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Wal-Mart has found a sweet spot.  Their decision two weeks ago to stand up for an employer mandate on health care has made them the new enemy of the National Retail Federaton. 

Or are they? 

Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the United States and the National Retail Federation needs them.  The first time it makes sense, the NRF will be back in bed with Wal-Mart before you can say “EveryDay Low Prices”.  So what does Wal-Mart lose by being hit by the NRF? Nothing.  What do they gain?  They are now able to be the friend of liberals on a fight in which they have nothing to lose, politically or economically. 

To the latter point, Wal-Mart can afford an employee mandate, but their competitors may not be able to. As Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said Wal-Mart probably recognizes it is “going to be dragged into providing coverage one way or another, and might as well drag everyone else in retailing along with them.”

We’ll say this for Leslie Dach, he’s slippery.

Trade Group Challenges Wal-Mart on Health Care

By Miguel Bustillo and Janet Adamy

The retail industry’s biggest trade group is launching a broad attack against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for supporting congressional proposals requiring employers to help pay for health insurance, an idea that has gained political currency thanks to the backing of the nation’s largest private employer.

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Here are what the voices on the Internet are saying about Wal-Mart’s support of employer-mandated health care...not surprisingly, it hasn’t taken long for most to deduce that Wal-Mart is hardly acting in an altruistic way.

Number one on Wal-Mart’s hit list? Easy. Target. Because small businesses would either be exempt from the mandate or face a less-strenuous requirement, it would be Wal-Mart’s large competitors (and more specifically those who have to this point been better at managing health care costs than Wal-Mart) that would feel the brunt of the hurt.

Jonathan Cohn at The New Republic:

I don’t want to make too much of this: Wal-Mart may chicken out once the specifics of an employer mandate end up on the table. Even if they don’t, they may not lift a finger to help. And, make no mistake, Wal-Mart is acting--as it always does--out of pure self-interest.

My undestanding is that, after all of these years, Wal-Mart has suddenly found itself in the same situation its competitors once did: Dealing with unpredictable health costs and facing new competition from businesses that have found ways to spend even less on employee health benefits. Is there some justice there? You bet.

Reihan Salam with the National Review:

There is another way of looking at this. As a large, powerful, deep-pocketed firm, Wal-Mart can sustain regulatory burdens that mom-and-pops and new entrants can’t. And so burdensome regulations are invariably Wal-Mart’s ally. Jonathan Rauch explained this dynamic brilliantly in his book Government’s End. It makes perfect sense for Wal-Mart to back a regulatory initiative that hurts its bottom line as long as it hurts its competitors more.

Megan McArdle for The Atlantic:

Wal-Mart is always going to have a seat at the table when employer mandates are discussed, because Wal-Mart is the nation’s largest private employer.  Target and Macy’s probably won’t have a seat at the table.  So Wal-Mart can influence the rules in ways that benefit Wal-Mart at the expense of the competition.

Jeffrey Young in The Atlantic:

Based on the axiom that nobody in business or politics acts strictly out of altruism, it’s safe to assume that Duke and Wal-Mart’s board of directors concluded that backing the employer mandate would provide the company with some kind of competitive advantage. When I originally reported the story, it wasn’t immediately clear to me what that might be, though I suspected it must have had something to do with Wal-Mart’s calculation of how much money the mandate would cost them relative to other retailers.

Michael Cannon, for the Cato Institute:

A couple of years ago, I shared a cab to the airport with a Wal-Mart lobbyist, who told me that Wal-Mart supports an “employer mandate.” An employer mandate is a legal requirement that employers provide a government-defined package of health benefits to their workers...But it all became clear when the lobbyist explained the reason for Wal-Mart’s position: “Target’s health-benefits costs are lower.”

I have no idea what Target’s or Wal-Mart’s health-benefits costs are.  Let’s say that Target spends $5,000 per worker on health benefits and Wal-Mart spends $10,000.  An employer mandate that requires both retail giants to spend $9,000 per worker would have no effect on Wal-Mart.  But it would cripple one of Wal-Mart’s chief competitors.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, quoted nearly everywhere (here courtesy again, of Mr. Jeffrey Young):

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce took a pretty nasty swipe at Wal-Mart when I emailed them for a comment. Here’s the statement the Chamber’s press office sent me, attributed to James Gelfand, its senior manager for health policy: “Some businesses make the decision to use the government as a weapon against their competition. We do not agree with this method.” Ouch.

