In Depth Issue 2: Sustaining Wal-Mart

Who needs natural, human and economic resources, when we have ‘always low prices’ and local corn from North
Dakota!

All,

Given that many of you have only been exposed-to (and subsequently began bashing) WM for the past 7 or so years, I need to set the record straight on WMW’s choice for a cover photograph on their snazzy new PDF that is currently available for download.

Look very carefully, the caption on the cover cites the picture as an “abandoned store in Illinois”, but if you go to page 4, you will see that exact same picture (except, this time around, it says the store is in Decatur, Alabama).

What gives?

As WMW obviously doesn’t know, here’s my take on their mystery property:

That store on the cover of the WMW report is a late-1970’s/early-1980’s era, 40K sq. ft. store that Wal-Mart outgrew, many years ago (most likely, it began retail life as a Kuhn’s Big K before WM bought that company in 1981). 

Keep in mind, 40-45K sq. ft. stores haven’t been in use by WM since the mid/late-1980’s.  So the argument of not selling/leasing to another discounter (other than Big Lots, who typically doesn’t use large parcels for their stores) is moot.

As the property in question wasn’t listed for sale/lease at WM Realty, I will go so far to say that it’s highly-likely WM hasn’t had any association with this particular piece of real estate for as long as some of the people who compiled the WMW report have been alive.

WMW - you obviously aren’t getting the best product for whatever you’re paying Brave New Films for, but why should that surprise any of us who know the truth??

JB

Although offering minimal wages and benefits is the most common way companies try to lower their costs, our recent study of American management practices reveals that such bottom feeding may not be the most effective strategy. In fact, low wages paradoxically generate a variety of negative employee behaviors that add to the overall cost of doing business.

Gee, I wish the anti Wal-Mart Movement had thought of that!

Yeah, Jim, let’s throw the baby out with the bath water because you spotted a file photo.  Can you say desperation?

Ken,

I prefer to call it “calling WMW on the carpet”—why should they be exempt from the same “standards” they desire to hold WM to?

As for your little remark in bold-type, though I initially glanced at it, I haven’t read the report, yet (though I expect it to be a recap of what I have already been exposed-to, here day-in/day-out).

As for the picture, surely, you know what they say about “first impressions”, right?  WMW wanted to use a decaying building to portray their definition of WM, while I expounded on my own defintion of WMW.

Live with it. 

JB

Thanks for letting us know about the error - the store on the cover is in fact in Decatur, Alabama, not Illinois. The attribution has been corrected.

It never ceases to amaze me. A corrupt union, which earns money from the forced deduction of captive workers’ paychecks, giving advice to a company that did $345 billion in sales last year. This company achieved RECORD sales and profits and this company is called Wal-Mart. I’m not certain but I think that Wal-Mart doesn’t need advice, especially from Social Democratic party hacks who couldn’t run a lemonade stand with detailed instructions.

Corrupt union.....captive workers’ paychecks......couldn’t run a lemonade stand.

Now for something real:

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

A corrupt union, which earns money from the forced deduction of captive workers’ paychecks...

Please cite instances of corruption and any complaints from “captive workers” used to formulate your opinion.

Many unions were corrupt in the past, just as Wal-Mart used to be Sam’s Dream, but that was then and this is now.

Since the year 2000 is the point when Scott became CEO and the effects of evolving into the Beast of Bentonville began to show up, why not just post union corruption since then, Nick?

And I’d love to read affidavits from all these workers enslaved by unions. Are we talkin’ China here? In fact, the only captive Wal-Mart workers I’ve ever read about were all locked in Wal-Mart stores at night by management.

Wisconsin Ex-Local President Sentenced for Embezzlement
Okay, you asked for it. I’ll post just a few of the many recent UFCW corruption cases. By the way, workers ARE held hostage in closed shop states where they don’t want to join a union. If there are 500 employees and 251 want to join the UFCW, the other 249 have to pay dues if they want to keep their jobs. I would say that equates to being held hostage. Here’s your information:

“On March 24, Rebecca Bandt, former president of Local 717 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to six months in prison followed by three months in a community treatment center and three years probation.  She also will have to make restitution to the Wausau-area local in an amount of more than $14,000.  Bandt had pleaded guilty in January.  The plea and sentencing come after a Department of Labor investigation.”

