The following statement is attributable to Paul Blank, Campaign Director for WakeUpWalMart.com:

“Without question, WakeUpWalMart.com and the UFCW strongly support the goal of universal health care and we have long offered to work with genuine partners who want real health care reform.

Given the intense public pressure brought by our campaign, it is not surprising, albeit disingenuous, that Wal-Mart now wants to support universal health care despite having one of the worst health care records in America. But, what is surprising is how anyone, in good conscience, would give Wal-Mart a stage to make empty statements that will not give health care to one more uninsured Wal-Mart worker.

While we support every corporation endorsing the idea of universal health care, simply talking about it does not address the serious health care problem we face in America today. We cannot excuse any corporation, including Wal-Mart, for failing to live up to its health care responsibilities and not providing affordable health care to its employees today.

Even though we could have pursued a similar path with Wal-Mart, we decided that no one, in good conscience or without a real commitment from Wal-Mart to make substantive changes, could look the other way and ignore the awful fact that Wal-Mart is not committed to substantive change that will address the fact that so many of its workers and their families will have no company health care for the many years ahead.

So, if Wal-Mart is truly serious about universal health care, we challenge the company to provide universal health care to all of its uninsured employees and their families today. And, secondly, make universal health care a litmus test for every one of its political contributions. Sadly, we believe Wal-Mart will refuse on both fronts - but we await their answer.

Unfortunately, until Wal-Mart makes real change our campaign cannot simply ignore the fact that Wal-Mart, a company with over $11 billion in profits, has chosen to do nothing - nothing - to substantively address the ongoing and terrible health care crisis in its own stores. More importantly, our campaign cannot and will not ignore this company's record of gender discrimination, its pattern of repeated child labor violations, its destruction of the American middle class by shipping American jobs overseas, and a brutal history of paying poverty level wages.

So, on behalf of the American people, let it be clear to all, especially Wal-Mart, our campaign will never end - never - until we see real and substantive changes from Wal-Mart on health care and an array of other social issues. And, when that day comes, we will proudly stand on the stage with Wal-Mart and celebrate a new and genuine better day for America.”