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The Walton family, in their greedy quest to amass unfathomable wealth, has a tendency to go about business in rather shady ways.  Aside from their exploitation of workers at all stages of the supply chain, from sweatshops in China to the retail floor in the U.S., Walton family money is invested all over the world – bringing with it the same crooked, devious business management as Wal-Mart.

There are two key players involved in Walton investments:  Madrone Capital Partners and Greg Penner.

Madrone Capital Partners is the Walton’s private equity firm and was an early investor in Baidu, the largest internet search engine in China.

Greg Penner is not only a partner in Madrone Capital Partners, Penner also sits on the board of Baidu.  And interestingly enough, Penner is also Rob Walton’s son-in-law.  (A little family history:  Penner is married to Carrie (Walton) Penner, the daughter of Samuel Robson Walton (aka Rob Walton). Rob Walton is chairman of Wal-Mart and son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.)

With Walton money and family members on hand, it’s not hard to implicate the Walton family in Baidu’s latest scandal:

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Wal-Mart Watch’s new video, “Wal-Mart saves money, the Walton family lives better,” shows the real life implications of Wal-Mart’s low-wage business model. While the average full-time hourly Wal-Mart worker makes $19,200 a year, the Walton family’s net worth rose to over $100 billion during the past year.

As average American families have conversations around their kitchen tables just like the Wal-Mart employee and his family in this video, the Walton family doesn’t have a care in the world.  Because the Walton family and Wal-Mart choose to pay low wages to the company’s workers, families across the country - just like this one - are struggling to stay in their homes, pay their bills, pay their medical expenses and take care of their families. 

So, while Wal-Mart saves money on the backs of its employees, the Walton family lives better – much better.  It’s no wonder that Wal-Mart is so opposed to any tool such as the Employee Free Choice Act, which could actually make it easier for employees to stand up to Wal-Mart and demand better wages and benefits. No, Wal-Mart executives and the Walton family want to keep on living better themselves - and it’s just too bad for the 1.4 million U.S. employees.

Check out the new video, and let us know what you think. 

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Yesterday, Leslie Dach, Wal-Mart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, told reporters that Wal-Mart is “relentlessly non-partisan.” His claim does not make sense when you look at the facts.

While it is true that in the latest election cycle, Wal-Mart’s PAC is giving more money away to House Democrats than House Republicans by a $456,700 to $418,500 margin, Wal-Mart overwhelmingly supports conservative causes and groups. Released just a few weeks ago, our Walton influence website clearly shows how the Walton family and Wal-Mart both support a right wing agenda. In fact, Wal-Mart’s PAC is giving more money to Senate Republicans and more money to conservative PACs by a significant margin. In addition to PAC giving, Wal-Mart’s lobbying skews conservative. By lobbying against port security to save money on shipping costs, lobbying against country-of-origin labeling to shroud its supply chain in secrecy, and lobbying against the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act, Wal-Mart shows its true colors.  After the release of the 3rd quarter lobbying numbers, Wal-Mart’s in-house lobbying expenditures jumped to $5.22 million dollars – a 3629% increase since 1999. And let’s not forget the Employee Free Choice Act. An August story in the Wall Street Journal shows just how far Wal-Mart will go to prevent an Obama victory and unionization in its stories.

The Walton family is no different. The family, which controls 43% of Wal-Mart’s stock, is consistently pushing a right wing agenda. Worth over $100 billion dollars, the Walton family is free to spend their billion on causes like the school voucher movement. Public school supporters worry that the Walton family exerts a disproportionate level of influence in this area. Since 2000, the Walton Family Foundation donated over $47 million to the Children’s Educational Opportunity Foundation, a lobbying organization devoted to weakening the public school system in America by “providing research and publications to school choice groups and submitting amicus curie briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court on voucher issues.” The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), which promotes the voucher movement to African-American families, received over $3.8 million from the Walton Family Foundation since 2002. 

Sounds like Wal-Mart and the Walton family are relentlessly partisan to us. 

