Good local editorial on Walmart

[G_j]

Context:
After a long and bitter battle with us (scores of Asheville NC residents) WM has opened an extra large Supercenter by the Swananowa River (there were already two regular WM stores in the city) WM developers essentially 'bought' the majority of our present City Council. The previous CC had turned them down twice. Hundreds of citizens have attended CC meetings in opposition to this. We lost.
The writer of this editorial now urges responsible shopping.

-----
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050224/OPINION03/502240328/1058/OPINION01

Wal-Mart-style business practices are a dire threat to America's economic health

Adrienne Langlois

Newsroom

By Adrienne Langlois
published: February 24, 2005 6:00 am

He wasn't a politician, nor was he a military leader. He didn't lead an important social movement, and he wasn't an award-winning author, artist or film director. Yet I am convinced that Sam Walton is one of the most important figures in American history.

Walton founded the company that is today the single largest corporation in the world - larger than even G.E. or AOL Time-Warner - operating more than 3,000 units worldwide, with an annual gross profit of more than $250 billion.

<snip>
Though Wal-Mart buys from over 4,000 internal suppliers, that number is decreasing fast. Within the past 10 years, Wal-Mart has doubled its imported products from China. In 2002, it imported more than $12 billion worth of Chinese products - 10 percent of all Chinese exports into the United States.

<snip>
Another story that hits closer to home comes from Carolina Mills, a textile producer in our state which has been in business for more than three-quarters of a century and is the supplier to many clothing producers, 50 percent of which sell to Wal-Mart. Carolina Mills experienced excellent growth throughout the 20th century, but in 2000, its profits slacked off as the apparel producers turned to the cheaper opportunity of outsourced textile producers in order to keep in step with Wal-Mart's growing demands. Between 2000 and 2003, Carolina Mills was forced to lay off more than half of its 2,600 laborers and close 10 of its 17 factories. The company's business was literally cut in half.

..more..

[Mr_Spock]

1. Why people shop at "destroy America Mart" is beyond me

Cheap Chinese outsourcing our jobs crap, bad for local businesses, lousy jobs and treated like shit employees and right-wing back-room payoff supporting politics - a recipe for disaster. And the last few times I was in one (over a year ago) I had to listen to white trash destroying the lives of their children by ripping them apart in public. What a national disaster...

[lapislzi]

7. Let's deconstruct for a moment.

Out of work textile workers. Hm. Were they perhaps unionized, with benefits and earning something closer to a living wage than they could hope for at Wal-Mart? I have no numbers, but I suspect that is the case.

Enter Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart snaps up displaced workers for their 37-hour, no-benefits jobs. No unions, minimum wage, cheap labor.

I cannot emphasize the "cheap labor" aspect of the current brand of "conservatism" enough.

[kermujin]

13. it gets even *better* than that ...

in quebec, canada, two wal-mart stores (the ONLY two) have unionized. the reaction from wal-mart? they've slated the first one to close, and the rumour is that the second is next. they're saying that the stores just 'aren't making money.'

yeah. guess it bites too much into the bottom line to pay workers a living wage ... imagine: if they can't handle paying canadian healthcare costs for their employees -- what'll happen to them if they wind up with organized *american* stores...?

my hope is that they keep organizing, and wal-mart keeps cutting off their nose to spite their face, by shutting them one by one...

kermujin

[G_j]

14. and a large percentage of WM workers

are eligible for public assistance, the wages are so low and they have no health care. Thus taxpayers are helping WM keep that cheap labor.

[Mr_Spock]

18. I'd like to see that documented. THAT would really make a dent

in their Republican support if they knew that WM employees were part of the "welfare state"!

[G_j]

21. it is fairly well documented

a few items I found quickly:

Walmart Urges Empoyees To Seek Public Assistance

In 2002, Wal-Mart raised its definition of “full-time” work from 29 to 34 hours weekly. With that change, Wal-Mart increased the number of its part-time workers to nearly 400,000, or about a third of its total workforce, and also increased barriers to workers’ eligibility for job-based health care, according to a report by the minority staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee.

Part-time workers must wait two years to be fully covered and cannot ever purchase care under the Wal-Mart plan for their children or spouses.

And even when some workers do become eligible for health care coverage, many can’t afford the premiums and deductibles. According to an October 2003 AFL-CIO report, an unmarried Wal-Mart employee earning between $7.50 and $8.50 an hour for a “full-time” 34-hour workweek and choosing the least expensive coverage available might have to spend $6,396.50—some 45 percent of his or her annual wages—on health care. The plan also carries a $350-per-family-member annual deductible before coverage can begin.

