AS A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF WAL-MART, I was aware that my store had a “loss-prevention team” - which basically consisted of two obvious plain-clothed, unarmed “security officers” that walked around the store watching people shop, trying to catch shop-lifters. These guys were likely moonlighting at Wal-Mart on their days off from bouncer-duty at the bar. Nevertheless, occasionally they would catch someone stealing, and that’s where it all gets fuzzy. Let me make it perfectly clear, these guys ARE NOT law enforcement officials so the level of actual ‘enforcement’ they were legally allowed to use always seemed unclear. From what I understood, they were not allowed to physically intervene in a theft situation, just ‘escort’ them to the back, and call the police. They were not allowed to slam you face-first onto the ground.
Apparently a loss-prevention officer for a Wal-Mart in Spartanburg, S.C. never got that memo. WYFF-TV in South Carolina reports that a video-survellience camera captured footage of loss prevention officer, Joseph Gregorie bear-hug a 58-year-old woman, he suspected of shop-lifting, and slam her face-first into the ground. Talk about your all-time, total losses of composure. The woman sustained minor facial injuries and was taken to an area hospital. Wal-Mart was vague when talking to WSNA-TV in South Carolina about their loss-prevention protocol:
“...the spokesperson said their employees do follow certain ‘asset protection’ protocols, but she said she could not go into details about those protocols because of this investigation.”
UPDATE: if you didn’t already see it, check out the comment below from loyal reader Rob. He reports seeing a similar situation at a store where he worked.
Wal-Mart Employee Charged With Assaulting Shopper [WSNA-TV (S.C.)]
A Wal-Mart employee faces charges after police say he slammed a woman suspected of shoplifting face-first into the ground.
It happened late Tuesday night at the Dorman Centre Wal-Mart in Spartanburg. According to police reports, Joseph Gregorie, the store’s loss prevention officer, saw a 58-year old Greer woman concealing items in a bag. Gregorie says when he confronted her, the woman dropped the bag and tried to run away. The woman, Deborah Blackwell, tells police that Gregorie “bear hugged” her and slammed her face-first into the ground. She suffered a large contusion on her left eye and an injured hand and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. Gregorie told police that he grabbed Blackwell and she lost her balance and they both fell. But after reviewing surveillance video, the investigating officer said it shows Gregorie “throwing her to the ground”. He took the evidence to a judge who signed arrest warrants for both Gregorie and Blackwell.
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Posted by Luke West | Permalink
Time to pull that roll of aluminum foil out of the pantry, because they’re after us, and they want our braaainnns…
Or so says Jerry Rose, one of our neighbors to the north in British Columbia, who has filed one of the more bizarre lawsuits I have seen in some time. Rose is after $2 billion in damages from Microsoft, Telus, Wal-Mart, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (among others) for the usual list of charges: mind control, satanism, and witchcraft. We’ll look around and see if we can get a copy of his complaint, but according to the National Post:
Mr. Rose’s claim states “that he has been subject to invasive brain computer interface technology, research, experiments, field studies and surgery” and also named the University of B.C. and the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons as defendants.
Not to be outdone, an attorney for Microsoft assured the judge that there is in fact no scientific evidence that mind control is possible, although anyone that has been forced to watch a Sarah Palin rally may beg to differ. We’re not sure what role Wal-Mart has played in all of this, but if I had to guess, witchcraft would be my bet.
Judge Fraser Wilson, while calling the case unusual, has said he will need to be convinced there is nothing in Rose’s claim that could not be litigated before he dismisses it.
B.C. judge hears $2B lawsuit against Microsoft, Wal-Mart over brain control [CanWest News Service]
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue begins on Wal-Mart and the economy, and whether Wal-Mart sales statistics can be used as a new barometer for the U.S. economy. You’ll also find stories on changes in shopper behavior, now that consumers are faced with less disposable income. And, you’ll find stories on Wal-Mart’s slowed growth, and the switch to smaller store formats by retailers across the country.
In addition to the economy, you’ll find stories related to next week’s election. Barack Obama highlighted the story of a 72-year-old man forced to go back to work for Wal-Mart in his half-hour special this past Wednesday night. Meanwhile, according to Reuters Wal-Mart vows to remain non-partisan in the 2008 election season, while the Financial Times reports on the candidates attempting to woo the so-called “Wal-Mart Moms.” Plus, there are suspicions that Wal-Mart is behind a new grassroots group recently set up to fight the Employee Free Choice Act, as reported in The National Journal.
