Wal-Mart has seen better days. Among other things, slowing growth and low customer satisfaction are cutting into its margins.

Wal-Mart's troubles attracted the interest of writers at BusinessWeek, who conducted a "snap inspection" of three local Wal-Mart stores. The result is a devastating article released today on BusinessWeek.com, highlighting the company's "rock bottom" morale.

At the Wal-Mart store in Uniondale, on New York's Long Island, when a customer swipes a credit card two questions pop up in the card reader: "Did the cashier greet you?" and "Was the store clean?" It's all part of an effort by Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott to improve customer service at the retailer's 3,500 locations across the U.S.

Scott may need a new strategy. During a recent visit to the store, one cashier didn't greet two customers, and, when asked about the survey, she replied with outright scorn. "I don't care," she said. "If Wal-Mart doesn't care for me, why should I care?" She took up the issue of cleanliness unprompted. "There was this horrible smell in the store the last two days from some overnight spill," she said. "They did nothing about it. It got so bad that on the second day the fire department came by and we all had to wear masks."

You can read the entire BusinessWeek article in our news section.

Claire Watts has resigned from her position as Wal-Mart's VP of apparel merchandising. Watts was one of the chief architects behind Wal-Mart's failed attempt to lure trendy customers with "designer" clothing lines. Ms. Watts' departure comes six months after she was ousted from her post as director of Wal-Mart's home goods division.

From the Wall Street Journal:

DALLAS -- Claire Watts, executive vice president of apparel merchandising at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has resigned, leaving the troubled division at least temporarily in the hands of chief merchandising officer John Fleming and a newly promoted executive.

Ms. Watts, who joined Wal-Mart in 1997, will leave the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer next week to "pursue other career interests," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sarah Clark said Friday. Ms. Watts is out of the office today and not available for comment, according to Ms. Clark.

Ms. Watts is credited with, among other things, pushing Wal-Mart to establish a more substantial office in Manhattan to spot apparel trends. However, her division has struggled in the past year and hampered Wal-Mart's overall sales momentum.

Under Ms. Watts, Wal-Mart had launched several lines of trendy apparel, including its Metro 7 line and George ME line by designer Mark Eisen, as a cornerstone of its bid to lure more affluent, trendy shoppers. But the offerings failed to entice as many customers as Wal-Mart had hoped, and the retailer subsequently pared distribution of both in recent months, pulling them out of hundreds of stores.

Wal-Mart's upscale push also faltered in its home-goods division, which Ms. Watts also managed until Wal-Mart removed it from her oversight in a January shake-up of its merchandising and marketing staffs. The division encompasses Wal-Mart's offerings in home décor, bedding and furniture, among other things. Wal-Mart recently hired former Kraft Foods Inc. executive Linda Hefner to oversee its home-goods unit as executive vice president.

At Wal-Mart's annual shareholders meeting on June 1, Chief Executive Officer Lee Scott described the retailer's struggles in apparel as moving too far, too fast. Wal-Mart customers weren't ready to spend $39 for a sweater, he said. "We have to earn our right," Mr. Scott told analysts after the meeting. "And we just got up one morning and decided that we could move that customer there, (that) because they trusted us at $13.88, they were going to trust us at $39. And I think John (Fleming) understands clearly ... it is a slower transition."

JP Morgan Securities analyst Charles Grom, who describes the changes in Wal-Mart's apparel division in a research note to his firm's clients today, applauded the changes. "The changes, which were long overdue, in our view are steps in the right direction, although it remains to be seen what changes in the company's merchandise cadence we will see under the new regime," Mr. Grom wrote in the note.

Wal-Mart has not yet decided if it will recruit someone to replace Ms. Watts as executive vice president of apparel. It has, however, named Dottie Mattison, formerly chief merchant at its walmart.com unit, as senior vice president and general merchandising manager of women's apparel.

Ms. Mattison, who joined Wal-Mart in March 2006 after 12 years at Gap Inc., will handle Wal-Mart's merchandising, design and product strategy for women's apparel from its offices in New York City. She also will oversee women's jewelry, shoes and accessories and product development.

Wal-Mart doesn't disclose its exact sales of apparel and home décor. For its latest fiscal year, Wal-Mart reported that softgoods and domestics, which include apparel and home items, accounted for 15% of sales at its supercenters and discount stores. Shoes and jewelry each accounted for 1%. Sales at Wal-Mart's U.S. stores division, which include supercenters, discount stores and more than 100 Neighborhood Market grocery stores, were $226.3 billion last year.

