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Over 50 religious leaders from a variety of faiths and denominations came to Capitol Hill this week to lobby members of Congress and show their support for the Employee Free Choice Act. The group has formed a coalition called Faith Leaders for Workplace Fairness, which made its first public announcement in support of the labor reform bill on a conference call with press last week. The coalition has called the legislation a “moral imperative” and a civil and human right. Check out the video of their visit below.

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MAJOR MEETING IN VIRGINIA TONIGHT TO DEBATE FATE OF THE WILDERNESS WAL-MART

• Public gets say on Wal-Mart near Va battlefield [Daily Press (Va.)]
  Hundreds of historians have had their say on Wal-Mart's plans to build a Supercenter near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia.

• Tonight! Orange County will hear your thoughts on Wal-Mart [Free Lance-Star (Va.)]
  Tonight, the Orange County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed Wilderness Wal-Mart.
  

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A group of Rabbis have jumped into the deep end of the EFCA fight by writing Senator Specter a letter in support of the controversial legislation which Wal-Mart also strongly opposes. The Rabbis clearly come down on the side of workers’ rights here. They point to a Talmudic ‘sanctity of labor’ that Wal-Mart, by neglecting its workers’ wages and benefits, has blatantly disrespected.

The Rabbis make an argument similar to what we at Wal-Mart Watch and others have been saying: it’s time to provide workers a level playing field, or as the Rabbis put it, ‘balance the scales of justice.’ Casting Specter’s opposition, and thereby Wal-Mart’s in religious terms, the Rabbis wrote:

“Every major religion is sympathetic to the laborer. Judaism was early among the major religions in its assertion that labor involved more than mere economic activity. The commandment to observe the Sabbath was as much an affirmation of human dignity as of divine authority. “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.” But the seventh day was to be holy - holy in the eyes of God, but equally important - holy in its respect for all who work. As it is written in Deuteronomy: “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, but you must pay him his wages on the same day, for he is needy and urgently depends on it.” It is not always easy to translate the sanctity of labor into terms that have meaning today, a time in which the marketplace seems to have been elevated above all other holy altars. We believe that the Employee Free Choice Act presents an opportunity to give concrete meaning to the often frustrated dream of a just society.” [Huffington Post]

This isn’t the first time that Wal-Mart’s values have been challenged by religious authorities. Some have gone so far as to call Wal-Mart’s treatment of labor immoral. We certainly think it is. And 75 Wal-Mart Workers who came to DC last week agreed, including Eugene Robinson who made an impassioned plea for better treatment from his employer. Watch the video here.

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MORE RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE

• Sam Stein: Rabbis Lobby Specter On Employee Free Choice Act [Huffington Post]
  Adding a religious element to the day's biggest labor-policy debate, a group of 30 rabbis penned a letter in Philadelphia's largest Jewish newspaper on Thursday, urging Sen. Arlen Specter to support the Employee Free Choice Act.
  

DICK CHENEY BATTLES CLERGY OVER EFCA

• Art Levine: The Dark Lord -- Dick Cheney -- Battles Clergy Over Employee Free Choice Act [Huffington Post]
  While most recent media attention about Dick Cheney has focused on his pro-torture comments, it's worth noting that his remarks Tuesday attacking the Employee Free Choice Act also aired on the same day as a new coalition of religious leaders, Faith Leaders for Workplace Fairness, pressed the case for the pro-worker legislation.
  

• Sam Stein: Cheney Whacks EFCA, Labor Welcomes Him As Spokesman [Huffington Post]
  Former vice president Dick Cheney keeps elevating himself to the role of Republican Party spokesman on key political issues. Usually the topic has to do with foreign policy. But in his interview on Tuesday afternoon on Fox News, he grasped hold of one of the GOP's biggest rallying cries -- the Employee Free Choice Act.
  

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Gawker breaks down a strange story from the Washington Post today. You can read the full story here, but we’ll add a third point to Hamilton’s argument: the story also shows just how powerful Wal-Mart’s political contributions can be, and the depths organizations will go to to stay in Wal-Mart’s good graces. (We won’t even get in to the pros and cons of Wal-Mart’s credit cards, but for those interested, read our blog archives on the matter here.)

The New Civil Rights: Keeping Wal-Mart Happy [Consumerist]

The story we’re about to bring you is sad on so many levels. Well, two levels. First, it illustrates the disappointing and kind of disgusting decline of a legendary civil rights institution, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), former home of Martin Luther King, Jr. Second, it shows what a farce half of the things you see on editorial pages are, if they come from public figures. We’ll give you a condensed version of this ongoing media vs. advocacy group vs. PR firm controversy—as you read it, ask yourself whether MLK would have found himself caught up in this crap.

