- Wal-Mart forces employees to work off-the-clock

As of the printing of their 2005 Annual Report,Wal-Mart faced 44 wage and hour lawsuits. Major law-suits have either been won or are working their way through the legal process in states such as California, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005]

Wal-Mart was recently ordered by courts to pay up to 120 workers in Gallup, New Mexico and 400 workers in 27 stores in Oregon for violating wage and hour laws.

In 2002, statisticians estimated Wal-Mart shortchanged its Texas workers $150 million over four years by regularly not paying them for working through their 15-minute breaks. [Sources include Associated Press, "Federal Jury Finds Wal-Mart Guilty in Overtime Pay Case," Chicago Tribune, Business 3, 12/20/03 and Steven Greenhouse, Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock, New York Times, A1, 6/25/02)]

- Wal-Mart violates the Fair Labor Standards Act

One week of time records from 25,000 employees in July 2000 found 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day. There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times. [Steven Greenhouse, Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock, New York Times, A1, 6/25/02]

- Wal-Mart's Health Care Plan Fails to Cover Over 600,000 Employees

Wal-Mart reports that its health insurance only covers 48% of their employees. Wal-Mart has approximately 1.3 million US employees.

Which means...

- Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed

The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [Harper's Index, Harper's Magazine, Vol. 310, No. 1858, 3/2005]

One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:

$36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.

$42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.

$125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.

$100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.

$108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)

$9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.

[THE HIDDEN PRICE WE ALL PAY FOR WAL-MART, A REPORT BY THE DEMOCRATIC STAFF OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE, 2/16/04]

And especially topical for you Stevens Point readers out there...

- Wal-Mart's empty stores are blighting communities

Wal-Mart's rapid expansion of Supercenters and Sam's Clubs has contributed to hundreds of vacant stores across the country. [Wal Mart site: Use as is or rebuild?, Dallas Morning News, 2/20/02]

When Wal-Mart decides to convert a discount store into a larger supercenter, it is often cheaper or easier simply to relocate entirely. David Brennan, associate professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn, notes that Wal-Mart stores relocate so regularly that, it is not uncommon to relocate right across the street."
[Home Depot to Move from Old to New Store Next Door, Providence News-Journal, 8/17/03]

Wal-Mart plans to build another 55 million square feet of store space this year, or roughly the equivalent of 1,000 football fields or 15 Pentagon buildings. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005]

Big box retailers will most likely enter a community, only to be among the first to consolidate or fold when conditions begin to change. [The Impact of Big Box Stores in S. California, Dr. Marlon Boarnet]

In 2001, Wal-Mart controlled around 30 million square feet of vacant retail space through ownership or leases. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/28/01]

Vacant property drains the value from the surrounding area, whether commercial or residential.

Seriously. These are just my favorites...there are so many more reasons to hate Wal-Mart, it's not even funny. Reading some of the corporate PR bull$shit regurgitated as fact in my local newspaper has made me realize just how easy it is to hoodwink and brainwash even people who think they're fairly socially conscious and responsible consumers. And I'm certainly guilty of it myself, and I have definately been a hypocrite at times, but I am going to make a simple oath right here and now. I will never set foot in the new Super Wal-Mart. Ever. If people need to go there, that's fine, I'll sit in the car...but I'll never see the inside of the place. That's a promise. And I hope you don't think I'm picking on Wal-Mart, I know this kind of stuff is rampant in Corporate America, but Wal-Mart is the biggest, and thus most conspicuous example. And don't think I'm being judgemental, my Mom shops there, as do friends, and I don't look down on them for it or anything, I'm just in favor of being knowledgable about one's habits and choices as a consumer.

And don't even get me started on the location. I remember when my parents used to live 15 minutes from anywhere. Almost enough to provoke a little Monkey Wrench Gang action. But I digress...

# posted by Shibby @ 08:15 ::

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