Boycott Walmart!'s topics - tribe.net

walmart sues disabled employee for 470,000

2008-04-04T18:42:02Z

walmart is suing a disabled former employee for 470,000 in medical benifits because she has recently won a lawsuit against the trucking company that caused her car wreck. she now has brain damage and lives in a nursing home her husband works 2 jobs to pay the bills and their son died in iraq last year the amount walmart wants is even more than she got from the lawsuit. I say that everone should write letters and emails to walmart and let them know they cannot treat people this way and know that we know how heartless they can be there should be a nationwide boycott of walmart untill they leave this poor woman alone. in every town there are plenty of other stores we can shop at and if they get enough sales then they might be able to lower their prices to match walmarts.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 2 replies

Walgreens

2008-01-12T19:57:05Z

Is there any connection between Walgreens and Walmart?

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 0 replies

Corporate citizenship

2007-12-28T04:43:19Z

Always a dictator, ALWAYS! They move into a new town, first stripping it from quality small businesses and sending manufacturing jobs overseas. On top of that they refuse to properly train their workers so that they don't have to pay a living wage.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 2 replies

What do you think about...

2007-11-07T17:02:06Z

Walmart dropping their Lay-away program ? Their story is that they are proud to be getting rid of a service that mainly is utilized by lower income consumers.

I think it is more like, they don't want to have to hire extra help nor do they wish to focus so many of their workers efforts to that area of customer service at Christmas time.

Another cheap cut to the customer.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 3 replies

Target!

2007-11-07T00:34:13Z

Launching a Boycott Wal-Mart campaign will work better if we have an alternative to give people. How 'bout Target? Is it worthy of our recommendation?

Any flyers we have might list alternative places to shop. Retail, and mail order.

Logan

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 2 replies

A flyer to print and distribute

2007-11-05T17:30:04Z

to give to people when they ask - why not Walmart?

http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc/WhyNotWalMart.pdf

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 2 replies

Walmart Bans Woman for Reporting Possible Child Abuse

2007-10-02T23:56:42Z

In the same town where no one stops to help a woman dying in a convenience store, Walmart decides to ban a women for trying to do the right thing.

To passer-by, crying child's ear-piercing rings of abuse
BY SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS
The Wichita Eagle
Could piercing a child's ears be child abuse?

Marilyn Johnson thought so when she heard a girl's screams in a Wichita Wal-Mart on Sunday -- and she reported it to police.

She said a child was having her ears pierced "against her will" at the store's jewelry counter, and the girl's cries were ignored by her mother and the store employee doing the piercing.

"This little girl was about 5 years old and was crying her eyes out," Johnson said. "Her face was beet red, and she was screaming and coughing and saying things like, 'I don't want this! It hurts! Please stop!' She was grabbing her ears so the adults couldn't touch them."

Johnson says she approached the girl's mother and the store employee and said, "Is this really necessary?"

Both women said nothing but continued trying to pierce the girl's ears, Johnson said.

So Johnson called 911 from her cell phone.

"We're forever being told we should report any suspected child abuse," said Johnson, 53, a Wichita landlord who founded Heart Bandits American Eskimo Dog Rescue.

"I saw a child crying and screaming and pleading for someone not to do something to her," she said. "And if that's not child abuse, I don't know what is."

When police arrived at the store at Pawnee and Broadway, they spoke with Johnson and the girl's mother, "then informed me that I was out of line," Johnson said. "The officers took my personal information and offered to walk with me to purchase my... items."

Johnson said she left the store without buying anything.

Wichita police spokesman Gordon Bassham said no law was being broken by the girl's mother or the employee doing the piercing.

At the request of a Wal-Mart official, the officers issued Johnson a warning for trespassing and escorted her from the store, Bassham said.

Store officials referred calls about the incident to corporate headquarters. Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman issued this written response:

"Ear piercing is a service that Wal-Mart offers to our customers of all ages. A parent or legal guardian's signature is required if the person having their ears pierced is under 18 years old, which was the case in this instance," Fogleman said.

"The child's mother indicated more than once through the ear-piercing process that she wanted her daughter's ears pierced."

Asked how the store handles incidents of children who oppose piercings, Fogleman said: "Local management has discretion based on the individual circumstance."

Ear piercing has long been the subject of controversy among parents. For some, piercing an infant or young child's ears has deep-rooted cultural or religious meaning. Others pierce babies' ears because of family traditions, or simply because they like the look or want to more easily identify the baby as a girl.

Several popular online parenting forums have featured lengthy discussions on the topic. A question posted to BabyCenter.com in October 2003 prompted more than 830 comments, ranging from outrage to agreement over piercing young children's ears.

"I had my daughter's ears done when she was 6 months old. She did cry, but just for about 10 seconds," said a mom named Jennie. "It was much easier than getting shots. Her ears have healed perfectly and she looks absolutely beautiful."

Other parents recalled children begging to have their ears pierced, then screaming or crying during the procedure.

Kansas law requires written and notarized consent from a parent or legal guardian before performing body piercing or tattooing on someone under 18. The law does not spell out whether piercings or tattoos can be forcibly administered.

"The parent was not, in the eyes of the officers, doing anything illegal," said Bassham, the police spokesman. "This could have been a cultural thing for the mother, or a religious thing. There are so many factors at work.

"For us as law enforcement to try and predict the reasons and the motivations behind this is not possible, and that's not our area."

The mother was not identified by police or store officials.

Johnson says she's glad she reported the incident to police, even though a Wal-Mart manager said she would no longer be allowed in the store.

She plans to talk to local legislators about the possibility of changing state law to spell out more clearly when piercings or tattoos become possible abuse.

"I can't understand doing that to a child who's screaming and crying and clearly didn't want this done," Johnson said.

"If I'm the crazy one for calling the police, then maybe I'm crazy. But I don't think so."

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 4 replies

Wal-Mart rolling out new company slogan

2007-10-02T23:46:24Z

http://biz.yahoo. com/rb/070912/ walmart_advertis ing.html? .v=7

Wal-Mart rolling out new company slogan

Wednesday September 12, 11:27 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT - News) said on Wednesday that it is rolling out a new advertising campaign with the slogan, "Save Money. Live Better," replacing the motto "Always low prices" after 19 years.

The new slogan comes as Wal-Mart is incorporating more of an emotional tone into its advertising as it tries to boost sales at its U.S. stores. (or in other words to counteract the anti-global comments of activists like us)

Its back-to-school ads showed actors posing as customers, talking about how Wal-Mart helped them save money amid high gasoline prices, a contrast to its previous ads featuring a smiley face character zooming around stores, slashing prices.

Wal-Mart said it will begin running TV ads on Wednesday illustrating "how saving money on the little things adds up and helps families live better."

The discount retailer is trying to revive its U.S. sales after its same-store sales rose at their slowest pace on record last fiscal year. Its back-to-school advertising campaign was accompanied by price cuts of as much as 50 percent on 16,000 items like backpacks and school supplies.

The results produced a higher-than- expected 3.1 percent rise in August sales at its U.S. stores open at least a year -- its biggest same-store sales gain since March.

The new ad campaign also highlights the results of new research it commissioned from Global Insight. The report said that as of 2006, the retailer saves American families $2,500 each year, up 7.3 percent from $2,329 in 2004.

Global Insight said it found that the expansion of Wal-Mart from 1985 to 2006 led to a 3.0 percent decline in overall consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index for all items, which includes prices for goods and services.

The research firm said its updated study concludes that the reduction in price levels due to Wal-Mart translated into savings for consumers of $287 billion in 2006, which is $957 per person or $2,500 per household. (and what about associated job loss?)

Wal-Mart shares were up 2 cents to $42.96 in late morning New York Stock Exchange trading.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

Gender Bias?

2007-02-22T02:00:55Z

Wal-Mart faces huge gender bias case
Wednesday, 7 February 2007 09:21 http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0207/wallmart.html

According to court documents, Wal-Mart employs more than 1.2 million employees in the US. Two-thirds of them are women.

AdvertisementThe women claim Walmart pays female staff up to 15% less than then men, while women make up only one third of those prompted to management.

... Only one part of why this wonderful place can offer you such great discounts..

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

its about the money.......duh!!

2007-02-06T03:33:44Z

I havent been reading any other the posts on here as of today but I will........
I just want to say something...Its all about the money. If anyone wants to stop the corperate money chain, you'll have to cut the chain. Or choke it. Anyway.
LOL
How can we stop what is clearly in my opinion out of control?

STOP BUYING!!!! STUPID SHIT!!!!!!

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 23 replies

organic? ha!

2007-01-26T10:39:21Z

www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/0...erings/

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 9 replies

Wal-Mart and the Bill of Rights

2007-01-19T18:26:56Z

Separation of church and state. Good idea. Thanks, Thomas Jefferson.

Now, corporations may do as they please. But, we don't have to shop at 'em when they alienate atheists, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, pagans, Jews, Muslums, etc. Did y'all hear, Wal-Mart greeters used to say "Happy Holidays", but this year will be allowed to say, "Merry Christmas"? I hope I heard wrong. But if not,

Target!