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Kim Morrison writes a nice piece in the NW Arkansas Morning News today about Wal-Mart Watch’s new website - waltoninfluence.com.

We’re glad to see that a Wal-Mart spokesman was asked by media to comment on the new site. Unsurprisingly, spokesman David Tovar had no comment. What he did say, however, was that Wal-Mart gives near-evenly to Democrats and Republicans.

That, of course, is laughable.

A quick look through the donation data on waltoninfluence.com (pulled from opensecrets.org) shows that the Wal-Mart PAC has always given the vast majority of its money to Republicans and conservative causes. Wal-Mart likes to brag that in the 2008 cycle, it has given slightly more to Democratic House candidates ($456,700 for Dems compared to $418,500 for Republicans.) But its giving in the Senate more than compensates for this - and according the openssecrets.org the Wal-Mart PAC has given more total to the GOP candidates in the 2008 cycle (47% to Democrats, 53% to Republicans).

And what about this year’s donations to non-candidate political groups? The top 5 and the vast majority are all Republican groups:

Washington State Republican Party: $50,000
Mitch for Governor Campaign Committee: $48,000
National Republican Congressional Committee: $30,000
National Republican Senatorial Committee: $30,000
Republican National Committee: $30,000

But regardless, Wal-Mart’s giving in 2008 is the exception to rule. Kim Morrison quickly points out that Democrats have received 22% of less of Wal-Mart’s support in the previous two elections. And if you look further and further back, you’ll see a company whose giving to Democrats moves closer and closer to zero percent.

The point is that Wal-Mart has seen turning of the political tide, and has decided to make a one-time handout to the party on the rise. What it is, is a shrewd (and probably wise) political move, what it isn’t is a sign of a bipartisan company.

Group tracks Wal-Mart’s political involvement [NW Arkansas Morning News]

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Wal-Mart Watch has launched a new website - http://www.waltoninfluence.com - which analyzes and tracks the Walton family’s and Wal-Mart’s growing influence on American politics.

Although Sam Walton believed his company should stay out of politics and stick to retailing, Wal-Mart’s strategy changed immensely after his death. From 1999 to 2007, Wal-Mart’s lobbying expenditures for outside firms increased 7425%. Although Wal-Mart attempts to tout its bipartisanship, the Wal-Mart PAC has given the vast majority of its over $7.5 million in the past decade to the Republican Party and other conservative groups.

With more than $12 billion in profits last year, Wal-Mart is the biggest and arguably most powerful corporation in America. Sam Walton’s heirs, the majority owners of the company, are worth over $100 billion - making them the wealthiest and certainly one of the most influential families in America.

During the past year, Wal-Mart Watch conducted an analysis of public lobbying and political contribution records for the Walton family and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in order to determine how this influence is used to affect politics and policy. The conclusion is clear: Wal-Mart and the Walton family spend millions of dollars every year to fund an extreme right wing corporate agenda that is often directly at odds with the interests of Wal-Mart’s workers and shoppers.

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WAL-MART EARNS BUCKETS OF MONEY
In case you weren’t aware.

Winners and Losers [Floyd Norris on the New York Times]

As the stock market goes back to gyrating –the Dow has been up more than 100 points, and down more than 200, during the first two hours — here, courtesy of Howard Silverblatt of Standard & Poor’s, are the Lucky 13 and the Unlucky 13 for this year.

Lucky 13:
1. WAL-MART +$52.1 billion

MAN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A WALTON
The Walton family is worth over $100 billion. Discuss.

The Waltons: SUPER DUPER RICH!!! [WakeUpWalMart.com Blog]

Of course there is nothing wrong with this family being so absurdly wealthy. No, our objection is that they make their profits on the backs of their workers by mistreating them and paying them poverty level wages. Contrasting a typical Wal-Mart workers wage with the Walton families wealth is mind boggling, and more than a little depressing. For example, it would take someone making $20,000 a year (which is a relatively high wage for your typical Wal-Mart cashier) on million years to net the amount of money one Walton sibling is worth.