Charles Steele, Jr., president of the SCLC, wrote an editorial which ran in several southern newspapers. The editorial was against upcoming legislation that would limit credit card fees—a bill favored by retailers (which would save money) but not by credit card companies (which would lose money in fees).

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Wal-Mart defenders are quick to justify the company’s low wages and poor health care plan as necessary for keeping prices low. This piece from author Liza Featherstone argues otherwise. Featherstone examines the differences between Sam’s Club and Costco, two stores with similar business models but divergent views on employee treatment.

Costco’s comparatively higher wages, better health care plan and unionized workforce prove that employee happiness and high profits can co-exist, despite Wal-Mart’s seeming insistence to the contrary. And while Wal-Mart’s profit margins are twice as high, Costco’s revenue per employee is five times that of its Arkansas-based competitor. So while Wal-Mart may insist on low pay and poor benefits, its forward-thinking competitors might just prove this business model is behind the times.

Wage Against the Machine [Slate]

Nearly everyone who’s looked at Wal-Mart’s practices as an employer—its union busting, sex discrimination, low wages, and minimal benefits—has concluded that it’s America’s retail bad guy. By contrast, many who’ve examined the practices of Wal-Mart’s competitor Costco—including New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse in his recent book The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker—conclude that it’s the good guy. Costco CEO and founder Jim Sinegal repeatedly insists to Greenhouse that treating employees well is “good business.”

That makes a pleasing sound bite, and assume for a moment that Sinegal’s assertion is true. Why, then, wouldn’t Wal-Mart do everything it could to make itself more like Costco? Now assume that Sinegal’s assertion is false. Why, then, does Costco treat employees better if that’s against the company’s financial interests?

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The debate continues over whether Wal-Mart’s efforts to shape up are actually genuine, or merely the result of a well-crafted PR campaign. I think it’s fair to say: both. Perhaps the biggest problem this debate reveals is Wal-Mart’s lack of transparency. Despite the retailer’s dominant presence in communities across the country, no one really knows how it runs its business. What we do know, however, is that Wal-Mart will do anything to fight the negative publicity it’s received in recent years. As Wal-Mart Watch’s executive director David Nassar says in the article, “Wal-Mart heard the criticism and is trying to do something to address it. All the changes it’s made so far have passed costs onto someone else, whether it’s a health care plan that’s increasing costs for workers or environmental initiatives that pass costs on to suppliers.”

Creating a Better Rep: Wal-Mart Undergoes An Image Turnaround [Women’s Wear Daily]

Talk about a turnaround.

Wal-Mart not too long ago was making headlines almost weekly as critics lambasted the retailer for its pay practices, pollution and rapaciousness. Now it’s being held up as one of the retail world’s better corporate citizens. Along the way, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executives — famously insular and focused principally on what founder Sam Walton would have done — have become more outspoken, open to outsiders’ views and adaptable.

Thanks to a multimillion-dollar public relations and marketing campaign, aggressive environmental initiatives and price rollbacks billed as the retailer’s very own “economic stimulus package,” the company is out to recast itself as a champion of the environment and a benevolent big business.

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SHAREHOLDERS MEETING: MORE SHOW, LESS SUBSTANCE
Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are going to be performing in Bentonville next week! And some band we’ve never heard of called Lifehouse (and Taylor Swift)! WE’RE SO EXCITED ABOUT THE ENTERTAINMENT WE CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER WHY THE MEETING IS HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE oh wait, yes we do.

Wal-Mart to Shareholders: Just Say No [The Iconoclasts]

Lay up groceries and rent some DVDs before the Wal-Mart shareholders descend on Fayetteville and occupy the city next week. The big annual meeting is scheduled for June 6 at the University of Arkansas, the corporate giant’s wholly-owned subsidiary. They are coming to be entertained and to vote against any shareholder proposals to reform policy or hold management responsible for their actions.

Wal-Mart’s habit of entertaining visitors rather than conducting actual business has everyone raising eyebrows:

Wal-Mart’s green efforts becoming a smokescreen? [BloggingStocks]

Next week’s annual shareholder’s meeting in Fayetteville should once again be more spectacle that business.Last year, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) seemed to spend more money lining up speakers, having pieces of its global operations dance with flags and having a pep rally rather that digging into issues.This year, expect the same—as the retailer has already opposed all the shareholder proposals anyway, so it should be a nice, big party full of entertainment. Nothing else.