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Last year, Wal-Mart made a grand announcement - a plan to open hundreds of in-store medical clinics with the goal to have 400 clinics up and running by 2010. That plan crashed and burned, but from the ashes a new plan has been reborn. Behold the Wal-Mart Health Plan phoenix, reborn anew to live again.

Early last year, the company spoke of having 400 walk-in clinics by 2010. But later in 2008, that plan went into reverse. Of the 78 clinics Wal-Mart had in operation at the beginning of 2008, all but 17 were closed. Now it is rebuilding that business, this time largely in partnership with hospitals.

The timeline goes pretty much like this: Early last year, Wal-Mart announced a plan to open hundreds of in-store medical clinics, aiming to have 400 clinics up and running by 2010. That announcement came less than a month after twenty three - almost a third - of Wal-Mart’s walk-in clinics unexpectedly closed after Wal-Mart’s choice of partners (the CheckUps company) fell behind on payroll payments and other expenses. Strike one.

The CheckUps fiasco led to a partnership with RediClinics, which was going to run 200 of the 400 new units. That endeavor, however, did not end well either:

Originally, H. Lee Scott Jr., the Wal-Mart chief executive who retired this year, had assigned a big role for the clinic project to RediClinic, a privately held company backed by Steve Case, the AOL co-founder. But last December RediClinic, citing the poor economy, abruptly shut down its 15 Wal-Mart centers.

Strike two. Who would have guessed that medical clinics run by the AOL dream team would struggle? Weird.

So now Wal-Mart is hoping that the third time really is the charm - this time the retailer is moving forward largely in partnership with hospitals. Probably a wise mood, since, you know, hospitals like, take care of sick people and stuff all the time. In fact, if this goes well, I see a Grey’s Anatomy: Wal-Mart spin-off happening in the very near future.

Wal-Mart Begins to Rebuild Health Clinic Business [New York Times]

Hospitals Begin to Move Into Supermarkets [New York Times]

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The Associated Press recently released an examination of Wal-Mart’s lobbying disclosure form for last quarter. Over a three month span, Wal-Mart lobbying expenditures reached $1.4 million, fighting legislation relevant to labor issues, cargo security, and health care. Wal-Mart brazenly fought against the Employee Free Choice Act – a bill which would give employees more leverage in the quest for fair wages and affordable health care. Even more egregious may be its combativeness towards the ADA Restoration Act – a pending piece of legislation which would clarify the rights of peoples with disabilities. See the full article from the Associated Press:

Wal-Mart spent $1.4M lobbying government in 2Q [Associated Press via MSN Money]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, spent nearly $1.4 million in the second quarter lobbying the federal government on union matters, cargo security and other issues, according to a recent disclosure form.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company, which has 1.3 million domestic employees, lobbied on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Wal-Mart and the Retail Industry Leaders Association mounted a successful legal challenge to a Maryland law that required companies with more than 10,000 workers to devote at least 8 percent of its payroll to paying for employee health insurance. The judge ruled that ERISA pre-empted the state requirements.

The Employee Choice Act, over which Wal-Mart has drawn criticism for having politically partisan sessions with employees, was also listed, as was the Family Medical Leave Act and the American with Disabilities Restoration Act, according to the form filed July 21 with the House clerk’s office.

Wal-Mart Vice President of Corporate Affairs Raymond Bracy is listed on the reporting form as the company’s lobbyist. The form shows he also lobbied regarding a variety of tax issues and on legislation regarding Chinese imports and China’s currency.

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Wal-Mart, the largest company in the world for the second year in a row, announced a 5.8% rise in same-store sales for the month of June. Pinched by rising costs, more and more consumers are resorting to desperate measures...like shopping at Wal-Mart.

These sales numbers mean big profits for Wal-Mart executives and the Walton family, who collectively own the majority of Wal-Mart’s stock. Wal-Mart is doing so well, in fact, it’s bringing in more revenue than any other company on earth. Even the oil companies can’t keep up! Exxon-Mobile, Royal Dutch Shell and BP all trail Wal-Mart in the top five on Forbes’ list of the world’s largest companies. And Wal-Mart is light years ahead of its direct competitors - the Bentonville giant is the only retailer in the top 100 on Forbes’ list.

