The Wal-Martization of America

[Snellius]

The 70,000 grocery workers on strike in Southern California are the front line in a battle to prevent middle-class service jobs from turning into poverty-level ones. The supermarkets say they are forced to lower their labor costs to compete with Wal-Mart, a nonunion, low-wage employer aggressively moving into the grocery business. Everyone should be concerned about this fight. It is, at bottom, about the ability of retail workers to earn wages that keep their families out of poverty.

Grocery stores in Southern California are bracing for the arrival, in February, of the first of 40 Wal-Mart grocery supercenters. Wal-Mart's prices are about 14 percent lower than other groceries' because the company is aggressive about squeezing costs, including labor costs. Its workers earn a third less than unionized grocery workers, and pay for much of their health insurance. Wal-Mart uses hardball tactics to ward off unions. Since 1995, the government has issued at least 60 complaints alleging illegal anti-union activities.
...
Wal-Mart may also be driving down costs by using undocumented immigrants. Last month, federal agents raided Wal-Marts in 21 states. Wal-Mart is facing a grand jury investigation, and a civil racketeering class-action filed by cleaners who say they were underpaid when working for contractors hired by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart insists that it was unaware of its contractors' practices. But aware or not, it may have helped to deprive legally employable janitors of jobs and adequate pay.

This Wal-Martization of the work force, to which other low-cost, low-pay stores also contribute, threatens to push many Americans into poverty. The first step in countering it is to enforce the law. The government must act more vigorously, and more quickly, when Wal-Mart uses illegal tactics to block union organizing. And Wal-Mart must be made to pay if it exploits undocumented workers.

Unions understand that the quickest way to win this war is to organize Wal-Mart workers. And Wal-Mart's competitors have to strive for Wal-Mart's efficiency without making workers bear the brunt. Consumers can also play a part. Wal-Mart likes to wrap itself in American values. It should be reminded that one of those is paying workers enough to give their families a decent life.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/15/opinion/15SAT1.html

[snowfence]

1. This is just terrible.

I quit shopping at those places. They can't compete with slave labor. what should I do?

[Melsky]

2. Great editiorial

Grocery stores have been somewhere where people without a lot of formal eductation could get a job to support their families. So what are they going to do when this is no longer an option? Should they go to school so they can be out of work with student loans to pay back?

I think they are right, wallmart does need to be unionized. They have an unfair competition to stores that pay their employees living wages.

[pretzel4gore]

5. all workers NEED collective bargaining...

anti unionism is an 'urban legend' and it is rampant throughout westrern societies, having the cachet of mom's apple pie....the subliminal advertisers have figgered out (that's how i spell it) how to make the old eat the young, the rich eat the poor, the nasty eat the gentle, the hogs eat the kittens....iow georgebushamerica= ted bundyland.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/05/02_morals.html

[Beaker]

3. No REAL Liberal or Progresssive would EVER shop at Walmart.

I'm on a fixed income due to a disibility, and if the choice were to come down to "buy it at Walmart" or "do without", I'd choose "do without" EVERY TIME.
people who shop at Walmart make me want to puke. Especially the ones who pretend to be Democrats.

[paulk]

26. I agree

Not shopping at Walmart is, for me, a political action. Our votes may or may not count, but our shopping dollar does.

[kalian]

4. Worse part is...

As more Americans start to work for Wal-Mart, those same Americans
won't be making enough to even shop there! :mad:

[Octafish]

6. Dean LOVES Walmart

Walmart opened FOUR stores in Vermont during Dean's tenure as governor. Vermont has only got 602,000 people, so four stores pretty much covers the whole state. Going by what Walmart's done everywhere else, that means a lot of mom-and-pop stores are gone. Walmart waves the flag at every opportunity, but the stuff on the shelves is made in China and other low-wage nations. Topping things off, Walmart is STRONGLY ANTI-UNION. But Dean is against NAFTA!

[Beaker]

8. not to nit-pick, but-

I don't see how The Devil opening four stores in Vermont while Howard was governator translates into "Dean Loves Walmart"...is there anything about him being on the record praising the bastards?

[Octafish]

15. Good point. Dean ordered his gubernatorial papers sealed.

Dean wanted them kept out of public view for 20 years, but settled for 10. There's a good chance lots of his Walmart thinking is contained therein. From Vermont Public Radio:

Part of Dean's records sealed in state archives

John Dillon

MONTPELIER, VT (2003-01-14)

(Host) Many of the records from the 11 years Howard Dean was governor of Vermont will be kept secret, at least for now. Shortly before he left the governor's job, Dean negotiated a deal that seals his sensitive papers for 10 years. Records from the two previous administrations were closed for just six years. Dean is running for president, and he says he wanted the records closed because of political considerations.

SNIP...

(Dillon) Stacked in brown cardboard boxes alongside the files of Governors Richard Snelling and Madeleine Kunin are the latest gubernatorial papers. These were turned over last week by outgoing Governor Howard Dean. The files that Dean decided should not be released immediately will be kept secret until January 2013. The 10-year time lock is longer than the six years agreed to by Kunin and Snelling.

Dean, who is running for president, told reporters recently why he wanted the files closed for four more years:

(Dean) "Well, there are future political considerations. We didn't want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time in any future endeavor."

CONTINUED...

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/vpr/news/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=441887

[Beaker]

16. If Dean gets the nomination-

KKKarl Rove will get a look at what's in those boxes, you can bet your bottom dollar.

