From CNNMoney.com:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Ford and Gap -- four of the top iconic American brands -- have one other attribute in common: They each blew it in 2005 when it came to getting out their message.

"There's never been a year where so many market leaders struggled with their marketing message," said Kelly O'Keefe, an independent branding consultant and CEO of O'Keefe Brands.

O'Keefe has published an annual branding "Hall of Shame" for four consecutive years. He has not published an official list for 2005, but these four companies would rank high, he said.

"When you look at who's had branding bloopers recently, it's those companies that have been struggling to grow profits. They're attempting to break into new markets and making mistakes along the way," said Robert Passikoff, branding expert with Brand Keys Consulting.

What were they thinking?

Wal-Mart The giant retailer has been on O'Keefe's bloopers list a few times. Wal-Mart's attempt to tweak its merchandise and marketing mix to appeal to an more upscale consumer is a mistake, he said, adding that Wal-Mart's Christmas ads this past holiday featuring singer Beyonce at home with her family opening gifts were a bad idea.

"Beyonce doesn't speak to Wal-Mart's core customers," he said. "Wal-Mart's always been about low prices. Instead of trying to be someone who they're not, Wal-Mart should refocus on who they once were to the customer, which was a no-frills provider of products at great prices and friendly service."

O'Keefe's other gripe is about the disappearance of "Mr. Smiley" from Wal-Mart's ads. "The smiley face wasn't only about low prices but it became a symbol of Wal-Mart (Research)."

Click here for the full article.

The New York Times writes today about Wal-Mart's new ad campaign, one that looks eerily similar to Sears' ad campaign in the 1990s:

The year was 1993, and Sears, Roebuck & Company wanted to shake off its image as a testosterone-filled department store focused on tools and lawn mowers.

So its advertising agency developed a print and television campaign featuring female shoppers discovering, to their surprise, that the retailer stocked fashionable clothing. The campaign had a catchy jingle: "Come see the softer side of Sears."

Fast forward to 2006. This time, the retailer is Wal-Mart Stores and the goal is to shake off its image as a house of bargains for cheap laundry detergent and toilet paper.

So its agency developed a print and television campaign featuring women discovering, to their surprise, that the retailer stocks fashionable clothing and home furnishings. It, too, came up with a catchy slogan: "Look beyond the basics."

A similar goal is evident in both campaigns: to change consumers' view of the kinds of products the retailers carry. But the similarities do not end there. Wal-Mart's advertising campaign bears a remarkable resemblance to the Sears campaign right down to its execution.

Asked to review ads from both companies, Adam Hanft, chief executive of Hanft Unlimited, a New York branding and marketing firm, said the similarities were "amazing. " He expressed surprise that Wal-Mart executives approved it.

"It is amazing that nobody in the chain of command remembers" the Sears campaign, he said. "It was all over the place."

Industry experts agreed that even if the Wal-Mart ads did consciously borrow from the Sears campaign, the most likely consequence would probably just be embarrassment over not being more original.

Click here to read the entire article.

From the New York Times:

Wanted: two people to help defend the nation's largest retailer against critics. Requirements: plenty of experience managing a crisis.

Wal-Mart Stores has begun circulating two senior-level job postings — both in public relations — and if the language used to describe the positions is any indication, the giant discount retailer is on the P.R. equivalent of war footing.

One job includes "opposition research," presumably into Wal-Mart's major critics: Wal-Mart Watch and Wake Up Wal-Mart. The other requires the ability to "mobilize resources" during a "crisis situation."

The two jobs reflect how much life has changed at Wal-Mart, which has come under withering criticism over its wages, health benefits and treatment of workers. The company barely had a public relations department in the early 1990's, but now has a staff of dozens, including a public relations war room full of former political operatives who dispute the assertions of its opponents.

The job postings, which were circulated by Crowe-Innes & Associates, an executive search firm, were given to The New York Times by Wal-Mart Watch, a group backed by unions and foundations that is pressing Wal-Mart to enhance its wages and benefits.

According to the posting for the first job, director of media relations, the successful applicant will oversee Wal-Mart's "crisis communications program."

Rather than simply handling phone calls from the press, the employee must be able to help "triage" those calls, managing messages "in rapid response mode." Mona Williams, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the company received hundreds of calls a day from reporters.

And, of course, the employee must be on call "24/7" to assist with "emergency response" within the public relations department.

The job requires 10 years' experience in corporate communications and "proven media relationships."

The second job is senior director of campaign management, an executive who will oversee all corporate communications support staff and the war room.

This person, like the media relations director, must have 10 years experience in communications, but also a track record "addressing high- profile political activities," according to the posting. Candidates must "operate successfully in a campaign mode."

One responsibility of the job is to research opponents — a position usually found in presidential political campaigns.

Another is overseeing Wal-Mart's relations with bloggers, many of whom frequently write about the company.

The executive search firm, Crowe-Innes & Associates, did not respond to phone and e-mail messages.

Both of the posted jobs, which would be based at Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., offer "competitive base salary, bonus opportunity and stock options" plus an "excellent benefits package," which are not specified.

Wal-Mart is on track to buy $24 billion to $25 billion in goods from China this year, up from $18 billion in 2005, according to Stephen Green, a senior economist with Standard Chartered Bank's branch in Shanghai.

Knight Ridder has the story:

BEIJING - The Bush administration toughened its stance toward trade with China on Wednesday, with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez warning that China risks a "devastating" blow to its economy if it doesn't take action to help head off rising protectionism in the U.S. Congress.

Hours later, Treasury Undersecretary Timothy Adams told a congressional committee in Washington that China had failed to move quickly enough to revalue its currency. "China's progress has been way too cautious," he said.

Trade tensions are soaring in the run-up to President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington on April 20 amid U.S. unhappiness over what it says is an overvalued Chinese currency and its $202 billion trade deficit with China last year.

Gutierrez's remarks signaled a notable shift in U.S. trade posture toward China. For the first time, he linked U.S.-Sino trade relations with China's internal stability, saying that China may "put at risk the social harmony" within its own borders if it doesn't work harder to meet U.S. demands.

"There is a real protectionist and isolationist sentiment creeping up, evolving, emerging in our country," Gutierrez said in a speech to U.S. business executives.

Noting that the United States has become China's No. 1 foreign market, Gutierrez said Beijing might put that market at risk unless it can "deliver results quite quickly" by opening areas such as telecommunications, services, direct sales and information technology to U.S. companies.

"Think what that would do to China's economy if China's No. 1 customer all of a sudden decided to be protectionist ... and frankly not buy as much as it does today," Gutierrez said. "It would be devastating to China's economy."

Gutierrez said China must relax "a wide array of barriers" confronting U.S. companies to "help us drive back those protectionist sentiments" on Capitol Hill, where several proposals targeting China await action.

Two U.S. senators, Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Max Baucus, D-Mont., on Tuesday proposed fresh legislation intended to force the Bush administration to take measures against China if it doesn't make trade concessions.

"There is a very real sense among Americans that our trading partners - China, in particular - do not play by the rules," Baucus said in a statement.

Two other critics of China's policy to fix its currency at artificially low levels against the dollar, Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., postponed until September a vote that would have slapped 27.5 percent tariffs on Chinese goods unless China moved to float the yuan.

Boosted by soaring trade, China said this week that its foreign exchange reserves have climbed to $853.7 billion, surpassing Japan's to become the largest in the world.

China's top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Wu Yi, told Gutierrez that the United States should get its economic house in order instead of pressuring China to revalue the yuan, state media said Wednesday.

The trade issue has divided U.S. business. China's delay in granting market access has angered big U.S. software and telecommunications service providers, while retailers and other U.S. companies benefit under current trade conditions.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is on track to buy $24 billion to $25 billion in goods from China this year, up from $18 billion in 2005, said Stephen Green, a senior economist with Standard Chartered Bank's branch in Shanghai.

Green warned that imposing sanctions on Chinese goods would affect businesses not just in China, but throughout Asia and the United States.

"About 90 percent of Wal-Mart's supplies out of China come from foreign-invested firms," Green said, referring to plants built with foreign money and know-how.

If protectionist moves against China succeed, Green said, "there would be huge dislocation for American firms." Green said Washington should focus on China's slow progress on intellectual property rights protection rather than exchange rate reform.

Gutierrez concurred that fighting piracy is critical to healthy Sino-U.S. relations and noted that an increase in legal software sales would also benefit China.

"If China simply cuts software piracy rate from 90 percent down to 80 percent, it would generate $6.5 billion in tax revenue and create 2.6 million jobs in China," he said.

Round 2 is over and 8 states have moved on to Round 3. Illinois pulled ahead of Michigan (214-208) in the closest Sweet 16 matchup, while Oregon upset Southern California (428-294).

Check out the updated brackets.

Round 3 ends on Saturday, April 1. The four states with the most new supporters signed up will advance to the Final Four. If your state is out of the Tournament for Change, you can still help us reach 200,000 and become a member of our Grassroots Steering Committee by competing in the tournament.