If I Were A Rich Man… {Smart Profits Blog]

Warren Buffett with 50 billion takes second while Lawrence Ellison comes in at third with significantly less: a mere 27. Then fourth, fifth, sixth and… sixth… are all Waltons, somehow or another tied to WalMart founder Sam Walton. Jim Walton possesses a cool 23.4 billion, his brother S. Robson Walton has slightly less at 23.3, while their sister Alice Walton and sister-in-law Christy Walton tie at 23.2.

Walton Family Dots 10 Richest Americans List [Family Store Online]

Jim Walton, son of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton, reclaimed a leading spot this year at No. 4 with a $23.4 billion fortune after falling off last year. ... Eldest brother Robson Walton, 64, comes in a close second with $23.3 billion, landing him in the No. 5 spot. He is chairman of Wal-Mart. WHAT’S IN **YOUR** WALLET?

Forbes 400 richest out [Writing on the Wal]

The Walton’s, still the friends of downtrodden shoppers everywhere…

Forbes 400: List of the Richest Americans [Young, Famous and Fashionable]

The Walton family are all stinkin rich, controlling abt 40% of the worlds largest retailer, illegal child labor mart i mean workers can’t unionize mart woops.. i mean Walmart, with abt $23B each.

After the jump, shopping for groceries, reasons not to shop at Walmart, and sure signs the economy is REALLY bad.

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Ah, to be a Walton. While most of America struggles to keep their houses, afford basic food items and preserve their dwindling retirement funds, the Waltons have made a big leap up on Forbes’ list of the top 400 richest Americans and now comfortably reside in slots four through seven on the list of top ten wealthiest people in the country. That’s up from their rank last year - when Jim, Rob, and Christy were tied for 12th place, with their sister Alice coming in right after them at 15th.

Sam Walton’s four children aren’t the only Walton family members on the list: E Stanley Kroenke and his wife Ann Walton Kroenke also make an appearance, as does Sam’s niece, Nancy Walton Laurie. Taken together, the family is worth over $100 billion.

That’s more than an average Wal-Mart worker could earn in ten thousand lifetimes. Many of Wal-Mart’s hourly employees live in near-poverty, often earning so little that they qualify for government assistance. Basic life needs - housing, food, health care - are often out of reach, even for employees working full time. The Walton family’s wealth is obscene in comparison.

Wal-Mart executives have refused to raise wages for the company’s lowest earning employees, stating that such increases would cut in to company profits. Obviously, profitability is not a problem. As Wal-Mart sees record sales and the Walton family climbs to the top of America’s economic ladder, the company should be ashamed for not sharing its wealth with its lowest-earning workers.

The 400 Richest Americans [Forbes]

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A tumultuous lawsuit between Fisk University and the State of Tennessee has revealed just how much money Alice Walton has donated to her pet project, the Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Benton County, Arkansas. The figure is an astounding $317 million, small change for a woman worth $19 billion, but a bonafide fortune for any working American. The Walton family has long been a prominent patron of art and entertainment in northwest Arkansas - the Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas is just a stone’s throw away from the Walton Arts Center in downtown Fayetteville. So Alice’s contributions to a still-unconstructed art museum in the area are part of a long family tradition.

That family tradition exists for a reason: in the span of six months - from November 2007 to June 2008 - the Walton family made $29 billion off the increase in Wal-Mart’s stock price. With income like that, it’s not surprising that family members can afford to build art museums almost single-handedly. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart employees across the country continue to make poverty-level wages and go without decent, affordable health care.

The article quotes museum director Bob Workman saying, “Crystal Bridges is a gift to the community from Alice Walton and the Walton family. The focus is on what we are creating, not what it is costing.” Perhaps an even better gift to the community - and communities across the country - would be to pay the Wal-Mart’s 1.4 million U.S. workers a fair wage, and build wealth from the ground up.

Crystal Bridges case sheds light on contributions [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

Alice Walton, her family and one of their foundations have donated $317 million to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which has nearly half a billion dollars in assets, according to documents filed in a Tennessee court.