Wal-Mart’s emphasis on entertainment have activists decrying the retailer’s lack of commitment to the social issues on this year’s proxy. Pam’s House Blend states,

Call me less than flabbergasted, but Wal-Mart is opposed to a shareholder proposition to add gender identity and expression to their non-discrimination policy...this is the second major corporation we’ve tracked at Pam’s House Blend that has used their DiversityInc rating (Wal-Mart was no. 41 of top 50 company’s for diversity in 2007; Verizon was no 1 on the same list for 2008) as to why the corporation doesn’t feel a need to specifically add gender identity and expression language into their non-discrimination policies.

After the jump, Menu Foods settles with pet owners over melamine-tainted food, Wal-Mart’s environmental policy, classified ads and look out! There’s scorpions in the watermelons!

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This video is part of a project launched by MTV with several celebrity spokespeople and bands, all working to raise awareness of human trafficking and worldwide labor abuses. The video, called “All I Need,” will make anyone think twice about the objects around us and the conditions they were made in.

Wal-Mart’s low prices are tempting. But the retailer depends on working conditions like this to remain profitable. By forcing suppliers to strip expenses to the bone, Wal-Mart enables an economy of sweatshop labor and human rights violations. 

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Wal-Mart has been quick to take credit for its donation to earthquake victims in China, but those affected by the disaster aren’t buying the company’s spiel.

Wal-Mart has donated a little over $430,000 to victims of the earthquake, less than 1/30th what it donated to victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Like this current disaster, Wal-Mart initially donated a far smaller sum to Katrina victims, but ultimately realized the PR benefit would make a larger donation worthwhile. If Wal-Mart wants a similar PR boon for its actions in China, it’s going to need to pony up a lot more dough.

Dirt Diggers Digest explains that Wal-Mart owes China big time. Wal-Mart’s $12 billion+ profits are largely made possible by cheap Chinese labor - the company sources the majority of its products from Chinese manufacturers, which are notorious for low wages and long hours. Wal-Mart also has a large retail presence in China and is rapidly expanding in the country. Considering that China is Wal-Mart’s largest supplier AND one of its largest markets, it’s in the company’s best interest to help the victims there as much as possible.

Donations Pour In, but Resentment Arises [Wall Street Journal]

The Sichuan earthquake has unleashed a flood of donations. Within China, it has also led to scorn heaped on successful people and big companies—including foreign brands such as McDonald’s Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.—whose perceived generosity somehow undershot expectations.

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On their trip across America, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping stop at the Wal-Mart home office, hoping to exorcise the retailer’s headquarters of its consumerist demons. It’s only one stop on the group’s trip, which includes shopping malls decked out for Christmas and Main Street USA in Disney World.

“What Would Jesus Buy,” the documentary film following Reverend Billy on his crusade against consumerism, premiered in 2007. Newsweek reviewed the film, saying “The new film is Reverend Billy’s tour de farce—a ferociously satirical and cynical take on consumer culture, pegged to America’s most sacred spending season.” “What Would Jesus Buy?” comes out on DVD next week. Order a copy now and use the code “WALWATCH” to get five dollars off the retail price.

The irony of buying a DVD about anti-consumerism has not escaped us, but Reverend Billy’s message is worth spreading. Share this DVD with friends or organize a screening. The movie’s website has material for home screenings, including posters and resource guides. Repent now before the Shopocalypse is upon us!

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This is the fourth in a series of posts on Wal-Mart’s 2008 shareholder resolutions. The full list of resolutions - and Wal-Mart’s statements regarding them - can be found in the company’s 2008 proxy here (PDF).

Resolution #4 on this year’s proxy proposes amending Wal-Mart’s equal opportunity employment (EOE) policy to include protection for gender-identity-based discrimination. While the company’s policy currently protects individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation, transgendered employees have no such protection.

The resolution is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), a faith-based community of over 1,000 congregations. In light of inconsistent state and local gender-identity-based discrimination laws, this resolution would create a consistent standard of protection for Wal-Mart employees across the country.

Gender-Identity Rights as Human Rights
Over the years, EOE policies have expanded to protect groups based on religion, race, gender and sexual orientation. Now human rights groups are advocating for gender-identity-based protection to be included in corporate policy and federal law. If Wal-Mart were to adopt this proposal, it wouldn’t be alone - thirty percent of Fortune 500 companies already protect individuals based on gender identity. 