Today marks the end of Round 2 of the "2006 WUWM Tournament for Change." Our data entry team continues to work on entering all of the new supporters while the fax machine continues to receive sign ups from grassroots suporters across the country.

We will finalize the Sweet 16 scores at 8:30 am tomorrow morning and the top 8 states will move into the "Grassroots 8." Right now, Michigan and Illinois are locked in the closest matchup of the Sweet 16, with only 2 points separating the states.

In the individual competition, Stuart from Oregon continues to lead with 36 points.

Help us reach 200,000 by April 5. Help your state advance to the Grassroots 8. Participate in the 2006 WUWM Tournament for Change.

Update 1: We are continuing to enter the data from the sign up sheets as fast as we can. We will finalize the Sweet 16 numbers at midnight tonight. Illinois and Michigan are locked in a close Sweet 16 game, with Illinois just recently taking the lead. Southern California is also making a comeback against Oregon.

Check in on the latest up-to-the minute state brackets.

From WCSH6.com in Portland, Maine:

Almost everyone who attended Newcastle's town meeting Monday agreed to cap all new retail buildings at 35,000 square feet.

The size cap was designed to keep big businesses like Wal-Mart out of town. Wal-Mart had proposed building a 186,000 square foot store in nearby Damariscotta, but last week, voters there blocked the development with the same size cap Newcastle voted on.

The turnout for Newcastle's town meeting was well into the hundreds, much higher than normal. Only a handful of people voted against the cap.

The town of Nobleboro also voted recently to place a 6-month moratorium on all new retail buildings that are bigger than 35,000 square feet.

Last week, former Wal-Mart worker Patricia Wells spoke to over 2,000 people at the Change to Win conference in Las Vegas. Here are her remarks:

I am a proud member of Wal-Mart Workers of America. I want to briefly touch base on the health care issue. I have four children and all four are on Florida State funded health care! As for me, I no longer have health coverage due to Wal-Mart’s Work-Comp not paying me for the month of February, so I could no longer afford to pay the premiums. I spoke out last month as part of the national campaign because I believe that it is my responsibility to stand up for myself, my husband, my four children, all Wal-Mart workers, and for all working people in this country!

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott recently said on Neil Cavuto that when Wal-Mart is found to be in the wrong that they will right that wrong... Let me tell you about the wrong they haven't righted with me.

Three years ago I began working full time at Wal-Mart’s Distribution Center in Brooksville, Florida to help my husband make ends meet. My husband Ollie has worked there as well for almost four years now.

Allow me to tell you my story -- a story that is far to common for other workers in this country. My experience with Wal-Mart has been one of mistreatment, bullying, harassment, and injustice.

After just over a year at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center, which we call DC's. I was injured at work when I attempted to clear a jam on a conveyer belt. I was initially dragged then was thrown around like a rag doll for approximately 65 feet doing approximately 30 miles per hour. I had rubber embedded on my arms and legs. Honestly, I am lucky to be alive today!

I was taken to the Wal-Mart clinic and given a bag of ice and told to sit out the rest of my shift. After complaining every day for a week about severe pain in my shoulder, I was then told by the head of Loss Prevention that it was company policy to put you on light duty for seven days and then take you to the doctor. It was ten days before I was finally allowed to go to the doctor, which was done during my shift.

Wal-Mart attempted to blame me for the accident. I was told by a manager that the incident could have been prevented if I had followed what is known as the Lock Out/Tag Out procedure. That manager knew that I was never trained to do this procedure in that department! What OSHA found when they fined Wal-Mart $4500 was six serious safety violations for not performing the procedure!

Why, you might ask? Wal-Mart does not perform lock out/tag out because doing so would cause a "loss of Production” for them! Wal-Mart risked my health, my life, my future because it wanted to save money and boost profits. They put profits over people, as they do so many times.

The worst part of my story is that Wal-Mart refuses to admit it was wrong. Refuses to make it right!

I have spent the last year fighting the workers compensation only to have Wal-Mart deny my claim. They continue to blame me for an accident they know they caused!

I am fighting back! And I will continue fighting... for my work-comp, for justice at Wal-Mart, and for people to know the truth!

When my husband Ollie and I spoke at the press conference in Orlando, we were proud of what we were doing because we knew it was the right thing to do. There are many other Wal-Mart workers at our DC and around the country that feel the same way we do- that Wal-Mart needs to change and that we deserve more, we deserve better! I know that had Wal-Mart had a union, I would not be going through this today. My husband and I know that the best thing we can due is join the Workers Association and become involved. We can no longer allow this huge company to bully us and treat us with disrespect.

Only by speaking out can we give other workers in our DC and workers everywhere the courage to speak out as well. And only by continuing to let workers across this country know that there are people who care -- people like all of you in this room, who care and will stand behind them and will be there for them -- will we ever change Wal-Mart!

Some day they will right their wrongs... But only because we stood together!

Thank you.

Wow. March Madness has taken off among WakeUpWalMart.com volunteers. Since we launched the “2006 WUWM Tournament for Change” a little over a week ago, grassroots leaders have taken on the challenge of reaching our 200,000 goal by April 5.

Late last week and this weekend, our field office was flooded with sign up sheets. Our fax machine ran out of paper more than once. We even had to replace the ink cartridge.

We have our team in full data entry mode starting today. We are typing in the names of thousands of new WakeUpWalMart.com supporters now. A rough estimate has us with just over 8,500 new supporters ready to be added to the movement, which puts us just about 4,000 supporters from our goal.

Only 9 days remain. The faxes and mail continue to come in. Thanks to those leaders who have stepped up and helped build the movement. Will you help us reach the finish line? Click here to download the sign up sheet and recruit your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors.

Right now, Stuart from Oregon leads in the individual grassroots competition, followed closely by Margaret from Massachusetts. We'll keep you updated on our version of March Madness over the final 9 days as we prepare to celebrate our one-year anniversary on April 5.

Click here to enter the Tournament and check in on the state-by-state brackets.

From the Associated Press:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., facing broad opposition at April regulatory hearings on its plan to open an in-house bank, is changing its application. It will now comply with federal rules that require lenders to serve low- and moderate-income clients.

Wal-Mart said yesterday that it would no longer seek an exemption from the Community Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress in 1977 to end the practice of "redlining" poorer neighborhoods by denying credit and services to customers there.

The retailer said it was originally advised by experts that it would qualify for an exemption because it did not plan to open branches and provide services to the public.

Instead, Wal-Mart wants a charter for a special type of bank based in Utah called an industrial loan corporation that would only process Wal-Mart's millions of credit, debit-card and check transactions. Wal-Mart said it wanted to save costs by keeping the processing fees that are now paid to third parties.

Opponents, who will testify in two hearings scheduled to be held next month by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., were unmoved by the change.

"It's crumbs," said John Taylor, president and chief executive officer of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which is scheduled to testify against the plan at the first FDIC hearing April 10 in Arlington, Va.

Opponents have argued that Wal-Mart's size means it could put community banks out of business by opening branches in its stores. They fear that would concentrate too much economic power in a single company with no ties to communities.

Wal-Mart said the decision to drop the exemption request in a March 1 letter to the FDIC was not connected to a broad range of opposition expected at the FDIC hearings from groups including bankers, community activists and unions.

Wal-Mart spokesman Marty Heires said the company "had always felt that we should comply" with the Community Reinvestment Act. "But because so many people counseled us against that, we took that counsel. But we have been leaning this way for a long time."

"The reason we did that was to fully demonstrate our commitment to the community," he said.

Heires said Wal-Mart had a history of supporting communities, spending more than $200 million on charities last year in the United States. It already has about 1,150 bank branches in its stores run by about 300 institutions, and it does not want to compete with them, Heires said.

WakeUpWalMart.com, a union-funded campaign group that opposes the banking plan, said Wal-Mart's reversal was not enough to calm critics.

"None of the changes address the key point: that a 'Wal-Mart bank' would result in a dangerous concentration of economic power, which is bad for consumers, small business, and our nation's economy," said Chris Kofinis, communications director for WakeUpWalMart.com.

On Thursday night, over 900 people showed up for a zoning meeting to protest Wal-Mart's plans to sneak into Violet Township in Ohio. Off the record, the TLG Development Company has admitted that the proposed big box store would be Wal-Mart.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

As early as 6:10 p.m. yesterday, people began assembling in the Pickerington Ridgeview Junior High School cafeteria to protest plans for a big-box retailer in Violet Township.

By the 7:30 p.m. start of the township Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the 300 folding chairs were filled.

The rest of the cafeteria space was taken by people standing shoulder-toshoulder. And even more struggled to get into the door. Many could not.

"If we seem a little bit nervous, it’s because we don’t usually get this much attention," commission Chairman John Biancamano told the boisterous crowd. "Sorry you all can’t see."

Most of the people were there to urge the commission to recommend against a developer’s request to rezone 106 acres of farmland to commercial from residential.

The TLG Development Co. of Dublin has proposed a big-box retailer for the site at the intersection of Pickerington and Refugee roads.

The school was chosen for the meeting in an effort to accommodate an expected large crowd.