Despite these record earnings, Wal-Mart’s store employees and communities across America continue to lose out. Wal-Mart’s low wages, government subsidies and tax avoidance means little of these massive profits will find their way to working Americans.Change to Win put the situation in perspective:

Who’s losing out in this sputtering economy? Not corporate CEOs. Too many of them have made sure to secure a golden parachute for themselves—while their workers face soaring healthcare costs, foreclosures, and an uncertain future...America’s workers are putting in more hours than ever and still struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, corporate CEOs enjoy salaries 180 times higher than their average employees.

Paying workers better wages and providing better health care isn’t just generous - it’s good business. Wal-Mart might lose many of its current customers once the economy improves: the retailer has already seen the dangers of being seen as a “rock bottom retailer.” The company might retain these new customers when the economy improves, but ONLY if it makes real changes to its business practices. Wal-Mart and its employees can both win if the company plays its cards right. But marketing changes - like its new feel-good logo - are not the answer.

Wal-Mart June sales up; raises earnings forecast [Reuters]
Wal-Mart, Costco Sales Climbed in June on Tax Rebates [Bloomberg News]
Shoppers stimulate discount stores [CNN Money]
Some Retailers Get Sales Boost As Rebate Checks Reach Taxpayers [Wall Street Journal]

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Wal-Mart’s been named the biggest corporation in the world for the second year in a row by Fortune Magazine’s Global 500. The company payroll exceed 2 million people this year, and continues to grow… along with company profits. The company earned over $378 billion last year - making it the world’s largest company by revenue - and $12.7 billion of that was profits. Despite a profit margin the size of a small national economy, the company still couldn’t find the money to make sure all its employees have health care, raise wages OR source their products responsibly. Wal-Mart certainly deserves recognition for its size, but there’s so much more the company could do with its wealth. We look forward to the day when the world’s largest company is a leader on social responsibility, too.

1. Wal-Mart Stores [Fortune]

Retaining its spot as the largest company in the world, the retail giant spent the last year making strides toward becoming friendlier to its workers and the environment. Long derided for the limited health-care packages offered to its employees, the company focused on expanding its options. As of January, 93.7% of Wal-Mart’s U.S. employees had some form of health care, up from 90.4% last year.

On the sustainability front, the retailer sold 145 million energy-efficient light bulbs in 15 months and joined forces with the Clinton Climate Initiative. Some say it isn’t enough; a union-backed ad campaign by WakeUpWalMart.com at the end of 2007 targeted the quality of the company’s imported products.

Still far from pleasing all its critics, Wal-Mart did please its shoppers: Its renewed focus on lower prices delivered a stellar second half, bolstering total revenue for the year to $379 billion.

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We’d like to take a moment today to applaud two Arkansas state senators for standing up to Wal-Mart. Sen. Percy Malone and Rep. Tracy Pennartz, in a meeting with Wal-Mart’s senior director of health-care policy Joe Quinn, accused the company of “just trying to polish its image” by calling its $4 generics program “real change in health care.” Wal-Mart, long accused of providing stingy benefits for its employees, has been citing its low retail prices as an answer to criticisms of its health care plan.

Rep. Pennartz, for her part, expressed concerns for independent pharmacists across the country, who would face serious difficulties matching Wal-Mart’s low price. Independent businesses are certainly struggling to keep up with Wal-Mart’s pricing, but Pennartz’s concerns reveal a larger point: Wal-Mart’s $4 generics are aren’t an answer to America’s health care problems, they’re a way for Wal-Mart to make more money. Whether that means luring in Medicaid recipients who need cheaper drugs, getting employees to use the company pharmacies for their prescriptions or driving out competing pharmacies, Wal-Mart is only looking out for one thing: itself.

Wal-Mart: Health care revised [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. officials told home-state lawmakers Monday that the company’s simplified, cheaper prescription-drug program constitutes real change in health care.

In 2006, Wal-Mart began filling prescriptions for certain drugs for $4 for up to a 30-day prescription, a program the company touts as cutting through the complexities of the pharmaceutical industry. Customers can buy more than 350 prescription drugs that way.

“I think our $4 drug program has been the only true healthcare reform in the United States, in that it definitely changed the landscape in terms of health-care delivery,” Joe Quinn, Wal-Mart’s senior director of health-care policy, told Arkansas lawmakers gathered in Rogers.