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Wal-Mart claims to save people money. That would appear to be a lie. This arresting article from the Denver Post asserts that Wal-Mart charges more for groceries in low-income neighborhoods than in affluent neighborhoods. Despite the company’s claim as a resource for the working class, Wal-Mart’s pricing strategies appears to be anything but. If this article’s assertions are true, Wal-Mart’s pricing strategies are dishonest and shameful.

Much of this undoubtedly has to do with competition. Once Wal-Mart has driven out local competitors (and left a local economy depressed), the company is free to charge more for its products without fear of being undersold. This cycle of poverty and lack of access to resources is what makes Wal-Mart such an insidious neighbor. Working class communities should read this as a cautionary tale when considering a Wal-Mart, and be wary of the company’s promises of low prices.

Price disparity in groceries [Denver Post]

It’s not cheap being poor.

Few places reflect that reality more than the aisles of a grocery store, where prices seemingly increase daily as the economy teeters toward recession.

“It’s not very easy to make do right now,” said Kathryn White, a 58-year-old disabled nurse who relies on a small food-stamp stipend to offset high grocery costs.

“I just can’t look to buy something that costs $2,” she said. “I have my limits.”

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Wal-Mart’s charitable donations are a cheap way to get some positive publicity for a company that’s increasingly viewed as damaging to communities and local economies. It’s true that many boy scout troops and community centers have benefited from Wal-Mart’s charitable donations over the years. But the economic damage of Wal-Mart’s business practices far outweighs any check the company will ever write. Perhaps Wal-Mart is now facing a reputation crisis: the company announced today that it will be making fewer, but larger donations at the state level in hopes of attracting more publicity.

Bentonville : Wal-Mart revising donations [Arkansas Democrat Gazette]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is refocusing its charity to give it more punch.

America’s No. 1 corporate donor, Wal-Mart traditionally hands out thousands of small checks to Scout troops, food pantries and other local causes in Wal-Mart towns from coast to coast.

While store managers will still sprinkle those $ 500 checks around their communities, the Wal-Mart Foundation in Bentonville is now steering some dollars to state-level funding pools set up to make larger donations.

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LEE SCOTT: IT’S REALLY NOT EASY BEING GREEN
Lee Scott held court in California this week at the ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara. The big news from the week’s session: Scott’s admission that Wal-Mart’s really not all that green. And it doesn’t plan to GET green any time soon.

Wal-Mart’s Lee Scott: “We are not green.” [Treehugger]

I have been impressed by Lee Scott and his attempts to green Wal-Mart; never more than I was by his statement at the ECO:nomics conference that “We are not green.” The impetus is to save money, not please environmentalists. “It really is about how you take cost out, which is waste.” He looks tired and much older in this video, it must be a struggle.

WSJ’s ECO:nomics Highlights [Earth2Tech]

Avoiding all pretensions, Walmart’s Scott cut to the chase saying simply “We are not green.” The retail giant isn’t rushing to be greener for the environment’s sake. And as for when Walmart will achieve its stated goal of having zero waste and using 100 percent renewable energy, Scott said “I have no idea.”

Wal-Mart Stores not Green [Green Girls Global]

High-five Wal-Mart, finally a company that owns up to it’s greed!  May all the other corporate giants follow your example and practice greed with a little integrity as well. Then we could stop calling shenanigans on all these “green” PR ploys.

After the judge, more on Lee Scott’s environmental comments, Wal-Mart’s greeters and the role of religion in Wal-Mart’s expansion efforts.

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Executive Vice President of Wal-Mart’s U.S. Stores, Eduardo Castro-Wright has now also been named to the board of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Wal-Mart has consistently come under fire for its life insurance policies, namely a “dead peasant” policy where the company stands to profit when low-level employees die. Since Castro-Wright surely can’t be taking this new position for the employees’ benefit, what could he possibly be doing with his time on the MetLife board?

MetLife names 2 to board [Associated Press via Boston Globe]

Insurer MetLife Inc. on Wednesday said it named the CEO of Wal-Mart Stores USA and the CEO of Tupelo Capital Management to its board of directors, effective Monday.
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Eduardo Castro-Wright, 53, is the president and chief executive of the U.S. division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer.

Earlier:
Wal-Mart’s ‘Dead Peasant’ Insurance Suit Gets New Life [Find Law, 6/13/2006]
“Dead Peasants” at Wal-Mart [Daily Kos, 4/4/2005]
The Trouble with Wal-Mart: An interview with Liza Featherstone [Stay Free]

Anyway, this woman’s husband was working 80 hours a week. I think he had a weak heart. One day, he was exhausted from working because he was understaffed, but he had to help a customer carry a TV to her car, and when he did, he had a heart attack and dropped dead. So, this is already a really sad story, but then his wife found out that Wal-Mart had an insurance claim on him. They were actually collecting money from his death.

