Walmart Decries D.C. ‘Living Wage’ Legislation

[Sherman A1]

If legislation passed by the Washington, D.C., Council is signed into law, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will have to “re-evaluate [its] options” with regard to six planned stores in the area. The Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) requires that certain large retailers pay a starting salary of $12.50 an hour-- considerably higher than D.C.’s current minimum wage of $8.25.

Three of the stores are now under construction, with the first two slated to open in the autumn.

In a July 9 op-ed piece in The Washington Post, Alex Barron, a regional general manager for Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart who is responsible for about 90 stores and 30,000 associates in the D.C. area, said: “[T]his legislation is arbitrary and discriminatory and … discourages investment in Washington. We have gone to great lengths to have thoughtful conversations with council members about why the LRAA would result in fewer jobs, higher prices and fewer total retail options. Most shopping dollars would stay in the suburbs, unemployment would remain in the double digits in some neighborhoods, and underserved communities would continue to have disproportionate access to affordable groceries.”

Additionally, as the mega-retailer has pointed out, major local employers Safeway and Giant-Landover are exempt from the LRAA, which the company believes would give those supermarket operators an unfair advantage. “The LRAA would clearly inject unforeseen costs into the equation that would create an uneven playing field and challenge the fiscal health of our planned D.C. stores,” noted Barron in the op-ed piece.

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