK, Okla. (AP) A northeast Oklahoma grocery store is suing Wal-Mart for allegedly stealing price information.

Super H accuses Wal-Mart of sending its workers to illegally scan bar codes on products in the Super H store in Skiatook, which is just down the street from a Wal-Mart SuperCenter that's to open in August.

The bar codes contain not only the price of the product, but also the cost Super H paid, its inventory and other details the store considers highly private. The judge is prohibiting police from returning the scanning device allegedly used to collect the bar code information.

This isn't the first time Wal-Mart has been accused in Oklahoma of scanning bar codes of competitors.

In 2000, Crest Foods in Edmond accused five Wal-Mart employees of scanning bar codes. Among the five was former long-time Wal-Mart Chief Executive David Glass.

Robert Greenwald's newest film was going to be named "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." He has since reconsidered this title, and is asking for your help to come up with a better one. Click here to go to his website and suggest a new name.

From the Sacramento Bee:

[California] State Controller Steve Westly on Monday urged Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to create a committee of independent directors to review legal and regulatory controls at the world's largest retailer.

Westly wants independent directors to examine how Wal-Mart is addressing accusations that it has exploited some workers, mishandled sexual discrimination complaints and breached child labor laws.

The company was unavailable Monday for comment.

Westly, a trustee of the public pension funds of the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California State Teachers' retirement System, said he is alarmed that the company's poor conduct, if allowed to continue, may affect its image and investor confidence.

"California has too much to lose if Wal-Mart continues this apparent self-destructive path," said Westly, a Democrat who has formed a committee to explore whether he might run for governor in 2006.

CalPERS owns more than 21 million Wal-Mart shares while CalSTRS owns 20.6 million shares of domestic and Mexican Wal-Mart stock.

As an example of what he said are the company's ongoing problems, Westly cited a ruling last week by the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission. It fined Wal-Mart $188,000 in a civil rights case involving Krista Carver, an Antioch woman. The commission found that Wal-Mart "willfully and consciously disregarded its obligations as a California employer" when it refused to reinstate her after maternity leave.

From the AP:

Attorneys representing hourly employees at Wal-Mart stores in Kentucky have asked a judge to grant class-action status to their lawsuit alleging the retail giant didn't allow them break periods and didn't pay them for work they performed while off the clock.

Boyd County Circuit Judge Marc Rosen did not immediately rule on the motion after a full day of arguments for and against class-action certification on Monday in Catlettsburg.

He said he would review written briefs before making a decision.

Barbara D. Bonar, a Covington attorney representing plaintiffs in the case, said class-action certification would be the only way some of the potential 145,000 hourly workers at Wal-Marts and Sam's Clubs would be able to demand payment for work performed while not clocked in.

To continue reading this article, click here.

In a new survey done by AdAge.com, "Consumers are deeply divided over the behemoth from Bentonville, sending Wal-Mart to the top of the charts as both the best and the worst."

Wal-Mart was voted the second-most trustworthy corporation in the nation and the most believable advertising of any company in America. However, Wal-Mart was also voted to have the least believable advertising of any company in America and ranks as the second least-trustworthy company in America -- right behind Enron.

This study just goes to show that Wal-Mart's misleading and deceptive advertising only works when people aren't introduced to the REAL facts about the company. Invite your friends to join our campaign today and find out the real facts about Wal-Mart . Use this form to send a message to your friends, inviting them to become a co-sponsor of Fair Share for Health Care legislation.

From a Miami Herald op-ed:

For all its groundbreaking efficiencies, Wal-Mart is a leader in a most unseemly inefficiency: A massive shift of healthcare expenditures from business to taxpayers. Surely a company that's figured out how to do just about everything better than its competitors could find a way to fix this, too.

To continue reading this article, click here.

From the AP:

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) — Just 24 hours after the state Land Use Board of Appeals upheld a city decision to reject plans for a new Wal-Mart store, the retail giant bought the proposed site.

"I have to believe the fact that Wal-Mart is willing to purchase the property at this stage of the game tells the community that they're willing to do whatever is necessary to be able to have a store there," said Portland land-use attorney Greg Hathaway, who is handling planning phases of the store.