Also: Find out whether a Wal-Mart case in Montana could lead to changes in that state’s campaign finance law.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe. A California ballot measure could lead to increased demand for more humane animal products, while citizens in Virginia continue to fight Wal-Mart’s attempt to build near an historic Civil War battlefield.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 31, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue centers on a new website launched by Wal-Mart Watch which details the retailer’s political contributions, positions on specific legislation, and spending on lobbyists and industry trade groups. The website, Walton Influence, also includes similar information on the Walton family and the family’s related enterprises.
In addition, you’ll read about a number of legal issues, the most important of which could be affecting the health of millions of Americans. Bloomberg News and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others, are reporting on how tests of several of the best-selling brands of bottled water (including Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club private label brands) have been found to contain mixtures of at least 38 different pollutants, including bacteria, fertilizer, and industrial chemicals. These findings could result in a lawsuit against the retail giant.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe. You’ll read about how Maryland’s closing of certain corporate tax loopholes has resulted in millions of dollars in increased state funds, and why employees in Illinois are protesting Wal-Mart’s electioneering activities.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 16, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses on Wal-Mart and the current economic crisis. You’ll find stories on how Americans are shifting to thrift stores in order to save money, and whether September’s retail sales figures reflect a downturn in consumer spending. You’ll also find an article from CNN Money discussing whether the state of the economy will affect Wal-Mart’s hiring, especially with the holiday season coming up.
In addition to the economy, you’ll find stories on Wal-Mart’s move to small stores. Are Wal-Mart’s Marketside Stores the wave of the future? And in health care news, Wal-Mart is rolling out electronic personal health records to all of its employees, and has announced changes to its health plan for 2009.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 10, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court - the state’s highest court - has reinstated a lawsuit filed by Massachusetts employees claiming the Wal-Mart pressured them to work off the clock and denied them rest and meal breaks.
These wage cases are probably becoming a familiar thing for those that follow Wal-Mart in the news. In fact, at this point its becoming surprising when Wal-Mart doesn’t do something illegal...even the company’s “save money, live better” tagline probably breaks some sort of law (truth-in-advertising comes to mind?). This particular Massachusetts wage case is impressive though, if only because of the long and winding road it has taken just in order to get back essentially to where it started.
To summarize as briefly as possible: Salvas v. Wal-Mart was initially filed in 2001 in Middlesex (MA) Superior Court, alleging Wal-Mart of illegally altering timecards in order to decrease payroll expenses, including clocking employees out just one minute after they had clocked in. The suit also alleged that employees were deprived of their meal and rest breaks. The case was certified as a class action in January of 2004, and then again on December 30, 2004 (Wal-Mart successfully appealed in between), on behalf of 65,000 or so present and former Wal-Mart employees. After Wal-Mart appealed (again), the case ended up back in Superior Court, where a third judge decided that the plainffs’ expert testimony should be excluded and decertified the class on the basis that each associate’s situation was unique, and therefore class action certification was improper.
The case was appealed again (this time by the plaintiffs) and it made it all the way to the Supreme Judicial Court, which heard oral arguments in May of this year. Today, the SJC finally released its opinion, which included the following:
In essence we are asked to determine (1) whether the judge abused his discretion by (a) allowing Wal-Mart’s motion to exclude the testimony of the plaintiffs’ principal expert, Dr. Martin Shapiro, as unreliable, and (b) allowing Wal-Mart’s motion to decertify the class of approximately 67,500 current and former hourly workers employed by Wal-Mart in Massachusetts for more than a ten-year period; and (2) whether the judge erred in granting summary judgment to Wal-Mart on all of the plaintiffs’ claims concerning meal breaks, as well as certain of the plaintiffs’ claims under the payment of wages law, G.L. c. 149, § 148, for failure to compensate the plaintiffs for the time they worked.
For the reasons set forth below, we vacate the judge’s orders. We conclude, inter alia, that the judge abused his discretion in allowing Wal-Mart’s motions to exclude the testimony of the plaintiffs’ expert and to decertify the class. We further conclude that the judge erred in granting partial summary judgment to Wal-Mart. We remand the case for the entry of an order certifying the class and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
So, there you go. The class has been certifed again. Good deal. The case now goes back to the trial court for certification, after which a jury trial may not be too far off. You can read more about Wal-Mart’s wage cases here. The SJC opinion is here, and it is not exactly complimentary of the superior court judge that decertified the case.
