Wal-Mart Critics Ask
'Where Would Jesus Shop?'
By Bob Allen - EthicsDaily.com
December 13, 2005
Jesus would not shop at Wal-Mart, according to new television ads and a letter signed by religious leaders.
"Our faith teaches us 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'" began the 30-second TV spot, which aired Friday in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas. "If these are our values, then ask yourself: should people of faith shop at Wal-Mart this holiday season?"
Saying Wal-Mart has repeatedly broken child-labor laws, is being sued by 1.5 million women for discrimination and that 600,000 Wal-Mart employees and their families do not have company health care, the ad implies the nation's largest retailer violates not only the spirit of Christmas, but also the Golden Rule.
On Thursday 65 religious leaders, representing faith groups with combined membership of 1.3 million, signed an open letter urging Wal-Mart to "change, to become better, and to embrace the best of American values," in order "to become a truly responsible, ethical, and righteous company."
"Every day, Wal-Mart's so-called low prices come at a high cost to the moral virtues and greatness of your workers, our families, and our nation," the letter said. "Every day, America pays too high a cost for Wal-Mart's immoral business practices."
The faith-themed outreach is part of a broader effort by Wake Up Wal-Mart, a group funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, to raise awareness about company practices, which they say include costing American jobs by turning to sweat-shop labor overseas, suppressing wages in the United States by eliminating competition and denying workers the right to organize in labor unions.
A centerpiece of the campaign, Robert Greenwald's controversial film "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" sold nearly 100,000 DVDs it its first month in release, prompting Wal-Mart to launch its own PR campaign to counter criticism from what it terms "special interest" groups.
On Friday Wal-Mart released a statement criticizing the UFCW for "wasting" members' dues on "offensive, misguided attempts to veil its attacks with religious overtones."
Religious leaders including Jesse Jackson of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and United Church of Christ President John H. Thomas said in their open letter to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott that: "As all faiths teach us, the current exploitation of those who work to provide us with goods and services, whether at Wal-Mart or its suppliers, can never be morally justified. Under all conditions, it is simply immoral and wrong. It goes against the teachings of our spiritual leaders and our commitment to justice, fairness, and community."
"If there is one shared hope all faiths have in common, it is the central belief that we must work together to improve the lives of others," the leaders said. "This central tenet, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you,' is the bedrock of our values, our faith, our families and our communities."
"Unfortunately, Wal-Mart needlessly ignores the Golden Rule putting our children and their workers needlessly at-risk."
Wal-Mart spokesperson Sarah Clark said the religious leaders "have unfortunately been misled." She claimed the company this year created 100,000 new jobs, gave nearly $200 million to charity and saved the average American family $2,300.
Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said he shares the religious leaders' concern about "the number of our associates' children who rely on public health programs."
"Even here, we're making positive change with new health care programs that are already helping more associates get private health insurance, at a time when other companies are scaling back or dropping insurance all together," Scott said. He lamented that "much of this 'good news' about Wal-Mart goes unreported."
The religious leaders closed their letter with: "So beginning today, in the shared spirit of the holiday season, we call on Wal-Mart to change, to become better, and to embrace the best of American values. It is within your power to become a truly responsible, ethical, and righteous company.
"In the end, there is no better present Wal-Mart could give to its workers, their families, and America than to change for the better this holiday season."
On Sunday in Framingham, Mass., a group of children protesting Wal-Mart's alleged use of sweatshop labor was asked to leave the store property after trying to present a store manager with a letter detailing its concerns.
''This is the biggest and richest company in the world, and they're using sweatshops," said Owen Weitzman, a 10-year-old from Newton, Mass., quoted in the Boston Globe. Holding a sign reading, ''Stop Sweatshops … Give workers living wages. Don't hide under Bushes" and depicting a smiley face with fangs, he continued: ''I hope over a more longer period of time that sweatshops don't exist."
Bill Wertz, a company spokesman, said it is not Wal-Mart's policy to sell products made in sweatshops. He said the store is ''a target of a major campaign by union-based organizations to tarnish our reputation."

Wal-Mart Wages and Worker Rights

 

A Substantial Number of Wal-Mart Associates earn far below the poverty line

       In 2001, the last year for which Wal-Mart has released figures for most occupations, sales associates, the most common job in Wal-Mart, earned on average $8.23 an hour for annual wages of $13,861.The 2001 poverty line for a family of three was $14,630. [“Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?”, Business Week, 10/6/03 and US Dept of Health and Human Services 2001 Poverty Guidelines, 2001]

       A 2003 wage analysis reported that cashiers, the second most common job, earn approximately $7.92 per hour and work 29 hours a week. This brings in annual wages of only $11,948. [“Statistical Analysis of Gender Patterns in Wal-Mart’s Workforce”, Dr. Richard Drogin 2003]"

Wal-Mart Associates don't earn enough to support a family

       The national median family budget in the United States for a two-person family (one parent and one child) in 1999 was $23,705, well above the average associate's annual wages of $13,861. [“Poverty and Family Budgets” online at www.epinet.org]

Wal-Mart can afford wage increases

       Wal-Mart can cover the cost of a dollar an hour wage increase by raising prices a half penny per dollar. For instance, a $2.00 pair of socks would then cost $2.01. This minimal increase would annually add up to $1,800 for each employee. [Analysis of Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005]

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 Anti-Union Policy

Wal-Mart closes down stores and departments that unionize

       In 2000, when a small meatcutting department successfully organized a union at a Wal-Mart store in Texas, Wal-Mart responded a week later by announcing the phase-out of its in-store meatcutting company-wide. [Pan Demetrakakes, "Is Wal-Mart Wrapped in Union Phobia?" Food & Packaging 76 (August 1, 2003).]

       A Wal-Mart employee in Quebec filed a request in a Canadian Superior Court seeking a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Canada, saying the retailer’s decision to close a Jonquierre, Quebec, store after its employees received union certification violated the rights of its workers, and entitles them to compensation and damages. [Quebec Union Seeks Class-Action Suit vs. Wal-Mart,” Supermarket News, April 22, 2005]

Wal-Mart has issued "A Manager's Toolbox to Remaining Union Free,"

       This toolbox provides managers with lists of warning signs that workers might be organizing, including "frequent meetings at associates' homes" and "associates who are never seen together start talking or associating with each other." The "Toolbox" gives managers a hotline to call so that company specialists can respond rapidly and head off any attempt by employees to organize. [Wal-Mart, A Manager’s Toolbox to Remaining Union Free at 20-21]

Wal-Mart is committed to an anti-union policy

       In the last few years, well over 100 unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Wal-Mart throughout the country, with 43 charges filed in 2002 alone.

       Since 1995, the U.S. government has been forced to issue at least 60 complaints against Wal-Mart at the National Labor Relations Board. [International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in the United States: Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of the United States (Geneva, January 14-16, 2004)]

       Wal-Mart’s labor law violations range from illegally firing workers who attempt to organize a union to unlawful surveillance, threats, and intimidation of employees who dare to speak out. [“Everyday Low Wages: 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]