"We have hundreds of people out there," one woman shouted as others inched forward.

"Could we have order?" Biancamano pleaded. "We got the biggest room we could find."

Though there was literature circulating around the room against a Wal-Mart, TLG attorney David Fisher emphasized last night that no company to occupy the site has been identified.

Fisher also railed against "misinformation" floating around, saying that the developer has not sought any tax abatement for the property.

The attorney also asked the audience to "respect the rights of the current property owners."

Two of the property owners, Kelly Sanders and Donald Smith, both addressed the crowd in favor of the project.

Sanders suggested it is too late to stop growth.

"Pickerington is no longer a small town," Sanders said. "I’m tired of the hypocrisy."

William C. Blackmon, who lives on Pickerington Road less than a mile from the proposed development, said any big-box retailer would generate noise and add to traffic congestion.

"It’s disgusting to me," said Blackmon, who has lived in the township for 35 years. "I moved out here to live in the country."

Township resident Sharon Little said the project could make it harder for her to sell her home one day.

"I do have concerns for my property values," Little said.

Resident Suzanne Botelho said she has witnessed motorists failing to stop for school buses with lights flashing. She worries that the situation will get worse if the project is approved.

"Our children are at stake here," Botelho said to huge applause.

Fisher asked that the commission give the developer time to conduct traffic and economic-impact studies.

With residents still talking late into the night, Biancamano said the commission would need more time before making a recommendation. Violet Township trustees would not be able to overturn the recommendation without a unanimous vote.

"We try to make the best decision based on the facts and the law," Biancamano said.

The chairman said an even bigger venue will be secured, if possible, for the next meeting to give more people an opportunity to attend.

From the New York Times:

Wal-Mart, says the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, is a "generous and thoughtful" partner that has helped recover 140 missing children. Maybe so, but the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action argues that Wal-Mart is "socially irresponsible" for skimping on employee wages.

A dispute over a new store? Not exactly. Instead, these two groups — and an eclectic collection of 69 more — have signed up to testify before federal regulators deciding, of all things, whether Wal-Mart can open a bank.

But like almost anything involving Wal-Mart these days, the dispute has less to do with specific legal or regulatory questions than it does with the deep rift the company has opened across the American landscape.

As a result, highly unusual hearings next month are expected to highlight the degree to which Wal-Mart "the company" has become Wal-Mart "the issue" — a topic, much like affirmative action or abortion that divides legislators, trade groups and advocacy organizations into predictably opposing camps.

To be sure, Wal-Mart's application to open a bank has aroused the interest of groups that have a direct stake in the issue like the North Dakota Bankers Association and the Community Bankers Association of Kansas. But it is considerably harder to explain the interest of the Salvation Army (for), the Utah Farmers Union (leaning against) and Jobs With Justice (against).

They are either anti-Wal-Mart because of its business practices, or pro-Wal-Mart because they like its rock-bottom pricing strategy or benefit from the retailer's charity.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which is reviewing Wal-Mart's application, has never before held a hearing on a bank application because none have ever provoked much of a response.

The question facing regulators is whether Wal-Mart, by far the nation's largest retailer and its biggest private employer, can open a bank in Utah that would process credit and debit card transactions for its 3,500 American stores. Dozens of companies, including Target, Toyota and BMW, operate similar banks.

Wal-Mart argues that a bank would save money for itself and its shoppers by avoiding the charges imposed on credit card purchases by other financial institutions, which amount to at least $5 million a year. Opponents argue that the bank, even with its narrow focus, would allow Wal-Mart eventually to open retail banking branches that could wipe out competitors, an ambition Wal-Mart denies harboring.

In a concession to opponents, Wal-Mart said yesterday that it would no longer seek an exemption from a law requiring its proposed bank to invest in low-income communities, which could relieve some criticism.

So far, the F.D.I.C. has received a record 1,900 letters from the public on Wal-Mart's application. The first hearing, spread across two days to accommodate all the speakers, is scheduled for April 10 and 11 in Arlington, Va., just outside Washington; the second will occur April 25 in Overland Park, Kan.

Sarita Gupta, national field director for Jobs With Justice, says that Wal-Mart — with what she considers a poor record of low wages, meager benefits and the elimination of thousands of small retailers unable to compete with Wal-Mart's low prices — should not be rewarded with a bank. "Until they address these bad corporate practices," she said, "why would we allow them to expand into a new industry?"

The Salvation Army, by contrast, plans to speak in support of Wal-Mart, trumpeting the company's steady financial support for the charity's Red Kettle Christmas Campaign and Wal-Mart's rapid response to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"We are not bankers and we don't pretend to be," said Maj. George Hood, in charge of national community relations at the Salvation Army. "Our focus is to be a character witness for Wal-Mart and their support for communities."

Both sides are marshaling their forces for the fight. The Salvation Army and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, each recipients of Wal-Mart funds, signed up to testify after they were contacted by Wal-Mart officials. Jobs for Justice and Americans for Democratic Action are working with Wakeupwalmart.com, a union-backed group also scheduled to testify.

In such a charged political atmosphere, perhaps it is no surprise that Senator Hillary Clinton, Democrat of New York, who once served on Wal-Mart's board, now says in a letter that she has "serious reservations" about the bank application. Her position is shared by several large New York financial institutions, which view banks like the one proposed by Wal-Mart — technically an industrial loan corporation — as a potential source of competition that receives relatively little scrutiny from regulators.

Plenty of regular people, unaffiliated with trade or community groups, have also weighed in, reflecting the powerful emotions Wal-Mart evokes, both pro and con.

Robert J. Pansegrau of Palm Springs, Calif., endorsed the company's banking ambitions, arguing Wal-Mart "has saved Americans billions and billions, bringing much-needed price relief to my family and friends."

"Banks that protest," he added, "are just afraid of losing their monopoly on huge fees."

But James Domenico of San Francisco wrote that he was "unequivocally opposed" to the application, describing Wal-Mart as a "rapacious and unrelenting competitor that routinely, as company policy, drives smaller competitors out of business."

A Wal-Mart spokesman, John Kelly, said the company was unfazed by all the attention or the prospect that the government hearings might become a referendum on the company, rather than its efforts to open a bank.

"I think you are going to hear attacks on the character of Wal-Mart," Mr. Kelly conceded. "We look forward to getting our position out."

From the Associated Press:

DECATUR, Ga. — At the grand opening of a Wal-Mart in a black suburb of Atlanta, civil rights leader Andrew Young danced with store clerks, bouncing to the song "We Are Family."

He also posed with a $1 million check from the company -- a donation for a memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to be built on the National Mall in Washington.

Young took part in the pep rally in his new position as a paid corporate cheerleader for Wal-Mart -- a role that has perplexed some of his longtime civil rights colleagues, who have all but accused him of going over to the enemy.

Activists for the poor have long complained that Wal-Mart skimps on wages and health benefits, forces employees to work off the clock, and kills off mom-and-pop businesses.

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, known as the dean of the civil rights movement, said Young -- the 74-year-old former Atlanta mayor and U.N. ambassador -- is acting as a "lone wolf" in working for Wal-Mart.

"Maybe he knows something that other advocates for economic justice don't," Lowery said in a statement. "Maybe we will see the corporate giant be born again and become a good corporate citizen."

Young, who as one of King's top lieutenants was a business liaison during the civil rights era, said that by working for the world's largest retailer, he hopes to increase jobs and open other doors for poor people. He defended his role as entirely consistent with the ideals of the civil rights movement.

"Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people," he said. "That's what I've been doing all my life."

Young long ago left behind his protest days in favor of stumping for economic opportunity. As a two-term mayor in the 1980s, Young said he attracted more than a million jobs and $70 billion in private investment to the city.

Since 1997, he has headed GoodWorks International, which works with corporations and governments to foster economic development in Africa and the Caribbean.

He and his company were hired last month to promote Wal-Mart at public appearances, in interviews and in op-ed pieces, said Kevin Sheridan, spokesman for Working Families for Wal-Mart, a group organized with backing from the company. The group defends Wal-Mart Stores Inc. against attacks from critics.

Sheridan would not disclose how much Young and his company are being paid; Young said he is not sure how much his company is getting.

"He obviously is a highly credible public face that brings very high degree of respect to any debate that he involves himself with," Sheridan said. "We take very seriously his advice and his counsel. The career that he has had fighting for poor and working folks for his entire career has been the focus of almost everything he's been involved with this group to date, and we continue to look for new avenues for him to speak out."

Last fall, in another effort to change it ways, Wal-Mart announced steps to make health insurance more affordable for its employees.

"This is a case where Wal-Mart is hiring someone to make them look good, but this is someone who will try, through friendly persuasion, to get them to review some of what they're doing," said Margaret Simms, an economist for the Washington-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

She said that while the civil rights movement long concentrated on winning political power for blacks, "many people in the civil rights movement view economic development as the next frontier."

This not Young's first corporate job. He served for 10 years on the board of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and still makes public appearances on the company's behalf. He also has Nike as client through GoodWorks, and in 1997 he came under fire from activists for issuing a report exonerating the shoe manufacturer of unfair labor practices in Vietnam.