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Feel like celebrating America this weekend? A trip to Wal-Mart isn’t the way to do it. The retailer has been damaging American jobs and American communities for decades, and this Fourth of July isn’t any different.

Exporting Manufacturing Jobs. Jobs that were once the backbone of the American economy have been exported to countries where labor is cheaper and standards are lower. Wal-Mart has played a critical role in this process, using its size and market share to force manufacturers overseas.

Damaging U.S. Communities Wal-Mart makes a lot of promises when it builds a new store. Town councils are often dazzled by the company’s promises of more jobs and increased revenue, but these promises rarely pan out. The retailer drains municipal resources by forcing its employees on state-sponsored health care, getting subsidies from local governments and frequently undercutting its property and income taxes. Read more about Wal-Mart’s impact on communities >>

Devaluing Retail Sector Jobs. Wal-Mart often woos communities with promises of more jobs, but what communities frequently don’t take in to account is the quality of these jobs. Wal-Mart pays bare minimum wages, and even lowers the overall employment rate of an area by shutting down competing businesses. Just last year, Chicago refused Wal-Mart’s request to build a store on the south side of the city, citing the company’s low wages as the reason. Read more about Wal-Mart’s wages and labor policies >>

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Every so often, we get interesting questions and inquiries from you, our readers. We do our best to answer them promptly and thoroughly.

Hello Wal-Mart Watch people,

I would like to ask your feedback re: a certain topic....I am on the Board of Trustees at a church which is very politically and environmentally progressive.  A few years back, a decision was made to discontinue the church’s membership to Sam’s Club, which, as you must know, is a branch of Wal-Mart that sells bulk items at a discount prices. Just recently, a couple of our members of our church requested that this decision be reconsidered in the interest of stretching precious church dollars, I am assuming.  The request was based on the premise that Wal-Mart “has changed” their ethics and policies for the better.

My question to you is do you think Wal-Mart has changed “enough” to warrant a progressive church’s board to change our minds on this issue?

Maybe you have a policy about giving advice, but I really would like an educated opinion.  I should mention that I am against changing our church’s policy and really want some evidence or facts to back up my vote when we have the discussion at next month’s Board Meeting.

Thanks,

Gloria

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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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Wal-Mart has, unsurprisingly, been the target of more lawsuits than one can count over the years. The company’s treatment of it workers and “save money at all costs” mentality has resulted in a flood of legal challenges ranging from single plaintiff suits to multi-million dollar class actions. Dukes v. Wal-Mart is of course one large example (the largest class action in American history, actually), as are the myriad wage/hour/overtime class actions the company faces.

Just as important as those large class actions, however, are the countless suits filed by individual plaintiffs – the tiny David trying to win justice over Wal-Mart’s Goliath. We at Wal-Mart Watch will be focusing on one of these stories each week, highlighting those cases that warrant further attention because of the light each sheds in its own way on how Wal-Mart does business.

Courtesy of one of our wonderful interns, Cass...an oldie but goodie! (the case, that is)

O’Neil v. Wal-Mart Corporation - Decision and Order

The scene: 2005, New York State, family court.

The plot:  A family court judge order a young women to include her stepchild on her employee benefit plan.  Part of her husband’s custody arrangement is providing medical benefits, and hey, what’s mine is yours, right?  She tries.  Wal-Mart refuses. Then the judge specifically decrees that Wal-Mart put this kid on the employee benefit plan as a dependent. Still, Wal-Mart ignores a court order, inviting the Department of Social Services to sue.

Two years later the civil court judge finally has enough of Wal-Mart’s shenanigans and orders them to follow the court order and put the damn darn kid on the insurance plan.

Note: I’m amazed it took 2 years for the judge to snap.  If there is one thing judges hate, it’s people ignoring court orders. Wal-Mart essentially walked into court and said, “We are going to waste your time and thousands of dollars all while completely dissing the expertise of your fellow judge.  Please, please rule against us!” They could have been more disrespectful if they had literally destroyed the court order in front of said judge sometime during the trail.

Well said Cass! And bravo, Wal-Mart. You do always give us something to write about.

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Wal-Mart is in the news today supporting a bill which requires employers to notify employees of their Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) eligibility. The EITC is a refundable federal tax credit which is aimed to help put a little money back in the pockets of low earners.