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A piece in the New York Times last year discussed marketing to Muslims and the challenges the demographic faces in the marketplace. Despite the article’s statement that Muslims are a potentially lucrative - and untapped - market, Wal-Mart seems to have done little to incorporate them into customer service training. The company moved to do “sensitivity training” for employees only after a cashier insulted a Muslim customer. Wal-Mart was ranked lowest this year in a customer satisfaction index from the University of Michigan.

Wal-Mart Apologizes to Muslim Woman [Associated Press]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. apologized to a Muslim woman who said she was mocked because of her face veil.

“Please don’t stick me up,” a cashier told the shopper on Feb. 2, according to The Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Wal-Mart apologized Monday in a letter signed by Rolando Rodriquez, a vice president and regional general manager. It was released Tuesday by the council’s Nevada chapter.

“I can assure you that the associate in question was disciplined in accordance with our employment policies as a result of the situation,” Rodriguez said without disclosing details.

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Wal-Mart’s 4Q sales report highlights many of the problems facing the company: market saturation in the U.S., continuing problems with apparel and home goods and a weak economy that has customers using holiday gift cards to buy food.

Add to that: poor customer service. Wal-Mart scored the lowest of any retailer on the American Customer Satisfaction Index from the University of Michigan, earning it the title of “Worst Customer Service in America.” This is the second time Wal-Mart has earned the title in the last three years. The retailer’s grocery department has been at the bottom of the list every year since ACSI started tracking in 2004.

In this interview on CNBC, Claes Fornell of University of Michigan’s Business School explains that Wal-Mart’s poor customer service record is only going to hurt the company, especially in a period when retailers are struggling to maintain their customer base.

As we mentioned earlier, Wal-Mart must improve the way it treats its employees if it intends to stay competitive. It’s the only sustainable way to improve customer satisfaction, and will undoubtedly earn more money than it costs.

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For the second time in three years, Wal-Mart scored the lowest of any retailer on the American Customer Satisfaction Index from the University of Michigan. Wal-Mart’s customer service has been the subject of both outrage and ridicule, as the company has gained notoriety for its disgruntled employees. Wal-Mart’s personnel practices only compound problems with store format and product quality. Low wages, poor health care, erratic scheduling for store employees and years of union-busting have made Wal-Mart a leader in employee turnover and, now, poor customer service.

Wal-Mart Ranks Lowest Among Discounters in Survey [Bloomberg News]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ranked lowest among U.S. discounters and department store chains in an annual survey of customer satisfaction as shoppers said they found less value in the world’s largest retailer’s prices.

Wal-Mart fell to 68 from 72 last year on a scale of 1 to 100, according to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index, released today. Minneapolis-based Target Corp., the second-largest discounter, held steady at 77. The average score for department and discount stores was 73, the lowest since 2001.

Customers may be increasingly dissatisfied with the goods Wal-Mart is carrying, said Claes Fornell, the professor who led the study. Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott has turned the company’s focus back to groceries and household items after an ill-fated attempt to boost sales by luring fashion-conscious shoppers with silk camisoles and distressed jeans.

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Wal-Mart drains money out of local communities in a number of ways: the company shuts down locally-owned businesses, asks for tax breaks, and has thousands of employees on state-sponsored health plans. This story from the Virginian-Pilot illustrates another way that Wal-Mart uses public funds for its private business. Chesapeake, Virginia, will be picking up the $4.3 million tab to build the road Wal-Mart needs to reach its new store. Patricia Willis, the only Chesapeake council member who disagreed with this decision, was voted down. To quote the story, “she felt uncomfortable with the city putting tax revenue toward something that should be the developer’s responsibility.”

Chesapeake to pay for roadwork tied to proposed Wal-Mart [The Virginian-Pilot]

The City Council voted 5-1 this week to pay up to $4.3 million in tax revenues for road improvements that will aid traffic in an Edinburgh development that also includes a proposed Wal-Mart and Cracker Barrel.

Even though parts of the project would cut through a private project called Edinburgh West, City Manager William Harrell said the road improvements were important to the city’s effort to address growth and traffic increases in southern Chesapeake.

“In my view, this is a proactive way of addressing what will be a major transportation hub,” Harrell said.

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