Mass. court reinstates lawsuit against Wal-Mart [Associated Press via Boston Herald]
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue begins with reports from two states that Wal-Mart is undercutting high school activity and athletic fundraising by selling merchandise bearing the logos of local high schools. In both cases, the schools in question were never contacted by Wal-Mart about whether sales of the items would hurt the school’s efforts to raise funds.
In addition, you’ll find Time and The New York Times delving into the topic of Wal-Mart moms, and the role they’ll play in the November election. Plus, check out our section on Wal-Mart and the environment to find out more about the unethical behavior of Wal-Mart’s sustainable mining supplier, and from California read about how the retail giant fought (unsuccessfully) a port-truck plan that would require tougher environmental and security standards.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Several stories were published this week regarding Wal-Mart’s newest way to annoy the already frazzled American shopper - the “Smart-Network.” Set to launch in close to 300 stores by the holiday season and chain-wide by 2010, the in-store TV marketing network will include 27,000 screens and feature everything from time-specific advertisements to a series of ‘welcome screens’ to be displayed at store entrances. Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer of Wal-Mart stores, discussed the new system in a story from Adweek:
“We’ve built a network tailored to the way consumers shop our stores, delivering helpful, custom content closest to the point of decision that helps them shop smarter”
“Smarter” is right: now customers won’t have to make shopping lists, decisions about what products are for them, or even have to open their eyes upon entering a Wal-Mart. All they have to do is listen for the comforting sound of a television screen beckoning them closer and closer to whatever Wal-Mart feels like selling them at that time. The company sank $10 million into R&D for this project, coming off slightly better-than-expected sales numbers for the month of August, and seems to show the company’s faith in the system.
Wal-Mart Smart Net Pushes Point-of-Sale Ads
Trying to reach additional shoppers, Wal-Mart has launched the Wal-Mart Smart Network, which supplies information via in-store TV. The company invested $10 million in the project billed as “shopper-intelligent network at retail.” Powered by Internet Protocol Television, the new net will appear in more than 2,700 stores nationwide.
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Posted by Luke West | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses again on Wal-Mart’s efforts to warn its managers across the country of a Democratic win in this November’s elections. The company has been holding mandatory meetings for its store managers and department supervisors (possibly in violation of state and federal election law), who are being warned that if Democrats win in November it could lead to potential store unionization. And speaking of unionization, read how Wal-Mart’s attempt to bust up unions in Canada has made it all the way to Canada’s Supreme Court, while on the other side of the globe all Wal-Mart stores in China will have labor contracts by September 2008.
In addition to the aforementioned stories, you’ll also find Bloomberg and the International Herald Tribune questioning whether a slowdown in Wal-mart sales could be a negative sign for the U.S. economy in the future. And on the environmental side of things, you’ll find the Christian Science Monitor among others discussing Wal-Mart’s opposition to carbon-offset guidelines, while the New York Times and Newsweek explain why concerns over keeping costs at low levels has lead Wal-Mart to drastically alter how its products are made and transported.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses on the big story of the week - Wal-Mart’s efforts to mobilize its managers across the country to warn of a Democratic win in November. The company has been holding mandatory meetings for its store managers and department supervisors (possibly in violation of state and federal election law), who are being warned that if Democrats win in November it could lead to potential store unionization. The meetings focus on a piece of proposed legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act, which could make it easier for stores to unionize if it’s the wish of a simple majority of store employees. Read all the major stories on Wal-Mart’s efforts, plus reaction from Wal-Mart Watch Executive Director David Nassar.
Beyond the possible election law violations, the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune report on new toy safety legislation making its way through Congress. In addition, more legal problems for Wal-Mart - the first Salmonella-related lawsuit has been filed, and Wal-Mart is the defendant. Also, a new story in the Arkansas Business Journal describes how Wal-Mart knew of the existence of labor violations prior to the filing of the recent wage/hour class actions.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Well, first it was the tomato that was the culprit. Then tomatoes were deemed clean, and safe to eat again. Then, in a twist of culinary fate, a new villain in the salmonella outbreak showed its face - a spicy little number possibly originating at a farm down in Mexico. The jalepeno pepper. And now the tiny pepper has turned its capsaicin-spewing fury on Wal-Mart.