[bleedingheart]

17. Clinton was Governor of Arkansas where Wal-Mart is located "oh my"

Why didn't he do something to stop them? I can tell you...the same reason Dean had no choice in the matter...its called free enterprise.

If Dean had fought WalMart coming into Vermont it would give the RNC the ability to say he is "anti-business" that he is against free enterprise and the holy grail of capitalism.

Why didn't the people of Vermont fight Wal-Mart? My community is fighting them....

People in America are responsible for WalMart...they want stuff for nothing...and if they can't get it for free they will take the next best..."nearly free" or cheap....seems like a great idea until the ripples affect their lives.

[Octafish]

21. Not just that bleedingheart, it's "Jackson Stephens."

He's the Arkansas billionaire investment banker who invested in Sam Walton way back when. Stephens also knows how to pick politicians, having "invested" in George Bush Sr, Bill Clinton, and George Bush Jr. Stephens also helped bring BCCI to America, helping Bert Lance meet the principals. You might remember Bert, Jimmy Carter's disgraced OMB Director.

These are the people who have helped "Walmarticize" America. That means you, me, our families, MOST everybody has to make do with less and less. Meanwhile the FEW wealthy get more and more. It's trickle-down capitalism, there's no economics about it.

[bleedingheart]

27. They may be the people at the top but that doesn't mean consumers

are not to blame as well.

They appeal to the very basest form of greed in order to get consumers to act against their best interests.

[ArkDem]

25. Another reason is that Hillary was on the Wal Mart board

for six years. It was a nice supplement to their income.

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0021/harkavy.php

[HFishbine]

19. You Really Want to Take This Out of Your Attack Dean Arsenal

It only invites a reminder that Tersa Heinz Kerry has more than $1M invested in Walmart.

Walmart couldn't do all those terrible things without the capital support of people like John Kerry's wife.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/news/recent2003/kerry_walmart101603_2003.shtml

[Octafish]

22. Thanks! She must be a smart investor.

OTOH, Teresa's not running for the Democratic nomination. Here's why I mention it, HFishbine: In all of Vermont, there are 602,000 people — give or take a few. Four Walmarts cover the state stem-to-stern — give or take a few remaining mom-and-pops. No, I haven't forgotten Walmart's non-union approach to labor.

[HFishbine]

23. I see

Can you say hypo... nevermind.

[elperromagico]

7. Arkansas is slowly turning into a giant Wal-Mart

In my hometown, Hot Springs (pop. 36,000) there are two Wal-Marts already.

[LoZoccolo]

9. One of the most bizzare things I've heard about them...

...is that if you're a vendor and you go visit the main office to do business, the waiting room for them has chairs that are kid-sized. Like it's humiliating.

[Kazak]

10. I've sworn off Walmart completely...

My wife and I call it "Evil World".

[JanMichael]

11. Sam Walton: America's forgotten Stalinist.

State Capitalism is the end game here. We either Democratize that monster or we all work, shop, and live there.

[tom_paine]

28. I agree, and I haven't shopped at Wal-Mart in a decade at least

It wasn't always a conscious political statement, it started as a vague diquiet with their tactics as they moved into a Montana town in which I lived. And of course, the deleterious effects on Main St. (yes, said down did indeed have an actual "Main St.")

Since my awareness was raised during the Attempted Coup of 1998 and the Bloodless Coup of 2000, the more I have learned about Wal-Mart, the more I am disgusted with them.

They are indeed on of the Busheviks Capos who are pushing us towards Free-Market Stalinism...

[Wapsie B]

12. I would just love

to be able to bring Wally World to its knees, but your run of the mill boycott isn't going to do it. How could we hit them in the pocketbook?

[Lars39]

13. Property taxes.

So many of the Supercenters were given huge incentives and/or muscled their way into an area, forcing the town or city to fork over major concessions. I think one of the first things do-able would be to make sure that the correct amount of property tax is leveled against them.
Maybe the towns/cities need to start suing to get back some of the money spent on concessions and incentives. Just my 2.

[Wapsie B]

14. Good point.

Cities offering incentives to a @#$@%$^ retail store of all things! If towns are going to pay blackmail $$ to korporations at least make them be jobs paying a decent wage.
Maybe stepping up unionization efforts would help. I'd love to see what the Waltons themselves have buried. Here we have one of the wealthiest families on the face of the earth and they pay workers like slaves. Surely there are enough ex-employees out there who knows where the bodies are buried.

[bleedingheart]

18. Ah but this is their strategy...cheap buildings!

Most Wal Marts are built to be big ugly airplane hangar like buildings...Big Cheap and Ugly.

So if your local area wants more in taxes from them...they can pull out and put one of their monstrosities in the next township which will offer them the incentive they want.

Its the tax evasion game of corporate america.

[LizW]

20. WalMart extorts money from municipalities

In my area, they obtained land situated on an unincorporated area between two cities. Then they went to both city councils and demanded money. They wanted the cities to bid against each other to get WalMart to petition for annexation. Thankfully, the mayor and council of our city told them to get lost. Unfortunately, they built the store anyway, and petitioned for annexation into our city because of superior city services like police and fire protection. But at least we didn't pay them any money to come in.

[Lars39]

24. True, and then they don't sell or lease the old building for years.

In some areas, though, they've reached saturation point. Maybe that's where retribution can start.