“Labor Department Probes Michigan LocalLocal 951 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is a deceptively major force in the Michigan economy.  The Grand Rapids-based union, representing some 33,000 employees at Meijer Inc. and other retailers, has been on a roll under longtime President Robert Potter.  But all along, there was a dark side to success.  Potter and his allies dished out payback to dissenters, making their share of enemies.  Now it looks as though their good-luck streak is about to end.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced it had filed a complaint against Local 951 over election irregularities in 2004.  The DOL is charging that union leaders, among other things, traded candy bars and pens for election ballots, threatened a challenger candidate, and required some members to cast ballots in front of pro-incumbent officials.  The department is seeking a new election.  And that may be just the start of the local’s troubles.  In addition, the Labor Department has demanded a full accounting of union expenditures for 2003; a federal grand jury also is investigating union spending; and at least two former local officers have pending lawsuits. 

There’s no question Robert Potter has done well for himself.  In 2003 he drew a salary of about $250,000, plus another $20,000 as a vice president of the UFCW international union.  There’s another $269,000 in union expenses that DOL wants to know about – money that went for additional payments, golf equipment, luggage and vintage wine.  Potter’s friends aren’t going broke either.  Local figures show that more than a dozen of its officers in 2003 enjoyed a salary of at least $90,000.  That contrasts with rank and file, whose current pay is in the $6-to-$18-an-hour range.  In other words, even the best-paid full-time workers make well under half of what a typical boss makes. 

If undue luxury is one hallmark of the Potter regime, vindictiveness is another.  Charles Ardingo, former business representative and organizer for Local 951, and Michael McMillan, the local’s former recorder, each filed suit last December following an earlier dismissal.  The pair had cooperated with the Labor Department and a grand jury, while contributing a less-than-desired amount to the local’s legal defense fund.

Local leaders aren’t too keen on competition either.  Russell Blunden, a longtime Meijer employee in Sterling Heights, Mich., ran for local president in 2004, getting 45 percent of the vote to Potter’s 55 percent.  Blunden filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that after announcing his candidacy he was threatened by union officials who demanded he back down.  In July the NLRB dismissed Blunden’s complaint for insufficient evidence. 

Union leadership denies all allegations.  “We believe very strongly this is a case of the Department of Labor abusing its authority,” said Michael Potter, Robert Potter’s son, a communications official for the local.  “It’s a case of trying to pick out the worst possible time to interfere with our politics and (our) attempts to do something good for our members.” The Labor Department responded that it has no interest in the outcome of any union election, only that the election process be conducted in a fair manner.  Any number of current and former members of Local 951 will attest that fairness is a commodity in short supply there.  (Grand Rapids Press, 10/2).”

Wow! $14,000, seems kinda paltry when compared to the Tom Coughlin case.

What was the excuse used in his case? Something about a “few bad apples”?

I would say that equates to being held hostage.

Move to a “right-to-work” state. At least they’re not locked in!

Ken V,

“Many unions were corrupt in the past, just as Wal-Mart used to be Sam’s Dream, but that was then and this is now.”

Oh, I see now, the crooks decided to ruin their successful unionizing efforts by going straight and Wal-Mart decided to ruin their successful business by becoming crooks!!

“In fact, the only captive Wal-Mart workers I’ve ever read about were all locked in Wal-Mart stores at night by management.”

This keeps coming up as an issue, let me ask you this: “Do you lock your doors at night?  Do you do this to keep your family from leaving or to keep ‘bad’ people out?”, couldn’t Wal-Mart have been doing this to protect their employees, rather than as you assume, to keep the employees locked up as hostages?

Taken from Global Exchange

WAL-MART

CEO: Lee Scott
Contact the Corporation: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 Southwest 8th Street
Bentonville, AR 72716
Tel. (479) 273-4000
Email corporate headquarters: http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=221

Human Rights Abuses: worker rights violations, labor discrimination, union busting

Wal-Mart is the biggest corporation in the world. It owns 5,100 stores worldwide and employs 1.3 million workers in the United States and 400,000 abroad, as well as a millions more in the factories of its suppliers. Because of the company’s enormity, its business model has a huge influence on workers and businesses around the world; so far Wal-Mart has used that influence to ruthlessly drive down costs as a means of making profit, violating a vast array of human rights and labor rights along the way.

