Oh man. Well first of all you (you the reader, editorial usage) know Walmart has low prices but at the hidden cost of ruining the economy by outsourcing jobs/products and paying terrible wages with no benefits for workers?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/walmart-outsourcing-depresses-wages_n_1573885.html
History:
Walmarts are getting really crafty at sneaking in towns. Here they opened a mall Walmart by going through a source that didn't actually show their name. People started getting suspicious by the color scheme. So a local newspaper wrote and asked 'is a Walmart coming?' and got no response. They tried several times over the months before the Walmart was built. Then finally when it was built people were surprised by it sneaking in, we have had a lot of opposition. The paper interview Walmart and they said they were always honest about coming but this was the same paper who tried to call them and see what store was coming in for months. So the printed an article saying 'Walmart lies, we tried to call them and communicate for a long time and they used sneaky techniques to get a store here (avoiding most legal procedures by going in an existing building without using the Walmart name) and avoided answering us. This is the kind of store Walmart is'.
Speaker from another town:
So I came to support an anti-Walmart group with 3 people from another progressive group and heard about that. We also had speakers from another town where an Walmart had been stopped from building over a lake (filling it in) years before. An 'urban renewal authority' said they would turn a run down mall into a new shopping center a few years ago but they did nothing and let the properties get worse and worse. Now they want to put a Walmart in there! This is mostly a residential area btw. Walmart said they invited people from the neighborhood for a Q&A discussion and the speaker for our group lived a block away from the site and she wasn't invited; as far as we know it didn't happen or was private. Walmart has done a ton of underhanded stuff like paying people to go and say a vote in city council already happened and Walmart was voted in- when it hadn't happened yet! They pay people to go to protests and act abusive (making a little girl cry) to attract cops break them up. Now they're basically building this huge Walmart- that has already made a local Safeway and other local store close after the announcement- in an urban neighborhood that has opposed them for years. People have attended city council meetings over and over agaist it. People doing nothing except wear a Pinocchio nose mask and wig have been dragged out of meetings and arrested for 'disorderly conduct' when they were sitting quietly waiting for there turn to speak! Walmart lost votes by a lot and was 'voted in'. What is this the gestapo?!
Another speaker was a worker and member of OURWalmart (Organization United for Respect), a union like group of Walmart workers.
http://forrespect.org/
talking about how they keep hours at 39.5, where 40 hours a week gets benefits by law. They said only 19 workers had an isolated protest when over 160 people (iirc) were there. They've cut hours to keep people from getting benefits, bonuses in holiday times like Nov, Dec. She been thrown in jail despite legal rights to strike. All the BS is just sickening.
So we're formulating campaigns including boycotting Walmart, with online petitions to prove it's not a few people opposing Walmart like they claim. Comparing prices in other stores for alternatives (with compares well btw, Walmart is not necessary), getting the public informed, communications between Walmart and the cities/public (Walmart's terrible about this besides stupid propaganda ad BS). And helping other cities oppose Walmart before they can arrive. Walmart is learning and getting really sneaky!
______________________________________
The bottom line is Walmart does not treat workers like they should and destroys the economy by outsourcing jobs/products, running other stores out of buisness, and having working people on food stamps and gov support because they have no benefits like insurances and terrible wages. I think Jesus is rolling in his grave or whatever. You don't treat fellow humans like this! They disgust me!
