From Roll Call:

A now-infamous internal Wal-Mart memo that was leaked to the giant retailer’s foes last month has given a jolt to anti-Wal-Mart activists’ Capitol Hill agenda and forced Wal-Mart to do damage control in Washington, D.C., and around the country.

The dozen-page memo to Wal-Mart’s board of directors spelled out several ways the company could reduce the cost of benefits, including attracting a healthier work force. The memo, drafted by Wal-Mart executive Susan Chambers, acknowledged that “our critics are correct in some of their observations,” including charges that many Wal-Mart employees are on Medicaid and other government programs.

Chris Kofinis, communications director with Wake Up Wal-Mart, a K Street-based group organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, said the memo legitimizes his group’s efforts. Since the memo became public, Wake Up Wal-Mart’s membership has risen, from 100,000 in mid-October to 115,000 now. The group last week announced plans to organize employers of the staunchly anti-union retailer in a dues-free association called Wal-Mart Workers of America.

“In an ironic way, Wal-Mart has given strength to the importance of this movement,” Kofinis said. “A growing number of American people realize that this needs to be looked at from a political and legislative standpoint. This is truly just the tip of the iceberg.”