Akinyele Umoja, a professor of black studies at Georgia State University, complained: "What he's doing is providing credibility and legitimacy for some of these corporations that have policies that just reinforce inequality."

On Wednesday, Young hugged customers, signed autographs and posed for pictures with local dignitaries while singing Wal-Mart's praises. He cut the ribbon at a store that replaces an abandoned Kmart that closed two decades ago in the mostly black neighborhood.

The new store has received more than 8,000 applicants for 500 jobs. Young said he expects new housing and more business to follow Wal-Mart's lead and come to the suburban area that is home to some of the country's most affluent blacks but has stagnated in attracting jobs.

Charles Steele, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization King helped found, stopped short of criticizing Young.

"The perception is that Wal-Mart is really not a fair competitor in terms of the economy," Steele said. "What I am hoping and anticipating is that he would open up the avenues of communication to civil rights organizations, to begin dialogue and bring about meaningful solutions to a very negative situation in terms of perception."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who also worked alongside King, reserved his negative comments for the company, not his former comrade.

"It's his private choice. That's not a public policy issue," Jackson said, adding that the shift to a "Wal-Mart economy" of part-time work without health insurance is bad for the country.

Round 1 of the "2006 WUWM Tournament for Change" ended last night at midnight. In the closest state matchups, The Virginias beat The Carolinas 58-56 to advance to the second round. Maryland upset Massachusetts to advance to the Sweet 16 as well.

Click here to see the state brackets.

Will your state win the 2006 Tournament for Change? Click here to earn your state points.

Has your state been eliminated? The top four individual scorers will win spots on the WakeUpWalMart.com Grassroots Steering Committee. Compete in the individual MVP competition.

On Tuesday, U.S. Senator George Allen (R-VA) spoke at a town hall meeting in Culpeper, Virginia.

According to The Hotline, Allen "emphasized that he was there to hear from constituents." They obliged. One of "the most moving appeals" came from Joanne Carroll, "an ex Wal-Mart cashier" with "high blood pressure and no health insurance."

Carroll: "I'm not lazy. I worked in this country for many years. My husband worked for many years. We're not bad citizens." She urged Allen to "go to congress and talk with the other senators about this problem."

It’s the final day of the first round of our grassroots 2006 WakeUpWalMart Tournament for Change. With 761 new sign-ups entered today from grassroots activists around the country, we are well on our way to meeting our goal of 200,000 supporters by April 5.

In the individual competition, Margaret in Massachusetts has suddenly stolen the lead from Matt in South Dakota.

The top 4 scorers at the end of the competition (April 4) will become a part of the WakeUpWalMart.com Grassroots Steering Committee.

In the state brackets, Maryland and Massachusetts are still practically neck-and-neck with 50 points and 46 points, respectively.

Will your state make it to the next round? It’s not too late! Click here to email five friends and boost your state’s score.

From Media Matters:

On the March 21 broadcast of NBC's Today, co-host Katie Couric introduced a report on Wal-Mart's expansion of its retail business in China by telling viewers: "It's a company that is as American as mom and apple pie." Couric did not say whether the following practices are also "as American as mom and apple pie":

Child labor violations
Illegal immigration settlement
Unpaid work
Nighttime employee lock-ins
Denial of lunch breaks
Illegal anti-union tactics
False "Made in the USA" claims

Click here to read more.

From the Associated Press:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is recalling about 643,000 Mainstays love seat and porch rocking chairs because poor construction and over-curvature of the chairs’ runners can cause instability, imbalance, fracturing of the wood and tip-over during use, posing a falling hazard to consumers.

The Bentonville, Ark., company has received 45 reports of injuries, including a cut in the leg requiring 16 stitches, a shoulder joint tear and one incident in which a pregnant woman began having contractions after the chair in which she was sitting flipped over backward.

Read the entire article

From WCSH News in Portland, Maine:

Residents of Damariscotta sent a strong message to Wal-Mart Tuesday: "Stay out of our town".

Residents voted by a large margin to block the world's largest retailer from building a store in the town. The actual vote was on a size cap to limit new retail buildings to no more than 35,000 square feet. The store proposed by Wal-Mart would have been 186,000 square feet.

After an intense, four-month campaign, both sides had predicted the vote would be very close. It was not. The final tally was 747 to 456, with the size cap winning about 62 percent of the vote. And the town clerk says it may have been the largest voter turnout ever for a municipal election, and one of the largest in general. About 70 percent of the town's voters cast ballots.

Both sides said during the campaign that it was a struggle over the future of the small town. Size Cap supporters said Wal-Mart would ruin the character of the village, and would hurt many local businesses, particularly in the downtown. They argued the proposed SuperCenter was simply too big.

At the Change to Win conference in Las Vegas today, WakeUpWalMart.com activist Caroline Vernon discussed her involvement in the movement from June 2005 to the present:

June 2005 - Was introduced to Wake-Up Wal-Mart at our Democracy For America June Meet-Up. Both organizations teamed up to promote house parties to raise awareness about Fair Share for Health Care. The party was very fruitful and I adopted the Elmore St Wal-Mart here in Davenport, IA.

July 2005 - Community Demonstration in front of Wal-Mart as a direct result of the June house party.

August 2005 - I participated in the taping of a National radio ad declaring, "Why I won't buy my school supplies from Wal-Mart". The ad ran on Air America radio during the length of the Back to School campaign.

September 2005 - I met UFCW Local 431 members for the first time as we marched in the Labor Day parade. I signed up a lot of supporters for Wake-Up Wal-Mart.

October 2005 – With other citizen activists and local union members, I participated in the "Nothing is Scarier Than Not Having Health Care" Campaign by handing our flyers at the Wal-Mart I adopted. My two boys also participated by dressing up in costume since it was near Halloween; candy was given out in exchange for donations that would go toward Wal-Mart workers’ health care. We received good press on this event.

November 2005 - Higher Expectations week: I organized a showing of Robert Greenwald's, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price". Over 100 people turned out! A group of Black Hawk college students also attended and video taped an interview with me about the Campaign for change.

Also in November, I was the guest on a local radio show that was entirely about Wal-Mart.

Also in November on Black Friday, myself and others handed out flyers to Wal-Mart customers. People were very receptive but it was FREEEEEZING cold that day so we were only able to endure the elements for a short time but we distributed close to 100 flyers within 30 minutes.

December 2005 - I was quoted in the Dec 5th issue of USA Today, speaking as a community activist and a Leader for Change in the Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign.

Also in December, many of us distributed posters to various community centers, union halls, libraries, churches, car windows, etc., that promoted "Guess Who's Not Shopping at Wal-Mart this Christmas?"

Also, in December, I organized a 2nd showing of the Wal-Mart movie, and have continually circulated 4 DVDs of the movie according to demand. All 4 DVDs are currently being borrowed for the 2nd time around (8 additional showings among smaller groups, primarily around the Christmas holiday).

Feb 2006 – I attended a Health Care Lobby Day in Des Moines with about 50 other activists. We lobbied on 3 key pieces of legislation, including Fair Share Health Care. We found broad bi-partisan support for the bill. We lobbied our legislators once again on these 3 bills at our last legislative forum on Feb 25th (for public consumption). We taped the event and submitted it to local public access television; it has already aired once.

March 2006 – I’m starting a Local Community Group in Davenport to gather Wake-Up Wal-Mart supporters in my area.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has released a tentative schedule of speakers for its April hearings on Wal-Mart's industrial bank application.

Nine witnesses support the Wal-Mart bank, while 58 oppose it.

The opponents include banks, realtors, unions, political leaders, consumer protection groups, and community organizations. In addition, Paul Blank will speak on behalf of the 186,000 supporters of WakeUpWalMart.com

The hearings will be held on April 10-11 in Washington, D.C. and on April 25-26 in Kansas City, MO. It is the first time the FDIC has scheduled public hearings on a bank application.

Click here for the article and list of witnesses.

Community groups and local politicians all around the country are fighting to keep Wal-Mart from building or expanding unwanted stores in their neighborhoods. A sampling of today's news from Oregon, Massachusetts and Wisconsin:

From "Neighbors Say No To Proposed Wal-Mart" (OR):

The store that Wal-Mart wants to build in Gresham is about half the size of one it wasn't allowed to build in the city last year. But neighbors of the Wal-Mart proposed for 182nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard say their opposition hasn't shrunk.

Members of the Centennial, Hollybrook and Southwest neighborhood associations voted overwhelmingly against the new Wal-Mart proposal Monday night. Only two of about 250 people at the meeting raised their hands in favor of a store.

From "Mayor: Wal-Mart Isn't Welcome" (MA):

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone has joined the growing ranks of elected officials to speak out against Wal-Mart’s employment practices, and to recognize its destructive effect on healthy local businesses, said a local union this week.

In a recent City Hall meeting with the Greater Boston Labor Council, Curtatone made clear that he would vigorously oppose any effort to put a Wal-Mart in Somerville.