Logan

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 16 replies

Just found you

2007-01-15T13:23:31Z

Have not set foot in Wal Mart, and might even choose to die rather than do it even once!

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

Wal-Mart moving employees to new schedule system

2007-01-04T22:21:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is moving workers to a new advanced scheduling system, building on a pilot program it tested last year that schedules hourly employees based on the number of shoppers in a store.

"This is exactly what we were piloting before, and it has been introduced to cashiers and customer service positions," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sarah Clark said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Wal-Mart will start moving many of its 1.3 million workers from predictable shifts to a system based on how many customers are in stores at a given time.

Wal-Mart said last year that it was testing the system as it looks to cut labor costs. Clark said Wal-Mart plans to move all hourly workers to the new system this year.

Critics contend the advanced system takes hours away from full-time employees and demands more flexibility from workers.

"You are saying to workers who are already getting paid poorly ... if you want any hours, you have to agree to work when we want you to work and to agree to a schedule that changes," said Chris Kofinis, spokesman for WakeUpWalMart.com, which has pressured Wal-Mart to improve pay and benefits.

But Clark said the retailer does not have "open availability," meaning workers are available to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She said no hours have been cut or reduced as part of the new scheduling system.

Wal-Mart said the new system ensures that stores are fully staffed at peak shopping times and it takes into account the hours employees prefer to work.

"It is much friendlier and more predictable than the previous system in that it actually asks for our associates preferences of when they prefer to work," Clark said.

She said under the old system, store managers drew up schedules based on the level of sales in a store. Now, increased staffing will coincide with times when customer traffic surges, she said.

Clark said employee schedules are now available three weeks in advance, while under old system, schedules were posted two to three weeks in advance.

Clark said the size of the pilot program was "significant," but she did not have numbers on how many employees were included in the pilot.

The Journal report said other retailers such as Payless ShoeSource Inc. and RadioShack Corp. are also using advanced scheduling systems.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 0 replies

Tomatoes Pulled From Wal-Mart Shelves

2007-01-04T22:18:07Z

Tomatoes Pulled From Wal-Mart Shelves

The retailers Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club are pulling Santa Sweet brand grape tomatoes from store shelves as a result of pesticides investigations in Florida and North Carolina.

The tomatoes are not harmful to the consumer.

The investigations are looking into pesticides violations of the grower, Ag-Mart Produce, and whether produce field workers are at risk.

Wal-Mart officials say the product will remain off the shelves until the investigation is resolved.

The safety of Santa Sweet tomatoes is not in question.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 0 replies

Ohio Wal-Mart closes because of methane gas fumes

2006-12-18T18:21:42Z

Ohio Wal-Mart closes because of methane gas fumes
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — A Wal-Mart store built atop a landfill closed during the busiest shopping time of the year because of a methane gas leak.

Employees at the store in suburban Cleveland reported a bad smell, evacuated customers and shut the doors Tuesday night.

Wal-Mart says it doesn't know when the store will reopen, and fire officials say the methane fumes are not enough to be dangerous.

The retailer is part of the new City View shopping center, which is built on top of an old landfill.

Developer John McGill said faulty floor drains installed by Wal-Mart's engineer had been emitting sewer gas, which typically includes mixtures of methane and rotten egg-scented hydrogen sulfide. He said the problem would be corrected.

"It's a minimal issue," McGill said. Wal-Mart "acted on the side of safety."

Wal-Mart officials and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said the source of the methane had not been identified.

Mia Masten, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart's Midwest division, said she did not know how long the store would be closed and that employees will continue to be paid.

"Trust me, it's the holiday season, and we want to reopen as soon as possible," she said.

Ohio EPA spokesman Mike Settles said an enforcement action is pending against McGill because regulators say he has not corrected seeping water from a hill on which the development sits.

Bill Skowronski, the EPA's district chief for Northeast Ohio, said methane is not toxic but can cause an explosion.

___

Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com

___

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

Wal-Mart failing to attract customers in Germany.

2006-11-23T13:36:54Z

Hmm....are German smarter than the average American who has been bought and sold by Walmart's low prices at the expense of US jobs and industry?

Wal-Mart Germany mulls closing a few of its 85 stores
06.18.2006, 01:56 PM

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is now in the process of considering whether it would close a few of its 85 stores in Germany, head of Wal-Mart Germany David Wild said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

'We are currently examining all unprofitable locations,' he said.

He said if the company arrives at the conclusion that the stores would not be profitable in the long-term, 'then we will close them'.

He said there are some stores which are performing excellently and there are others which are 'losing a lot of money'.

Last Wednesday, Wal-Mart closed stores in Sigmaringen and Duesseldorf, the report said.

marilyn.gerlach@afxnews.com

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 10 replies

Is it possible to make money and really make a difference?

2006-11-21T20:57:28Z

The New Capitalists
Is it possible to make money and really make a difference?
—By Joseph Hart, Utne magazine
May / June 2006 Issue

If you are one of the 8 percent of American consumers who refuse to shop at Wal-Mart for ethical reasons, you might want to pop some valerian tablets before you read on.

Ready?

Wal-Mart: ethical leader. Wal-Mart: environmental steward. Wal-Mart: socially responsible corporation.

If you didn't hurl the magazine across the room, consider the following: In 2004 Wal-Mart established a "global ethics office" to enforce 10 principles, including to "never manipulate, misrepresent, abuse, or conceal information" and "never act unethically -- even if someone else instructs you to do so." Employees have access to a confidential hotline to report abuses.

In October 2005 CEO Lee Scott announced a long-range plan to use 100 percent renewable energy at the company. For starters, Wal-Mart is working on a new store design that will reduce energy use by 30 percent in the next three years and plans to double the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet -- one of the largest in the world -- by 2015.

Earlier this year, the company rolled out expanded benefits for its workforce, which management claims are among the best in the retail sector.

If you can't keep your cynical side from making you squirm, maybe it's because you can't forget the New York Times story in October 2005 that revealed that 46 percent of the chain's employees' children are uninsured or on Medicaid. The company has been fined repeatedly for violating the Clean Water Act, including $3.1 million in 2004 for failing to contain runoff at construction sites. Wal-Mart hired Eugene Scalia, former solicitor of the Department of Labor and son of U.S. Supreme Court associate justice Antonin Scalia, to defend the corporation against three whistle-blower lawsuits, and federal prosecutors just recently nailed vice chairman Tom Coughlin for embezzling $500,000 to buy, among other things, supplies for his hunting dogs and a couple cases of Smirnoff. (When he was accused, Coughlin claimed he used the money for union busting, a response that can be filed under cold comfort.)

So which is the real face of Wal-Mart? The easy-being-green family-owned company that donated nearly $1 million to make Sesame Street episodes that help military kids cope with the Iraq war? Or the I-love-trash megachain that, according to a study conducted at Penn State, actually ends up reinforcing, not improving, countywide poverty rates when it plops down a store?

The plain fact is that in today's business world, as companies of all sizes embrace "corporate social responsibility," or CSR, villains can be heroes and the Man often acts like a gentleman. The simple principle of CSR is that companies should enhance the public good. As a result, a growing number of giant international corporations are appointing CSR vice presidents, launching environmental programs, scrutinizing suppliers' human rights records, and adopting ethical guidelines to govern corporate behavior.

Critics of CSR say it's a sop to special interest groups and unions, a ploy to promote deregulation, or a "greenwash" to cover up malfeasance (many companies, like Wal-Mart, have websites peppered with heartwarming facts and stories). But there's no denying that CSR initiatives have genuine value. If every corporation adopted Wal-Mart's pledge to reduce energy use by 30 percent in the next three years, for example, the effect would be profound.

more...

http://www.utne.com/pub/2006_135/promo/12081-1.html

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

Hey guys join my new tribe "VENTITNOW

2006-11-21T20:47:53Z

Hey guys, I've just started a new tribe called "Vent it Now" Here's the
URL: http://tribes.tribe.net/ventitnow?_click_path=Application%5Btribe%5D.Tribe%5Bd91cfd23-1187-498c-ab9c-1621ea84dc62%5D

You guys can post whatever you want and your views on the world. I want to hear your controversial topics and foster debate.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 0 replies

When to Stop?

2006-11-20T21:13:57Z

Not that we are anywhere near there, but in theory, someday, Wal-Mart could become a good corporate citizen.

If they did, the proper action would be to stop boycotting.

What would they have to do to get to that point?

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 6 replies

The day I cursed Wal-Mart

2006-11-20T21:12:20Z

I was in a Wal-Mart one day, and I had made the mistake of not getting a cart. I grew tired of lugging around this and that. And, I'd gone there reluctantly, for the cheap laundry soap. I was feelin guilty just being there.

Then I dropped a protein bar! That was it! I let it all drop.

I said loudly, "Fuck Wal-Mart!"

People turned and looked.

Then, I left.