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Earlier today Wal-Mart, the largest company in the world by revenue, announced its earnings figures for the second fiscal quarter of 2008. Between April and June, the company earned a whopping $3.45 billion, and sold an almost unfathomable $101.6 billion worth of merchandise. Prospering as American consumers are forced to downgrade, Wal-Mart has been enjoying a rare window of prosperity in a declining economy.

The Walton family, which holds a majority share of the company’s stock, stand to profit greatly from Wal-Mart’s sales. The company’s stock rose $17 a share between November 2007 to June 2008, and with 43% of the company’s stock in its possession, this means the Walton family made around $29 billion off the stock price increase alone. Also standing to benefit is CEO Lee Scott, who earned a total of $59.8 million last year - 1646 times what an average Wal-Mart hourly employee earns annually.

Despite the company’s massive profits, Wal-Mart’s wages remain shamefully low. In fact, when accounting for inflation, wages for Wal-Mart’s hourly employees has actually fallen since 2004. Our newest fact sheet - “Wal-Mart: Low Wages, Always” - provides more details about the company’s efforts to keep wages low.

Wal-Mart depends on low wages to keep profits high, and the company is willing to go to extreme lengths to keep it that way. Wal-Mart’s recent anti-union propagandizing is just one such example, but it’s part of a larger, cohesive company policy to keep benefits poor and wages low. Learn more in our fact sheet: click here to download “Wal-Mart: Low Wages, Always.”

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Add another statuette to the Wal-Mart trophy case: the retailer has staked claim to no fewer than three spots on the list of top ten highest salaries for retail execs. Wal-Mart is the ONLY company to make more than one appearance on the list, with CEO Lee Scott, John Menzer and Mike Duke all qualifying for multimillion dollar salaries.

Lee Scott, as you’ll note, makes more than twice what the second-highest earning executive makes, and more than 1,645 times what an average Wal-Mart worker earns in a year.

Lee Scott’s compensation rose at a time when the Walton family members are all making millions of dollars off their Wal-Mart stock options. But in that same time, the wages of Wal-Mart’s lowest paid employees have remained stagnant, even decreasing if you take inflation and the rising cost of living in to account.

Here’s the full list from Women’s Wear Daily. We’ve included the detailed profiles for Wal-Mart’s executives who appear on the list.

1. H. Lee Scott Jr., 59, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Value of 2007 Compensation Package $31.6 million
Base salary: $1.4 million; Bonus: $0; Stock and option awards: $20.9 million; Other: $9.3 million
This Kansas-bred son of a gas station owner enjoyed a 6.4 percent jump in compensation from one year ago as Wal-mart got back on track by emphasizing value and low prices. Scott earned over $15 million more this year than his fellow top Wal-Mart executives, thanks to hefty stock and option awards - in fact, his value is $15 million more than any other executive on the list. Scott joined the company in September 1979 and under his leadership Wal-Mart has become the biggest retailer in the world. This past fiscal year, Wal-Mart spent $101,208 on Scott’s use of the company aircraft, not including pilot and crew salaries.

2. Paul Marciano, 56, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Guess Inc.
Value of 2007 Compensation Package $15.3 million

3. John B. Menzer, 56, Former Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Value of 2007 Compensation Package $14.9 million
Base salary: $1 million; Bonus: $0; Stock and option awards: $9.2 million; Other: $4.6 million
Menzer’s compensation is up 16.9 percent from 2006 due to increases in stock awards and other incentives, which helped catapult him into the top 10. Menzer, who retired in March, began his Wal-Mart career in 1995 as the company’s chief financial officer and was promoted to president and ceo of Wal-Mart International in 1999, where he had full responsibility for the company’s operations in 15 countries. Under his leadership, international sales grew to $60 billion from $20 billion. He also currently sits on the board of the Emerson Electric Co.

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This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post.