The bill is a good development - and stands to help low-wage workers across the board, especially those at Wal-Mart. But the larger point is that Wal-Mart workers continue to need additional government monies to live.

At Wal-Mart Watch, we’ve consistently heard stories from Wal-Mart employees who have been with the company more than 10 years and are still making under $10/hour, and others who are instructed by managers to seek food stamps and other public assistance. By Wal-Mart’s own reporting, at least 8 percent of its workforce relies on Medicare, Medicaid or other state programs for health care, and only 50% are insured on the company plan.

A Congressional study estimated that a typical Wal-Mart store employing 200 people costs the American taxpayer $420,750 a year – about $2,103 per employee. And in every state that releases the data, Wal-Mart tops the list of companies whose employees rely on state-funded health care.

If you use the figure Wal-Mart releases as an average hourly wage, $10.86, and extrapolate that to a full year of 34 hour weeks (no vacation or unpaid sick leave), it gives you an untaxed salary of $19,400 - which is still well below the poverty line for a family of four. The cost of a decent Wal-Mart health plan for a family could be nearly half the yearly salary. Wal-Mart families in these situations have no choice but to turn to the government to make ends meet.

Wal-Mart exec Susan Chambers, famous for her compassion, said in a press release today that “We want to provide our associates with useful information to help them save money and live better.” Mrs. Chambers may want to help her associates, but refuses to give them what they need most. 

As always, Wal-Mart has the power right now to help all of its employees live better - by raising wages and strengthening benefits. 

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In a story out today about Wal-Mart’s declining reputation, the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas notes that admiration for the company is also falling sharply. Whereas Wal-Mart was once the most admired company in America according to Fortune magazine, the retailer is now barely in the top 20.

One expert called Wal-Mart’s poor reputation a “chronic” condition, as the retailer has repeatedly failed to take action on issues raised by activists and critics. Ignoring these complaints is not only inhumane, it’s a bad business strategy. Wal-Mart has years to go before it can even hope to begin regaining the trust of conscientious consumers.

Report: Wal-Mart Reputation Continues To Slide [NW Arkansas Morning News]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2007 continued to slip down a list of corporate reputation rankings, according to a survey.

The Bentonville-based retailer ranked No. 44 on the Harris Interactive report, which ranks the reputations of the country’s 60 “most visible” companies based on consumer perception surveys.

It was the third consecutive year Wal-Mart’s score on the list declined.

Wal-Mart’s slipped score was the also the third largest rating change, trailing behind Bank of America and Halliburton Co., which saw more significant declines in reputation scores.

Wal-Mart has similarly dropped down Fortune Magazine’s list of America’s most admired companies.

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Fifteen in-store Wal-Mart clinics unexpectedly shut down in Colorado on Friday, raising yet more questions about the hotly-debated facilities. The clinics were run by SmartCare, an independent clinic operator, and located in Wal-Mart stores across the state of Colorado. Neither Wal-Mart nor SmartCare gave reason for the unexpected closures.

This isn’t the first time Wal-Mart clinics have closed suddenly. In January, Wal-Mart clinic operator CheckUps shuttered all 23 of its Wal-Mart locations almost overnight. The company disappeared so quickly many of its staff were left unpaid. Amidst these troubles, Wal-Mart has also tried to open clinics under its own name, but with little success. The clinics - to be run by staff from Arkansas’ St. Vincent’s hospital - were slated to open in April 2008, but have yet to do so.

The sudden closings do little to allay consumers’ worries about the clinics. The Illinois State Medical Society expressed concerns in May, 2007, that the clinics are unregulated and unlicensed. Others raise issues with the clinic operators’ lack of experience in the medical field. The recent closings only serve to enhance the clinics’ “fly-by-night” reputation.

Making health care more accessible is important, but the quality of that health care is critical. As Wal-Mart expands its health care offerings and does more to keep employee health care expenses in-house, will doing things on-the-cheap really cut it?

SmartCare closes 15 Wal-Mart med clinics [Rocky Mountain News]

SmartCare Family Medical Centers on Friday unexpectedly shut its 15 in-store health clinics located in Wal-Mart stores throughout Colorado.

Wal-Mart had no prior notice, company spokesman William Wertz said.

