Add Your Name. Sign the Letter to Wal-Mart's Board

Dear Wal-Mart Board of Directors:

Of all the letters and requests you will receive regarding the June 1st Wal-Mart shareholders’ meeting, this one is worth reading.

It is a different kind of letter because thousands of real people from across the nation, many of them Wal-Mart customers, care enough to express their opinions about Wal-Mart and its business practices.

While you may not want to hear some of the criticisms, you are uniquely positioned to influence policies that affect Wal-Mart’s future, and it is clear that public opinion has an indisputable impact on that future.

In these comments, you’ll find that many people believe the company has the ability to be great again – with critical and massive changes to its flawed business practices and policies.

For example, Kristen from Upland, California offers this advice:

“Wal-Mart can be about so much more than making money. It can be about leading the industry in fair labor practices. It can be about leading the field in environmentally sensitive causes. To many that I know Wal-Mart has become a symbol of all that disturbs them about big business. You CAN change their minds and get them back into your stores by showing the kind of compassion for the world around you that wins the hearts and minds of your customers."

As you meet with concerned shareholders on June 1, Wal-Mart faces the largest gender discrimination lawsuit in the nation’s history; a flat stock price for the past eight years; the largest decline in monthly sales in 28 years; stagnant same-store sales; failed urban expansion and apparel strategies; numerous labor and wage lawsuits; disproportionately low health insurance coverage for employees; and an unresolved spying scandal.

You are no doubt aware, but need only read the newspaper to know that Wal-Mart’s reputation is at an all-time low. These problems pose real and imminent threats to its growth and sustainability. Rather than address substantive issues, however, Wal-Mart’s current leadership continues to waste more than $10 million annually on flashy public relations campaigns.

You and your fellow board members stand at a crossroad, with the opportunity to compel the company to make meaningful changes. It is our hope that you will make the most of this opportunity.

The following is a sample of the thousands of comments from people across the nation regarding Wal-Mart’s business practices, along with signatures from those who want their voices to be heard by the company.

Regarding responsible corporate citizenship, Jennifer from Portland, Oregon says,

"Wal-Mart has the power to be a force for tremendous good. With power comes responsibility. Please step up to that responsibility."

“If you want the people in the stores to take care of the customers, you have to make sure you’re taking care of the people in the stores.” – Sam Walton (1)

Regarding low wages for workers, Mandy from Santa Cruz, California has seen firsthand the effects of Wal-Mart’s labor practices:

“As a social worker, I come in contact with poor people every day that are working hard at your store. They are unable to provide the basic necessities for their children, including health care because your store refuses to give them enough hours to qualify for insurance. The basic rate of pay is so low that basic human needs are often unmet, despite their hard labor for you. Please acknowledge and pay their worth as you do your top executives.”

Regarding lack of employee health insurance, Beth from Brooklyn, New York says:

"It is unethical and unconscionable that a corporation as large as Wal-Mart does not provide health insurance for all its employees. It is unacceptable that your employees are eligible for Medicaid and that the rest of the employers in this country are paying for your increased profit. It is a simple matter of taking responsibility for your share of society's burdens."

Regarding lack of respect for employees, Melissa from Geneva, New York says:

“It makes sense to take care of your employees. They are happier in the workplace, which leads to them treating customers better (repeat business), talking positively about their employer (bringing new customers in) and treating their coworkers and superiors with respect. If people are happy in their jobs and feel like they get what they deserve while spending so much time there, they treat you better and that extends to the rest of the world.”

"For Wal-Mart to maintain its position in the hearts of our customers, we have to study more ways we can give something back to our communities." – Sam Walton (2)

Regarding the negative impact on local communities, Chris from Carpinteria, California has this to say:

“As a fellow member of a capitalist system, I respect your right to make a profit. As a fellow member of the human race, I implore you to consider the whole picture of the impacts of your company on communities, individuals, local economies, workers' quality of life around the globe, and the environment. A company as large as yours has the potential to do good around the world, and still make a profit. It is grossly apparent that profit trumps humanity at Wal-Mart.”

Regarding Wal-Mart's disregard for the environment, Cheryl from Rockland, Maryland says,

“I want you to know that I will boycott Wal-Mart if Wal-Mart does not start taking more responsibility for the environment. At this age, we can no longer continue to burden our environment with pollution. What will we have left for our children and grandchildren?”

Regarding lack of commitment to American-made products, Andrew from Apache Junction, Arizona says:

“It is past time that you rejoined the community of good American corporate citizens. When Sam Walton was alive your company stood for American made and treated your workers far better than you do now. The policies you have now are un-American.”

"Maybe the most important way in which we at Wal-Mart believe in giving something back is through our commitment to using the power of this enormous enterprise as a force for change." – Sam Walton (3)

Finally, regarding a departure from Sam Walton’s values, Eric from Athens, Ohio says:

"Sam Walton was revolutionary in his ideas and commitment to corporate responsibility. He would be very disappointed in what his company has become."

We hope that you will seriously consider these comments and take the opportunity available to you on June 1 to set a new course for Wal-Mart – one that returns it to the ideals of its late founder, Sam Walton, and one that compels it to use its power and leadership as the world’s largest company in a responsible, constructive manner.

Sincerely,

David Nassar, executive director of Wal-Mart Watch,
And concerned Americans

1.) Sam Walton: Made in America, June 1, 1993
2.) Sam Walton: Made in America, June 1, 1993
3.) Sam Walton: Made in America, June 1, 1993