WakeUpWalMart.com just released the following letter, addressed to all Wal-Mart store managers, at a press conference in Kansas City, MO, where Wal-Mart managers are currently meeting.

Much like the hard-working Wal-Mart Associates in your stores, we know that Wal-Mart managers, like yourself, are good and decent people, who work hard to support their families and make Wal-Mart a successful and profitable company. But, we also know that much has changed at Wal-Mart stores over the last few years and not for the better.

Unfortunately, under the leadership of a small group of Wal-Mart executives, led by COO Eduardo Castro Wright, Wal-Mart has abandoned Sam Walton’s dream and implemented a series of new anti-Associate policies. These ‘flights’, as you know, have negatively impacted Associates, reduced morale, and threaten to undo Sam’s dream where workers, families, communities and our beloved country came first.

Sadly, these anti-family and anti-Associate policies, concocted by Mr. Wright and a bunch of consultants and accountants who have never run a store, have not only hurt Wal-Mart Associates and their families, but have even negatively impacted Wal-Mart’s sales.

Worst of all, as we have heard all too often from store management, these anti-family policies have caused many of you to struggle with the moral dilemma that you are now being asked to implement policies that many of you believe are unfair and hurt the very people who work so hard every day to make Wal-Mart a success.

As Wal-Mart rolls out these unpopular policies - from salary caps, to open availability scheduling, to the elimination of low deductible health care plans, to a restrictive attendance policy – it is you who has been asked, again and again, to use canned talking points in order to try and explain how losing hours, losing full-time status, or losing wages is actually “a good thing.” The truth is we can only imagine how hard it must be to look one of your hard-working Associates in the eye, see their fear and disappointment, and try to justify how such terrible policies are good for them or Wal-Mart.

As for us, the leaders of WakeUpWalMart.com, we want to make something crystal clear. Contrary to what you have been told, we are not out to destroy Wal-Mart. In fact, we believe that Wal-Mart can and should be a great company that reflects the best of American values. In fact, our sincere desire is to work with you to return Wal-Mart to Sam’s vision, to make Wal-Mart better, and to help create a Wal-Mart where people, family, and the community truly do come first.

In the coming days, we hope to hear from you so you can see how interested we are in being partners in changing Wal-Mart for the better. Please feel free to contact us toll-free at 1-866-587-2299 or via email at info@wakeupwalmart.com. We are happy to talk to you anytime, and we will always respect your desire for confidentiality and anonymity.

In the end, we hope you will appreciate the sincerity of our words and our shared goals. Above all, we hope, as we all move forward from this meeting in Kansas City, that you will be willing to work with us to change Wal-Mart and America for the better.

Thank you,

The Leaders of WakeUpWalMart.com

Bowing to pressure from Wal-Mart Associates and WakeUpWalMart.com, Wal-Mart has made some changes to its anti-worker, anti-family attendance policy, which was implemented in October.

From the Associated Press:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has softened its stance on its attendance policy only weeks after the nation's largest private employer implemented changes that made hourly workers more accountable for excessive unexcused absences...

Dana Rezaie, a Wal-Mart worker who was on the WakeUpWalMart.com conference call said she was "disgusted" with the new attendance policy. Still, while the latest steps to improve the policy were "small," it shows that "we can make changes that will make us all happy."

Read the entire press release here to learn all about the changes to the attendance policy.

Associates demand that Wal-Mart reverse the many recent anti-worker, anti-family policies and will be holding a second national Associates' conference call next Wednesday, November 22nd.

In a recent op-ed, economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman discussed his concern about the increasing divergence in pay between CEOs and workers. Krugman noted, "In the 1960's and 1970's, C.E.O.'s of the largest firms were paid, on average, about 40 times as much as the average worker," while more recently, "executive pay soared, rising to 367 times the average worker's pay by the early years of this decade."

While Krugman argues that executive compensation is one evidence of "the epidemic of corporate misgovernance revealed four years ago by the Enron and WorldCom scandals" that has yet to be dealt with, it is also a part of the explanation of why, as CEO pay increases, regular workers are falling behind even further.

Which brings us back to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart president Lee Scott was paid $19 million in 2005, while their average full-time worker was paid $10.11, a statistic they trumpet regularly in press releases and on their website. If you multiply this figure by the 34 hours a week that full time Associates put in on average, you see that full-time workers average $17,874 per year.