A clerk for the Jackson County assessor's office confirmed that the $6.131 million sale for the 21-acre site was recorded about 3 p.m. Friday.

From an article in the Times of Trenton:

The big-box Hamilton Marketplace retailer is delinquent on its taxes, and interested shoppers may have a chance - albeit a slim one - to own the discount shopping behemoth's store for a song.

The price? About $144,500 in back taxes the local store owes the township.

The only catch is that anyone paying off Wal-Mart's debt only buys himself interest on the delinquent amount for two years and the right to foreclose on the building in 2007 if the store still doesn't pay its back taxes.

On Feb. 23, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott made an appearance at a Wal-Mart in Panorama City, CA. He was quoted there as saying "Not everyone's going to love us, and not everyone should." Well we couldn't agree more. So why don't you love Wal-Mart?

Families USA issued a June 2005 report showing that people with health insurance from their employers pay $922 in higher premiums on average due to the mounting costs of caring for the increasing numbers of people with no health care coverage.

More than 45 million working families do not have health care coverage. Over 10 million children cannot see a doctor when they are sick because their families don't have any health care coverage. Half of all bankruptcies in America are due to the inability to pay for a serious illness. This is a national crisis which needs a national solution. Without a national solution, costs for everyone will continue to escalate out of control.

To read the full report, click here.

The Washington Post broke a story this morning that Peter Kanelos, the Wal-Mart Public Relations Executive for Arizona and Southern California, resigned for his now infamous role in the “Wal-Mart Nazi Ad.” The ad used an image from a Nazi book-burning to demean residents of Flagstaff, AZ who were trying to protect their community from Wal-Mart’s negative effects.

Paul Blank, Campaign Director for WakeUpWalmart.com released the following statement.

“By immediately signing a petition calling on Wal-Mart to denounce their Nazi ad and apologize to the American people, tens of thousands of Wake-Up Wal-Mart supporters demonstrated the power ordinary Americans have to change Wal-Mart and make Wal-Mart a more responsible company.

But, Wal-Mart’s image problem won’t end with the resignation of the employee who approved the use of the disturbing ad. Whether it is discriminating against 1.6 million women, paying poverty-level wages, not providing health care or violating the law, Wal-Mart’s image will not improve until its business practices do.

Wal-Mart has the power to fix its image problem by undertaking real change, and until they do, on behalf of the American people, we will continue our sincere approach to make Wal-Mart a more responsible company.”

An almost unbelievable story from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette:

BENTONVILLE — Wal-Mart executives met Wednesday with Eugene Scalia, the attorney who will defend the company in a legal battle against self-proclaimed whistle-blower Jared Bowen, a former vice president the company fired in April.

Scalia was lead attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor between 2001 and 2003. During that time, he helped implement the very law that Bowen is now using to sue his former employer. Scalia is also the son of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

In May, Bowen filed a complaint with the Department of Labor, claiming Wal-Mart Stores Inc. violated the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act when it fired him. The law prohibits companies from firing employees who report wrongdoing.

Bowen was terminated after reporting alleged fraud conducted by Thomas Coughlin, who was then-vice chairman of the company. Wal-Mart said Bowen was complicit in Coughlin’s scheme to defraud the firm.

During his tenure as head of the Department of Labor’s legal team, Scalia helped lead a team that decided how to implement and enforce whistle-blower protection laws laid out in Sarbanes-Oxley, which was enacted in 2002.

To continue reading this article, click here.

From this morning's Washington Post:

The Wal-Mart community affairs director for Arizona and Southern California, whose office approved an advertisement that appeared to equate a local zoning proposal with Nazi book-burning, has resigned, the giant retailer said.

Peter Kanelos, who oversees the chain's public relations effort in both states, will leave the company Friday, said Daphne Moore, who runs the community affairs program for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

To continue reading this article, click here.

From the Arkansas News Bureau:

WASHINGTON -- Looking to expand its federal presence, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has hired the chief lobbyist for the National Restaurant Association to lead its growing lobbying team in the nation's capital.