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In recognition of Wal-Mart’s 2008 Annual General Meeting, Wal-Mart Watch today re-released “A Handshake with Sam.” The document was originally announced in 2006 as a proposed agreement of shared principles concerning Wal-Mart’s moral responsibilities based on the highly regarded ideals of its founder Sam Walton.

Each of the seven common sense Handshake principles - such as respecting human dignity, providing employees with quality affordable health care, using market power to improve rather than depress wages and buying local first - are based on business and ethical principles supported by Sam Walton’s writings in his autobiography, “Made in America.”

“Two years later, despite a massive public relations effort to convince people otherwise, Wal-Mart’s current business practices still do not reflect Sam Walton’s principles,” said Wal-Mart Watch Executive Director David Nassar.  “Wal-Mart still fails to pay all of its employees a family-sustaining wage; fails to ensure that all employees and their children have quality, affordable health insurance; fails to use its market power to improve supplier conditions and wages; fails to buy a significant amount of products locally; fails to pay its fair share to communities by continuing to rely on tax-payer funded programs, tax dodges and tax subsidies to inflate its bottom line, and it still faces the nation’s largest workplace gender discrimination lawsuit,” he added.

The 2008 Wal-Mart Shareholders’ Meeting offers an opportunity for the company to address these issues. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart will opt instead for an elaborate display of celebrity performances to entertain and effectively distract its shareholders and employees.  The meeting occurs just weeks after Wal-Mart was essentially shut out of America’s third largest city - Chicago - because it refused to pay a higher wage.

To offset Wal-Mart’s lack of substantive discussion of its business practices at the upcoming meeting, Wal-Mart Watch asked its supporters for input regarding topics they would want Wal-Mart to consider. To date, hundreds of responses have been submitted and posted on the organization’s blog from concerned citizens - the majority of which requested first and foremost an honest discussion on Wal-Mart’s wages, benefits, and increasing trend of overseas sourcing. 

“We still believe Wal-Mart can be a positive market force if the company returns to Sam Walton’s principles,” said Nassar. 

Click here for a full downloadable version of “A Handshake With Sam”

Click here for Wal-Mart Watch’s complete coverage of Wal-Mart’s 2008 Annual General Meeting

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This article from Newsweek discusses Wal-Mart’s activist shareholders - but not the ones you think. After years of criticism from left-leaning groups, Wal-Mart is now also being criticized by its conservative base, who believe Wal-Mart’s “progressive" initiatives are getting in the way of running the company. One shareholder thinks the initiatives are not only unprofitable, but useless too, explaining, “Wal-Mart is naive to think incremental compromises will ever really placate liberal critics.”

It’s true that Wal-Mart’s social responsibility initiatives have been less than convincing, but the fact remains that social justice and environmental efforts are consistent with shareholder returns and can ultimately help the company in the long term. Perhaps these shareholders are missing the point, and rather than tell Wal-Mart to return to its old practices, the company should fully commit to and move forward on the promises it’s made.

Is Wal-Mart Too Liberal? [Newsweek]

For investors, most annual meetings are anything but a hot ticket. They’re typically held in small auditoriums and feature an agenda that makes C-Span look like an action thriller. Then there’s Wal-Mart, the Arkansas-based retailer whose shareholder meetings are celebrity-packed, high-wattage showcases. Last year’s gathering featured the comedian Sinbad and musical numbers by Jennifer Lopez and the cast of “High School Musical.” But amid these surprise performances, the most unexpected moment came when shareholder activists were each given three minutes at the podium. Most offered run-of-the-mill liberal criticisms that hit every large company: a Roman Catholic nun urged Wal-Mart to support universal health insurance; several speakers suggested the company rein in executives’ huge paychecks. But from the other end of the spectrum came Peter Flaherty, lambasting Wal-Mart for being too nice to unions, too concerned about the environment and too accommodating to gays and lesbians. “People shop at Wal-Mart because of low prices, not because the company is politically correct,” Flaherty shouted at the crowd.