Logan

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 3 replies

Walmart New Late Rule--Demerits--What the Fu**

2006-11-20T18:26:47Z

I saw a news feed from ABC reporting on a new Walmart 10 min late rule, which states that an employee gets a "Demerit" if they are 10 min late for work. Several of these occurances and you could get fired. I can't believe it, who needs this?? I used to work in that type of environment and it's absolutely demeaning to single mothers, bus riders or other people who just have a hard time getting to work sometimes.--Gimmie a break. Anyone else agree?

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 2 replies

Handicapped persons; helped or exploited?

2006-11-20T18:22:37Z

It's nice that many Wal-Mart employees are handicapped. Developmentally.

But, is this, plus the fact that many are retirees who have their basic needs met already, as in houses already paid for and kids grown, and medicaide to pay for pills, evidence that Wal-Mart wanted a workforce a bit more passive?

It wouldnt want a workforce of 18-30 year olds with kids to support, and houses to purchase. And I doubt Wal-Mart wants people with liberal arts degrees to be the bulk of their workforce. Those types know how to write letters and cause trouble.

I'm not anti-capitalism, but at times it does look inhuman. And anti-family. (Which might be why they always harp about family values.)

Logan

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 2 replies

A vile product found at Wal-Mart

2006-11-19T04:28:54Z

Hello everyone,

I just started a new tribe, and it's my very first! I titled it, "Ban Mouse Glue Traps". Glue traps are usually sold alongside traditional spring-type mouse traps. They hold the mouse by the feet and skin for days, allowing it to slowly die. I want to stir up interest in this topic, and have the phones at some retailers ringing with people asking that they be discontinued.

Come check it out. Let's reduce the amount of cruelty in the world.

Thanks.

Logan
posted by:
Logan

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

Thanks for this group.

2006-11-03T15:44:42Z

Thanks guys for starting this group. I hate Walmart and everything about it. I used to work with accounts for Walmart-and let me tell you they are the most red-tape-littered network there is. I refuse to shop there and encourage all my friends to refuse not only because of local implications to our economy but also because of worldwide implications this franchise has caused!! It has ruined suppliers overseas. HATE THEM.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

Important Group Notice

2006-11-03T15:20:21Z

Group Notice:

Some of you may have noticed that I have been posting much less frequently lately than I was in the past. I am running for the office of PA State Representative in the Philadelphia suburbs (Delco). My campaign is likely to take up most of my time between now and November. I will try to leave a few posts when I can during the election season. I encourage members to post Wal-Mart related articles when you come across them. I will be back and active again after the election, no matter what.

-michael

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 4 replies

Wal-Mart struggles to regain ground

2006-08-19T13:22:11Z

Wal-Mart struggles to regain ground
As sales dip, store weighs growth plans

BY MARCUS KABEL | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is fighting battles on multiple fronts after posting its first quarterly profit decline in 10 years, and analysts question whether the world's largest retailer can regain the feverish growth rates of its past.

Wal-Mart's woes range from high energy prices, which hit its lower-income customer base and its own costs, to setbacks in its international strategy, to public relations stumbles like this week's sudden resignation of civil rights icon Andrew Young as its public ambassador.

Young quit as head of a pro-Wal-Mart advocacy group after he was quoted in the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper as saying inner-city stores that overcharged black customers were run by "Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs." Wal-Mart, which has made repeated public commitments this year to diversity, said Young's comments did not reflect its views.

On the plus side, analysts say, Wal-Mart has ambitious programs to stock trendier products, remodel most of its more than 2,000 Supercenter stores and tighten its grip on the costs of inventory, labor and energy.

Combined with an ongoing public relations offensive to counter critics who claim its pay and benefits are skimpy, Wal-Mart is juggling a lot of balls at once and analysts say the outcome is still up in the air.

"I think they're in so much transition right now that it's hard to measure whether or not they're making progress," said Patricia Edwards, portfolio manager and retail analyst at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich in Seattle, which manages $8.2 billion in assets and holds 51,000 Wal-Mart shares. "It is a lot to handle."

George Whalen of Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos, Calif., said Wal-Mart has a track record of handling multiple tasks: "When you get to be the biggest in the world, you fight battles on every front sometimes."

Second-quarter results showed the first profit decline in a decade on the cost of selling its loss-making business in Germany. It quit another loss-maker, South Korea, in May but still operates in 13 countries in Asia, Latin America and Britain and intends to keep expanding, especially in China.

But the quarter's sales and profit growth also slowed at Wal-Mart's U.S. stores, its biggest division, as high fuel prices kept customers away, cut their spending power and drove up Wal-Mart's own costs for a fleet of 7,000 trucks.

Some analysts question whether Wal-Mart can regain growth rates that made it a darling of Wall Street in the 1990s.

After precipitous gains in the 1980s and 1990s, the stock peaked around $70 in January 2000 before losing steam to linger mainly in the $50-$60 range. It lost another 3 percent this year to current levels around $45.

Wal-Mart's earnings per share rose more than 16 percent per year on average over the past 10 years and sales grew by annual rates between 12 percent and 20 percent. But all that has slowed, with earnings per share up about 11 percent last year and sales up just 9.5 percent.

Edwards said that with nearly 4,000 stores in the U.S., Wal-Mart can only maintain past growth rates by acquiring more companies overseas or "building a Wal-Mart on every other street corner in China."

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 0 replies

Young resigns from Wal-Mart committee amid criticism of remarks

2006-08-19T13:20:27Z

Young resigns from Wal-Mart committee amid criticism of remarks

By Bernard McGhee
Associated Press
Published August 19, 2006

ATLANTA -- Civil rights leader Andrew Young, who was hired to help Wal-Mart Stores Inc. improve its public image, said Friday he was stepping down from his position as head of an outside support group amid criticism for remarks seen as racially offensive.

Young, a former Atlanta mayor and UN ambassador, was hired by Working Families for Wal-Mart in February.

"I think I was on the verge of becoming part of the controversy, and I didn't want to become a distraction from the main issues, so I thought I ought to step down," Young said.

He said his decision to step down followed a report in the weekly Los Angeles Sentinel that he said was misread and misinterpreted.

In the Sentinel interview, Young was asked whether he was concerned Wal-Mart causes smaller, mom-and-pop stores to close.

"Well, I think they should; they ran the `mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood," the paper quoted Young as saying. "But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores."

Young, who has apologized for the remarks, said he decided to end his involvement with Working Families for Wal-Mart after he started getting calls about the story.

"Things that are matter-of-fact in Atlanta, in the New York and Los Angeles environment tend to be a lot more volatile," he said.

He also said working with the group "was also taking more of my time than I thought."

Reading from a statement, Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley said Friday the company supported Young's decision to resign and that Young's comments do not reflect Wal-Mart's views.

"We are appalled by those comments," Simley said.

The remarks surprised Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, who referred to Young's civil rights work.

"If anyone should know that these are the words of bigotry, anti-Semitism and prejudice, it's him," Hier said.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 0 replies

5th Wal-Mart Union Set Up in China

2006-08-08T14:46:54Z

Wal-Mart has fought union organizing all around the world. Wal-Mart has even closed stores in the past to prevent union organizing. However, not so in communist China. Wal-Mart has not only allowed unions to form in their new China stores, but they (Wal-Mart) have shown little resistance to the new unions despite what the chinese unions say.

************************************************************************************************
5th Wal-Mart Union Set Up in China

Tuesday August 8, 8:36 am ET
By Joe Mcdonald, AP Business Writer
Reports: Fifth Wal-Mart Union Set Up in China Amid Campaign to Unionize Country's 60 Stores

BEIJING (AP) -- Employees at a Wal-Mart store in southern China on Tuesday set up the retailer's fifth Chinese union in two weeks, amid a quickening official campaign to unionize the country's 60 Wal-Mart outlets, news reports said.

The latest union is in Shenzhen, the city where Wal-Mart opened its first mainland Chinese outlet in 1996, the official Xinhua News Agency and the Workers Daily newspaper said. Employees at two other Shenzhen Wal-Marts, as well as in the eastern city of Nanjing and Quanzhou in the southeast, also have set up unions.

The rapid series of votes are a victory for the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the umbrella group for unions permitted by the communist government. The ACFTU spent two years lobbying for the creation of Wal-Mart unions and accused the company of blocking its efforts.

Xinhua on Tuesday quoted an unnamed ACFTU official who complained that the latest organizing effort at the Shenzhen store faced "repeated and various obstacles," though it gave no details.

Phone calls to Wal-Mart's China headquarters, also in Shenzhen, weren't answered.

Wal-Mart Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., employs 28,000 people in China. It has few unions in the rest of its worldwide operations.

China doesn't allow independent unions, and activists are frequently jailed and harassed.

The ACFTU says expanding its presence in private and foreign companies is one of its key goals. The group often is regarded not as an advocate for better pay and working conditions for employees but as an intermediary that represents employers to workers.

Liang Yaofa, deputy chairman of the Shenzhen Federation of Trade Unions, said he hoped the new Shenzhen union would "explore a brand new way for developing union activities in big transnational companies in China," Xinhua reported.