Wal-Mart is raising wages for its employees—in China, that is. Yes, the labor union representing Wal-Mart’s Chinese workforce won yet another fight against Wal-Mart, successfully negotiating for an 8 percent raise for 2008 and 2009 as well as setting terms for paid vacation, social security, and overtime. This comes at a time when China’s economy is booming, and demands for higher wages and better benefits are being pushed by none other than the Chinese government. Meanwhile, as the U.S. economy falters and Wal-Mart benefits, Wal-Mart’s U.S. hourly workers are experiencing nothing short of a wage “rollback.”

Sadly, wages for the average hourly U.S. Wal-Mart employee have actually fallen when adjusted for inflation. In 2004, Wal-Mart reported an average (Wal-Mart refuses to disclose a median wage which would provide a more accurate picture of wages at the company) hourly wage of $9.68. In 2008, the reported wage is $10.86. But in 2004 dollars, the average hourly wage is $9.55, which means workers are worse off today than they were four years ago. So, while the price of gas, food and health care are rising, Wal-Mart employees’ wages are falling.

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“If they don’t want Wal-Mart in their community, then just say it. Don’t hide behind all this malarkey.” – Lee Scott [CNNMoney, 4/6/05]

“We have almost adopted the position that if some community, for whatever reason, doesn’t want us in there, we aren’t interested in going in and creating a fuss.  I encourage us to walk away from this kind of trouble…Wal-Mart wants to go where it’s wanted.” – Sam Walton [Made in America, 233]

Right.

Wal-Mart sues Zionsville a 2nd time [Indianapolis Star]:

LEBANON, Ind.—Wal-Mart has filed a lawsuit against Zionsville, nearly a month after the town turned down its plan to build a Supercenter on U.S. 421.

The retail giant filed the lawsuit in Boone County Superior Court 2 on Wednesday and challenged the Zionsville Plan Commission denying its plat and development plan, Town Attorney Alan Townsend said Thursday.

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More photos from northwest Arkansas, courtesy of your on-the-ground bloggers. For commentary and more photos, check out our Flick stream here.

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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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Several years ago, Greg Penner met a nice girl named Carrie, whose grandfather was a retailer from Arkansas. The two got to know each other, decided to get married, and thus Greg became part of the world’s richest family, the Waltons.

Now Greg has been nominated to join the Wal-Mart Board of Directors. His father-in-law - Rob Walton - is the chairman, and Greg’s wife’s uncle, Jim, is also a member, making Greg the third Walton family member on the board. With Greg’s nomination to the board, the Walton family will have control of not only 40% of Wal-Mart’s stock, but also 20% of the company’s Board of Directors.

Coincidentally, the Walton Family Foundation announced today a donation of four million dollars to Greg’s alma mater - Stanford University. Greg’s wife Carrie Walton Penner, who serves as the trustee for the foundation, ALSO went to Standford, and they both sit on the University’s Leadership Council. Huh! While the foundation is privately held, it’s funded almost entirely with Wal-Mart company profits, so if you have any outstanding favors to ask the Penner family, now might be a good time!

Stanford gets $4M from Wal-Mart founder’s foundation [Biz Journals]

Stanford University said a $4 million gift given by the Walton Family Foundation and matched by the school will establish an $8 million endowment to support the work of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities.

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Dan Rather airs new video from the Flagler archives in this report on Wal-Mart’s political action committee. [HDNet Video]

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Great news! Billionaire Alice Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, has decided to donate money to struggling Wal-Mart employees build an art museum! Alice Walton - who’s worth an estimated $18 billion - has been buying up art all over the place for the last few years, much to the chagrin of art historians and every art lover not living in rural Arkansas. This week we got our first glimpse of what the new art museum - called “Crystal Bridges” - will look like (via Luxist):

Gosh that’s nice. One of the painting’s in the museum - Asher Durand’s Kindred Spirits - is alone worth $35 million. That’s about 74.5 times as much as the $470,000 Wal-Mart is suing former employee Debbie Shank for. That money - which represents the Shanks’ life savings - would only buy them about four square inches of one painting in Alice Walton’s museum. Make no doubt that the Walton Family Foundation is perfectly capable of helping the Shanks. Alice can afford to buy hundreds of paintings like this, but won’t let Wal-Mart cut the Shanks a break? 