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Two days ago, we asked our readers what Wal-Mart should discuss at its annual shareholders meeting. We’ve already gotten hundreds of responses, with issues ranging from health care to expansion practices to the company’s green campaign. Go to our speakout page to add your own thoughts. Here’s a sampling of what we’ve already received:

• The high cost of Wal-Mart’s health insurance for employee & child and/or family coverage.  I currently work at Wal-Mart in Mt. Airy MD and will no be able to get insurance for myself or my son because if I do I will not be able afford to take him to daycare and pay for gas to come to work.
• Better health care and wages for your employees. Shame on you for paying all these celebrities money to be at your board meeting when that money could be spent on your employees.
• Expand the “Green” program by building all new Wal-Mart buildings to be LEEDs energy efficient certified! 
• I am a shareholder and concerned with two issues.  I’m unimpressed with the scheming that management devises to evade treating its employees fairly, equitably and humanely.  I am also unimpressed with the inordinate dependence on Chinese-made goods, some of which have been shown to be very harmful. What is management doing to address these two issues?
• Is is possible for Wal-Mart to return to it’s previous vote of confidence in America by stocking, selling and promoting products made in America (I mean the 50 states), They have the power to re-ignite the American economy by selling US products. A move like this would provide jobs for US workers and would make Wal-Mart look like a hero. Can Wal-Mart stop supporting China and their poorly made and often times dangerous products? Be a hero Wal-Mart. -buy and sell American made products!
• An honest discussion of Wal-marts goals for growth and whether these are sustainable. For instance, does Wal-Mart really need to get into New York City? Do they really need a market in Japan? I personally liken Wal-Mart to a cancer because cancer is a system which has broken off from the whole and is only interested in its own growth. This describes Wal-Mart perfectly.
• Have a Heart, leave Schnecksville , PA alone. You took our factories and our small stores, and are ruining our small towns. Get lost in PA.
• Walmart is planning on opening a store in Blacksburg, Virginia right next to a school in a residential neighborhood.  Town council was tricked by Fairmont developers and is bringing the case to Virginia Supreme Court.  Why start off on the wrong foot?  There is pleanty of room in rural Southwest Virginia to find another site.  Sincerely, Karin Gregory.

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Wal-Mart Watch executive director David Nassar spoke to host Pete Dominik on Sirius Satellite Radio this afternoon, discussing Wal-Mart’s business practices, the company’s health care plan and its impact on American jobs. Click here to hear the full interview.

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Wal-Mart spends millions of dollars each year on public relations hoping to counteract the negative impact the company’s business practices have on its reputation. In the process, Wal-Mart’s representatives misrepresent the company, even lying to protect its fragile reputation. In this series, we’ll be examining some of the most common lies the company tells - and truth behind the spin.

Lie #3: Wal-Mart Provides Quality Health Care for Its Employees

My goal is to not move everybody to Wal-Mart’s health care plan. It’s to make sure everybody has health care that needs it. And to make sure if somebody’s choosing not to, that there’s—we can try to eliminate the reasons for them not to come onto our plan.” – Linda Dillman [New York Times, 11/13/07]

At Wal-Mart, we are firmly committed to providing comprehensive and affordable health care benefits for our associates.  We will continue to make sure our workforce has access to the health care they need, at prices they can afford. But no one business can solve this country’s health care crisis alone, and we welcome the opportunity to work together as we address these issues.” – [Wal-Mart Health Care Benefits Overview for 2008]

The Truth:

Wal-Mart health insurance coverage lags far behind national average. Nationally, 64% of workers in very large firms (5,000 employees or more) receive their health benefits from their employer. Wal-Mart covers around 50% of its employees. [Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust; Wal-Mart Press Release, 1/22/08]

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A report released today by market research firm Clark, Martire and Bartolomeo revealed some rather unsurprising news:  consumers do not perceive Wal-Mart to be a gay friendly business.  While this may be great news to some supposedly ”pro-family” associations, it’s bad news for Wal-Mart.  According to the same report, gay and lesbian consumers are nearly 70% more likely to patronize a business they perceive to be gay friendly.  For example, Apple, who recently surpassed Wal-Mart as the top music retailer, was perceived to be the most gay friendly of any retailer.

Unfortunately, these consumer perceptions are backed by Wal-Mart policy.  The Human Rights Campaign’s 2008 Buying for Equality Guide gave Wal-Mart a ‘red rating’ which reflects that it offers no domestic partner benefits and its discrimination policy does not include gender identity and/or expression.  Wal-Mart refuses to address the concerns of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community citing its policy to avoid “highly controversial issues”.  The real controversy, however, is Wal-Mart’s stagnant social policies and an inability to adapt to the growing needs and demands of an increasingly diverse population.