Labor officials hope Wal-Mart "would respect their employees' wishes to join trade unions" and provide "essential conditions" for them to operate, Liang said.

The newest Wal-Mart union in Shenzhen has 28 members, the Workers Daily said.

The newspaper, published by the ACFTU, quoted the group's vice president on Monday as expressing hope the votes would help its campaign to expand its presence to other Wal-Mart outlets.

"This experience will have great significance to our doing better at building grassroots unions, including in foreign-invested enterprises," Xu Deming was quoted as saying.

About 26 percent of China's 150,000 foreign-financed companies have official labor unions, according to the ACFTU. It says it hopes to raise that to 50 percent this year.

The president of the ACFTU, Wang Zhaoguo, who also is a member of China's parliament, reportedly said last month that he would propose a law making unions mandatory for foreign companies.

Current Chinese law gives employees the right to form unions but doesn't say what companies are required to do.

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Norway to Wal-Mart: We don't want your shares

2006-07-26T05:32:54Z

Norway to Wal-Mart: We don't want your shares

Pension-fund investing with a social consciousness.
By Vivienne Walt, Fortune Magazine
July 24 2006: 11:56 AM EDT

Fortune International -- Imagine this for a government conundrum: revenues so high it's hard to know how to spend them. No wonder Norway, flush from oil exports, is picky about where it invests its $236 billion government pension fund - the third largest on the planet.

In June it divested about $430 million worth of shares from Wal-Mart Stores (Charts) and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (Charts), after savaging Wal-Mart for "serious and systematic" labor violations in several countries and Freeport for dumping copper tailings in a New Guinea river.

Now officials say their cleanup campaign is just getting started. "We are working on how to act as shareholders in different companies," says Kristin Halvorsen, the leader of Norway's Socialist Left Party, who was appointed Finance Minister last October. "That is quite new for us."

The fund's portfolio includes holdings in 3,500 foreign companies, and Halvorsen says the list is being scrutinized for possible human-rights and environmental abusers.

"The idea is to avoid complicity in the worst cases," says Henrik Syse, a philosopher recruited from a peace organization to head the team within Norway's central bank that administers the fund. Halvorsen admits the list of potential culprits could be long, but she says that no country is disfavored and that her June decision had "nothing to do with Wal-Mart being American."

Earlier this year the fund sold off its holdings in companies involved with nuclear weapons and land mines, including Boeing (Charts), Honeywell International (Charts), and Northrop Grumman. About 40% of the remaining holdings - some $96 billion - is currently in U.S. shares and bonds, and investors who might otherwise ignore Norway are taking notice.

Both Wal-Mart and Freeport stocks fell on news of Norway's divestment. "Their public characterizations of us don't appear to be based on complete information," says Wal-Mart spokeswoman Beth Keck, adding, "We don't comment on investors' decisions." No such promises from Norway, from which there's likely to be plenty more comment. Stay tuned.

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All-Natural Healthy Environmentally Friendly Products for your Family & your Home!

2006-07-10T16:07:31Z

Re-direct your spending from Wal-Mart & shop online for all-natural, healthy products for your home! International Wellness company, 20 years in business. Wide variety of products: i.e. non-toxic cleaning supplies, vitamins, bath/body line, make up, nutrition/diet aides & much more! Become a customer or it's a great Work at Home opportunity for anyone interested in learning the business! Call or email for more information! jordangenas@msn.com or: 505.450.9850

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$172 Million Wal-Mart Battle Returns To Bay Area Court

2006-06-27T02:09:37Z

POSTED: 12:15 pm PDT June 26, 2006
UPDATED: 12:23 pm PDT June 26, 2006

Attorneys for plaintiffs who won a $172 million jury verdict against Wal-Mart for not providing paid meal and rest breaks for its California employees are back in court seeking an injunction that would force the retail giant to change its practices.

San Francisco attorney Fred Furth represents 116,000 current and former hourly workers at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in California who won their trial last Dec. 22 on their claim that Wal-Mart violated their rights under state labor laws by denying them their meal and rest breaks and by secretly deleting hours worked from their paychecks.

Following a three-month trial and two-and-a-half days of deliberations, an Alameda County Superior Court jury awarded the plaintiffs $57.3 million in compensatory damages and $115 million in punitive damages.

The lawsuit was filed in February 2001 and took more than four years to go to trial.

Furth and Wal-Mart attorneys are back before Judge Ronald Sabraw Monday for a non-jury hearing that's expected to take at least a week. Furth wants Sabraw to issue an injunction ordering Wal-Mart to have all its employees punch in and punch out for their paid rest breaks.

Following the jury verdict, Wal-Mart attorney Neal Manne said the company admits that it initially violated California law but he said the company has been in compliance with the law since the end of 2003.

In a recent court brief, Manne said "the alleged need to impose the extraordinary remedy of a meal period injunction is moot" because Wal-Mart employees have been able to take their breaks more than 99 percent of the time since mid-2003.

Manne said Sabraw himself has found that there is no evidence that Wal-Mart had an express policy of discouraging rest breaks.

Manne said wage costs as a percentage of sales at Wal-Mart have increased and "turnover is low and associate morale is high, results that could not have occurred in a fictional world of uniform understaffing."

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Wal-Mart to spread out to a neighborhood near you

2006-06-27T02:07:47Z

Monday, June 26, 2006
Jeffrey Sheban
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Do you live within a few miles of a Wal-Mart Supercenter? Be patient. The world’s largest retailer is mapping out ambitious growth plans nationally that call for 1,500 new stores in the next five years.
Almost two-thirds will be Supercenters, a format that combines groceries, general merchandise, banking, auto service, drive-up pharmacy and gasoline.

The company also will remodel 1,800 others over the next 18 months, converting many older and smaller stores into Supercenters.

In central Ohio, the result could be 10 or more new Supercenters, each the size of four football fields, over the next five years. Currently, 11 of Wal-Mart’s 15 stores in Franklin and adjacent counties are Supercenters.

"There’s no question we’re going to see more Wal-Mart Supercenters," said Sandy Skrovan, a vice president of the Columbus-based consulting firm Retail Forward. "It’s totally conceivable that we’ll see a doubling by 2010."

But where? That’s the 220,000-square-foot question.

In Franklin County, all seven Wal-Mart stores are clustered on or near the Outerbelt. The first store square- ly inside I-270 will open next year at Bethel Road’s Carriage Place shopping center, followed by one on Main Street in Whitehall.

Ron Mosby, Wal-Mart’s spokesman in Ohio, would only say that the central Ohio region, with four Supercenters under construction, continues to be ripe for growth.

"Would we like to have a greater presence in the city? Absolutely," he said. "We know that in order to grow we’re going to have to have more of a presence in urban areas."

But that doesn’t mean Wal-Mart is done growing in suburban markets.

Two of four confirmed projects in central Ohio — in Delaware and Heath — are well outside I-270, while the future Whitehall store is between Bexley and the Outerbelt.

In suburban areas, where most of the nation’s 2,022 Supercenters are located, Wal-Mart is building them closer together than ever.

In some markets, particularly Dallas, the large stores are two or three miles apart. That’s compared with the previous 15 to 20 miles apart Wal-Mart thought was appropriate when its stores were mostly in small towns and rural areas.

The new approach is a form of retail carpet-bombing, whereby the company steals customers from itself but suffocates the competition in a wider area.

"Dallas is certainly the heaviest-penetrated area and they’ve held it up as a standard," Skrovan said. "They’re just plopping these things (Supercenters) down in the center of very populated areas."

Skrovan said Wal-Mart’s Supercenter strategy is all about gaining market share in groceries. That’s because consumers are more likely to spend more on general merchandise when they return to the stores weekly for food.

On average, Supercenters generated sales of $464 per square foot in 2004 compared with $235 per square foot for conventional discount department stores, according to Retail Forward.

In Dallas, Wal-Mart has become No. 1 in groceries with a 19.4 percent share. Wal-Mart affiliate Sam’s Club takes in another 5.1 percent.

In Columbus, the company has a long way to go. Some surveys put Wal-Mart in second place, but Retail Forward figures show them battling Giant Eagle for the No. 3 spot with about 10 percent of the market. Kroger is the leader with 43 percent, and Meijer is next with 15.4 percent. Sam’s commands 4.2 percent.

Mosby called groceries a priority.

"Any time that you’re not No. 1 you see that as an opportunity to improve," he said. "We want to be the best that we can be. If that means being No. 1, we want to be No. 1."

In Columbus, as in other communities, the prospect of Supercenters all over town turns many people off.

As president of the Greenbrier Civic Association, Mary Woodring has been fighting a proposed store on the Far East Side of Columbus on E. Broad Street, near the former Lucent Technologies plant.

She said it’s not Wal-Mart specifically, but any of the so-called big-box stores that consume land and increase traffic.

"It makes the area look awful and traffic is a nightmare," Woodring said. "We don’t want our commercial district to look like Morse Road on steroids."

But Wal-Mart isn’t without supporters. Grove City has been home to a Supercenter for 2½ years, and Mayor Cheryl Grossman says the benefits far outweigh the costs.

