sky of mind
Saturday, 21 May 2005, 3:24 pm
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Hughes, Democracy for America
To: Joe
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 7:42 AM
Subject: Made in China
Dear Leslie,
Whatever happened to good corporate citizenship?
In America today, a business you might know pays such poor wages its workers have to turn to taxpayers to pay for their health care. The same firm has made China, a totalitarian dictatorship that holds wages down by outlawing unions, its supplier of choice -- the source of 70 percent of its inventory.
And the family that owns this company and has become wildly wealthy? They make sure to invest their money in the Republican Party -- where they know their investment will pay off with tax cuts for the richest few.
What company is this? Wal-Mart -- the largest, richest corporation in the world.
Major organizations we work with -- groups such as the Service Employees International Union, and the United Food and Commercial Workers -- believe America's largest corporation should do better. To make that happen, they've launched a massive campaign to show Americans the massive scale of Wal-Mart's irresponsibility.
But those groups need allies. Should we join the fight? The choice is yours:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/walmartvote
Some competitors of Wal-Mart know the value of doing well by doing good. They pay living wages. They offer good benefits. And they earn steady profits -- in part because they attract, and hold onto, high-quality workers. These companies have helped make America the wealthiest nation in the world and they sustain our prosperity.
Wal-Mart takes a radically different approach. For it, every penny is profit -- it fights for every dollar, no matter how it gets it. The result? You pay to make Wal-Mart rich -- through tax benefits and infrastructure bestowed by state and local governments -- even if you never shop there.
Take Georgia, a state where Wal-Mart ranks as the largest private employer. In 2002, state officials there figured out that Wal-Mart employees had some 10,000 children on the rolls of PeachCare, the state's child health care program. No other company's employees had even a thousand children on the rolls -- but Wal-Mart had no qualms about dumping its costs onto Georgia taxpayers.
Wal-Mart used to make a point of keeping jobs in the United States by buying American. Today, though, the company single-handedly accounts for nearly 10 percent of all Chinese goods sold in the United States. Wal-Mart keeps prices low by stocking as much as 70 percent of its products from Chinese suppliers -- suppliers who pay wages kept low by a dictatorial government.
Those policies helped Wal-Mart's owners, the Walton family, build a fortune worth tens of billions. That money makes the company a major force in Washington. And the family uses its wealth to bankroll the radical right -- it spent millions last year to elect candidates devoted to eliminating the estate tax, which affects only the wealthiest of the wealthy. Wal-Mart wealth is also behind Progress for America -- a Republican front group the Waltons have financed to the tune of millions of dollars.
America needs better corporate citizens, and Wal-Mart --the largest company in the world -- has the resources to stand on its own instead of exploiting people overseas and piggybacking on American taxpayers and working families. But making it live up to its responsibilities poses a huge challenge -- because taking on Wal-Mart means going up against the biggest corporation on Earth.
With an undertaking that massive, we need everyone on board. So you make the call:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/walmartvote
We know that America works best when we honor those who work hard and play by the rules.
It's time to decide: shouldn't we teach Wal-Mart to do the same?
Sincerely,
Tom Hughes
Executive Director, Democracy for America
P.S. -- Please forward this message to anyone you know who might be interested in the issue.
Gadzooks!
Sunday, 22 May 2005, 7:18 am
Good corporate citizenship. The principle reason for forming a corporation is to avoid the necessity of good citizenship by assigning responsibility for that quality to a non-existent entity. Add "good corporate citizenship" to jumbo shrimp and military intelligence.
dori
Sunday, 22 May 2005, 3:15 pm
When WalMart came into our town, all the small shops closed down. The downtown area became a ghost town. I am sure that is what has happened everyplace WalMart has gone.
And it is next to impossible to fight them. When they decide to locate somewhere, no amount of fighting them keeps them out. It is so bad that if someone manages to stall them for a time, it is big news.
I have never been to WalMart. I am told I am 'stupid' for not shopping there. I have also noticed it is the people with the big, fancy vehicles that have them parked in WalMart's parking lot.
Isn't it amazing that so many rich people are so poor in spirit?
sky of mind
Sunday, 22 May 2005, 4:03 pm
| QUOTE (dori @ Sunday, 22 May 2005, 3:15 pm) |
When WalMart came into our town, all the small shops closed down. The downtown area became a ghost town. I am sure that is what has happened everyplace WalMart has gone.
And it is next to impossible to fight them. When they decide to locate somewhere, no amount of fighting them keeps them out. It is so bad that if someone manages to stall them for a time, it is big news.
I have never been to WalMart. I am told I am 'stupid' for not shopping there. I have also noticed it is the people with the big, fancy vehicles that have them parked in WalMart's parking lot.
Isn't it amazing that so many rich people are so poor in spirit? |
I have shopped at Wal*Mart.
I have also worked for Wal*Mart
During the 5 years I lived in Montana, the new Wal*Mart store was a source of jobs for some 80 people in an area with nearly 20% unimployment.
When the store opened the average age of employees was around 35. Buncha old people. The cream of the unimployed crop.
Within 6 months nearly everyone had quit, replaced by 18 - 20 year old kids.
Wal*Mart policy clearly is not fair, and sometimes quite unreasonable.
I had myself a rule, and a saying.
The saying, At Wally world if you can do your whole job in 8 hours, you don't have enough to do!
The rule, I refused to work unpaid!
When asked the managers all said, "No, you may not work off the clock." They also said, you must do all that is your job before leaving or you will be fired! Simply put, this was impossible. Wal*Mart is the only employeer I ever had that fired me. I was in charge of day shift receiving. When the chip guy delivered I was supposed to open every box and count every item. After seeing the guy for months, every day, and always getting the same results I didnt open the cases. I got a warning, then for another issue, but similer, I got fired. I did this to be able to finish my job by quitting time. I was no less accurate, and responsible. I was creative but didn't toe the line and got fired for it. I was there in that job for over a year. After I was escorted out the position was filled constantly with new kids. There will always be more kids, or people desperate for a job, any job! I was special for Wally world. I was among the first 6 they hired. We 6 received special training. All 6 of us had quit or were fired before we qualified for benifits.
Yes, I have shopped there. I don't make a lot of money. When given the option of buying jeans for $12 or for $22, I took the option that would allow me more for my money. I realized these jeans were made over seas, but justified my purchase because of my income and my need, and was angry with Wally for taking advantage of this fact. Now in the past few months I have learned just how bad the Wally world phenomenon has become, and I will never purchase anything from them again. Not unless thay drasticially change how they do business. In Sales, purchasing, and how they treat employees. By the way. Wal*Mart paid me $5 an hour. During that time at one time I had as many as 3 jobs, and my gross adjusted was slightly less than 11k.
Sam Walton may have had a good idea for a store.
His children however..........
dori
Sunday, 22 May 2005, 4:54 pm
I have heard conflicting reviews on Sam Walton--but no one looks up to his children.
I have stayed out of WalMart because I have little to spend, and because I admire and respect working people. Those people deserve to be represented by unions. WalMart will close it's store before allowing a union in.
Anyone with so little respect for the working person doesn't deserve respect, or reward, in return. It sickens me to see the people who could well afford to buy anywhere they chose to, choosing to buy from a place as sleazy as WalMart.
Doesn't say much for the quality of our citizenry. What can you say about people who have been brought up on the image of consumerism being our ideal? Is it their fault they are 'following the crowd', or is it the never ending commercial drumming we get that causes people to believe they can't live without xyz, or their lives would be so much better with xyz?
Whatever way you look at it, we have been a boon for the rich in all our supplier countries as well as our good ol' USA fascist rightwing politicians.