So Lee Scott's $19 million is not 40 times or even 367 times what his average employee makes. It's a whopping 1,062 times the salary of the average full-time Wal-Mart Associate. And that disconnect might help explain why Scott sees no problem with such vicious store policy changes like cutting hours, capping wages, and forcing the few Associates who can afford health care into high deductible plans, or why Scott has no idea "what specifically a living wage is."

In an article last week in the local newspaper near Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters, Anita French (one of the reporters who covers Wal-Mart) wrote a story entitled “Wal-Mart Explains Policies.”

The story talks about Wal-Mart’s new policy changes which have outraged so many of its employees and ultimately led to a store rebellion by over 200 Wal-Mart Associates in a Wal-Mart store in Hialeah Gardens, Florida.

In response, we are holding the first-ever national conference call for Associates. You can sign up for the call at: http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/wwa/conference.html.

But, more importantly, the comments posted below Anita’s story. They are fascinating and provide a real window into the human impact of Wal-Mart’s decisions and why what we are doing in this campaign is so important to Wal-Mart Associates, all hard-working families and America.

Here is the link to the comments:

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/10/22/business/102206wmflights.txt

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

“We are pleased that a Pennsylvania court, today, joined other states in finding that Wal-Mart’s exploitation of its employees is not only morally wrong, but illegal as well.

Unfortunately, Wal-Mart’s violations come at no surprise. Wal-Mart has a long record of needlessly exploiting its workers and faces over 57 lawsuits for wage and hour abuses in 40 states. In addition, Wal-Mart is the subject of the largest gender discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history, affecting more than 2 million current and former female Wal-Mart workers who are suing over pay and promotion discrimination.

Given the size and scope of these wage and hour lawsuits, it is time for Wal-Mart to address its seemingly perpetual problem of mistreating and exploiting the very same workers who help make this company a success. It is shocking that Wal-Mart, America’s largest employer, somehow thinks it has the right to not only provide unaffordable health care and pay poverty level wages, but to deny workers the breaks they have earned under the law.

Wal-Mart's greedy, "sweatshop mindset" must end, because the American people will not stomach corporate exploitation any longer. We call on Wal-Mart to immediately address these serious workplace issues and meet the demands of the American people and our elected leaders to become a moral and responsible employer.”

The following statement is attributable to Chris Kofinis, Communications Director for WakeUpWalMart.com:

"As reported today in the Los Angeles Times, Ron Galloway, one of Wal-Mart's chief spokespeople, has resigned over concerns about Wal-Mart’s first-ever salary cap which has caused a tremendous amount of pain and suffering for all of Wal-Mart’s 1.39 million hard-working employees.

The fact that Wal-Mart ignored Mr. Galloway’s concerns, despite his high-profile role in defending the company, speaks volumes as to how disingenuous Wal-Mart’s entire public relations operation has become. As Mr. Galloway learned, Wal-Mart is not interested in improving its business practices, instead, Wal-Mart wants to try and fool the American people with a Karl Rove-style public relations campaign riddled with misleading statements and corporate double speak.

We hope other Wal-Mart defenders will begin to understand the negative impact Wal-Mart's business practices can have on their own credibility and reputation and will stop allowing Wal-Mart to use themselves in defense of a company that mistreats its employees, fails to provide company health care to over half of its employees, ships American jobs overseas and negatively impacts our communities.

Once again, we renew our call for Wal-Mart to stop playing games with the American people, save the millions of dollars it spends on overpaid right-wing, Edelman PR hacks, and embrace the fact that real substantive change is the best way for Wal-Mart to address its collapsing public image.”

Today, the Chicago City Council failed to override Mayor Richard Daley's first veto in 17 years. In response, the campaign issued the following statement attributable to Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com:

"It is a sad day in America when multi-billion dollar corporations like Wal-Mart celebrate the defeat of living wages for the poorest Americans. While Wal-Mart may have successfully rolled back living wages for workers today, Wal-Mart's victory will be temporary at best.

"Wal-Mart, corporate special interests and corporate America's political servants severely underestimate the growing anger amongst the American public towards companies that are taking our country in the wrong direction. That is why our movement to take our country back from big powerful corporations, like Wal-Mart, grows every single day. The American people overwhelmingly want living wages, economic security and health care for all. Any corporation or politician who does not wake up and respond to the American public's desire for change will face a serious public backlash."