Actually, the complaint at issue was filed on behalf of Delores, Colorado resident Brian Grubbs against Wal-Mart and an unknown supplier, referred to in the complaint as “John Doe”. According to the lawsuit, the Grubbs family purchased jalapeño peppers from the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Cortez, Colorado in late June. Grubbs and his family proceeded to eat them over the next week. According to the Rocky Mountain News:
Samples showed he was positive for salmonella Saintpaul, and later the jalapeño peppers back at his house that he hadn’t yet eaten also tested positive for that strain of salmonella, the suit said.
“Consumers believe that retailers like Wal-Mart know the quality and safety of products they sell,” Marler said. “Retailers benefit from that trust, and must be held accountable for the products they sell.”
Salmonella is, of course, no fun at all - Salmonellosis illnesses from the Saintpaul strain began showing up in Texas and New Mexico in late April, and in early June the CDC linked those illnesses to raw tomatoes and issued consumer warnings. Those warnings were, of course, completely wrong - the list of possible culprits was first widened before eventually being narrowed to raw jalapeno and serrano peppers.
On July 30, the FDA confirmed the presence of salmonella Saintpaul at a farm in Mexico, both in irrigation water and on produce. The investigation is continuing.
Man sickened by jalapeños files first salmonella lawsuit [Rocky Mountain News]
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses on the shortfalls facing state budgets across the country, and how Wal-Mart’s schemes to avoid state taxes have exacerbated those budget problems. You’ll be able to download our most recent tax report entitled: One Company’s Plan to – Save Money, Live Better: Wal-Mart’s Tax Avoidance Schemes. In addition, you’ll be able to download our most recent edition of the Wal-Mart Watch: In Depth newsletter, entitled Wal-Mart’s Great Tax Dodge.
Beyond the tax reports, you’ll: learn how one likely New York mayoral candidate plans to keep Wal-Mart out of New York City; read more about Wal-Mart’s lawsuit involving Adidas plus the lawsuit concerning the company’s 401(k) plan; and, find out how Wal-Mart’s seaports in Los Angeles and Long Beach are in fact the largest polluters in Southern California.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials
Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
In Portland, Oregon this week, U. S. District Judge Anna Brown held Wal-Mart must face claims by Adidas that footwear manufactured for Wal-Mart bearing two-stripe patterns violates the shoemaker’s three-stripe trademark.
In addition, as part of the copyright infringement lawsuit, Adidas has accused Wal-Mart of false advertising, claiming Wal-Mart mislead customers by marketing a pair of Adidas imitations as “running shoes.” Apparently, the shoes will burst into flames before disintigrating if you actually try and run in them - lawyers for Adidas, in explaining how Wal-Mart’s shoes failed numerous durability tests, have said the shoes are “dangerous” and “not fit to run in.” You can find out more on the false advertising claim here.
Beyond the claim of infringement by Wal-Mart’s two-stripe pattern, Judge Brown must still decide whether Wal-Mart must defend the five remaining claims:
Brown will issue a decision later on whether to keep or reject five other claims in the case before a jury trial begins Oct. 6. They include Wal-Mart’s use of four-stripe designs and a claim by the world’s second-largest sporting-goods maker that Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart uses false advertising.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette News In Brief
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
A piece by Barbara McKenna in today’s Globe and Mail paints a grim picture of the state of the U.S. economy. McKenna points to “slumping house values [and] rising gas prices” as reasons for the decline, but Wal-Mart executives point to another cause: not enough credit. Yes, Wal-Mart believes the solution to all our economic woes is neverending credit card offers, even in the midst of home foreclosures and bankruptcies:
Meanwhile, executives of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pointed the finger at lenders, who they say are increasingly unwilling to extend credit to maxed-out consumers.
“People don’t have as much access to credit as they used to,” said Wal-Mart USA CEO Eduardo Castro-Wright, speaking at a Lehman Bros. retail conference broadcast over the Internet. “Clearly that is having an impact on how consumers behave.”
And without easy access to credit, he said, consumers are finding it has become more difficult to splurge on non-essential or big-ticket items.
Funny, we always thought better wages and fair employee treatment would improve the economy. Huh.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt | Permalink
Apr04
…GASP!
