Today we received a letter from Jeff Jordan at the Federal Election Commission responding to the formal complaint Wal-Mart Watch filed against Wal-Mart for holding meetings warning employees not to vote for Democrats.
Wal-Mart will be notified with our official complaint within five days, and the FEC has promised to notify us when “final action” is taken. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
Read the full response letter here, and read the original complaint letter here.
Posted by Eric Bull | Permalink
Wal-Mart Canada has faced some big labor problems lately. A 2005 lawsuit against the company’s anti-union labor practices made it to the Canadian Supreme Court this month, and at almost the same time workers in a Wal-Mart garage in Gatineau, Quebec managed to unionze, much to the company’s chagrin. So the company’s PR department did what it does best: divert attention.
David Cheesewright, CEO of Wal-Mart Canada, announced today that all of the company’s new Canadian stores will be “energy efficient.” The retailer has yet to meet any independent guidelines for energy efficiency, so its environmental claims are somewhat unclear, but the announcement comes at a time when Wal-Mart Canada could use some serious public relations karma.
Cheesewright insisted that the efficiency improvements were simply cost-saving measures, and said “environmental sustainability and business sustainability—it’s the same thing.” However, the company has yet to announce any such measures for its U.S. stores - or its stores in any other country, for that matter. The number of “energy efficient” Wal-Mart stores remains a pitifully small percentage of the company’s total operations. So if Cheesewright’s statements are true, Wal-Mart is missing out on a lot of cost savings - and we all know Wal-Mart wouldn’t do a thing like that. Perhaps the retailer is actually just looking for some free PR among our neighbors to the north.
Wal-Mart aims for ‘greenest stores on the block’ [Financial Post (Canada)]
Wal-Mart Canada Corp. pushed its green agenda ahead Tuesday by pledging that all new stores will be built to be markedly more energy efficient, and existing stores will be retrofitted to make them more environmentally friendly.
“Wal-Mart Canada (WMT/NYSE) has been intensely dedicated to environmental sustainability over the past three years,” Wal-Mart Canada CEO David Cheesewright said at the annual meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario on Tuesday. “Perhaps no change has been as significant as those made to the way we build and operate our buildings. And the changes are progressing. We are confident that Wal-Mart stores will be among the greenest on the block.”
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
The Rome Newswire tells us today that Bentonville has ordered all of the area stores near Rome, Georgia to remove all free newspaper racks.
This on the heels Wal-Mart/ASDA demanding (and then relenting) that magazines on its shelves dedicate both advertising and editorial space to the company in every issue. Is Rome incident a fluke or part of a larger, company wide crackdown on media distributed in Wal-Mart stores? If anyone has noticed this elsewhere, write in and let us know.
(The Newswire is asking its readers to call area Wal-Mart stores and request that that the newspaper racks be replaced, and if necessary - go pick up a copy at the East Rome K-Mart, where they’ve “doubled [the] normal weekly drop to handle the additional traffic.")
Wal-Mart Stores Pull All Free Papers [Rome Newswire]:
Since the start of RomeNewswire’s print edition, The Newswire, readers have been able to pick up a free copy at their local Wal-Mart stores.
However, recently the home office of Wal-Mart sent a directive to remove all free news paper racks from the store’s vestibules. In many of the locations, store managers have moved The Newswire inside the store and patrons continued to have the free paper available to them. However recently, the area district manager for the two Rome Wal-Mart’s, along with the Wal-Mart in Rockmart and the store in Cedartown, has directed that the papers be removed all together.
We are asking that our readers contact their local Wal-Mart store and let it be known that they would like to continue to pick up the weekly Newswire paper at the Wal-Mart locations.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Eric Bull | Permalink
The Financial Times brings news that the Building Dept. of the City of Mesa, AZ. has posted on its website some of the first photos of Wal-Mart’s new “Marketside” stores. The stores signal a departure for Wal-Mart, as they are significantly smaller than the retailer’s traditional format and designed to compete head-to-head with UK retailer Tesco’s “Fresh and Easy” markets.
Marketside’s small format isn’t the only thing that distinguishes the pilot program from other Wal-Mart stores. Marketsides have completely independent design elements and don’t mention the word “Wal-Mart.” From the Financial Times:
The design includes a natural wood finish around the entrance, and deep-purple awnings - the same colour that will be used on the aprons of the staff, and on its website, http://www.marketplace.com. The Marketside name appears in lower case green lettering, with no reference to its parent company.
As Wal-Mart nears the U.S. saturation point for its traditional stores, the company has been forced to evolve into alternate formats. But Marketside’s distinct branding implies the company is worried customers have had enough not only of Supercenters, but of Wal-Mart itself.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
We’ve heard an awful lot about various Wal-Mart branches signing collective contracts over the past few weeks. This latest article which details the most recent collective contract in Qingdao, China also provides some insight into what might be pressuring Wal-Mart to cooperate with the local unions.
According to the article, the government of Qingdao issued a memorandum on ‘wage growth mechanisms’ while the local union issued a list of company names who had not yet signed collective contract agreements. The use of such public lists is not new territory for the union - in 2006, while still trying to unionize Wal-Mart China, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) in collaboration with the National People’s Congress blacklisted and publicly criticized the corporation for not establishing a union. For more, read the following article from the People’s Net: [also see the article, in Chinese, on our China blog]
Qingdao Taidong Wal-Mart Signs Collective Contract
The other day, under the guidance of the Qingdao labor union, Qingdao Taidong Wal-Mart officially agreed to and signed a collective contract.
