Higher Expectations Week Exceeds Expectations; Wal-Mart Staggers Into The Holiday Shopping Season
For Immediate Release
Monday, November 21, 2005
Washington, D.C., November 21, 2005 – Last week, over 400 organizations from around the country hosted over 1,200 events for Wal-Mart Watch’s “Higher Expectations Week.” These events, held in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranged from religious sermons to movie screenings to legislative town hall meetings. In contrast, Wal-Mart continued along its familiar path of labor violations, low quarterly earnings, and public relations gaffes. Below is a small sampling of some of the extensive national and international news coverage of “Higher Expectations Week” events.
Tucson Citizen, 11/21/05: Nearly 1,000 Tucsonans showed up for a free screening Wednesday night of the documentary, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,” at The Loft Theater on Speedway.
Chicago Sun-Times, 11/16/05: A new radio spot critical of the giant retailer is running in the Chicago area and it uses the melody of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” to get its message across… Listeners to the ads, which are running on stations, including WBBM-AM, WNUA-FM and WLS-AM, are asked to visit Wal-Mart Watch’s Web site to learn about activities planned this week.
Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News, 11/17/05: Although the radio commercial is set to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” for Wal-Mart, it must feel like the Grinch has arrived instead.
Denver Post editorial, 11/19/05: Wal-Mart needs to treat employees better, rather than create an illusion it does. The Walton heirs, four of America’s top 10 billionaires, can afford that instead of shifting expenses to the taxpayers.
Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress, 11/17/05: On Sunday the group sponsored a book signing by local resident Barbara Ehrenreich, author of “Nickel and Dimed” and one-time undercover Wal-Mart worker. A screening of the documentary “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Wages” drew an overflow crowd to the Jefferson Theater on Tuesday, Wexler said.
Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, 11/19/05: In the past, Lisa Fraley’s decision to not shop at Wal-Mart was based on comfort. “I don’t shop at Wal-Mart because I don’t like Wal-Mart itself. I don’t like shopping in that big, huge place,” she said. “I think you just lose something.” After watching a screening of “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,” on Wednesday at CSPS, her decision had added focus.
Houston Chronicle, 11/15/05: This week this fiery debate is being framed by two dueling documentaries — one that fiercely attacks the retailer as bad for America and another that heaps praise on it… The release of both films on DVD in stores across the country this week are timed to coincide with High Expectations Week, a campaign organized by Wal-Mart Watch, a leading critic based in Washington.
Los Angeles Times, 11/12/05: Across the aisle, one of the company’s chief foes, Wal-Mart Watch, this weekend is launching seven days of anti-Wal-Mart consciousness-raising at more than 200 churches, synagogues and mosques in 100 cities, where leaders have agreed to sermonize about what they see as moral problems with the company.
Miami Herald, 11/12/05: Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer and the recent target of lawsuits, journalistic exposes, and grass-roots campaigns against its employment practices, is facing its most powerful moral opponent yet: faith-based groups.
London Daily Telegraph, 11/16/05: Wal-Mart Watch, meanwhile, which campaigns to “reveal the harmful impact of Wal-Mart on U.S. families,” is touring churches, synagogues, and mosques and sermonising on its alleged evils. Last weekend the multi-denominational drive saw more than 150 leaders address their congregations on the subject of Wal-Mart from a religious perspective.
Lansing State Journal, 11/18/05: Clementine Mthethwa of Swaziland shivered in the bitter cold Thursday afternoon on the sidewalk outside the Wal-Mart store in Okemos. The 40-year-old factory worker from southern Africa makes sport shirts that are bought by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and sold in its stores. She said she makes a penny for every five shirts she puts together. That earns her about $35 a month in U.S. currency. “They should give people better wages,” Mthethwa said.
Columbia (Mo.) Missourian, 11/14/05: The crowd grew quickly outside Ragtag Cinemacafe for the Friday evening showing of “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.” Employees said the 75 tickets sold out in about five minutes, but more people still filtered into the theater, hoping to somehow see the film.
WKOW-ABC (Madison, Wisc.), 11/16/05: Wal-Mart Watch declared this week it’s time for everyone to hold the company accountable for their poor business practices. An anti Wal-Mart documentary kicked off the new campaign against the retail giant. Rep. Terese Berceau says, “When we’ve got a company that made $10 billion dollars last year they sure could be helping out by paying for health insurance cost for their employees.”
KOLD-CBS (Tucson, Ariz.), 11/13/05: And after seeing the film, Vincent Pawlowski believes change is on the way. “I think it will change things, and I certainly hope it does. I’d like to see Wal-Mart becomes a better corporation and a better corporate citizen.”
The other side of “Higher Expectations Week” revealed even more problems for the retail giant:
Bloomberg News, 11/14/05: Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, reported the smallest profit gain in more than four years after three hurricanes shut stores and soaring energy prices crimped consumer spending.
Los Angeles Times, 11/21/05: Like a noxious smell to which nobody wants to draw attention, there was a curiously unremarked subtext to the third-quarter earnings release from Wal-Mart Stores last week. Most news reports quoted its executives sounding upbeat about the coming Christmas season. But none saw fit to mention that investors haven’t made a dime from this company’s shares over the last five years.
Associated Press, 11/19/05: Federal officials say the arrest of 125 workers at a construction site for a new Wal-Mart distribution center should serve as a warning to employers who hire illegal immigrants. All 125 workers arrested in the raid will be deported, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials said Friday.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 11/20/05: “These days, [Gerald Celente] said, Wal-Mart simply represents the cheapest prices and not a standard such as carrying American products. Celente also said the company filled its war room with “political hacks…” “What is Wal-Mart’s social responsibility? And a key part of any brand is to identify and decide what their responsibility is to the greater society,” he said. “And if they don’t, society is going to help them decide that,”
Chicago Tribune, 11/20/05: “The company hasn’t changed, but how we talk about us, has,” Wal-Mart spokesman Bob McAdam said.