From the AP:

An employee in Wal-Mart's Labor Relations Department has sued the retailer, saying she was harassed and given poor evaluation scores because she refused to shred documents relating to the investigation of a former vice chairman convicted of fraud.

Rita Miles, an administrative assistant to Wal-Mart's vice president of labor relations, filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville. Her suit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. claims that the Bentonville-based retail giant violated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed by Congress in 2002 after corporate scandals at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and other companies.

The suit says that Miles was told to destroy hard copies of documents relating to the investigation of former No. 2 Wal-Mart executive Thomas Coughlin, who was sentenced last month to 27 months in home detention after pleading guilty to stealing money, merchandise and gift cards from the retailer.

Miles and others in her department were told to shred the documents after scanning them in an electronic database, according to the lawsuit. Miles objected, and later told the U.S. attorney's office about the shredding, the complaint said.

Read the rest of the article here

Sen. Kerry's remarks today on Wal-Mart and health care.

"Companies like Wal-Mart have adopted a totally different strategy-use workers until they get sick, don’t cover them for check-ups, and then tell them they’re on their own. The nice person who greets you at Wal-Mart’s door is shown the door when illness strikes. Whether it’s because Wal-Mart hires part-time workers and doesn’t offer them insurance, or offers health care packages most workers there can’t possibly afford, passing along enormous costs to families and taxpayers, the bottom line is clear: at Wal-Mart, less than forty percent of the employees have health insurance. That’s 600,000 working Americans on their own. It’s unconscionable and it is unacceptable that five of the ten richest people in America are Wal-Mart stockholders from the same family-worth double-digit billions each--but they can’t find the money to secure health coverage for their own workers and their families.

Wal-Mart workers aren’t alone. Millions of Americans with full-time jobs end up without health insurance. No family should be left with their fingers crossed, hoping to dodge a bullet, afraid that bad news from their doctor will leave them bankrupt or without care.

America believes in real family values and lives them; this Administration just talks about family values but does little to actually value families. Think about it: 46 million Americans uninsured including eleven million children, six million more than when this president took office. Those six million are casualties of indifference and incompetence every bit as much as the hundreds of people who are losing their lives in Iraq every week. And to demand change we must resolve to take both of these moral issues to the ballot box this fall."

Today, Wal-Mart (www.paidcritics.com) is attacking the financial backer of the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign for giving 98% of its money to Democratic candidates. Why does Wal-Mart insist on attacking Democrats as part of its strategy to salvage its declining public image?

Maybe it's because the people running Wal-Mart's campaign have been involved with the Swift Boat ads, the illegal New Hampshire phone jam scandal for the Republican party and, allegedly, helped Tom Delay funnel money.

Or, maybe it is because Wal-Mart is a right-wing company that supports the wrong agenda for America. In the past year, Wal-Mart has lobbied to ship U.S. jobs overseas, against strengthening our nation's port security, against a living wage and against expanding health care for working families and children.

Which party's agenda does that sound like to you? No wonder Wal-Mart (and its affiliates) has given 81% of its political contributions to Republicans. It's time to hold corporations like Wal-Mart accountable for taking America in the wrong direction. Check out more info on www.abunchofgreedyrightwingliarswhoworkforwalmart.com.

P.S. By the way, the UFCW absolutely gives 98% of its money to Democrats, not because of party affiliation, but because those candidates support raising the minimum wage, protecting U.S. jobs, expanding health care for all, and an agenda that fights for middle class families. Wal-Mart, on the other hand, has given money to Senators like Rick Santorum (who voted to oppose raising the minimum wage) and even let the Senator ride around on their corporate jet.

The Food Business Review online writes "Wal-Mart: excuses, excuses, excuses."

US discount store Wal-Mart blamed high fuel prices for its 1.2% increase in sales for June, despite rival Target achieving a 4.8% increase during the same month. If Wal-Mart wants to increase sales it will need to invest in improving store environments and customer service to attract more affluent customers.(emphasis theirs)

The article focuses on the lack of customer service at Wal-Mart as one of the key reason its June sales were at the low end of projections.

One of the main reasons is that Target's stores and merchandise have an aspirational edge: while Target is well regarded for its prices, consumers also rate it for other areas of its proposition such as customer service. Comparatively, Wal-Mart underperforms on these factors and is, overwhelmingly, used by consumers simply because of its low price credentials...