“I want you to know that I will resist Wal-Mart here in Somerville, not only because of the company’s labor practices, but because of what they do to local merchants,” said Curtatone. “I’m not about to let Wal-Mart come in to wreak havoc on our local workforce and business community.”

From "Wal-Mart Opposition To Lay Out Its Side" (WI):

The group of residents who have serious questions about the potentially negative impact of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter will host a town hall meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at VFW Memorial Hall in Hartford.

From The Washington Post:

A bipartisan group of U.S. congressmen will this week ask regulators to deny Wal-Mart's bank application, the latest push from some on Capitol Hill to oppose the bid as public hearings near.

The House members, in a letter to the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. obtained by Reuters say that due to Wal-Mart's scope and international dealings, financial problems within the company might damage the bank and disrupt the U.S. payments system.

So far, dozens of lawmakers have signed letters to the FDIC asking the agency either to reject the application or exercise caution in its review. Those members have included Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, a former Wal-Mart board member, and Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee.

Read the entire article

Last month a report by China's ministry of Commerce placed Wal-Mart's sales behind the top-30 retailers in China. This is unlikely to remain the case.

In spite of widespread resistance against Wal-Mart's continued expansion in the US, the chain is slated for a massive buildup in China. From the Washington Post:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to hire 150,000 people in China over the next five years, five times the number it currently employs [in China], as it prepares for a major store expansion.

Joe Hatfield, chief executive of Wal-Mart Asia, who has worked at the world's biggest retailer for more than 30 years and was its first employee in China in 1994, said on Sunday the company plans to open 20 stores in the country this year and is racing to train more staff so that it can speed up growth.

Communities across the country have campaigned against new Wal-Mart stores, saying they devour green space, increase traffic congestion and drive competitors out of business. Activists have succeeded in blocking or delaying dozens.

Read the rest of the article.

The Minnesota state senate approved a Fair Share Health Care bill last week.

The measure’s sponsor, Senator Becky Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, said large corporations that fail to provide adequate health care to their employees, force taxpayers and other "responsible" companies to pick up the tab.

"What I’m trying to do is stop the cost shifting to the public programs," Lourey testified.

According to WakeUpWalMart.com's recent study, "America Pays, Wal-Mart Saves," Minnesota taxpayers paid $30.1 million in state and federal taxes in 2005 because Wal-Mart failed to provide affordable health care to its workers and their families in the state.

We are about half way through the first round of our grassroots 2006 WUWM Tournament for Change, and on our way to meeting our goal of 200,000 supporters by April 5.

In the individual competition, Matt from South Dakota still leads the way with 26 points. Several others are tied in second place with 10 points. The top 4 scorers at the end of the competition (April 4) will become a part of the WakeUpWalMart.com Grassroots Steering Committee. (Enter to play now).

In the state brackets, there are several close matchups mid-way through the first round. Florida and Georgia are tied 50-50 in the Southern bracket. Maryland leads Massachusetts by 2 in the Northeast region.

Click here to learn more about the grassroots competition.

From the Lake County Leader:

Is the issue over the proposed Wal-Mart supercenter a "political" one?

That was the question facing Polson school board officials Monday night after a school district employee filed a grievance, challenging a reprimand she received last November for forwarding an e-mail about the supercenter to other school district employees.

Lynn Witts is the president of the Polson Classified Employees Association, one of two unions that represent school district employees, and the contract the PCEA has with the school district says that the district's e-mail system can be used for union-related business.

Witts claimed that the Wal-Mart-related e-mail she forwarded, which originated with Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers (MEA-MFT) state union president Eric Feaver, fell under union-related business. But school district employees, including Witts, all received an e-mail from superintendent Sue McCormick in October telling them that the use of the district's e-mail system for "personal-political statements or initiatives" is prohibited after a district employee sent an anti-Wal-Mart e-mail earlier that month following the announcement of the proposed supercenter.

The MEA-MFT is the union that represents most teachers and school district employees around the state, including Polson teachers and staff.

In the e-mail Witts forwarded to several dozen school district employees, most of whom appear to be PCEA staff, Feaver writes "Want to read about Wal-Mart attempting to grow yet another Super Store in Montana? Want more information about how everyone pays more for social services when Wal-Mart comes to town?" it reads.

Feaver's e-mail then includes a link to a Nov. 11 article in the Missoula Independent that discusses the proposed supercenter, including interviews with Moody's Market president Greg Hertz, who is identified as helping to lead the effort against the supercenter, and Wal-Mart manager Dave Tolley. In the article, Hertz and the anti-Wal-Mart group Lake County First are given extensively more coverage than Tolley, leading many of the board members to conclude that the article -- and thus, Witts' e-mail -- was political in nature, not "union business," as Witts and MEA-MFT union representative Tom Gigstad claimed.

Gigstad, who was at the meeting to argue on Witts' behalf, said forwarding an e-mail from the state union president falls well within the agreement between the union and the school district that allows employees to use e-mail for union-related business. Gigstad acknowledged that the school district's personnel policy outlines inappropriate political use of e-mail, including soliciting funds, campaigning for or against a ballot issue such as a mil levy, or endorsing or opposing candidates, but said forwarding a newspaper article on an admittedly contentious topic doesn't fall under any of those restrictions.

"He [Feaver] sent this out to [local] MEA presidents around the state, including Lynn. She received this from the state MEA president, as the local MEA president ... and forwarded it simply for informational purposes," Gigstad said. "There's nothing in here that requires a person to support or oppose ... any ballot issue. There's no solicitation to support or be against anything."

But some board members and McCormick disagreed.

"I think the documentation speaks for itself. The definition of 'political' ... policy, and law are open to interpretation. The article was insightful, [but] it was clear that Lynn and I disagreed about what constitutes 'political,'" McCormick said.

McCormick and some board members argued that the Wal-Mart supercenter issue is political if only because it has to be approved by a political body - the Polson City Council - before it can proceed. Coupled with the earlier warning sent out to district employees based on the first anti-Wal-Mart e-mail, McCormick said Witts should have known better.

But Gigstad said an article about Wal-Mart can be related to employee and teachers unions because Wal-Mart's anti-union stance and low rate of health insurance impacts school district employees and others with health insurance, who end up helping to pay the costs of uninsured residents, such as Wal-Mart employees who don't have health insurance.

"I don't know that it has to do with school issues, per se, but it has to do with union business," Gigstad said.

Gigstad said because he lives in Missoula, his coverage of the supercenter has been limited to articles in the Missoulian, which he acknowledged has also made the subject appear to be political given that the Polson City Council is heavily involved.

But a "Missoulian reporter's choice of words doesn't make it political" even if the Missoulian refers to it as a political issue, Gigstad said.

But board members pointed out that even the Missoula Independent article refers to the issue as "political." The last line of the article says, "Which argument Polson will eventually buy could become one of the more interesting political battles of the year."

Board members also weren't convinced that the e-mail or article qualified as "union business," and would therefore be protected under the district's contract with the teachers and other district employees.

"I don't understand what this has to do with the union," board member Kim Maloney said of the article.

Gigstad said it's not for the board to decide what is union business -- the e-mail was forwarded by the state union president to a local union president, and doesn't fall under the prohibited categories of soliciting funds or trying to impact a ballot issue, for example.

"I'm amazed at your narrow view of what's 'political,'" said trustee Bob Hanson, who characterized the Missoula Independent article as politically slanted.

"This doesn't have a damn thing to do with the school system," Hanson said.

Trustee John Laimbeer said Feaver's anti-Wal-Mart statements in the e-mail Witts forwarded made it a political issue -- not the article's slant.

"I don't think the article has to do with the grievance. I think the statement by Eric Feaver has everything to do with it," he said.

Gigstad noted they weren't claiming Witts' e-mail had anything "to do with kids or the educational system," but reiterated his position that it fell under union business.

Witts, a substitute bus driver and special education paraprofessional at the high school, filed a number of grievances against the district last year, including one last summer in which she claimed she and other bus drivers with seniority were being passed over for out-of-town trips in violation of the contract with district employees. Witts has filed nine grievances against the district in the past two years, she said.

Although this one was done on her behalf only, most of them were filed on behalf of other PCEA employees as the union president. Witts was given the option to have her grievance hearing held behind closed doors, but said she was fine with it being open to the public.

She acknowledged seeing McCormick's October e-mail warning employees not to use the district's e-mail system for personal causes after the first anti-Wal-Mart e-mail was sent, but said she thought McCormick was being extra sensitive to the fact that negotiations between the board and teachers over their contract were still ongoing at the time -- a sensitive issue in and of itself.

She also said the employee who sent the first anti-Wal-Mart e-mail also cautioned her after seeing the one Witts forwarded, telling her, "Hey Lynn, I got in trouble for this."

But Witts said she forwards Feaver's e-mails regularly in an effort to keep her fellow PCEA coworkers informed of issues affecting them, and that she didn't see anything wrong with forwarding the Missoula Independent article, with Feaver's comments included. She said she forwarded several other articles along with the Wal-Mart one.