"Wal-Mart has been a wonderful partner with our community; they’ve impressed me from Day One," she said, noting support for local charities and giving consumers value for their dollar.

Wal-Mart has not only created jobs but is drawing shoppers from out of town, she said, which in turn has attracted restaurants and other retailers, including Kohl’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

"When you add it all up, I would put it on the plus side," Grossman said.

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Walmart Ignores Its Shareholders

2006-06-02T22:55:19Z

According to this Reuters 6/2/06 article excerpt:

"But not all attendees were at the meeting to do the Wal-Mart cheer and be entertained by big production numbers.

Among the critics were shareholders bashing the company for what they called the out-sized disparity between the compensation of top executives and lower-level store employees, calling on the company to disclose its political contributions and advocating humane slaughter for chickens sold in the grocery aisles.

None of the shareholder proposals introduced at the meeting was approved."

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Wal-Mart Selling Stores and Leaving South Korea

2006-05-24T22:32:56Z

By CHOE SANG-HUN, International Herald Tribune
Published: May 23, 2006

SEOUL, South Korea, May 22 — Wal-Mart Stores followed a French rival, Carrefour, in withdrawing from South Korea on Monday, becoming the latest global brand to flounder in an economy with some of the most demanding consumers.

Wal-Mart said that it had agreed to sell all 16 of its South Korean outlets to Shinsegae, a local retailer, for $882 million.

With the announcement, Wal-Mart added its name to a list of multinationals, like Nokia, Nestlé and Google, that have failed to adjust to the tastes of South Korean consumers.

"Wal-Mart is a typical example of a global giant who has failed to localize its operations in South Korea," Na Hong Seok, an analyst at Good Morning Shinhan Securities in Seoul, said. "It failed to read what South Korean housewives want when they go shopping."

In the deal announced on Monday, Shinsegae, a leading department store and hypermarket chain in South Korea, will operate the Wal-Mart stores under its E-Mart brand. E-Mart is the biggest discount store chain in South Korea, with 79 outlets.

The French retailer Carrefour, the second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart, sold its 32 South Korean stores to the local fashion retailer E-Land last month for $1.85 billion.

Analysts said both chains were slow in opening stores, failing not only to win more customers, but also to build the kind of market share that would allow them to press suppliers on pricing.

Before the acquisition Monday, the E-Mart chain of Shinsegae accounted for 30 percent of the local market, followed by Homeplus, which is owned by the British company Tesco, with 17 percent; and Lotte Mart, owned by Lotte Shopping of South Korea, with 12 percent. Carrefour and Wal-Mart trailed with smaller market shares.

"In contrast to Wal-Mart, the British retailer Tesco is a remarkable case of succeeding in localizing," Mr. Na said. Samsung Tesco is 89 percent owned by the British retail giant, but has relied heavily on local managers from Samsung. It is one of Tesco's biggest overseas success stories, generating a third of its overseas sales.

"Wal-Mart and Carrefour were not aggressive enough in expanding their networks in South Korea," said Koo Chang Gun at Korea Investment and Securities. "Once they lost the race, they could never catch up."

Wal-Mart and Carrefour said that leaving South Korea would allow them to focus on the retail industry in China.

Analysts estimated South Korea's discount store market at 24 trillion won, or $25.2 billion, last year.

The vice chairman of Wal-Mart, Michael Duke, said, "As we continue to focus our efforts where we can have the greatest impact on our growth strategy, it became increasingly clear that in South Korea's current environment it would be difficult for us to reach the scale we desired."

Shinsegae's chief executive, Ku Hak Su, said that with its lead secured at home, the retailer could shift more resources to China, where it opened its seventh outlet this month.

E-Mart plans to have 34 stores in China by 2010.

Wal-Mart's arrival in South Korea in 1998 shocked domestic retailers, but its performance was lackluster. It posted a net loss of 9.9 billion won last year on revenue of 728.7 billion won.

Wal-Mart and Carrefour, which entered the country in 1996, put off South Korean consumers by sticking to Western marketing strategies that concentrated on dry goods, from electronics to clothing, while their local rivals focused on food and beverages, the segment that specialists say attracts South Koreans to hypermarkets.

The Wal-Mart and Carrefour outlets in South Korea are simpler in appearance than those of E-Mart and other competitors.

Wal-Mart and Carrefour sold products by the box, while E-Mart and Lotte built eye-catching displays and hired clerks who hawked their goods with megaphones and hand-clapping.

Over the years, South Korea has been a graveyard for some of the most competitive global brands. It is hard to find any Nokia cellphones in South Korea, for example.

Local giants Samsung and LG dominate, and Nokia, the world's primary cellphone maker, basically stopped promoting its cellphones here in 2004.

Google is a small player in the local Web search engine market, which is dominated by the Naver Web site of the South Korean company NHN and the portal of Daum Communications.

Naver and Daum encourage users to post questions and let others answer them, creating a fast-expanding Korean-language database that attracts Web surfers.

Nestlé, the food and beverage company, also failed to make a mark with its flagship baby formula segment.

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 1 reply

Wal-Mart Cleared in Negligent Hiring Case

2006-05-02T21:42:56Z

By MEG KINNARD, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A jury on Tuesday cleared Wal-Mart of negligence in hiring a convicted sex offender who fondled a 10-year-old girl while on the job.

The girl's mother sued Wal-Mart in 2001, claiming the retail giant should have known Bobby Devon Randall was a convicted sex offender. The family sought damages of up to $5 million in connection with the September 2000 incident.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., said at the time it was not legally required to do background checks and that the employee who fondled the girl lied about his criminal past on his job application.

The company decided in August 2004 that it would begin conducting background checks on new hires nationwide.

Judge Ernest Kinard gave an attorney for the girl's family 10 days to file an appeal.

"I just, legally, from a lawyer's standpoint, do not understand how this jury could have reached this verdict," said David Massey, the family's lawyer.

Wal-Mart attorney Stephen Morrison expressed sympathy for the victim and her family.

What Randall did "was indecent and not the right thing to do," Morrison said. But "it's just a situation where Wal-Mart didn't do anything negligent that caused that to happen in their store."

Randall pleaded guilty in 2002 to committing a lewd act on a minor and received a 10-year sentence, but he died about six months later in prison after suffering an apparent heart attack, authorities said.

Randall's criminal record included three indecent exposure convictions between July 1990 and March 1999, according to the State Law Enforcement Division.

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Walmart offers to help fix U.S. health care system

2006-04-24T20:07:59Z

I read this last week on yahoo news and I have to say I got a really good laugh out of the article. The only thing I can think that Walmart would do is make all health care professionals work off the clock, otherwise I fail to see what Walmart has to offer.

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southparks take on wallmart

2006-04-22T20:06:09Z

something wallmart this way comes

part one http://www.youtube.com/watch_fullscreen?video_id=7bfy-h-GKsE&l=114&s=73CA12C4D0553791:A2D2A680D86F608F&fs=1&title=J%20gets%20duct%20taped%20and%20tickled.....again!!!!!

part two http://www.youtube.com/watch_fullscreen?video_id=TwY97gJJ4Ww&l=482&s=73CA12C4D0553791:A2D2A680D86F608F&fs=1&title=south%20park%20809:%20something%20wallmart%20this%20way%20comes,%202%20of%203

part three http://www.youtube.com/watch_fullscreen?video_id=z0SA3b62nTs&l=377&s=73CA12C4D0553791:A2D2A680D86F608F&fs=1&title=south%20park%20809:%20something%20wallmart%20this%20way%20comes,%203%20of%203

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 0 replies

Economic Alchemy: Making Corporate Social Responsibility Real

2006-04-13T17:42:44Z

The accelerated consolidation of wealth and power in America is unprecedented. Through taxation policy, deregulation, legislative and policy changes we are observing a trend that gained momentum under "Supply-Side" economic theory made popular among the very wealthy during the Reagan years. As business is deregulated, and policy shifts to favor growth at the expense of worker safety and rights, our environment, conservation of natural resources and erosion of individual and community protections as a society we look for protection or empowerment elsewhere. The concept of capital in a capitalist economic system is raw, unbridled power. Why else would it be called capitalism? Organization of workers and collective bargaining (people capital) have been a successful means of countering the vast wealth and power of the corporate elite. Since the Reagan years, and the subsequent weakening of organized labor, we have seen other methods in which people could organize and express power economically. Such methods have had varied degrees of acceptance and success.

The Birth of SRI
Investment capital provides the underlying liquidity a business needs to grow. As the equity value of a business declines its ability to fund research, marketing, consider acquisition strategies and other vital strategic elements of growth becomes constrained. Understanding this, many far-sighted visionaries such as Amy Domini, Steve Lydenberg and others began to create mutual funds and provide institutional investment analysis and research to answer the question "What sort of corporate citizen are we empowering when we invest?" As investment capital enables strategic growth, by investing are we fueling a business that is...:

* notorious for lack of concern for its workers?
* poisoning our air and aquifers?
* depleting our finite natural resources?
* giving large executive bonuses while laying off its workforce?
* avoiding its share of taxes?
* attempting to undermine a representative government of the people, for the people and by the people?
Thus, the important Socially Responsible Investment community was born.