Wal-Mart has made some efforts to remedy this by introducing more fashionable products. However the execution of this has not always been optimal and customer service in stores and display standards are not always able to support added-value merchandise. Purchasing an $8,000 television, for example, is simply not attractive in a store where staff are relatively thin on the ground and queuing is often a major problem.(emphasis added)

As I mentioned here, Wal-Mart continues to cut back on hours and employees. The cost-cutting measure has a negative impact on its workers. It also has a negative impact on its customers.

The newest ad by John DeStefano, a candidate for governor of Connecticut, calls for an end to corporate loopholes that allow Wal-Mart to avoid paying its fair share for health care.

DeStefano's new commercial:

"Connecticut taxpayers pay over $5 million per year to provide health care to Wal-Mart workers because the company won't pay for it themselves. As Governor, my universal health care plan closes corporate loopholes and uses the money to provide afforable health care for everyone. And if Wal-Mart won't cover their workers, we will. And we'll send Wal-Mart the bill. It's time to make your government work for you."

Not a resident of Connecticut? Click here to find out how much Wal-Mart costs taxpayers in your state.

Bill Katovsky from the Huffington Post writes about recent local fights, the politics of Wal-Mart, among many other issues.

On local community opposition:

Small-town America is turning against America's largest retailer. Two weeks ago, the tiny California community of Hercules, which is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, rejected Wal-Mart's bid to open a 100,000-square-foot store on specially zoned land.

Hercules, despite its name, has become yet another David in the localized battle against the commercial Goliath.

Following the release of several anti-Wal-Mart film documentaries and books, concerned citizens are better educated that bigger is not necessarily better in their own backyard.

On Wal-Mart's impact on the U.S. economy:

Close to 7.5 cents of every retail dollar spent in this country is funneled into Wal-Mart's coffers. Its revenues constitute 2.5 percent of America's GNP. The retail chain helps drive the U.S. economy. In fact, Wal-Mart used to promote "Buy American!" in its advertising and sales promotions before switching over to "Always Low Prices." Then again, eighty percent of Wal-Mart's 6,000 suppliers and factories are located in China.

On the growing opposition to Wal-Mart:

Despite Wal-Mart's reputation as a bellwether for national consumer-spending habits, it's also become an ever-increasing target of litigation, protests, and controversy. It's been a defendant in a number of class-action lawsuits, ranging from sexual discrimination to mistreatment of its underpaid, largely unskilled workforce.

On Wal-Mart and politics:

On the political front, Wal-Mart gives more money to Republican candidates than any other company. According to Bloomberg News, "Wal-Mart's political action committee, the biggest company PAC, gave Republicans 81 percent of its $1.3 million in donations in the past two years."

Our latest press release:

News stories on Wal-Mart and crime spread across U.S.

1) Wal-Mart a crime magnet, foes say: http://www.nydailynews.com/business/story/416316p-351708c.html

2) Wal-Mart foes fear crime wave: http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/05/10/100bus_walmart001.cfm

3) Group says Wal-Mart draws crime: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/14552286.htm

WakeUpWalMart.com calls on Wal-Mart to immediately reveal what it knows about crime at Wal-Mart stores

On May 2nd, WakeUpWalMart.com and community leaders called on Wal-Mart to address the serious issue of crime at its stores, including adopting a nationwide policy to monitor all surveillance cameras and putting security patrols in all of its parking lots, by Mother’s Day.

Read the entire press release

WakeUpWalMart.com will join over 58 grassroots, business and elected leaders, including Rep. Thomas Bliley (R-VA) and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), to oppose Wal-Mart’s application to start providing banking services through an Industrial Loan Corporation (ILC) at public hearings next week before the FDIC.

The FDIC’s hearings are in response to an unprecedented outpouring of public and business opposition to Wal-Mart’s bank application. The hearings will be the first ever public hearings on such an application in the FDIC’s history.

Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com, will testify at the FDIC’s hearing on the proposed “Wal-Mart Bank” on behalf of WakeUpWalMart.com’s 211,000 supporters who have joined together to change Wal-Mart into a responsible corporation.

WakeUpWalMart.com will also participate in a joint press conference of elected officials and organizations who will be testifying in opposition to Wal-Mart’s entrance into banking.

In his testimony, Blank will declare, “It is fair to say, given the breadth and scope of public opposition - from all sides of the political spectrum - the American people have spoken loud and clear and America says no to a Wal-Mart bank.”

Highlighting some of the concerns shared by so many public officials and business and community leaders, Mr. Blank adds, “A Wal-Mart bank not only dangerously mixes commerce and banking, but represents a disturbing concentration of capital in the hands of one single corporation … it will create a new modern-day American monopoly with the economic power of Standard Oil and the values of Big Tobacco.”