The Bentonville-based retail giant has tapped Lee Culpepper, a 12-year veteran of promoting restaurant industry interests among Washington leaders.

"He'll be the face of Wal-Mart in Washington, D.C., and will help us define our strategy and implement it in Washington," said Ray Bracy, Wal-Mart vice president of federal, state and international public affairs.

"He will help us to build relationships with government officials and work on our reputation inside the Beltway," said Bracy, who interviewed candidates for the job.

To continue reading this article, click here.

At the UFCW Local 99 Stewards Conference in Phoenix earlier this week, we showed a clip from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, and everyone erupted in laughter. So I figured why not share the clip with you all as well.

Click here to view the movie [30 MB] (Windows Media Player File).

An editorial from the Capitol Times (WI):

Despite the fact that the Wal-Mart retail behemoth collected more than $10 [b]illion in profits last year, the corporation has shown no interest in being a good corporate citizen of Wisconsin. Instead, the firm continues to raid the state treasury by steering thousands of its uninsured employees into the state's taxpayer-funded BadgerCare program, which provides access to health care for low-income workers and their families.

Some legislators, led by state Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, and newspapers, including this one, have expressed concern about the way Wal-Mart and other corporations made their profits by shifting the burden for providing employee health care onto the state's shoulders. But, clearly, more pressure is needed.

So it is good to learn that Wisconsin Citizen Action and other groups will be turning up the heat on Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Walgreens and other large and profitable firms that expect the state to provide benefits for their employees.

"(We)will be targeting McDonald's and Walgreens," says Citizen Action's Darcy Haber. "Any big, profitable corporation that can afford to be offering health insurance for their employees should be doing the responsible thing and offering that health insurance coverage, because if not, they are part of the health insurance crisis we are facing now."

In particular, Wal-Mart needs to get whacked on this issue. But that will only happen if consumers put pressure on the image-conscious corporation to clean up its act, and if citizens let legislators know that they have a responsibility to protect taxpayers and workers by requiring Wal-Mart to steer a portion of its profits into taking care of its employees.

Hi. I am blogging to you this morning from Phoenix, Arizona. It's been amazing. The entire Wake-Up Wal-Mart team is out here with over 400 shop stewards from UFCW Local 99. The stewards are all committing themselves to getting 10 people to be at their house meeting on June 23rd to discuss our Fair Share for Health Care legislative proposal. Tell us how your house party is going. And don't forget to sign up to be a citizen co-sponsor. Changing Wal-Mart starts with you!

A story from Reuters which makes us wonder, how good is Wal-Mart for its suppliers?:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is quietly testing company-owned gas stations at a handful of its U.S. stores, a move that could stall its partner Murphy Oil Corp.'s fast-growing gas station business.

Wal-Mart currently has more than 800 Murphy gas stations in the parking lots of its stores, and the oil company expects to open 100 more this year. The stations account for more than one-third of Murphy's revenue, but analysts said they generate very little of the company's profit.

The world's biggest retailer opened its fifth company-owned gas station last month at a new supercenter in northwest Arkansas, just minutes from its Bentonville headquarters.

Wal-Mart opened one in Missouri earlier this year, about 15 minutes from Bentonville. The retailer has three others that it opened in Virginia about two years ago, but spokeswoman Sharon Weber said Wal-Mart wanted more locations closer to home "so that we can really keep a close eye and test them well."

"It's something that Sam's Club has been doing quite successfully for some time," Weber said, referring to Wal-Mart's warehouse club division, which has company-owned gas stations at many of its locations. "We're looking at it and we'll move forward as we can."

Weber declined to comment on expansion plans, and said the retailer continues to have a "good partnership" with Murphy. She said Murphy was aware of the Wal-Mart-owned stations.

To continue reading this article, click here.

From an article in The Herald just sent in from a community leader in Washington State:

In a surprise anticlimax, the Wal-Mart controversy in Stanwood died on the vine. At the beginning of a much-anticipated City Council meeting Thursday night for a vote on a controversial Wal-Mart-inspired rezone, a late-arriving letter from developer Brent McKinley of Vine Street Group in Arlington cut off the debate.