The Informed, Educated Consumer
We have witnessed an interesting evolution in the sophistication of consumers. Many years ago people would buy their favorite food products without regard to what is inside. As people became more concerned about what they were putting into their bodies (and their families bodies) they demanded disclosure -and thus product labeling of ingredients became commonplace. We are now seeing a similar awareness and concern in the consumer related to how a product was manufactured and sold. What is the supply-chain like? No one (except perhaps for neoconservative extremists) want to put on a pair of shoes that were made by slave labor. No one wants to buy products from a company that is poisoning the air and water in our communities (whether American communities or Global communities). The problem (until alonovo.com) was that we simply had no simple method to derive information about product price, quality and the underlying supply-chain behavior directly integrated into the consumer experience.

Role of Government
Government (theoretically) exists to provide consistent services to its citizens. A government should protect its people from foreign governments, provide safe highways and roads and other critical elements of infrastructure. A conflict develops as the body of government is comprised of politicians, who have slightly different individual priorities than the larger body of Government. Politicians exist to be re-elected. As more capital and power is consolidated to the corporate elite, politicians understand that by helping to undermine some individual protections through weak enforcement policy or deregulation of industries can drive profit to big business and are a fun and compelling method to raise funds for re-election. Particularly when their constituents are supportive of having their protections eroded -as is mostly the case when laws are introduced or legislation authored with a title that begins with `Clear, Clean, Healthy, No Child or PATRIOT'. Not that I would ever imply that a politician would accept money to exert influence that is counter to the health, safety or well-being of their constituents. I caution the reader with a sense of immediacy and without further Delay that I say it is improbable that this sort of betrayal of trust could occur. But, if one were to suspend belief for a moment amd consider, if you will, the possibility that because of their primary objective (Frist and foremost, re-election) individual politicians will provide benefit to the entity that can help them with their objective -re-election. A politician must raise alot of money to wage a successful campaign.

One Nation, Artificially Divided
Red versus Blue. Divide and Conquer. America is comprised of caring, heroic independent people. When there is a disaster -the American people come together to help. The notion of two Americas is a myth that is perpetuated to distract us while our pockets are collectively picked. How many people from any political ideology want to give their children a glass of sewage from the tap on a hot, thirsty day? How many of your neighbors prefer to look up and see a brown horizon? How many welcome the chance to have a high incidence rate of Asthma? How many do you think would want their energy policy dictated by Kenneth Lay? Lets face it. You don't have to be a Democrat to want to see a blue sky and enjoy a crisp, clear day. You don't have to be a Republican to want a growing economy. We generally want similar things for ourselves, families, communities and country. We are being polarized over issues intentionally. We are being frightened and distracted while an unprecedented consolidation of power and wealth accelerates.

Empowerment -the new Economic Evolutionaries
We are a capitalist society. In its purest form there is promise in such a system (provided it is not undermined by collusion, monopolies, corporate welfare and other betrayals of a pure free market economy) it provides incentive for competition, innovation and individual accountability.

We must act as informed investors, and now educated and aware consumers to understand the underlying corporate behavior we empower and perpetuate with our capital -through investment and our purchases. Doing so will effectively provide the intelligence and information that is required for an intelligent free-market economy instead of a theoretical one. This capital leverage and power we wield will sustain us through any government, whether the government acts as they should on behalf of its constituents or acts as they do now -as cheerleaders for the corporate elite). By directing our purchases and investment to businesses that are evolving to embody a balance between people, planet and profit -real social responsibility can prevail -and this drives social responsibility directly into where it is most visible to the corporate elite -their bottom line. We are not about being punitive toward companies that are driving the profit without regard for anything else economy. Instead we seek to reward visionary corporate executive teams that are leading in what is termed "the race to the top".

About the Author
Mr. Polisner founded alonovo.com in March of 2005. He has been working in most aspects of Information Technology since 1981 and was an early commercial adopter of the UNIX operating system. Prior to founding alonovo.com earlier this year, George was a Director at Oracle Corporation, and formed the technology and infrastructure for the Global Innovation and Quality groups within the On Demand unit for Oracle. Prior to that role he ran the Southwest Performance Architecture team. He is a frequent contributor to newspapers regarding political and economic policy and often appears as a guest on radio programs. In fact, when it comes to alonovo.com, it's pretty difficult to get him to stop talking.

About alonovo.com
The concept of alonovo.com is to provide an intelligent, informed online shopping experience for the powerful American consumer demographic. By directly integrating trusted Social Responsibility ratings coupled with a large, competitive array of products (from Amazon) into a visually compelling and simple user experience, we have started to redirect consumer spend.

Our mission is to catalyze a constructive relationship between an informed marketplace demand and the business supply chain. This will help accelerate a "race to the top" among businesses that are working to balance people, planet and profit. We seek to directly influence the profit motive by making real SR a competitive advantage.

While this will provide a gradual means of economic (and therefore political change), we are also seeking to address the fierce urgency of now. Therefore, our business model is predicated upon sharing 20% of our commerce revenue with beneficiary organizations such as United for a Fair Economy, Global Exchange, WalMart Watch and other organizations working to shape a meaningful and positive change for society.

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Wal-Mart coming to Phoenix despite residents' protests

2006-04-12T14:09:34Z

Jessica Coomes
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

Wal-Mart will open a 24-hour Supercenter in northeast Phoenix, despite protests from nearly 200 residents who say they fear the retailer will diminish their upscale neighborhood.

Like other Valley groups that have fought to keep Wal-Mart from their neighborhoods, these Phoenix residents rail against 24-hour traffic and bright lights glaring into their back yards. And they do not want Wal-Mart's low prices choking out existing stores.

Recently in Avondale and Chandler, the chain withdrew its plans for stores in the face of residents' backlash and uphill zoning requests. In Goodyear and Peoria, Wal-Mart battled back and won approval to build stores. Wal-Mart and Gilbert residents have been clashing over a Supercenter plan since 2004.

On Monday, nearly 200 residents, some of whom have never stepped foot in a Wal-Mart, gathered at Paradise Valley Community Center and told company representative Keith Morris that they do not think the Paradise Valley Mall area is suitable for the megadiscount merchant.

"They're not bringing anything we don't already have," resident Ray Bourne said.

"But they're going to take away from us because the existing stores cannot compete."

Wal-Mart will take over the soon-to-be-closed Burlington Coat Factory on the southeastern corner of Cactus Road and Tatum Boulevard, so the city cannot stop the discount retailer on zoning grounds.

"If I had my choice, it would not be there," Phoenix Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten told her constituents. "I don't think that it's the appropriate spot."

Morris, after listening to residents on behalf of Wal-Mart, said he thinks the world's largest retailer gets a bad rap because people expect the "old blue-and-gray, one-dimensional buildings."

Wal-Mart's new Supercenters have a more modern look with fake hardwood floors and wider aisles, and they sell high-end electronics and organic groceries, he said.

The new store near Paradise Valley Mall will be 99,000 square feet, about half the size of an average Supercenter, Morris said. It will not have tire and lube or garden centers.

Morris called it a "smaller, intimate Supercenter."

Those amenities won't attract Ruth Ellsworth, who lives three blocks from the northeast Phoenix store, which could open early next year.

She said she has never even been to a Wal-Mart.

"We have Target," she said. "Why would we want Wal-Mart?"

Knowing they cannot stop Wal-Mart, residents at the Monday meeting said they wanted to voice concerns about traffic increases, unattractive signs, nighttime deliveries, 24-hour lighting and the possibility of an eventual expansion.

"If nothing else, maybe we can put some restrictions on to make it livable," said resident Melinda Hinkson, who organized the Paradise Village Neighborhood Coalition last month against Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart already signed long-term leases with property owner WestCor and Burlington Coat Factory.

In Gilbert, residents hope to scare away Wal-Mart, which faces a zoning change, General Plan amendment and architectural review.

In 2004, Wal-Mart announced plans to construct a 99,000-square-foot Supercenter in Gilbert Town Square, a shopping center near Gilbert and Warner roads.

"Our concerns about how it would adversely affect the neighborhood certainly haven't changed," said John Bree, who lives in the Raven Ranch subdivision separated from the Wal-Mart site only by the Consolidated Canal. "There's certainly other opportunities to shop at their stores if that's what you're interested in doing."

Wal-Mart has 66 stores in Arizona.

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Wal-Mart May Be Looking at Site in Queens

2006-04-12T14:06:24Z

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: April 12, 2006
Wal-Mart, which has tried unsuccessfully to open a store in New York City, appeared to be trying once again with a notice published yesterday in a construction trade report soliciting contractors to convert the site of a former Caldor department store in Flushing, Queens.

The notice in The Dodge Report, published by McGraw-Hill Construction, said the site, which is on Roosevelt Avenue, would become a Wal-Mart, with work beginning in July. The notice was met with confusion, as local officials said they had no knowledge of the project, and was denounced by union and small-business leaders as a furtive attempt to gain a foothold in the city.