For more on the Wal-Mart banking issue, check out Camden Fine's column, "Don't Put Stock in Wal-Mart Banking," in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution. Fine is president and CEO of Independent Community Bankers of America.

The Associated Press also writes about next week's battle.

Americans across the country are discussing the implications of last week's historic vote in the Maryland legislature. Maryland's decision is only a first in our battle to make Wal-Mart a more-responsible corporate citizen through Fair Share Health Care legislation. This is by no means close to ending.

Right now, over 30 states are looking into similar measures to stop the shifting of health care costs onto state taxpayers. What can you do to help push for similar legislation in your state?

Sign up to be a "Citizen Co-Sponsor" of Fair Share Health Care in your state here.

We will be working together with supporters who have signed on as co-sponsors through a grassroots state-by-state campaign.

Today is the last day to submit your guess for our "Who's Not Shopping at Wal-Mart" competition. Remember, we will randomly select ten people out of those who answer correctly to win a TIVO digital video recorder, so make sure to make your guess today:

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/guesswho

Someone important is not shopping at Wal-Mart this Holiday Season, given Wal-Mart's record of gender discrimination in the workplace, violation of child labor laws, exploiting undocumented workers, and the fact that over 600,000 of Wal-Mart employees are not covered by Wal-Mart's health insurance.

We will announce the answer to our "Who's Not Shopping at Wal-Mart" competition on Friday, December 2, and we will give you a new clue each day.

The first ten (10) people to guess right will win a TIVO digital video recorder so you can fast forward through the incessant Wal-Mart TV commercials this holiday season. But remember, you only get one guess, so make it a good one.

Make your guess here:

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/guesswho/

Robert Greenwald, the filmmaker behind "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" - set to be released in November, will join labor leader David Bonior and journalist Harold Meyerson on October 6 for an online discussion of the movie.

Moving Ideas will be hosting this discussion, which will occur from 2:00-3:00 pm this Thursday, October 6. For more details about the panelists and to ask questions in advance, visit:

http://www.movingideas.org/chat/WalMart/WalMart.php

Today we are launching our new WakeUpWalMart.com photo gallery. This gallery will house images from WakeUpWalMart.com press conferences, grassroots actions, and other events where WakeUpWalMart.com supporters can be found.

The gallery can be found at: http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/gallery

There is also a link to the photo gallery on the left tool bar, where you can also find the latest Wal-Mart news, Wal-Mart facts, our action center, tools to stop Wal-Mart from destroying your communities' way of life, and much more.

The gallery is still in its infancy, and we need your help to build it out. You can submit photos for review and posting by sending JPG or GIF files to info@wakeupwalmart.com. If there is a caption that we should include, be sure to put that in the email as well.

Thanks!

- Brendan

WakeUpWalMart.com, the group leading the national fight to change Wal-Mart, announced today it has achieved a record milestone of support. Over 66,215 Americans have now joined the WakeUpWalMart.com movement, which was launched on April 5th of this year. The WakeUpWalMart.com campaign now enjoys growing grassroots support in all 50 states.

“All across America, from towns to cities, from red states to blue states, Americans have made our campaign a true grassroots movement. We will not stop fighting. We will use every political, legislative, economic, and legal tool available to grow this movement into an army of change. In the days ahead, on behalf of the American people, we will change Wal-Mart into a corporation that reflects the best of American values,” said Paul Blank, Campaign Director for WakeUpWalMart.com

In just five months, WakeUpWalMart.com has become one of America’s fastest growing political and social movements. Supporters of the effort have signed on to the campaign at public events held by the group or via the campaign website, WakeUpWalMart.com. The group also officially announced that its next goal is to reach 150,000 supporters by December 31st, 2005.

“WakeUpWalMart.com is a powerful, broad-based, movement to change the largest corporation in the world. Our supporters will take the fight for a better America to Wal-Mart from one corner of this nation to the other. We will not rest until this company 'wakes up' and does what is right for its workers, our families, our communities, and the nation,” added Paul Blank.

With the support of over 66,215 Americans, the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign has successfully led the national fight to change Wal-Mart. Among the many accomplishments of the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign and its supporters include:

• Launched the “Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart” Mother’s Day Campaign where 21,788 Americans signed the “Love Mom, not Wal-Mart” pledge and promised to not purchase their Mother’s Day gift at Wal-Mart until the company addressed its record of discriminating against 2 million women.
  
