Today, in a conference call with reporters, Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, was asked why he would not sit down and meet with WakeUpWalMart.com. Scott stated that he would not meet with us because our interest was that Wal-Mart “simply did not exist.” In fact, WakeUpWalMart.com sent Lee Scott a personal letter on October 12th that extended a sincere offer to build a true working partnership between WakeUpWalMart.com and Wal-Mart.
As the letter states, “In the end, we are not your enemy. Our goal is to be your partner in making Wal-Mart a better business. We welcome the opportunity to meet you and discuss how we can help Wal-Mart grow and prosper in new ways.”
Sadly, Lee Scott is determined to ignore our desire to build a partnership that improves the lives of their workers, their families, the community and the nation. Instead, Wal-Mart and Lee Scott meet with “mystery critics” that are not even willing to be public with their criticism, and release a speech that is more about a publicity stunt than about substantive changes to improve Wal-Mart.
We again extend a sincere offer to Lee Scott and Wal-Mart to partner with us, to embrace our six demands for change, and to build a better Wal-Mart and a better America.
Here is a copy of the letter we sent:
AN OPEN LETTER TO WAL-MART CEO LEE SCOTT
Mr. Lee Scott, CEO
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611
Dear Mr. Scott,
In the wake of the terrible tragedies caused by Hurricane Katrina, Wal-Mart helped ease the suffering of many Americans. This crisis brought out the best in Wal-Mart and we applaud your hurricane relief efforts. We hope Wal-Mart’s response to Hurricane Katrina represents a turning point.
Wal-Mart has a great opportunity to work with us to help improve the lives of so many Americans who face an economic and health care crisis everyday, everywhere in America. The American people want to know, will Wal-Mart do what is right for America or will Wal-Mart lead a race to the bottom?
We believe now is the time for Wal-Mart to address the serious issues facing its 1.3 million workers, their families, our communities and our country by agreeing to the following “six demands for change.”
1) Living Wage. Pay all Wal-Mart workers a fair living wage so they can support their families.
2) Affordable Health Care. Provide all workers comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage so they can care for their families and no longer be forced to rely on taxpayer-funded public health care.
3) End Discrimination. Ensure equal opportunity and equal pay for women and people of color in your workforce at all levels through a stringent and independent monitoring process.
4) Zero Tolerance on Child Labor. Adopt a zero tolerance policy and institute an independent monitoring program to stop the exploitation of child labor in the United States and abroad.
5) Buy American. Establish a “Buy America” program that annually increases the percentage of “Made in America” goods purchased by Wal-Mart so as to help protect American jobs.
6) Respect Communities. Work with local communities to effectively address Wal-Mart’s negative impact on issues like traffic, sprawl, the environment, and local businesses.
As you stated recently, "When you do the right thing, good things accrue to you." We agree. Just imagine the good Wal-Mart can do if it works with us to become a better company by doing the right thing - everyday. We hope you will view our “six demands for change” as a sincere effort to form a new partnership for change.
In the end, we are not your enemy. Our goal is to be your partner in making Wal-Mart a better business. We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss how we can help Wal-Mart grow and prosper in new ways. But, make no mistake about it, if Wal-Mart refuses to change for the better, we will continue to build this broad-based social movement into one of the most powerful forces for change the nation has ever seen.
Wal-Mart has an incredible opportunity - right now - to work with us to better the lives of all your workers, to set a new standard for corporate America, to be a better business, and to build a better nation. We hope you will and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
WakeUpWalMart.com - America’s Campaign to Change Wal-Mart.
P.S. This November we, along with a broad coalition of community organizations, will be launching Wal-Mart Week, November 13th - 19th, to highlight Wal-Mart's negative impact on America. You can go to www.walmartweek.com and learn more about the actions we will be taking and the movie being released. Our hope is that by then, instead of highlighting Wal-Mart’s failures, we can stand together and celebrate a new day at Wal-Mart - a day when real change improved the lives of millions of Americans.
Posted by Brendan - October 25, 2005 02:34 PM - In The News