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said the site had been considered but did not meet the retailer's criteria.

City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, whose chief of staff met with Wal-Mart representatives yesterday, said last night through a spokeswoman that the retailer did not mention specific sites, and that if the Flushing project was in the works, she would be "outraged" that the information had been withheld.

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a moment of levity at wal marts expense

2006-04-12T01:39:56Z

sorry if duplicated, but its worth it

http://www.alldumb.com/item/24149/

posted in Boycott Walmart! - 3 replies

Please help

2006-04-08T02:16:16Z

please go to this website to send a fax to the related US
congress and senate members to Request a Congressional Hearing on the
Sujiatun case. it's a very easy to Fill out form, With just a click, the fax will be sent.
thank you,
joshua

here is the link:
http://publicpetition.unvcc.com/UN/index.php

there is more information about Sujiatun on the website:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/211,111,,1.html

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Wal-Mart takes its China lessons to India

2006-03-27T15:16:26Z

By Emily Kaiser
Mon Mar 27, 12:17 AM ET

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opened its first store in Shenzhen a decade ago, the local newspaper headline proclaimed, "The Wolf is Coming."

The world's biggest retailer has not exactly devoured China's retail sector since then, opening just 56 stores, but it has learned a few lessons that may prove useful for its next major project -- India.

"China and India really represent the future of Wal-Mart," Joe Hatfield, chief executive officer for Wal-Mart Asia, told Reuters in Shenzhen, the retailer's China headquarters. Foreign retailers are not permitted to directly invest in India's retail sector, but they have been lobbying hard for a change to those rules.

Analysts say that will likely happen within a year or two.

Wal-Mart's opponents in India fear the "wolf" would demolish competitors and drive up unemployment in a country already struggling to feed and house its one billion citizens.

But Wal-Mart believes India, like China before it, will embrace Western retailers. The key is to show an understanding of local tastes, whether that means stocking popular spices, the right baked goods, or just the top-selling brand of soap.

Easier said than done.

In China, Wal-Mart tried to sell paint, something that works well in the United States. But customers weren't used to buying paint and food from the same place, and Wal-Mart eventually stopped carrying it.

Analysts and economists in India say the retail sector and its supply chain are in dire need of modernization. India's farm goods typically pass through six or seven intermediaries before reaching consumers, and some 40 percent of produce spoils along the way.

'STEAL SHAMELESSLY'

Wall Street is eager for signs Wal-Mart is making progress in China and India at a time when growth at home is sluggish.

The United States accounts for about 80 percent of Wal-Mart's annual sales, which topped $312 billion in the latest fiscal year, but rival Target Corp. has posted faster sales growth in recent quarters.

Investors have noticed. Target's shares are up more than 6 percent over the past year, and trade at 17.2 times analysts' profit forecasts for the current year, according to Reuters Estimates. Wal-Mart's stock has fallen about 5 percent in that time, and is valued at 16.5 times earnings.

Wal-Mart has already taken steps to prepare for India. The retailer has applied to open a liaison office in Bangalore to study the market, and recently hired a head of Asian strategy who will oversee expansion in India, among other things.

Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Mike Duke met Indian officials earlier in March, marking the retailer's second round of high-level talks in less than a year.

Hatfield himself may be one of the best resources. He opened Wal-Mart's China operations in 1994, so he is well aware of the potential pitfalls in a developing economy.

His best advice? "Steal shamelessly," Hatfield said, quoting from Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, who routinely visited competitors' stores to get new ideas.

He spent his first months in China walking around and talking to shopkeepers about which items sold well.

In China, Wal-Mart got off to a slow start, and trails rivals such as France's Carrefour, which did a better job of adapting stores to meet local tastes.

Hatfield says it is unlikely he will be in charge of Wal-Mart's India business, because a major China expansion will keep him busy. But he has some ideas about how a Wal-Mart store in India should look.

For starters, it should have an expansive spice section, where employees can custom grind orders while shoppers wait. It would also boast a large bakery section.

In India, as in China, few households have ovens, so baked goods must be purchased.

Stores would probably be smaller than they are in China -- no more than 140,000 square feet, instead of the 200,000 square-foot supercenters in China and the United States.

WHERE TO GO?

Figuring out what to put on the shelves is one thing -- the bigger task will be figuring out where to put the stores.

Analysts in India say it will be tough for Wal-Mart to get into the mega-cities such as New Delhi or Mumbai, where real estate is pricey and large parcels of land are hard to come by.

Severe traffic congestion will also be a problem. How many shoppers will be willing to brave hours in a car just to visit a Wal-Mart store, particularly when a multitude of small, corner shops offer convenience and service?

Millions of those small stores currently account for some 97 percent of India's retail market. Most of them accept telephone orders and will deliver to homes.

Raman Mangalorkar, a principal with consulting firm A.T. Kearney in Mumbai, said small, corner shops will survive because of the convenience factor, but some will need to change their merchandise offerings to compete.

"They'll have to evolve, just like they've done in China," he said. "They will cater to needs that are not being served by the Wal-Marts and Carrefours."

Mangalorkar, whose firm ranks India number one on its annual list of the top markets for international retail expansion, said he would advise foreign retailers to focus on the second-tier cities such as Lucknow.

Hatfield said Wal-Mart was interested in cities both large and small. He said his strategy would be to make a big splash early on, opening 12 to 18 stores in the first 18 months, to show consumers that Wal-Mart was committed to India.

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Wal-Mart tries new tack in upscale community

2006-03-27T15:14:41Z

Plasma TVs and sushi join basic, low-cost staples as giant discounter goes after Target customer base.

BY DAVID KOENIG
Associated Press

PLANO, Texas — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has overcome its rural roots and downscale image to attract affluent shoppers, but executives admit that many of those well-heeled consumers come only for cheap groceries and steer clear of the other merchandise.

In its boldest effort yet to target upscale shoppers, the nation's largest retailer opened a new store last week with an expanded selection of high-end electronics, more fine jewelry, hundreds of types of wine ranging up to $500 a bottle, and even a sushi bar.
Wal-Mart says it won't duplicate this format anywhere else. But if plasma TVs, microbrewery beer and fancy balsamic vinegar sell in Plano, those items could be added to stores in other affluent communities.

Retail experts say nearly half of American families shop at Wal-Mart at least once a week. They say the retail giant has nearly tapped out its middle-class base and must attract consumers who love Target and Costco but not Wal-Mart.

With about 3,700 U.S. stores, Wal-Mart has nearly saturated the market, and analysts say future growth depends on boosting sales by offering a better shopping experience. The company is renovating 1,800 stores as many of its older outlets have started looking a little tired.

Wal-Mart profits keep rising, but not as fast as Wall Street expects, and same-store sales, those at locations open at least a year, rose faster in 2005 at smaller but trendier Target Corp. Wal-Mart stock has slipped about 20 percent in the past two years while Target shares gained about the same percentage.

Analysts say that despite low prices, Wal-Mart suffers from a perception that its merchandise is lower quality, which turns off consumers who can afford better. "The challenge they face is value, and upper-end consumers define value differently than a moderate-income shopper," said Patricia Edwards, who helps manage retail funds for Wentworth, Hauser and Violich investment counselors. "If it was just price, they would drink the office coffee instead of going to Starbucks."

In recent months, some Wal-Marts began selling upscale bed-and-bath items and its new Metro 7 and no boundaries clothing lines — all of which are highlighted in the new store.
Wal-Mart listened to focus groups of "selective shoppers" — the company's term for affluent customers — in designing the store, said regional general manager John Murphy.
"The upscale customer is shopping our store," Murphy said. "Are they interested in everything we have to offer? No. This is a test store. Can we make that leap to where they are interested in other parts of the store?"

Murphy said Wal-Mart hopes to prove it can reach affluent consumers, which should help persuade vendors who are reluctant to sell their goods there. Target has succeeded in selling designer lines.

Don Gher, an analyst with Coldstream Capital Management, said it took Target years to shift upscale and it won't happen quickly at Wal-Mart either. In the meantime, he said the stores must guard against changing too much, which could alienate its core customers.
Gher predicted that Wal-Mart will succeed at selling high-end electronics to upscale consumers, but selling them apparel will be more difficult. "Fashion can be fickle," he said.
The new store, which opened Wednesday, is 217,000 square feet, about 20,000 square feet bigger than the average Supercenter. It sits across the street from a SuperTarget, and you can see Costco from the parking lot. The blue and gray Wal-Mart exterior gave way to two-tone brick. Inside, wood floors and wide aisles abound. Shelves are lower to reduce clutter. Even employees look different in khaki pants and navy polo shirts instead of blue smocks.

The new store is just as notable for what's missing. The store won't sell guns. It has far less space devoted to lawn and garden, fishing, camping and automotive products.
"This customer is telling us they're not doing it themselves," said Ryan Lincks, the store's project manager. "They don't change their own oil."