• Coordinated a National “Mother’s Day of Action” on May 7th in 26 states and 70 cities and towns to raise awareness about Wal-Mart’s record of gender discrimination.
  
• Hosted a press conference with several key Members of Congress, including Rep. Rosa De Lauro. Rep. De Lauro then released a “Dear Colleague Letter” from 51 Members of Congress asking Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, to release wage data to investigate claims of gender discrimination.
  
• Mobilized thousands of supporters to successfully force Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, to end the “Wal-Mart Nazi Ad” and publicly apologize for using the ad against Arizona citizens who opposed Wal-Mart.
  
• Launched the “Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care” campaign with a series of press conferences in 8 states and 325 Meet-Ups in over 270 cities involving over 10,000 supporters of Democracy for America (DFA) and WakeUpWalMart.com. Press conferences with civic, community, and labor leaders were held in Concord, NH; Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; Madison, WI; Little Rock, AR; Austin, TX; Hartford, CT; and Atlanta, GA.
  
• Hosted a press conference with Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator John Corzine, and Representative Anthony Weiner to introduce the Health Care Accountability Act - the first national legislation that would expose the true cost that American taxpayers bear because Wal-Mart forces tens of thousands of its workers onto public health care, like Medicaid.
  
• Held house meetings in 134 cities and 38 states where nearly 2,000 citizens agreed to become citizen co-sponsors of “Fair Share Health Care" legislation. The WakeUpWalMart.com campaign will be leading the effort to introduce “Fair Share Health Care" legislation in all 50 states in the coming months.
  
• Officially launched on June 23rd our “Community Fight Campaign” that provides the most comprehensive strategies and tools to help supporters and activists fight the destructive effects of Wal-Mart in their community.
  

The efforts to change Wal-Mart will reach a new level in the coming days and months as WakeUpWalMart.com prepares to mobilize its supporters in a series of new campaigns that will reach out to Americans all over the nation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Screen shot of walmartfacts.com:

The following letter was sent today from Paul Blank, Campaign Director of WakeUpWalMart.com to Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart:

Lee Scott, CEO
Wal-Mart, Inc.
Bentonville, AR

Dear Mr. Scott

I can’t express to you my profound shock and disappointment that Wal-Mart is bankrolling a group in Arizona running an advertisement using Nazi images to depict their opposition. This is outrageous, degrades the sacrifices that were made to end Nazism and must be immediately condemned by you and your company.

As you well know, recently, the world celebrated the end of the Second World War and the demise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The brutality and viciousness of this regime has no modern parallel. To this very day, countless numbers of Americans and people around the world suffer from the memories of Nazism. I think you will agree with me, there is never a justification for any group to use the evil imageries of Nazism to push a political or corporate agenda.

It is frighteningly un-American to use Nazi images in an attempt to demonize those who oppose Wal-Mart and the negative effects this company has had on our communities and the nation.

I urge Wal-Mart to immediately end the company’s support for this group and its media campaign. You must publicly condemn this group and you should offer a public apology on behalf of Wal-Mart making clear you would never support – directly or indirectly – a media campaign that uses Nazi imagery.

Mr. Scott, I urge you to do the right thing.

Yours truly,

Paul Blank
WakeUpWalmart.com
Campaign Director

Click the image below to see the advertisement.

CNBC's 'Closing Bell' wants to know what you think.

Vote now by clicking here.

From CampusProgress.org:

1. Wal-Mart regularly violates federal law and flouts international human rights standards.

2. Wal-Mart regularly falls below industry standards for employee pay.

3. Wal-Mart has made the glass ceiling wider and thicker than ever before.

4. Wal-Mart sometimes doesn’t even pay its low wages at all.

5. Wal-Mart routinely makes health care unavailable or unaffordable for its employees.

Link to full article here.

Today, our own Paul Blank will be among many esteemed speakers discussing Wal-Mart at the "Reclaiming Economic Development II" Conference, hosted by Good Jobs First. The conference is a gathering of hundreds of community leaders from around the country.

Among the topics being discussed at the conference today are:

* Medicaid/SCHIP and Wal-Mart
* The New Fight
* Wal-Mart Week
* Non-sprawl environmental issues and Wal- Mart's emerging "greenwashing" strategy
* Odd bedfellows and small business groups opposed to Wal-Mart

For more on this conference, see the Good Jobs First website.