Wal-Mart is selling “soft-core pornography”. At least that’s what Morality in Media would tell us regarding Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition. “With Playboy magazine, we have full nudity; with the Swimsuit Edition, partial nudity. Otherwise, there is no difference that I can see,” says president of Morality in Media, Robert Peters.
A North Carolinian mother and her daughter discovered the magazine and subsequently complained to employees who then removed the magazines. A later trip to the same Wal-Mart, revealed that the magazine was back on the shelves. The store manager defended the magazine’s sale saying that Sports Illustrated had rented the shelf space and that the magazine, which is not considered pornographic, was being “displayed all over the nation.”
Historically, Wal-Mart has been a willing censor: in 2003, Wal-Mart stopped selling Maxim, Stuff, and FHM magazines after “listening to [their] customers” who were apparently displeased with the sale of such magazines. In 2002, “Wal-Mart took exception to a single photo in a compilation of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues and decided not to sell the one-time publication.”
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Posted by Media Team | Permalink
Excellent editorial from the Mayor Mark Nuaimi of Fontana, California, one of many southern California locals Wal-Mart has tried to bully its way into. Fontana, which sits about 50 miles East of Los Angeles, is fighting to keep its plan for a community friendly, mixed-use, walkable development intact.
Editorial
[Inland Valley Daily Bulletin]
So I read in a recent newspaper article that I refused to meet with representatives of Wal-Mart to discuss the Promenade project in Fontana.
I’m a pretty unreasonable person. Pigheaded, some might even say. But what John Mendez, the latest spokesperson for Wal-Mart, failed to share was that I informed him I don’t meet with companies threatening litigation against the city. And, if I’m not mistaken, Mendez has been quoted in local newspapers as saying the company will enforce its property rights.
Your company’s representative at all City Council meetings was not an architect or a professional planner, it was your attorney. So forgive me if my litigation detector isn’t pegged with Wal-Mart not getting its way in the Promenade.
What you also failed to mention in the newspaper article (or to any of the paid employees who attended our City Council meeting) was that I have met with Wal-Mart or its representatives no fewer than five times over the past several years, imploring your company to work with our community and council to develop where it makes sense to our community and to Wal-Mart. You purchased the Promenade property after we had already initiated the Specific Plan process and after we had already begun talking about a walkable, mixed-use development. Come to think of it, you also purchased your site in south Fontana against the advice and opinions of city officials, after a Specific Plan for the area had already been completed.
Am I seeing a trend here? Does the $200 billion gorilla simply march into every jungle and get its way?
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Mar03
Can I Get A Price Check?
Inspectors from the Westchester County (NY) Department of Consumer Protection have found that 64% of merchandise on display at a Wal-Mart store in Mohegan Lake was not item priced.
I’m still trying to decide whether that’s better, or worse, than Wal-Mart’s “roll forward” pricing strategy of trying to pass off “2 for $6” as a better deal than buying one at $2.50. Neither is very nice though.
64% of merchandise unmarked or marked incorrectly seems like an incredibally high number. Two out of every three items for purchase were without prices? Now, how are you supposed to comparison shop if there’s nothing to compare? Perhaps Wal-Mart is asking you to simply take its work that its got the lowest prices. I don’t know though...I’m not sure I can trust anything round and yellow that smiles non-stop like that Wal-Mart smiley face does. Its like he’s hiding something. Oh, wait, he is...the prices!
A 2006 inspection found that same Wal-Mart store had an 81% error rate, at which point the NY Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection fined the store $2,500. So, apparently, a $2,500 fine will buy you just a teeny tiny bit of improvement, which has led the county to plunk down a $27,500 fine this time.
County cites Wal-Mart for pricing violations [Westchester.com]
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
This is more an update than anything else - the Sustainable Industries article appeared over the weekend, and its always fun to re-visit stories about milk, right?
Wal-Mart still is the popular kid on the block these days. More than adequate at getting into class action lawsuit trouble, Wal-Mart managed to get itself named in yet another. Granted, this one might seem a little tame in comparision with Wal-Mart’s specialties - substitute mislabeled organic milk for gender discrimination or failing to pay overtime or give rest/meal breaks, and you’ve got the basic complaint at issue. Still, you’ve got to admire our favorite retailer’s ability to expand into new legal markets:
The suit names Aurora Dairy Corp. as the producer, but alleges retailers “misbranded and misled customers to purchase organic milk at a greater price than they would otherwise pay, violating state deceptive trade practices and consumer protection laws.”