Many people have heard of the way that Wal-Mart steamrolls its way into every possible town, destroying local supermarkets and countless small businesses. We have also heard about Wal-Mart’s long track record of worker abuse, from forced overtime to sex discrimination to illegal child labor to relentless union busting. Wal-Mart also notoriously fails to provide health insurance to over half of its employees, who are then left to rely on themselves or taxpayers, who provide for a portion of their healthcare needs through government Medicaid.

Less well known is the fact that Wal-Mart maintains its low price level by allowing substandard labor conditions at the overseas factories producing most of its goods. The company continually demands lower prices from its suppliers, who, in turn, make more outrageous and abusive demands on their workers in order to meet Wal-Mart’s requirements. In September 2005, the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of Wal-Mart supplier sweatshop workers in China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nicaragua and Swaziland. The workers were denied minimum wages, forced to work overtime without compensation, and were denied legally mandated health care. Other worker rights violations that have been found in foreign factories that produce goods for Wal-Mart include locked bathrooms, starvation wages, pregnancy tests, denial of access to health care, and workers being fired and blacklisted if they try to defend their rights.

Additionally, nearly 70% of Wal-Mart’s goods are made in factories in China, a country where garment workers are often kept under 24-hour-a-day surveillance and can be fired for even discussing factory conditions. The Chinese government does not allow independent human rights groups to exist, and all attempts to form independent unions have been crushed. Wal-Mart refuses to reveal its Chinese contractors and will not allow independent, unannounced inspections of its contractors’ facilities.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse
We will never forget what you did Walmart.

Saying all unions are corrupt because of isolated instances is like telling people all corporations are corrupt because of Enron, etc. It’s commonly referred to as painting with a wide brush.

...couldn’t Wal-Mart have been doing this to protect their employees...?

I don’t think so, Tim..errr...Bob!

Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart

<a href="http://www.mindfully.org/Industry/2004/Wal-Mart-Workers-Lock-Ins18jan04.htm">STEVEN GREENHOUSE / NY Times</a?

My ankle was crushed,” Mr. Rodriguez said, explaining he had been struck by an electronic cart driven by an employee moving stacks of merchandise. “I was yelling and running around like a hurt dog that had been hit by a car. Another worker made some phone calls to reach a manager, and it took an hour for someone to get there and unlock the door.

STEVEN GREENHOUSE / NY Times

I wonder if Nick could also tell us why there was controvery at Enron, Worldcom, Tyco, Adelphia, Global, Crossing, Healthsouth and Hollinger to name a few? How about some corporate white collar crime stories to help us see how honest big business is?

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

I’ll provide the latest example of ‘integrity’ provided by Conrad Black of Hollinger that is in the courts as we speak:

“Black, 62, is charged with swindling Chicago-based Hollinger International out of $84 million, largely through the sale of small, company-owned newspapers.”
“...say he pocketed millions of dollars paid in exchange for promises that Black and other companies he controlled would not compete with the new owners in the same circulation area.”

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

Alex,

“Saying all unions are corrupt because of isolated instances”

Could that be like saying Wal-Mart is corrupt because of isolated instances?  A van is discovered in a parking lot, with meth, therefore, Wal-Mart parking lots become the crime capital of the world.  A man dies when he is subdued for theft and Wal-Mart becomes murders.  ETC, ETC, ETC!!!

“...couldn’t Wal-Mart have been doing this to protect their employees...?

I don’t think so, Tim..errr...Bob!”

And, you know what was in the minds of the managers...how?  ESP, maybe?  What happened, didn’t the ankle chains and machine guns work?  Just always remember, if it’s ‘bad’ for the employees, Wal-Mart will go out of their way to do the wrong thing, right SDV..errr...Alex?

Next thing you’ll be telling us, is that Wal-Mart never allows their employees to leave the store, when they leave their work area, they get locked up in the back, until their next shift starts!!

Nice try Bob but as I said a few weeks ago on here, the only crime in a Walmart parking lot in Canada is having to look at one of those ugly buildings.
We are never going away Bob. You and your associate Walmart characters can make change your names and profiles a million times. Were (human rights supporters) are not going away.
What is the matter? Is Walmart putting the heat on you that you are not successfuly dismantling this board?