But the store has rows of high-definition televisions, several of them more than $2,000, plus pricier bikes and even an expanded yoga section. It features an expanded baby clothes area, a cards and books section with cherry-finish wood racks and arching halogen gallery lights, and baggers at the checkout lines — a first for Wal-Mart.

Hungry shoppers will search in vain for McDonald's. It has been replaced by an espresso bar with a sandwich menu and free wireless Internet service.

Cosmetics and pharmacy aren't relegated to the far corner; they're next to the food and wine because female customers in focus groups said they want it that way for convenience and speed. Apparel areas have their own cash registers and more discrete fitting rooms.

But no layaways.

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Wally goes Organic...

2006-03-26T16:16:13Z

Wal-Mart's Organics Could Shake Up Retail

By MARCUS KABEL, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 25, 12:54 AM ET

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is throwing its weight behind organic products, a move that experts say could have the same lasting effect on environmental practices that Wal-Mart has had on prices by forcing suppliers and competitors to keep up.

Putting new items on the shelf this year, from organic cotton baby clothes to ocean fish caught in ways that don't harm the environment, is part of a broader green policy launched last year to meet consumer demand, cut costs for things like energy and packaging and burnish a battered reputation.

Organic products are one lure for the more affluent shoppers Wal-Mart is trying to woo away from rivals like Target Corp., said Alice Peterson, president of Chicago-based consultancy Syrus Global.

A new Supercenter that opened this week in the Dallas suburb of Plano features over 400 organic foods as part of an experiment to see what kinds of products and interior decor can grab the interest of upscale shoppers.

"Like many big companies, they have figured out it is just good marketing and good reputation building to be in favor of things that Americans are increasingly interested in," Peterson said.

Wal-Mart's Lee Scott is not the first chief executive to advocate sustainability, a term for the corporate ethos of doing business in a way that benefits the environment. Industrial giant General Electric Co., for example, last year launched a program called "Ecomagination" to bring green technologies like wind power to market.

What makes Wal-Mart's efforts unique, sustainability experts say, is the retailer's sheer size and the power that gives it in relations with suppliers. Wal-Mart works closely with suppliers to shape their goods, if they want them on the shelves of Wal-Mart's nearly 4,000 U.S. stores and over 2,200 internationally.

"They have huge potential because it's not just Wal-Mart we're talking about, it's their entire supply chain," said Jeff Erikson, U.S. director of London-based consultancy and research group SustainAbility. The group says it does not do any consulting work for Wal-Mart.

Erikson said Wal-Mart could bring the same pressure it has exerted over the years on prices and apply that to pushing manufacturers and competitors to adopt more sustainable business practices and larger organic offerings.

"We love to see companies like Wal-Mart taking a big step and making pronouncements as they have, because their tentacles are so large," Erikson said.

Wal-Mart plans to double its organic grocery offerings in the next month and continue looking for more products to offer in areas such as grocery, apparel, paper and electronics.

Stephen Quinn, vice president of marketing, told an analysts' conference this month that Wal-Mart would have 400 organic food items in stores this summer "at the Wal-Mart price."

Some Wal-Mart critics call the effort just a public relations job. But others say Wal-Mart could make a real difference if the retailer brings a critical mass of organic products to market and pushes enough suppliers to adopt green practices.

Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope, who is a board member of the union-backed group Wal-Mart Watch that criticizes the retailer, said it is too soon to tell if Wal-Mart will deliver but that the impact could be good for the environment.

"I think the direction they've said is a positive direction. The question is, `Are they are going to go there strongly enough?'" Pope said.

Some of the new items will be seafood caught in the wild. Wal-Mart last month announced a plan to have all its wild-caught fish, which accounts for about a third of seafood sales, certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as caught in a sustainable way.

The London-based MSC, founded in 1997 as a venture of the conservation group World Wildlife Fund and global consumer products company Unilever, issues the certificates to let consumers know which fisheries avoid overfishing and use methods that don't damage the ocean environment.

Sustainability experts say what makes this program interesting is that Wal-Mart will work with its suppliers to get more fisheries around the globe certified by MSC, instead of just buying up the existing stock of certified fish.

Wal-Mart says this means there will be more sustainable fish that will also be available to Wal-Mart's competitors, such as Whole Foods Market, which already sells about 18 MSC certified items, according to the MSC Web site. Wal-Mart plans to offer between 200 and 250 items.

The way Wal-Mart hatched the fish plan is typical of how it operates.

Peter Redmond, vice president and divisional merchandise manager in charge of deli and seafood, said he conceived the idea after meeting MSC board chairman Will Martin last fall. Wal-Mart and MSC worked out details and then Wal-Mart called in its 25 to 30 fish wholesalers in January to tell them it was switching to MSC certified seafood.

Wal-Mart developed a plan to work with its suppliers to encourage fisheries to adopt MSC practices. The plan includes barring its suppliers from switching fisheries in the first year to 18 months, giving the suppliers more reason to promote the changes.

"We don't want to walk away from a fishery just because it is in fairly poor shape or poor shape," Redmond said. "We want to try and recover that (non-certified) fishery to where it becomes a sustainable fishery. Our point being that if we just go for sustainable fisheries, it won't be enough at the end of the day unless we recover a lot of these that are in trouble now," he added.

The term fishery refers to a particular species of fish and the fleet that harvests them. Redmond said about 60 percent of the fisheries that Wal-Mart buys from now can be brought up to MSC standards within a year or two, and the remainder may need three to five years to change.

Redmond says the decision to go with sustainable fish came after Lee Scott launched the environmental policy last fall and fits Scott's maxim of "doing well by doing good".

"The environmental piece is a company (policy) plank. Secondly and probably the main reason is, when I look at seafood now and how many dollars it does now and how many dollars it's going to do in four years, I'm extremely concerned that that product is simply not going to be there."

"So we have to take the position that if I want to have hake five or six years from now, we as a company have to get involved and do something because I don't think it'll be there for us otherwise," Redmond said.

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Wal-Mart poised for major China expansion

2006-03-19T15:04:20Z

By Emily Kaiser
Sun Mar 19, 5:25 AM ET

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news) plans to hire 150,000 people in China over the next five years, five times the number it currently employs here, as it prepares for a major store expansion.

Joe Hatfield, chief executive of Wal-Mart Asia, who has worked at the world's biggest retailer for more than 30 years and was its first employee in China in 1994, said on Sunday the company plans to open 20 stores in the country this year and is racing to train more staff so that it can speed up growth.

"We're really going to ramp this up," Hatfield told Reuters in an interview while touring stores in Shenzhen, Wal-Mart's China headquarters.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer currently has 56 stores in China, putting it behind other global chains such as France's Carrefour (CARR.PA), which had 78 at the end of 2005.

Wal-Mart did not even register enough sales to crack the top 30 on the Ministry of Commerce list of the biggest retailers in China, released last month.

That looks set to change.

"We're going to be growing in all directions," Hatfield said, adding that new stores were planned for both the major metropolises and the smaller cities.

Barring any major economic upheaval, Wal-Mart's China operations could be as big as its U.S. business in 20 years, Hatfield said -- something that Wall Street analysts have long predicted. Wal-Mart now has about 3,700 U.S. stores.

The United States generated 80 percent of Wal-Mart's $312 billion in sales for the latest fiscal year, but slowing growth and rising opposition at home have made international expansion all the more appealing.

America's love-hate relationship with Wal-Mart is well-documented. The retailer boasts that 100 million people shop at its U.S. stores each week, and yet its critics have grown increasingly vocal in the past year.

Two union-funded groups have set up Web sites and launched grassroots campaigns aimed at drawing attention to what they consider stingy wages and benefits for Wal-Mart workers.

Communities across the country have campaigned against new Wal-Mart stores, saying they devour green space, increase traffic congestion and drive competitors out of business. Activists have succeeded in blocking or delaying dozens.

WAL-MART UNIVERSITY?

In China, however, consumers can't seem to get enough. Stores here can draw 1.2 million people per month, and the retailer is constantly on the lookout for new locations.

The biggest challenge is finding staff.

Hatfield said he has asked Wal-Mart to set up a university degree program here to train future employees to work in jobs ranging from master baker to accountant.

The retailer employs about 30,000 people in China, and Hatfield said he will need to hire 150,000 more as the expansion picks up steam. Wal-Mart has already started putting extra staff in stores so that they can learn on the job and be ready to manage newly opened locations.

Wal-Mart got off to a slow start here. Hatfield arrived in 1994, but it was nearly two years before the retailer opened its first stores. Growth has been modest since then, but China relaxed rules for foreign retailers at the end of 2004, making it easier to expand.

Hatfield spent his first months in China visiting other retailers to get a feel for shopping habits and tastes. As a result, outlets here may look like American megastores from the outside, but they carry a wide array of local delicacies such as sliced pig's ear, live fish and even crocodile.

Hatfield, 61, said he has no desire to leave, and hopes to stick around long enough to see the day when Wal-Mart China rivals the retailer's U.S. operations. He tells co-workers he plans to work until he is 80.

And after that, he wants to be a Wal-Mart greeter, standing at the entrance to welcome shoppers.

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