Board member Vernon Finley asked Witts if she thought it was her responsibility to verify whether something was appropriate or legal before forwarding it.

"I do not endorse this -- I just pass it on. I didn't find it [the Wal-Mart article] political," Witts said, noting that she's forwarded dozens of other union-related e-mails she's received as part of the e-mail list she's on.

Gigstad and Witts were essentially asking that a copy of the reprimand be deleted from Witts' personnel file. The board will have 14 working days to act on her request, and if no action is taken, the reprimand will stand.

Recently, a number of grassroots supporters have emailed in an article from this week's TheStreet.com, a business-focused web site, about U.S. retailers. In the article, it discusses the rise of Costco's stock:

Wal-Mart (WMT:NYSE) may be the world's largest retailer, but in terms of the stock market, Costco (COST:Nasdaq) has emerged as lord of the discounters.

Shares of Costco have climbed 16.2% since the beginning of 2005. During that span, rival warehouse retailer B.J.'s Wholesale Club (BJ:NYSE) added 7%, while Target (TGT:NYSE) rose 6% and Wal-Mart dropped 12%.

Economic analysts offered interesting reasons for Costco's rise:

"Costco's stock is starting to get pricey, but I think it definitely deserves a premium over Wal-Mart since it's one of the few retailers out there that competes head-on with them and, quite frankly, beats the pants off them," says Morningstar analyst Anthony Chukumba. "They're incredible merchants. Their customer service is pretty much the best out there in all of retail. They treat their employees better. They pay them more. Their benefits are better, and the company still has room to grow both at home and abroad."

More specifics:

Chukumba says the average hourly wage at Costco is $17, compared with $10 at Wal-Mart. Also, Costco workers pay only 10% of their health premiums, on average, compared with the 33% paid by Wal-Mart's workers and the retail average of 23%. While this generosity has sparked criticism from Wall Street, Costco claims its compensation policies reduce employee turnover to less than 17%, excluding seasonal factors.

More from the article:

Higher compensation also lowers training costs, and it helps the company avoid the storm of public criticism that has been directed at Wal-Mart from unions, politicians and community activists.

"For our business, it has been important that we hired good people," says James Sinegal, Costco's co-founder, chief executive and president. "We've been a growth company since our inception. We want to continue to grow, and we promote almost entirely from within our company. Our view has been that if you hire good people and provide good jobs and good careers at good wages, then good things will happen to your business."

In a speech on Tuesday, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi used Wal-Mart as an example in describing the income of corporate American CEOs as "immoral."

"I was told that an entry level person at Wal-Mart, who works his or her entire career at Wal-Mart, would make as much as the CEO makes in two weeks. A lifetime of work versus two weeks in the executive suite -- this is not America, this is not fairness, this is not the basis of a strong middle class that is essential for our democracy. We must change that in our country," she said.

A recent study done by The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), details how Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott's compensation is 871 times as high as U.S. Wal-Mart workers. Scott made about $46,575 per day in 2005. That is about three times what the average Wal-Mart worker makes per year.

A few weeks ago, former Wal-Mart worker Josh Smith testified before the Maine State Legislature regarding a health care disclosure bill.

In today's Kennebec Journal, Josh's father describes his experiences working at Wilson's Dollar Stores on Winthrop's Main Street. He laments the loss of "the friendly customer-based retail industry I remember so fondly":

The smell of roasting cashews, the banter with customers at the cash register, dozens of opportunities every day to wait on customers who were "always right." Staff that spent their lives working there and became part of an extended family. These are some of my wonderful memories from growing up in Wilson's Dollar Stores on Winthrop's Main Street.

My dad was part-owner and I worked in the store. Over the years, every task was mine, but my favorite job was waiting on customers. At that time, you could buy everything you needed in Winthrop, and our store was the friendliest gathering place you'd ever hope to find.

Forty years later, I still run into customers who remember the store and always ask about Dad.

Today, I hate to enter a retail store, although once upon a time I was certain that's where I would spend my career...

Dad sold out to his partner in his mid-50s. He is still going strong today, but Wilson's is long gone, as is the friendly customer-based retail industry I remember so fondly.

This history brings a certain irony to the recent work of my son Joshua. Josh decided to see for himself what it was like to work at Wal-Mart, a business he had researched extensively. Was it as bad as the books reported?

Well, yes it was. In some ways it was worse.

Click here for the full article.

Congratulations, WakeUpWalMart.com supporters! Because of your hard work, our movement was awarded the best national internet campaign for 2005. And this is only the beginning.

We need you to build on this momentum and take part in an exciting new membership drive to sign up 15,000 WakeUpWalMart.com supporters by our first year anniversary - April 5, 2006. Already, over 185,000 supporters have joined our campaign to change Wal-Mart and with your help we will reach 200,000 supporters.

In the spirit of the college basketball tournament known as March Madness, we have created the 2006 WUWM (WakeUpWalMart.com) Tournament for Change Challenge to help us reach our goal. Our tournament comes complete with brackets, teams, scoreboards and passion. But, we need YOU to be the players.

Playing is simple. You get two points for every person you sign up to the campaign. Your score will be counted both individually, we have a leader board, and pooled together with other people from your region. You can check back daily to see your updated score and watch our movement grow. The winners of the tournament will become WakeUpWalMart.com steering committee members and will help plan our 2006 Grassroots Summit.

Click here to play in our 2006 WUWM Tournament for Change and sign up supporters.

In just one year, we have built the most powerful grassroots army to change a corporation in history. As we grow, so does our ability to stand up to Wal-Mart and make Wal-Mart a responsible corporation.

For too long, Wal-Mart has been able to use its billions of dollars to drive down wages, not provide affordable health care, ship U.S. jobs overseas and influence our government for its own advantage. That all stops now. By joining together, we are proving the power of ordinary people to affect change.

And the faster you help us grow, the faster we can hold Wal-Mart accountable for its behavior, raise standards for working America, and restore people’s faith in corporate America. Please email, call, and meet with every single one of your friends, co-workers, neighbors and family members and get them to join WakeUpWalMart.com, the most exciting, fastest growing social movement in America.

Click here to play in our 2006 WUWM Tournament for Change and sign up supporters.

Signing up 15,000 supporters will only take a few moments of your time, but your action will make the difference in the lives of millions of workers and their families. Every day, we will update the current number of supporters on our website, WakeUpWalMart.com, so you can see the fruits of your labor. Check back regularly and watch us grow.

We have 24 days to sign up 15,000 supporters. Together, we can do it!

From the Charleston Gazette:

Workers at the Nitro Marketplace Wal-Mart say the store has renewed a controversial scheduling policy designed to force out higher-paid employees with benefits and replace them with part-timers.

Last week, managers told longtime employees who have had the same weekday daytime schedules for years that they now must add night and weekend shifts, or else face drastic reductions in hours. The workers said they were told no exceptions would be made for people with children who could not arrange for child care.

“They said this came down from the home office and that there were no ands, ifs or buts,” said one worker who asked not to be named for fear of retribution. A mother of two, she has worked the same schedule for five years. “You have to choose between your work and your family,” she said.

Babysitters are unaffordable, and no local child-care services are open on the weekends, said several parents working at the store. Workers who have not yet agreed to increase their available hours have been warned by managers that they may be scheduled for zero hours some weeks, said several employees who also asked not to be named.

One worker said she contacted a district manager and was told that the store would try to accommodate her schedule. But store managers told her and several other employees that their new schedules would be generated by a corporate computer and could not be changed in any way.

Nitro store managers would not comment, but a representative from Wal-Mart’s corporate office issued a statement acknowledging that the store’s scheduling policy had been tightened.

Work schedules at the Nitro store “have deviated over time from the optimal schedule to best serve our customers,” said spokesman Dan Fogleman in the statement.

“In order to ensure an appropriate number of associates are available to help customers, associates who have in the past worked a specific schedule, typically daytime hours on weekdays, are being asked
to be more flexible with their availability to meet the needs of the customers. ... Sometimes we have to make tough decisions. Ultimately, we will staff our stores in a manner that best meets the needs of our
customers.”

Another Wal-Mart representative, Mia Masten, said on Saturday that the store would do everything it could to accommodate workers with children. “We’re always looking at how to serve our customers best,” she said. “But we also try to be flexible and accommodate associates’ needs.”

Masten would not say if employees would be fired or stripped of work hours for refusing to open their availability. She also denied that the scheduling changes were aimed at squeezing out higher-paid full-time workers.

Full-time workers at the store are eligible for health insurance and enrollment in a 401(k) plan after six months on the job. After a year, they get one week of vacation, and at five years they get two weeks. At seven years, full-timers are fully vested in the company.

About 15 people turned up at a rally held at the Capitol on Saturday to protest the policy. Organizers, who included current and former employees of the Nitro store, circulated a petition denouncing the scheduling changes as “unfair labor management.”

Last spring, the Nitro store’s managers instituted an “open availability” policy, requiring workers to commit to working practically any shift on any day or face being fired. Shortly thereafter, the corporate office nullified the policy, saying store management had acted improperly.