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse
We will never forget what you did Walmart.
Never

Alex,

“What is the matter? Is Walmart putting the heat on you that you are not successfuly dismantling this board?”

First, saying that I work for Wal-Mart, does not make it so, who pays you to post here?  Second, I don’t want to dismantle this board, it is one way we can get our message across.  Also, we like the fact that the union is paying out more and more of their members money, to no avail, there will come a point when those members will see that their money is being spent on a losing cause and will seek an end to it!!

“Were (human rights supporters) are not going away.”

And, we are people who want the American way of life to survive and don’t want see it all turn into a ‘welfare state’!!  We like having the opportunity to make a success of our lives through hard work and ‘personal responsibility’!!  You are not a human rights supporter, you are pushing for socialism, where the government controls business and where non owners can dictate their wishes!!  You think that somehow everybody is equal in all ways and so they all deserve an equal share of what others have, we believe that people have the right to earn whatever they can and are entitled to retain what they earn out of life.  No one is forced to work at Wal-Mart and are free to leave anytime they wish, they are not slaves, they get paid a wage for the work they perform and though it may not be as much as you would like, they do agree to work for that pay when hired!!  If they don’t like it, they are free to refuse the job!!  That is how America works and always has!!

And, you know what was in the minds of the managers...how?

Locking employees in so they are unable to get medical, or any other kind of help reminds me of a Molly Ivins quote referencing the war in Iraq:

It’s hard to convince people you are bombing that you’re doing it for their own good.

(R.I.P., Molly.)

Bob,

Consider this—how can any employee be locked inside a WM store, when the vast majority of these facilities are 24-hour operations (hence, the reason for the crimes that are frequently-mentioned)?

Something to think-about…

JB

Jim,

Guess in those 24 hour stores, the employees must have been chained to their workstations!!  And, I know that the employees were unable to get medical help, after all, Wal-Mart would let you die, before they would get you help!! 

Can you even believe this stuff!!  What nonsense will they post next?

...the vast majority>>

Do you have any actual numbers to support that?  If not ask Nick or Someone. It’s not worth the time figuring out just how many Wal-Marts are open around the clock.

I’d guess it’s not a majority at all, much less a vast majority.

Hey, have any of you folks read the union contracts for Walmarts competition? 

Check out the UFCW Local 951 health benefits coverage; it’s not any better than Walmarts:

http://www.ufcw951.com/223-ContractsBENEFITS-3.htm

Oh yeah, walk into a Meijer store and try to walk down an isle without finding a “Made in China” sticker.  You can’t do it.

Newsflash:  Walmart’s not the only company in the world that doesn’t pay their help, doesn’t offer a viable insurance package, and does make it impossible for folks to live off the wages they are earning in their respective position. 

Anybody that has worked for Meijer in Michigan for less than 3 years, and many part timers that have been there longer than 3 years, just recieved a raise when minimum wage went up to $6.95 an hour.  Many of those folks recieved substantial raises because the beginning rate was as low as $5.85 in some job titles. 

Anybody know what Walmart starts their folks off at?  Don’t reply it if you can’t back it up.  I have a PDF union contract from UFCW that I can email if anybody would like to see it: utility workers start off at $5.85 an hour with no minimum scheduled hour garantee.  Oh yeah, those same folks pay the GREATER of either $23.00 per month or 2 hours worth of pay every month for union dues.  That utility worker is spending more than 4 hours per month of his or her paycheck on union dues.  That same utility worker can’t afford health insurance even if they are eligible.  Eligibility means that the emplyee is averaging at least 26 hours per week.  Do you think that utility workers are scheduled anywhere near 26 hours per week?

This website should either drop off the face of the earth or turn into superstorewatch.com.  Oh yeah, aren’t non-profit organizations a .org domain?  Funny, somebody must be making money off of this site.

Hmmm....Imagine that.

Funny, somebody must be making money off of this site.

What are you, The other Nick, some kind of anti-capitalist commie? So you’re against free enterprise and the profit motive?

It’s your kind that is dragging this great nation of ours down!

:o)