Today in labor history March 29 Walmart

[Omaha Steve]

March 29

Sam Walton, founder of the huge and bitterly anti-unionWal-Mart empire, born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma - 1918

“Battle of Wall Street,” police charge strikers lying down in front of stock exchange doors, 43 arrested - 1948

National Maritime Union of America merges with National Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association - 1988



Sam Walton in 1986 making the case in Little Rock, Ark., that buying American products could be the answer to the country's trade deficit.


March 29, 1918 - Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart empire, was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962, declaring, "Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community." He became the richest man in the United States before dying in 1992. Although Walton once proclaimed that his priority was to "Buy American," the company has now become one of the largest importers of foreign goods, often produced under sweatshop conditions. Wal-Mart is notoriously anti-union, even going to the point of shutting down operations to avoid having workers exercise their legal rights. Learn more at www.walmartwatch.org and www.wakeupwalmart.com