Since this year, the Qingdao labor union has seriously implemented the union’s demand for collective bargaining agreements and “ The People’s Government of Qingdao, Regarding the Increase of Firm Wages, Control and Growth Mechanism Views” （青政发〔2008〕2号）. The city’s labor union dispatched “Notification Regarding the Development of Collective Wage Agreements Operations” which emphasized companies which had not yet signed collective contracts, companies whose collective contracts had become due and needed to renegotiate, and companies who had signed dishonest contracts or who signed contracts with unclear provisions regarding wages
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Michael Mignano | Permalink
A few weeks ago - Wal-Mart Watch had an inside source in a Wal-Mart focus group who clued us in to some new ads the company was planning to release. Several stories over the weekend tell us how Wal-Mart is ready to roll out the new series of ads - just in time for the the Democratic and Republican Conventions.
It’s been clear that Wal-Mart is trying to take advantage of the political atmosphere and cast itself as a fixer of America’s economic problems and combat its reputational woes. The company has been pushing the “Wal-Mart as government” theme for a while, and these latest ads are the most direct effort yet. (Of course, Wal-Mart’s ad team probably didn’t intend to roll out the new campaign just a week after the store’s low wages led to the first North American union contract, and while embroiled in a massive electioneering scandal.)
We asked readers on our blog to vote on which one of the new ad themes were the most deceptive. The results were as following:
42% (319 votes) “Some believe that fixing the economy starts in DC, we believe it starts closer to home.”
32% (242 votes) “We started $4 prescription plan; now others are following our lead. We believe a healthier America is a better America”
24% (181 votes) “Most people live pay to paycheck, we help your paycheck go further.”
2% (16 votes) “Wal-Mart saves you money—that’s our economic stimulus plan.”
Wal-Mart to air economy-focused ads [NW Arkansas Morning News]:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday it is launching a series of economy-focused TV ads during the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
The 15-second ads highlight some of the company’s top initiatives, including its $4 prescription drug program, and communicate how supercenter shopping saves on gas.
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Eric Bull | Permalink
WAL-MART TO BUILD NEAR PROTECTED CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELDS?
Wal-Mart and the Wilderness. [Hardtac and Hard Times]
Before I say another word, let me remind you that the Civil War Preservation Trust is NOT a knee-jerk, anti-development group; we do not assume that all developers are bad people, and we do not oppose responsible economic growth. In fact, there are several developers who have worked very closely with us to save battlefield land. We welcome and seek out such partnerships!
Stop Wal-Mart [Rantings Of A Civil War Historian]
There are three major corporations that I absolutely despise. I absolutely and categorically refuse to do business with two of them...The third is the Walton empire. Wal-Mart is notorious for forcing its way into communities and killing off local businesses, whether it’s wanted or not. In many instances, it’s not wanted, but it matters not to Wal-Mart. The latest atrocity by Wal-Mart is probably the most unforgivable of all: it wants to build one of its superstores ON the Wilderness battlefield, regardless of the historical significance of the ground, and regardless of what the community might have to say about it. It MUST be stopped.
CWPT Leads Effort To Stop Wal-Mart At The Wilderness [National Trust For Historic Preservation]
Leading the charge against the Wal-Mart plan are CWPT and the Warrenton-based Piedmont Environmental Council. Their “Wilderness Battlefield Coalition” also includes the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Parks Conservation Association, Friends of the Wilderness, and Friends of the Fredericksburg Area Battlefields. Representatives of all six organizations signed the letter.
Wal-Mart is Wiping Out American History - Literally [La Vida Locavore]
Now Wal-Mart wants to do more than just censoring books and music, putting entire towns’ worth of Moms ‘n Pops out of business, and basically selling America to China to wipe out American culture and history. What could be worse and more un-American than that? Oh, funny you should ask. They want to build a Supercenter on the site of the Civil War Battle of Wilderness.
THE UNIONIZATION OF WAL-MART CANADA
Wal-Mart is not above the law. [Writing On The Wal]
So what did I miss while I was in lovely Southern California? “Gatineau Wal-Mart workers awarded contract: Arbitrator imposes only labour pact for retailing giant in North America” [Yes, I see that Robert has already covered this story, but do you really expect me to leave news like this alone?] My source, The Ottawa Citizen offers the full context:
Wal-Mart: 8 Unionized Employees [Mindful Mission]
“Incompatible?" Really? Paying decent wages and giving decent benefits are “incompatible” with the way you do business? Thanks for reminding me why I have not shopped at Wal-Mart in years.
TOM COUGHLIN RAKES IN THE CASH
Wal-Mart, Coughlin settle [Arkansas Blog]
The Morning News account indicates Judge Jay Finch ordered reporters out of the courtroom on the ground that it was a meeting room where parties were discussing settlement. But the minute the judge and a court reporter sat down to have an agreement entered into the record, I’d think court was in session. Absent a compelling reason not apparent here, the session should have been open.
I’ve been doing this Wal-Mart blogging thing for far too long [Writing On The Wal]
This is my first greatest hits post, devoted to the guy who’s now $6.75 million richer, Tom Coughln. Here’s me from July 19, 2005…
Read the rest of this story ...
Posted by Eric Bull | Permalink
Because there’s definitely not enough college football on the Wal-Mart Watch blog. And it’s Friday.
This, from Gamecocks fan: Wal-Mart sends out a bunch of LSU promotional fliers...in South Carolina.
Wal-Mart Is Confused [FITSnews]:
Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tell the “Every Day Low Prices” crew that SEC rivalries run deep, and it’s probably not a good idea to send a friggin’ Louisiana State promotional mail piece to a bunch of South Carolina mailboxes - particularly after the a**-whooping the Bayou Bengals administered to our beloved Gamecocks in Baton Rouge last year.
Posted by Eric Bull | Permalink
View Wal-Mart Watch's videos on YouTube