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When painter Georgia O’Keeffe donated her late husband, famed photographer Alfred Stieglitz’s collection of work to Fisk University, she didn’t mean for the University to turn around and sell it. A Tennessee judge ruled that sharing the historic collection with Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton would violate the terms of O’Keeffe’s will. The ruling ensures that Stieglitz’s work will remain in Tennessee.

Fisk is the latest in a long series of financially unstable institutions Alice Walton has been preying on for dirt cheap fine art. To those in the art world, Alice Walton has become a modern day robber baron, taking advantage of smaller organizations and using whatever means necessary to strong-arm a low price. Wonder where she learned that from.

Judge Nixes University Plan to Share Art [Associated Press]

A judge on Friday threw out Fisk University’s $30 million proposal to share an art collection with a museum founded by a Wal-Mart heiress in Arkansas.

Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle said the deal was not in keeping with the wishes of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who donated the 101-piece collection to the historically black university in 1949.

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In a lot of ways, Sam Walton represented the best intentions of Wal-Mart. His Rules for Building a Business emphasized employee-friendliness, and what became the world’s largest corporation started as his locally-owned business. Wal-Mart has moved away from Sam’s philosophy in the decade and a half since his death, opting instead to scrimp on employee benefits and customer service. Today’s Morning News brings word of another aspect of Sam’s legacy falling by the wayside: the early Saturday morning meetings. What was once a dedicated gathering every week will become an impersonal meeting held in the high school basketball court once a month. As the culture continues to change in management, so too does the company’s values.

Wal-Mart Alters Regular Saturday Meeting [Northwest Arkansas Morning News]

The legendary Saturday morning meetings that have long been at the heart of the Wal-Mart culture will dwindle to just one meeting per month.

And executives won’t be funneling into the home office for the soon-to-be monthly meetings, but will gather down the road at Bentonville High School where a larger auditorium can house the growing crowd of department managers required to attend.

Wal-Mart confirmed the news, announced Saturday at the meeting, but declined to make further comments as “details have not been worked out,” a company spokeswoman said.

To many, the move signifies the end of the Sam Walton era. Sam Walton strongly believed in the value of the Saturday morning meetings as a time to communicate, plan strategy and gain a competitive advantage.

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Wal-Mart Watch is calling on three major, Wal-Mart-funded foundations to match the funds recently raised for former Wal-Mart employee Deborah Shank and her family. The Wal-Mart Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and the Wal-Mart Associates in Critical Need Fund have all been invited to donate to the cause. Many generous individuals have already contributed money to the Shank family (click here to donate) and with Wal-Mart Watch matching dollar-for-dollar, we’ve raised $10,000. The following letter was sent to the groups, asking the multi-billion dollar company to match that sum.

Walton Family Foundation
Attn:  Mr. Buddy D. Philpot,
Executive Director
P.O. Box 2030 Bentonville, AR 72712

December 5, 2007

Dear Mr. Philpot:

With the recent nationwide news coverage, you have likely heard about the tragic story of former Wal-Mart employee Deborah Shank of Jackson, Missouri.

Mrs. Shank was a devoted Wal-Mart employee when she was left permanently brain damaged after a tragic collision with a semi-trailer truck seven years ago. Her Wal-Mart health plan promptly paid her initial medical bills, and the Shanks subsequently won a modest settlement from the trucking company.  After lawyers’ fees and expenses were deducted, the remaining $417,000 was placed in a special trust fund to pay for Mrs. Shank’s future medical expenses – around-the-clock care for the remainder of her life. 

Wal-Mart, within its legal rights of subrogation under the health care contract, successfully sued the Shank family for reimbursement of $470,000 in medical expenses, plus the company’s legal fees and expenses.  Wal-Mart will drain all of the funds from Mrs. Shank’s trust, leaving no money for her future medical care.  In addition, the amount of Wal-Mart’s lawsuit exceeds the trust amount, which will plunge the Shank family further into debt.

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