Calling all DU'ers: Please help Chicago fight Wal-Mart!

[iconoclastic cat]

Hey, everyone: I received the following email earlier this evening:

________
Dear Working Families e-Activist:

Wal-Mart, notorious as a bad corporate citizen that pays poverty
wages, scrimps on benefits and fights workers who want to form
unions, is seeking to open stores in the city of Chicago. The
company has left devastation in communities throughout Illinois
and across America because of what it does as an employer and as
a business.

Small businesses with decades in a community often have to close
when Wal-Mart comes to town. Workers see their wages and
benefits cut as employers struggle to compete with Wal-Mart's
low wages and poor benefits.

In Chicago, the average hourly wage for retail workers (union
and nonunion) was $10.93 per hour in 2001. A congressional
study placed the average Wal-Mart wage at $8.23 per hour during
the same year. Wal-Mart would push down pay and benefits for
Chicago working families.

The Chicago City Council is closely examining Wal-Mart's record
and is asking some tough questions. Instead of just accepting
Wal-Mart's promises, the City Council is looking at the facts
about Wal-Mart. But some aldermen need to know how you feel
about Wal-Mart before the vote.

Here's how you can help:

The Chicago City Council is scheduled to consider Wal-Mart's
application for zoning changes in the 21st Ward (represented by
Howard Brookins Jr.) and in the 37th Ward (represented by Emma
Mitts) at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 26, 2004, at City Hall. This
is a chance to stop Wal-Mart.

Please call these aldermen today. Tell them "Stop Wal-Mart from
coming to Chicago."

Ward 1
Manuel Flores
773-278-0101
[e-mail]

Ward 9
Anthony Beale
773-785-1100
[e-mail]

Ward 12
George A. Cardenas
773-523-8250
[e-mail]

Ward 16
Shirley A. Coleman
773-918-1670
[e-mail]

Ward 19
Virginia A. Rugai
773-238-8766
[e-mail]

Ward 26
Billy Ocasio
773-276-4269
[e-mail]

Ward 32
Theodore Matlak
773-384-3011
[e-mail]

Ward 34
Carrie M. Austin
773-928-6961
[e-mail]

Ward 39
Margaret Laurino
773-736-5594
[e-mail]

Ward 43
Vi Daley
773-327-9111
[e-mail]

Ward 44
Thomas M. Tunney
773-525-6034
[e-mail]

Ward 47
Gene Schulter
773-348-8400
[e-mail]

Join union, religious and community activists at the James R.
Thompson Center at 100 West Randolph St. at 8 a.m. on May 26 for
a rally and a march around City Hall prior to the City Council
meeting.

By Wal-Mart's own estimates, its stores have a turnover rate of
50 percent per year. This revolving-door employment system
ensures that workers won't qualify for health care and
structured wage increases.

Let's stop Wal-Mart now!

Thanks for all you do.

In solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO
May 24, 2004

P.S. Learn more about how Wal-Mart uses tax breaks to subsidize
its low-wage business model.
http://www.aflcio.org/corporateamerica/ns05242004.cfm

____________________

----When I went looking around for some good "talking points," I encountered this on the American Progress site:

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=6228
WAL-MART
Wal-Mart Welfare

A new report released from Good Jobs First today shows that Wal-Mart, the
world's largest retailer, has received
<http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/wmtstudy.pdf>more than $1 billion in
economic development subsidies from states for its stores and distribution
centers. The subsidies have come as many states are forced by White House
<http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=34039>tax cuts
and <http://www.cbpp.org/2-3-04sfp.htm>reductions in federal grants to make
tough budget decisions. A report by the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities shows states are <http://www.cbpp.org/4-22-04sfp.htm>cutting
subsidies for publicly funded health insurance, child care, federal
employment, both higher and lower education, and programs aimed at public
safety and people with disabilities -- all this while ponying up taxpayer
dollars to subsidize a retailer that took in more than
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4573885/>$200 billion revenue and netted
nearly $9 billion in profits last year, even as it paid workers
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0405230329may23,1,5918664.story?coll=chi-news-hed>near-poverty
wages, drove out local businesses and
<http://www.epa.gov/region1/pr/2001/jun/010607.html>violated environmental
regulations.
_____________

----Next, I emailed the following note to each of the alderwomen and aldermen on the list:

To: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]

Dear Alderwomen and Aldermen:

I may not live in your ward, but I beg you to stop Wal-Mart from extending
its reach into Chicago. Please review the attached reports for more reasons
to stop this from happening. I fully understand what is happening in places
like North Lawndale, but allowing Wal-Mart in is worse than the pattern of
disinvestment that you seek to ameliorate.

Please, give the small business owners of these areas a fighting chance.

Thanks,
(my real name)
__________________
Below that, I pasted the paragraph from American Prog. that I cited above. And what do you know, I have received 2 responses already!

My question to all of the DU-ziens: What should I do next? Should I put out a call to action from the DU membership? Should I call on everyone to help out?

This issue is very dear to me, because I have so many friends and colleagues whose neighborhoods are at stake. Also, my teacher friends are scared that the Waltons' crusade against public education will be their next incursion into our city.

Please advise!

[Robbien]

1. This issue was on This Is Hell on Saturday

And I put a stickum on my computer to make sure I called today.

My point was, no I do not live in that district, but Walmart destroys businesses (especially small businesses) within 50 miles of any of their oppressive stores. So I told the alderman in the districts close to mine to please vote no.

Walmart is a friend to none. I also told them, Walmart wants desperately to get a foothold in large cities so why are they giving Walmart such big giveaways to get a foothold in Chicago.

[iconoclastic cat]

2. Pardon my ignorance: What is "This Is Hell"?

Do you have a link?

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who is responding!

[Robbien]

5. This is Hell is a Saturday radio program sponsored by NU

It is a great three hour or so program which does investigative progressive programming and can be found here

http://www.thisishell.com/

This past Saturday, they destroyed Walmart's policies and hopefully made a difference, their anti-Walmart guest's site is here

http://www.chicagojwj.org/

[SemperEadem]

3. Have the Inglewood CA City Council talk to the aldermen

so they can see how to develop a plan of attack with regards to Walmart's sneaky methods of getting their way.

Chicago is a real union town, so at least they have that going for them.

[iconoclastic cat]

4. How exactly would I do that? And who's going to listen to me?

It's not like I'm part of some organization. Besides, Working Families (the ones who sent me the email alert) must have already thought of that one, right?

[salib]

6. Sounds like you should work with Working Families then

I will bet good money that they have need of someone as resourceful and downright persistent as you. I would suspect also that they are a good organization to be affiliated with. See where that goes, then you can sink your teeth in something that they are not addressing sufficiently.

In solidarity.

[Robbien]

7. As a regular person, I called the offices of the northside aldermen

and the persons answering the phone listened and said they marked down my call as a vote against Walmart.

So you can call. Pick some numbers, say you live close and say you and your family who live in their district are concerned. It could make a difference.