Now that’s just wrong. I love cows...and more importantly, i love organic cows, and the sweet delicious organic milk they produce that turns my Cinnamon Toast Crunch into cinnamon toast mush every morning. I especially love when you finish the cereal, and there’s all that leftover cinnamon and sugar left in the milk daring your teeth not to fall out as you drink it. It’s the best.
Well, if you’ve practiced this ritual every morning with Aurora’s “organic” milk, feel free to feel as though you’ve been living a lie. And thank Wal-Mart and other retailers for making you pay more for this lie.
Wal-Mart named in milk lawsuit [Sustainable Industries]
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Posted by Corey Himrod | Permalink
Wal-Mart, a company renowned for it’s respect for the social and economic plights of women (read: easy exploitation), has funded an “inspirational” look at the 14 Women Senators of the 109th Congress. That’s right, fourteen women in the Senate! With a 14% representation of women, the Senate is on par with Wal-Mart’s own employment of women in store manager positions. It is no wonder Wal-Mart wanted to fund a film so close to its own (gaping void of a) heart.
The film is being screened in high schools across America….but don’t worry parents! This documentary is not some rabble-rousing indoctrination with hairy-legged bra-burnings and poetry recitals. No, no, no. There is no corruption of young minds with political insight, rather we have a look at what kind of women get so far. Think of it as a how-to guide for future political leaders.
1. Women Senators Must Have Children. We spend a lot of time in the homes of the Fourteen Women, seeing their families, discussing how they relate to their children, balancing being a mom with representing the nation, and getting home in time to make a great dinner! But don’t worry young ladies! Wal-Mart is here to help you achieve this important first step – that’s why their pharmacists refuse to dispense birth control and emergency contraception.
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Posted by Cass Brulott | Permalink
The so-called underdog of the computer world, Apple, is poised to overtake Wal-Mart in music sales sometime this year.
The NPD Group issued a report Tuesday that said Apple had outpaced Best Buy and Target to become the No. 2 U.S. music retailer. Unless the downward trend in CD sales suddenly reverses, Apple will be No. 1, said Russ Crupnick, the NPD Group’s president of Music.
“Digital sales were up close to 50 percent and CD sales were down 20 percent last year,” Crupnick said. “Even at half that growth rate in digital sales, Apple will in all likelihood catch Wal-Mart this year.”
Anybody in their teens or early 20s is going to ask, “So what else is new?” To them, digital downloads has been part of their lives for years. It’s only natural that a download store emerge as the top seller.
But anybody older is going to remember that it wasn’t too long ago when music buying meant flipping through CD racks at the former retail powerhouses.
Other than destroying the nostalgia of flipping through unorganized CD racks and purchasing an entire CD to get your hands on that one song, Apple’s success is weakening Wal-Mart’s power to censor the music industry.
With its roots in the Southern Christian heartland, Wal-Mart believes that being a “family” store is the key to their mass appeal. They refuse to carry CDs with cover art or lyrics deemed overtly sexual or dealing with topics such as abortion, homosexuality or Satanism. While Wal-Mart is the world’s largest CD retailer, and in some regions the only place in town to purchase music entertainment products represent only a fraction of their business. However, it is a different story for recording artists. Because Wal-Mart reaps about 10 percent of the total domestic music CD sales, most musicians and record companies will agree to create a “sanitized” version specifically for the megastores.
....
[W]hen Sheryl Crow released her self-titled album [in 1996], Wal-Mart objected to the lyric, “Watch our children as they kill each other with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart discount stores.” When Crow would not change the verse, the retailer refused to carry the album. This type of censorship has become so common that it is often regarded as simply another stage of editing. Record labels are now acting preemptively, issuing two versions of the same album for their big name artists. Less well-known bands, however, are forced to offer “sanitized” albums out of the gate.
As music commerce rapidly shifts from physical to virtual stores, Wal-Mart’s interpretation of family values will lose it’s power to prevent their customer base from being exposed to certain viewpoints.
*****
Dear Apple,
Thanks for helping restore my spirit to the music industry.
Sincerely,
The First Amendment.
Posted by Cass Brulott | Permalink
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