If you haven't yet signed the "Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart" pledge, please do so now by clicking on this link. If you have already signed, please send the pledge to your friends and family by clicking on this link. Help us reach our goal of 20,000 signatures by Mother's Day.

16,297 signatures as of 4:00 p.m. (EST) 5/7/05

We will be adding the signatures to the "Mother of all Mother's Day Cards" which is currently in New York City for an event at City Hall. Here is a picture of the card from an event in Washington, D.C. last week, with Members of Congress, a plaintiff in the gender discrimination lawsuit against Wal-mart, and Carolyn Sapp, Miss America '92:

To all of those who have the time to read this blog. If you could please take an extra minute or two and let me know what your personal view of Wal-Mart is, I would love to hear it. If anyone would like to know mine, it is real simple, "FEAR". Fear that this evil empire will one day set the sub-par standard of how all companies,Corporate America, and even the public sector employ their workforce. If we as workers of this Great Nation and World unite together in the wake of May-Day we can not only send a message to Wal-Mart but to all employers that we will never tolerate being exploited. If we let them know that our dignity, pride, ideals, and self worth is extremely important, than maybe we can prevent one of my greatest fears, "worker exploitation". For what it is worth to anyone who reads this, this is my two-cents. I am just curious to see how others feel? I am open to hearing all sides, whether you agree or disagree?

The following was sent to our 45,000 supporters today:

Dear Friend,

We are launching our “Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart” campaign and we are inviting you to join.

Mother’s Day is all about honoring our Moms. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart’s idea of honor and respect for women includes unequal wages, fewer promotions, and inadequate health care.

As a special treat, we are going to send Lee Scott, Wal-Mart’s CEO, the “Mother of all Mother’s Day Cards.” With your help, Lee Scott will receive what may be the largest Mother’s Day card in America – maybe in history. Add your name to that card by signing the “Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart” pledge now:

Sign the Pledge

Together, we can send Wal-Mart a message that it’s about time to Wake-Up and do the right thing. No woman worker, or Mom, deserves to be treated so poorly.

We need you – and your friends and family – to sign the ”Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart” pledge to not buy any gifts for Mother’s Day at Wal-Mart.

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/mom/pledge.html

On our Mother’s Day web site, you can also send Mother’s Day e-cards, download Women & Wal-Mart fact sheets and flyers, and purchase discounted flowers. Sign the pledge now and view our Mother’s Day Specials.

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/mom/pledge.html

Just think about what women at Wal-Mart - the largest employer of women in the United States with over 700,000 female employees – face every day:

• Gender Discrimination: Wal-Mart is currently involved in a gender discrimination lawsuit affecting more than 1.5 million women. The case is the largest class action lawsuit in U.S. history. The suit documents Wal-Mart’s systematic discrimination against women for lower pay and unequal promotion.
• Lower pay: Women earn from 5% - 10% less than men at Wal-Mart for the same work. This equates to nearly 40 cents less per hour for female hourly workers or nearly $5,000 less per year for female managers.
• Fewer Promotions: Despite making up 72% of Wal-Mart’s hourly workforce, women only account for 33% of managers and only 15% of store managers.

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/mom/pledge.html

The “Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart” campaign is our first step towards our goal of changing Wal-Mart by building local coalitions at every Wal-Mart in America.

Thank you for all that you have done and all that you will do to make this campaign a success. And remember to honor your Mom this Mother’s Day by shopping at a store that honors her too.

Paul Blank
Wake-Up Wal-Mart Campaign

We are still developing online tools for you to use to help change Wal-Mart, and I thought I should ask you -- the people who will be using these tools -- for some help.

If you can think of any tools that you would like to use, or better ways of using the tools we already have, please let me know here. If you have any really detailed ideas and would rather share via email, you can send them to info@wakeupwalmart.com.

Be creative, and let us know what you need to make a difference!

Thanks,

Brendan

Hey everyone. We are up and running! For all of us here at the Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign, welcome to our blog. This blog is your place to discuss why we need to wake up Wal-Mart, share breaking news, post calls to action and get updates on why Wal-Mart needs to change.

I want to make one thing very clear from the get-go: this campaign is your campaign. Only you can change Wal-Mart. So, please, give us feedback, advice, express your opinion, share your stories and ask any questions that you have. We will work hard to get answers to you as quickly as we can.

In the next few weeks, we will be rolling out exciting new tools to help you change Wal-Mart. So, be sure to check back often.

Thanks,
Brendan