Councilman Gil Powell read from McKinley's letter, which arrived at City Hall on Wednesday: "Please accept this letter as my formal withdrawal."

The council then pulled the issue off the agenda, thereby avoiding a vote on the matter.

By pulling out, McKinley cut short a rezone process initiated in November 2002 for a project first presumed to be a grocery store and strip mall on 23 acres at the northeast corner of Highway 532 and 72nd Avenue NW.

The proposal drew strong opposition - including a petition with more than 3,000 signatures - after McKinley revealed in a letter last fall that Wal-Mart was interested in the property. Opponents feared the world's largest retailer would drive out local businesses.

Today, Wal-Mart executive after Wal-Mart executive talked about the responsibility “to do the right thing.” But doing the right thing starts with telling the American people the truth. The truth is that Wal-Mart chooses not to address its many problems which are of its own making.

The fact is that Wal-Mart is as concerned about doing the right thing as Tobacco companies are concerned about the health of Americans.

Sadly, the biggest “lies” told to the American people today were by Lee Scott and Wal-Mart’s executives who offered excuses why a company with 10 billion dollars in profits can’t provide health care for all of its workers, or pay a living wage, or provide better benefits, or address its record of gender discrimination or truly buy American.

On behalf of the American people, we will continue to expose the truth about Wal-Mart until the day Wal-Mart changes and does the right thing.

Paul Blank, Campaign Director
Wake-Up Wal-Mart Campaign

From Marketwatch:

When thousands of people descend upon the Bud Walton Auditorium for the world's largest retailer's annual meeting on Friday, more than a few of them may be doing the Wal-Mart jeer.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shareholders who have seen the value of their stock drop 20% in the last year will be looking for explanations. Analysts will be paying attention for clues as to how the Bentonville, Ark.-based company (WMT: news, chart, profile) , its stock a Dow Jones Industrial Average component, will fix merchandising and operations issues.

And activists intend to use the meeting, scheduled to take place in nearby Fayetteville, Ark., to press their assault on the company's carefully crafted friendly image. A coalition of groups, from labor unions to environmental organizations, has banded together to take on the so-called Behemoth of Bentonville over everything from charges of deficiencies in employees' health-care benefits to alleged sex discrimination in hiring and promotion.

A protest march through the streets of Wal-Mart's hometown is set for Thursday night.

Among those in attendance will be Chris Kofinis, a one-time adviser to former presidential candidate Wesley Clark, the retired general who ran for the Democratic nomination last year.

Kofinis now works for the "Wake-Up Wal-Mart" campaign, and his cause is health care.

"In state after state, Wal-Mart leads in the number of workers that are in public health care," he said. "It is bad enough that 600,000 of their workers are without health care, but transferring costs from the company to the taxpayer is not just wrong, it is almost un-American."

To continue reading this article, click here.

From the Associated Press:

The group Wake-Up Wal-Mart, backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, staged events Wednesday to call for states to adopt legislation that would require Wal-Mart to provide employees affordable health care.

Wake-Up Wal-Mart director Paul Blank said the group wants to do more than create media pressure on the Bentonville-based retailer.

"It is a little bit broader than public opinion. This is a grass roots movement across the country of Americans who want to change Wal-Mart," Blank said.

To continue reading this article, click here.

Wal-Mart issued a statement this morning regarding our new "Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care" Campaign. The title of their response was "Wal-Mart Wide Awake..." You can see a screenshot below the fold.

Response to Wal-Mart’s statement by Paul Blank, Wake-Up Wal-Mart Campaign Director:

“The facts are clear. The American people are paying tens of millions of dollars for Wal-Mart’s health care so Wal-Mart can add to its profits. Now, Wal-Mart, the biggest company in the world with over $10 billion in profits, wants you to believe one of the biggest lies ever told to the American consumer. Wal-Mart claiming it is concerned about the “health care crisis” in America is like the tobacco companies claiming they are concerned about the negative effects of smoking.