Our statement on behalf of WakeUpWalMart.com's 185,000 supporters in response to winning this year's Golden Dot Award:

WAKEUPWALMART.COM WINS PRESTIGIOUS GOLDEN DOT AWARD FOR “BEST NATIONAL INTERNET CAMPAIGN”

WakeUpWalMart.com Campaign Team Now Multi-Year Recipients of Award

Washington, D.C. - In just its first year, WakeUpWalMart.com, America’s campaign to change Wal-Mart, was awarded the prestigious 2006 Golden Dot award for “Best National Internet Campaign.” The George Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI) presents the annual Golden Dot Awards for excellence in online campaigning and for outstanding achievement in the use of the internet as a political tool.

“For too long, the American people have been at a disadvantage fighting back against multi-billion dollar corporations doing the wrong thing. The internet and its grassroots organizing power, both online and offline, has changed everything. Now, ordinary people have the power to join together in unprecedented ways and numbers to change even the largest corporation in the world,” said Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com. “On behalf of our 185,000 supporters, we are honored to receive such a prestigious award and we will continue to build the most powerful political movement ever to change Wal-Mart and change America.”

In just 11 months, WakeUpWalMart.com has become one of the fastest growing grassroots movements in America with 185,000 supporters. The award is a testament to WakeUpWalMart.com’s success in using the internet to help create a national campaign to build public and political pressure on Wal-Mart to change into a responsible corporation.

WakeUpWalMart.com joins an exclusive club of campaigns to receive a Golden Dot award. Past recipients of the Golden Dot Award for “Best National Internet Campaign” include Bush-Cheney 2004 and Dean for America, and other award winners include, Draft Wesley Clark, Meetup.com and JibJab.com. In fact, this represents the third Golden Dot award for the staff of WakeUpWalMart.com who served in leadership roles at both Dean for America and the Draft Clark Movement.

From Cnnmoney.com:

As retail behemoth readies for two-day media conference observers say it needs to stay focused on business and not get distracted by its image-boosting offensive.

NEW YORK - Once upon a time, Wal-Mart couldn't care less about the media.

Times have certainly changed for the world's largest retailer. For two years running now Wal-Mart has sent out "save-the-date" announcements to members of the media, inviting them for an exclusive face-to-face with its spin squad back at home next month.

The media event is planned for April 18-19 in Rogers, Arkansas.

Wal-Mart is not yet ready to divulge the details about its Media Day conference, spokeswoman Sharon Weber said. However, last year Wal-Mart trotted out senior executives that included CEO Lee Scott for individual presentations and rare question-and answer sessions.

Some industry observers speculate that Wal-Mart's efforts to get warm and fuzzy with the media are not purely altruistic but mainly because it must protect its image especially as the damaging public relations setbacks keep coming.

Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York-based retail consultancy and investment banking firm Davidowitz & Associates, said it's a burden Wal-Mart will have to bear because its size and industry leader status will always make it a bull's eye for watchdog groups like WalMart Watch and WakeUpWalMart, who criticize Wal-Mart for its employment and benefits policies.

Scott, referring to both groups, has repeatedly acknowledged that Wal-Mart is confronted by one of the most well-financed and well-organized corporate campaigns the company has ever seen.

"When you're as big as Wal-Mart, everybody's going to be after you," but Wal-Mart needs to get its story out too, Davidowitz said.

Watchdog groups have seen some success in tarnishing Wal-Mart's image, however, he said. "But who's funding these groups? It's the labor unions. Labor unions have their own agenda. They're trying to get more members at a time when their membership is dropping," Davidowitz said.

"Wal-Mart will never be unionized. I don't think Wal-Mart has to worry about that," he added. "What it need to be worried about is what happened in Maryland with the healthcare bill. Businesses don't want the government to get involved."

Careful, Uncle Sam's watching Burt Flickinger, an independent retail analyst, agreed with Davidowitz that the Maryland "healthcare bill," which passed in January, could have substantial implications for the world's largest retailer.

The Maryland measure, also known as the "Fair Share Healthcare Bill," requires companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on health benefits, or pay the balance into a state low-income health insurance fund. Wal-Mart currently employs about 17,000 in the state.

Wal-Mart has been a lightning rod for criticism about its wage, labor and benefits policies. Critics allege the retailer's high healthcare premiums tilt workers toward opting for taxpayer-funded public healthcare options, such as Medicaid, for their healthcare needs.

Flickinger worries that the Maryland vote could eventually result in more states to follow suit.

"Ohio and California are already a major battleground," he said, adding that as many as 30 other states have looked at the issue.

"I don't think the union-based special interest groups and the government are two separate issues. I think they're tied together," said retail consultant George Whalin. "Now more than ever Wal-Mart is facing a lot of pressure coming from so many different directions. I think that's why Wal-Mart is putting more effort into communicating with the media."

Is Wal-Mart's brand cachet suffering? Possibly.

For instance, Wal-Mart fell to No. 12 from its previous No. 4 slot in Fortune magazine's 2005 ranking of America's most admired companies. The ranking is based on a survey which asks people to vote for the companies that they admired most.

Wal-Mart held the No. 1 position in both 2003 and 2004.

Robert Passikoff, a branding expert with Brand Keys Consulting, says the Wal-Mart brand has taken a hit. He cited the latest results of the firm's annual customer loyalty index based on a semi-annual survey of 16,000 consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 and their attitude toward more than 300 well-known brands.

Specifically, the index identifies the values that bond consumers with a particular brand and measures the relationship between brand loyalty and profitability.

In the January survey, Wal-Mart slipped in the ranking to No. 29 from No. 25 the previous year, Passikoff said.

Why should Wal-Mart take note? "In retailing, the success of a brand is determined by consumers votes. And consumers vote with their wallets," Passikoff said. "We're not saying this means fewer people are shopping at Wal-Mart but that maybe they're not going back a second or third time in the same week."

Others disagree. "Wal-Mart gets more than 100 million customers a week. It's still growing its sales double-digit every year," said Phil Rist, vice president of strategy for market research firm BIGresearch.

Wal-Mart logged $315 billion in sales last year, up 10 percent from the prior year.

"Wal-Mart's making consumers happy," said Rist. "In an era where gas prices, heating bills are rising and credit card companies are doubling payments, people can count on Wal-Mart on low prices all the time."

And let's not forget Wall Street Even as it continues to boost revenues and profit, Wal-Mart's stock price has been rangebound between $40s and $50s for the past six years.

"I'm sure shareholders are frustrated," said Edward Weller, analyst with ThinkEquity Partners.

If Wal-Mart's management wasn't distracted by its public relations war, perhaps they could focus more attention on the business and improving the stock performance, he said.

"Wal-Mart has been accused of some pretty systematic shortcomings and I think the stock performance may be symptomatic of these other problems Wal-Mart faces," Wellers said.

In Forbes magazine's latest ranking of American billionaires (by state):

Arkansas
17. Jim Walton, 58, $15.9, Wal-Mart
19. S. Robson Walton, 62, $15.8, Wal-Mart
21. Helen Walton, 86, $15.6, Wal-Mart

Missouri
278. Ann Walton Kroenke, 56, $2.6, Wal-Mart
350. Nancy Walton Laurie, 54, $2.2, Wal-Mart

Texas
20. Alice Walton, 56, $15.7, Wal-Mart

Wyoming
17. Christy Walton, 51, $15.9, Wal-Mart inheritance

Click here for the full list.

From CBC News:

A small group of tire and lube workers at a Surrey Wal-Mart have voted seven to two to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

It's the latest round in the ongoing battle between the UFCWU and the world's largest retailer.

The union has been trying to certify Wal-Mart employees since the company came to Canada in 1994. But not one collective agreement has been implemented.

The UFCWU says the Arkansas-based giant is anti-union, citing the closure of a store in Quebec last year as proof. Wal-Mart closed the store after workers there won union certification, saying it wasn't profitable to stay open.

UFCWU spokesperson Andy Neufeld calls the Surrey workers courageous, given the company's stance on unions.

"It's a very difficult choice to make when they understand the kind of pressure that they're put under by Wal-Mart to do everything possible to avoid a union."

Wal-Mart spokesperson Andrew Pelletier says the company is planning to challenge the Surrey vote results in court.

"We think it is completely unrepresentative and frankly undemocratic to try to carve out from a store of about 250 to 300, seven to 10 workers, and say they should be a separate bargaining unit."

Wal-Mart is also appealing a certification vote by tire and lube workers at its Cranbrook store.

Wal-Mart has 256 stores across Canada, and six Sam's Club stores, with a total of about 70,000 full- and part-time employees.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

A crowd spilled out the front door of City Hall on Wednesday night as residents
protested a proposed expansion of the city's Wal-Mart into a Supercenter.

"It's time for big-box retailers to start to do the right things by their employees," said David Cook, local coordinator of WakeUp Wal-Mart, a national organization that supports grassroots opposition to the international retailer.

Cook, who is also affiliated with the United Food and Commerce Workers Local No. 655, told aldermen that the retailer's wage and labor practices did not fit Wentzville's master plan.