Instead of providing affordable health care, Wal-Mart encourages its workers to sign up for public health assistance. On a Dec. 19, 2003 broadcast of “NOW” with Bill Moyers, former 10-year Wal-Mart manager Gretchen Adams said managers kept “a list of the state agencies so that we could have some place to send these associates…for Medicaid, for well-baby care, for whatever it is that they need.”

In 2003, Las Vegas Wal-Mart managers even gave workers special forms that helped them certify their poverty status when applying for public assistance, says Fortune magazine.



http://www.aflcio.org/corporateamerica/walmart/walmart_3a.cfm
=========================


New Report Details Wal-Mart's
Labor Abuses and Hidden Costs

MARTINEZ, CA – Wal-Mart’s rock bottom wages and benefits cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year in basic housing, medical, childcare, and energy needs that the retailer fails to properly cover for its employees, according to a report (pdf file) released today by Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez).

<snip>
“There’s no question that Wal-Mart imposes a huge, often hidden, cost on its workers, our communities, and U.S. taxpayers,” said Miller. “And Wal-Mart is in the driver’s seat in the global race to the bottom, suppressing wage levels, workplace protections, and labor laws.”

The report estimates the costs borne by taxpayers for things like medical insurance and housing assistance for Wal-Mart employees that can’t afford them because of their low wages and benefits. The report shows that taxpayers would have to pick up $420,750 per year for a hypothetical Wal-Mart store employing 200 people. These costs (which will vary based on the number of people employed in any one store) include:

$36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families;

$42,000 a year for Section 8 housing assistance, assuming three percent of the store’s employees qualify for such assistance;

$125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, assuming 50 employees are heads of household with a child and 50 are married with two children;

$100,000 a year for additional Title I education funds, assuming 50 Wal-Mart families, each with an average of two children, qualify;

$108,000 a year for children’s health insurance costs, assuming 30 employees, each with an average of two children, qualify for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); and

$9,750 a year for subsidies for energy assistance for low-income families.


http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/releases/rel21604.html

[Tesha]

9. People shop there because, individually, it makes good sense to do so.

The problem is as old as "The Tragedy of the Commons". People, making
decisions based on their own personal gain, can't avoid deciding to
allow their cow to graze for free on the town common (rather than
to have to keep grazing land themselves). Similarly, they can't
avoid deciding to shop at WalMart. The stuff is reasonably good
and priced very low.

The problem comes when *EVERYONE* makes that same personal decision.
Too many cows graze the town common, and the grass is destroyed,
leaving all the cows to starve. Too many people shop at WalMart,
leaving no manufacturing jobs left in America, and we all all starve.

But individually, the decision to shop at WalMart seems rational. It's
only when you consider it on the grand scale that all those decisions
become irrational. And, unfortunately, America is famous for nothing
so much as individualism. It's those commies, socialists, and Yurpeans
who think collectively.

Tesha

P.S.: You can see this same phenomenon at work in many other
venues. It's what's behind the rush to SUVs: individually, you
having the biggest, heaviest car makes you the winner in an
accident. Collectively, more people die. Guns? Same analysis.
Taxes? The less *YOU* pay, the better, at least until the roads
all crack, the bridges fall down, and none of the kids are
properly edumacated.

The greatest common good is often at odds with individual gains.

[G_j]

17. as someone commented

for many, it comes down to a choice. What are you first? A 'shopper' or a responsible citizen?

[Zen]

22. For me it's "are you American" or "are you a right-wing America hating nut

job"

Just the fact that they are in bed with right-wing politics ought to tell you something.

[G_j]

23. that works too n/t

[BR_Parkway]

2. So glad to see that, we just turned down a proposal to expand

the existing Walmart into a SuperWalmart - the town wouldn't give them another size/parking lot variance. Haven't shopped in one in 2.5 years now, not missing it a bit.

[CottonBear]

3. Did Walmart close the other two stores?

My family is from Western NC. Both of my grandfathers were born in Swannanoa. My family settled in Western NC in the early 1700s. One of my grandfathers worked in the Canton paper mill from the day he was 18 to the day he retired. I was just in Asheville this past summer. Walmart opened a SuperCenter in my city and closed their old store. Now the empty, old store anchors a dying shopping center.
I never shop at WalMart. I can't believe that Asheville allowed this to happen.

[G_j]

8. if the others stores haven't closed yet

I suspect they will. Originally it was discovered that WM was going to leave the 'box' that housed the store closest to the new Super center empty and refuse to rent it out.
That may have changed due to more public outrage, I'm not sure.