The truth is, in one simple act, Wal-Mart has the power to assume its share of responsibility for our nation’s health care crisis and offer affordable health care coverage to more than 600,000 of its employees who aren’t covered by the company plan. But, instead of living up to their corporate responsibility, Wal-Mart would rather pay poverty level wages and provide poor benefits. Until Wal-Mart changes, we will offer Fair Share for Health Care legislation in all 50 states on behalf of the American people.

The American people deserve better than empty rhetoric and big lies.”

Screen shot of walmartfacts.com:

From CBS Marketwatch:

An influential group of Wal-Mart shareholders who control more than $545.8 million in stock called on Wal-Mart Wednesday to get its compliance house in order.

The group said it had "serious concerns" about the avalanche of reports ranging from discrimination to employee fraud and illegal immigrant workers, among other issues, and wants Wal-Mart to create a special committee of independent directors to investigate them. As well, the group is seeking a probe of Wal-Mart's internal system of checks and balances with its own policies and standards.

"We are deeply concerned that the frequency of reports exposing legal and regulatory non-compliance at the company could be indicative of inadequate internal controls and a lack of board oversight and accountability," said New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr.

Read the rest of the article here.

Washington DC - Wake-Up Wal-Mart launched a new legislative and grassroots initiative today to make sure that large companies, like Wal-Mart, provide affordable health care for their workers. The “Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care” campaign will highlight the high cost American taxpayers pay because Wal-Mart fails to provide their workers with affordable health care. The coordinated grassroots effort, which unites Democracy for America (DFA), the group founded by Governor Howard Dean, and supporters of Wake-Up Wal-Mart, will also include an unprecedented grassroots effort to lobby state leaders to propose “Fair Share Health Care” legislation in all 50 states.

“High deductibles and expensive premiums - that’s the reality of Wal-Mart health care. Wal-Mart’s failure to provide company health care to more than 500,000 of its employees proves Wal-Mart cares more about its profits than its people,” said, Paul Blank, campaign director for the Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign.

The “Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care” campaign will officially launch with a series of press conferences in 8 states and 325 Meet-Ups in over 270 cities, involving over 10,000 supporters of DFA and Wake-Up Wal-Mart. Press conferences with civic, community, and labor leaders will be held in Concord, NH; Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; Madison, WI; Little Rock, AR; Austin, TX; Hartford, CO; and Atlanta, GA.

Speakers at the press conferences will call on their state legislative leaders to pass “fair share health care” legislation. In order to highlight the real cost from Wal-Mart’s failure to provide affordable health care for its workers, a bill for the actual amount state taxpayers subsidize the health care of Wal-Mart workers will be presented. The “Wal-Mart Health Care Tax” is a 3-foot-by-6-foot replica of an actual “Wal-Mart bill” and reflects the estimated dollar cost state taxpayers pay for providing health care for Wal-Mart’s workers. A letter will also be mailed to Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, asking Wal-Mart to reimburse state taxpayers for the tens of millions of dollars used to subsidize Wal-Mart’s health care.

Tonight’s Meet-Ups will focus on the “Wal-Mart Health Care Crisis,” and the political and legislative tactics that supporters will use to lobby and pressure their state’s Governor and political leaders to adopt “fair share” health care legislation. As part of this grassroots effort, supporters will be asked to be “Citizen Sponsors” or “Citizen Co-Sponsors” of “fair share health care" legislation in their state. The “Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care” campaign will also launch a new section on its website to educate the public about the Wal-Mart’s heath care crisis and allow the tens of thousands of supporters to host a “Fair Share House Party” on June 23rd.

From today's New York Times:

He's taken on the Bush administration, the war in Iraq and the Fox News Channel. He's forged alliances with grass-roots liberal groups like MoveOn.org, liberal research groups, even liberal churches.

Yet Robert Greenwald, the producer and director of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," thinks his next documentary-cum-indictment will appeal to gun-toting Bush voters in the Bible belt as much as to the latte-drinking lefties who made his last movie a hit at house parties on both coasts.

His new project? "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price."

To continue reading this article, click here.

To visit the official website of "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," click here.