He said Wentzville households had a median income of about $47,000. Because of Wal-Mart's low wages, he said, a household would need three full-time Wal-Mart employees in order to earn the wages to sustain that income. Additionally, the expansion would further hurt the city's plan to revitalize its downtown area, he said.

"I have a hard time figuring out how building a massive expansion to the Wal-Mart will help your downtown retailers," Cook said.

Aldermen were scheduled Wednesday to consider a revised site plan that proposed expanding the store by 70,000 square feet to 220,000 total square feet. But the board decided to table its decision until its next meeting, March 22, after Cook questioned whether the session violated the state open meetings act.

"No accommodations were made to allow the large public to attend this meeting," Cook said, noting that about 60 people were unable to enter the meeting room because it had reached fire safety capacity. "It is my belief all motions and recommendations made at this meeting could be deemed moot."

Missouri has 70 Wal-Mart Supercenters. If the expansion is approved, it would be the second Supercenter to arrive in St. Charles County this year. In January, the county's first Supercenter opened about five miles away, along Highway 40 in Lake Saint Louis.

Wal-Mart has had a store in Wentzville for more than a decade. In early 2002, it relocated to a 65-acre shopping center along Wentzville Parkway that was financed partly through a transportation development district. Shoppers in the district currently pay an additional quarter-cent sales tax on purchases to pay for $2.4 million in road improvements and enhancements in and around the center.

Cook said that subsidies and special treatment for big-box retail centers were unacceptable and that the city should have required Wal-Mart and other stores in the shopping center to pay their own way.

Resident Dana Hill was among those protesting the Wal-Mart expansion.

"We're paying to build their stores and roads that lead to their front doors," Hill said. "If you want low prices, then level the playing field. Give the community choices and fair competition, and it will prosper with economic growth."

From Reuters:

LAS VEGAS, March 8 - A "loophole" in U.S. law that allows commercial firms to buy industrial banks undercuts efforts to keep banking and commerce separate and should be closed, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.

Bernanke told the annual conference of the Independent Community Bankers of America that the growth of industrial loan companies raised some "very significant public policy issues" which the U.S. central bank would like to see addressed.

"If Congress wants to revisit banking and commerce, that's their prerogative, but it doesn't seem to be a good approach to allow a loophole to be the way in which that distinction breaks down," he said in answer to a question.

Industrial banks are state-chartered and state-regulated, and fall under the supervision of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Commercial companies may own them because federal laws that bar non-financial companies from engaging in banking activities do not classify them as banks.

Wal-Mart (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest retailer, has applied to open an industrial bank in Utah, an application that faces opposition from some lawmakers.

The Fed chief said there was a question of "equity and parity" in the current regulatory framework, which subjects bank holding companies to greater scrutiny than commercial firms that own industrial banks.

"It would be a good idea to move toward policies that eliminate that problem and make sure that, if there is ownership of an ILC, that there be consolidated supervision so that the owner, as well as the ILC itself, fall under the ... supervisory requirements that other owners of banks face," Bernanke said.

Bernanke's comments expanded on remarks he made in congressional testimony last month in which he declined to comment directly on the Wal-Mart bid.

He noted that Fed Governor Donald Kohn had testified to Congress on the ILC issue on March 1 and added: "We hope that Congress will listen."

His remarks were well received by the banking group, which plans to use a news conference later on Wednesday to underscore its concerns on industrial banks.

In only his second public foray outside of Washington since taking office on Feb. 1, Bernanke offered no comments on the outlook for the U.S. economy or interest-rate policy.

Instead, he used his formal remarks to reiterate concerns U.S. bank regulators have on commercial real estate lending.

Bernanke said community banks should improve their risk-management practices given their growing reliance on commercial real estate lending and some erosion in standards for those loans.

"The rapid growth in commercial real estate exposures relative to capital and assets raises the possibility that risk-management practices in community banks may not have kept pace," he said.

He also raised a flag over a "small number" of institutions with concentrations in longer-term assets.

"In these cases, our examiners encourage banks to gauge risks of new yield-enhancing strategies over the intermediate and longer-terms," Bernanke said.

While he focused his remarks on areas in which regulators had concerns, Bernanke said that for the most part U.S. community banks were in good shape and had handled a rising interest rate environment well.

From the New York Times:

ALBANY, March 7 — The national effort to force Wal-Mart and other employers to provide better health care coverage came to Albany on Tuesday, with legislators of both parties promoting bills that would require many businesses to provide insurance for some 450,000 workers who now lack it.

The move comes after similar legislation passed in Maryland in January, though that was aimed more narrowly at prodding Wal-Mart. The company has long been accused of offering meager benefits, forcing many employees to seek health care from state programs.

With health care costs soaring for states and the ranks of the uninsured rising, Maryland's law opened the floodgates, with similar bills emerging in more than 20 states.

While the bills face political and legal challenges, this election year could provide a rare opening in Albany because Republican lawmakers are trying to maintain their slender majority in the State Senate...

In pushing their proposal, leaders of the Working Families Party cited competitive pressure on businesses that provide health coverage and the costs to taxpayers for uninsured workers who use Medicaid and other programs.

"Responsible businesses should not be penalized for doing the right thing," said Bertha Lewis, a state co-chairwoman of the party. "We cannot have a health care system that has Wal-Mart as its model."

Today's New York Times reported on Wal-Mart's latest attempt to salvage its public image by courting right-wing bloggers.

We have included a PDF of some email exchanges from Marshall Manson of Wal-Mart's PR firm and Rob Port from the Say Anything blog. The email exchanges were made available from Rob Port in PDF form and are also available on the New York Times web site.

Here is one example from Marshall Manson:

Rob,

Quick question.

Would you, if the opportunity arose, like to see Wal-Mart from the inside? As in the corporate headquarters in Bentonville, AR?

Unfortunately, we don't have any funds for travel -- but I think I might be able to get you access to the largest company in the world. Tours, briefings, the works. Everything that they would do for a reporter from the New York Times.

So - if something like that came up - would you be willing to make a trek to Bentonville and participate? I'd make sure to be there and act as a tour guide.

Read other email exchanges here.

In today's New York Times, Michael Barbaro writes about Wal-Mart's latest attempt to salvage its faltering image.

Brian Pickrell, a blogger, recently posted a note on his Web site attacking state legislation that would force Wal-Mart Stores to spend more on employee health insurance. "All across the country, newspaper editorial boards — no great friends of business — are ripping the bills," he wrote.

It was the kind of pro-Wal-Mart comment the giant retailer might write itself. And, in fact, it did.

Several sentences in Mr. Pickrell's Jan. 20 posting — and others from different days — are identical to those written by an employee at one of Wal-Mart's public relations firms and distributed by e-mail to bloggers.

Under assault as never before, Wal-Mart is increasingly looking beyond the mainstream media and working directly with bloggers, feeding them exclusive nuggets of news, suggesting topics for postings and even inviting them to visit its corporate headquarters.

From WakeUpWalMart.com's statement:

In an effort to salvage its declining image, Wal-Mart is now using conservative bloggers to promote its right wing agenda. Borrowing a page from Karl Rove’s playbook, Wal-Mart’s public relations team is trying to create a false sense of support for a flawed business model which is hurting families.

Click here to read the entire NYT article.

By Markel Hutchins - From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Wal-Mart, a wolf in sheep's clothing, has apparently used its manipulative genius to coerce the support of an internationally celebrated statesman, former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young. Wal-Mart has spent billions of dollars trying to deceive the American people into simply thinking it offers low prices. The reality is every dollar consumers spend there decreases wages, lowers benefits, ships more U.S. jobs overseas, raises taxes and further impoverishes the working poor.

Left unchecked, Wal-Mart's business model will divide America into two classes: a wealthy, shareholder class and a permanent underclass...

I am surprised and frankly disappointed to learn that some whom I've called mentors and friends have joined with Wal-Mart to defend the business practices of an immoral company that has yet to learn it has a social responsibility to better the lives of the very workers that make it so profitable.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. often referred to war, poverty and racism as the triple evils of our society. It is discouraging, then, that those who stood and worked closely with King would align themselves with Wal-Mart, the world's most profitable, influential and grossest purveyor of systematic poverty.

As a representation of the next generation of visible civil rights leadership, I am painfully aware that the successful co-opting of several prominent African-American religious, civil and human rights leaders by Wal-Mart only furthers the sentiment in the hearts and minds of many Americans that we have been irreparably compromised and reduced to impotence by our own propensity to place personal business interests above the people's. I call upon my colleagues in black leadership to join with me and the millions of Americans who want Wal-Mart to change into a better and more responsible company...

Click here for the full text.

From the Associated Press:

Officials of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Friday the company will reverse its earlier policy and stock emergency contraception pills in all of its pharmacies effective March 20, saying the giant retailer could not justify being the country's only major pharmacy chain not to carry the morning-after pill.

The announcement comes after Massachusetts last month ordered the world's largest retailer to stock the so-called Plan B pill, following a lawsuit by three Boston women against Wal-Mart.

Illinois also requires pharmacies