Asheville is a beautiful town and home to many progressives, artists etc. The WM fight was possibly the most contentious issue to ever go through the planning board and City Council.
Unfortunately, despite a large segment of responsible and aware citizens, the strings are still held by an insidious 'old boy' network. The developers seem to be gaining even more control and they are destroying this place. It makes us sick. I can't even bring myself to attand council meetings anymore.

[CottonBear]

10. I am so sorry

I live in Athens, GA which is also home to many artists, intellectiuals and progressives. Unfortunately, the good ol' boy network is at work here as well. They have no concept of a great city, they only think of their own pocketbook and power base.
:puke:

[G_j]

12. one of many factors,

Developers have figured out that here in the south it works to cast opponents of unwise projects as "outsiders" coming in trying to tell people what to do. I don't know if it's a holdover from the civil war or what, but cast your opponents as "outsiders" (which translates to "Yankee' in some minds) and you are one step ahead of the game. Asheville is a unique juxtaposition of transplants and locals, but many cities in the south are experiencing a similar mix.

[liberal N proud]

4. In Sam Walton's defense (not the current Wal-Mart corp)

When Sam was alive he did everything he could to promote American Made Products over imports. His stores alway had special sections at the front of the store for locally made products.
HE may not have served in the military but did honor those who did through his business.
The company is not the Wal-Mart that Sam Walton left behind, the corporate goons who now run the company have turned it into the mega monster that it has become.

[Bettie]

6. From what I've read about Sam Walton

He would be ashamed at what his company has turned into.

Though, I must admit that this is just what I have read or heard about the man, so I may be misinformed. I do recall that he wanted to use American made products if at all possible though.

[liberal N proud]

11. You are not mistaken, I know several people who knew him personally

My wife worked for a long time at Wal-Mart. She worked for them under Sam and she says, it is not the same company.
They have gotten too big.

[Bettie]

5. I don't shop at Wal Mart

And some of my relatives think I'm crazy. People just don't see what this company is doing to their very livelihood.

Plus, their prices are not that low.

Well, evil comes in many forms, this is just one of them I guess.

[THUNDER HANDS]

15. while I'm not exactly proud to admit this, I work at Wal-Mart

people shop here because its cheap. Lots of poor people shop here. Lots of middle-class people shop here.

I actually had one person explain to me that she shops here and not Target because 'I like Wal-Mart's philosophy and Sam Walton' - I had no idea what she meant by that becasue I didn't follow-up on her statement.

But until some other store opens up that offers 45-cent 2-liter bottles of soda and the ability to buy 30+ items for less than $100, nobody is beating Wal-Mart out of the marketplace.

And when you're poor, you don't care about other poor people, you just want to make ends meet. You don't care about what Wal-Mart does to the neighborhood stores or its employees. You just want your $1.99 pack of frozen chicken wings.

[G_j]

19. a tall order but

one way to really fight this battle is to explore alternatives.
We have had some brain storming sessions where we discussed for example, would it be possible to form a clothing coop? (in the manner of which a food coop is operated)

[Mr_Spock]

20. I found that it wasn't much cheaper to shop there and stuff was crap.

They have a "supercenter" in my area I shopped at before I started boycotting them. They had:

- such poor care of produce section that there was a massive fruit-fly infestation and products were rotting.

- Chinese made shoes & clothing were so cheap they fall apart after a few months

- many "brand-name" items that were only 10-20 cents cheaper than Target or the supermarket - BFD

- angry rude right-wing trash (like I'm sure that's what that lady meant - she like the RW Walmart politics) who talk rude, don't know how not to smash into you with a cart, treat their kids like pieces of useless shit and generally make shopping there a stressful experience. My stress level is worth more than a few dollars.

If you can not understand why that lady didn't want to shop at Target (I believe it's RW politics) and you can work for a company that has no morals or ethics WRT the future of our "it's only the next quarter profits that matter" soon-to-fail economy, then you're a better person than I am. I couldn't do it - I'd rather die first.

[NewJeffCT]

16. I find it hard to believe they only imported $12 billion from China

Or, maybe that is $12 billion directly from Wal-Mart factories in China and another $100+ billion from American vendors who get their products from China.

Also, Wal-Mart had $250 Billion in revenue - not in profit. Big difference. Revenue is basically the amount of sales that Wal-Mart has. That is before you take out the cost of goods sold, the peanuts they pay their employees, and other business costs. Still $250 billion in revenue makes the $11 billion Sears-KMart transaction look like chump change - and they're #3 in retail.