Article

Investigation of NY Wal-Mart trampling death ends

By Melissa Sanchez,
Yakima Herald
May 31st, 2009                          [back to top]

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The general contractor for a Wal-Mart construction site in West Valley has paid 39 workers involved in a labor dispute -- after state and federal labor officials opened investigations last month.

"Aw, man, I didn't expect that," said Nathan Gallagher, 26, who was owed three weeks of back pay for his work helping lay the foundation for Yakima's Wal-Mart superstore. "I don't have a clue why it happened so fast. Probably because of all the ruckus that was started over it."

On May 15, Spokane-based Vandervert Construction Inc. issued a total of $56,716 in checks to employees of a masonry subcontractor that didn't pay them, said Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for Washington's Department of Labor & Industries.

The dispute came to light in early May when a pair of frustrated workers showed up at the job site -- at West Nob Hill Boulevard and 64th Avenue -- to demand three weeks of back pay. Police later arrested one of the men on a stolen weapon charge, which was later dropped.

Investigators from the both U.S. Department of Labor and L&I then opened cases into Standard Structures.

A spokeswoman for the federal labor agency said she couldn't comment on the case, as it's still open.

Neither Vandervert's project manager nor the owner of Standard Structures could be reached for comment Friday.

When the dispute was first reported May 8, Mead Crowell of Standard Structures acknowledged that he was late in paying about two dozen employees but that he'd discovered that some of his employees were illegal immigrants.

"We can't legally pay these guys unless they are legitimately authorized to work," Crowell told the Herald-Republic.

The next day, he said he would pay all his workers once immigration questions were ironed out with federal officials.

Federal labor officials made it clear that regardless of any employee's legal status, they must be paid for hours worked.

Fischer said 11 employees -- who came from across the country to work at the Yakima site -- filed wage claims with the state against the Arkansas-based masonry subcontractor. She said L&I is still trying to locate remaining workers.

Some, who are illegal immigrants here, feared deportation and disappeared when they weren't paid. Others who are U.S. citizens assumed they wouldn't get paid and left Washington to look for work elsewhere.

Gallagher was one of them. He returned to his parents' home in Arkansas, where he is currently looking for work.

"As far as I know, everyone has left," he said. "Yakima is a good place. It's just work situations, you know? The town is a good town."

His and other employees' personal stories touched Jan Hutchinson, who manages the Glenmoor Green apartments where they were housed.

"I'm so glad they were paid," she said. "Some of those workers were a long ways from home with families to take care of."

Meanwhile, she and another Yakima business owner say they're still owed money from renting out apartments and furniture to the subcontractor for the employee housing.

"We don't expect to receive a thing," said Mark Peterson, who says his H&H Furniture rental store lost more than $7,000 due to damaged and stolen property, rented at a discounted rate. "I'm all for business. Big business. Small business.

"But you cause a problem, you need to step and take care of it."

Glenmoor Green is owed about $6,000 in rent, said Hutchinson, who plans to turn the case over to a collections agency soon.

"You just don't go into a small community and take advantage of people," she said, referring to all companies involved -- Wal-Mart, the general contractor and its subcontractor. "I wouldn't want them to do this to anybody."

Wal-Mart shareholders have reason to cheer

By Steve Painter,
NWAnews.com
May 31st, 2009                        [back to top]

Even in the down times a few years ago, when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. struggled to maintain sales growth and faced a barrage of criticism from outside the company, its annual shareholders meeting was a major production featuring big-name entertainment and exuberant employees from around the globe.

This year, as thousands of employees converge on Northwest Arkansas for Friday's annual meeting, Wal-Mart is thriving at a time when most retailers are struggling.

The Bentonville-based retailer has new leadership at the top, is expanding rapidly overseas and is remodeling its U.S. stores with brighter, easier-to-shop layouts and new product lines.

At home, the company expanded its footprint with last year's purchase of the Superior Commercial Building in Bentonville to serve as headquarters of Sam's Club, its members-only, warehouse store division. The move has yet to take place as interior finishing work continues.

Ed Clifford, president and chief executive officer of the Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce, doesn't expect Wal-Mart to go low-key this year as a result of the recession.

"I don't think they'll gear down any," said Clifford, a former Wal-Mart merchandising manager. "I think they have a pretty strong story to tell, financially. An awful lot of people are recognizing their value in today's environment."

The company's hometown is better prepared to handle the influx of visitors this year. Street barricades are gone from the historic square, which was in the midst of renovations during last year's meeting. It's a popular destination for employees visiting from afar, who flock to the Wal-Mart Visitors Center, also known as Walton's 5-10 (five-and-dime), and snap photos of each other standing next to their nations' flags on the square.

This year's meeting will coincide with First Friday on the Square, a community event launched in August which, on shareholders' day, will have a youth-performing-arts night, featuring singing, dancing and poetry on three stages, said Daniel Hintz, executive director of Downtown Bentonville Inc.

Clifford said the shareholders' meeting is always a plus for Northwest Arkansas.

"We're always glad for the influx of people here. We're always glad that Wal-Mart gets spotlighted for what they do and why they're here."

Wal-Mart is not immune to the nation's economic malaise. In February, the company laid off about 800 people at its headquarters, citing "unprecedented times," even as it continued to hire employees to staff new and expanded stores.

But sales have remained strong. Wal-Mart has outperformed rival discounter Target Corp. in nearly every monthly sales report since late 2007 and outperformed most other retailers as well.

The company's stock price, while down 15 percent from a year ago, has done better than the Standart & Poors retail index, down 22 percent, and the S&P 500 index, down 35 percent, as of midday trading Friday.

Wal-Mart's focus on low prices is "exactly what the economic times demand," said Camille Schuster, a California marketing professor and president of the consulting firm Global Collaborations Inc.

As Wal-Mart began its current fiscal year Feb. 1, Michael Duke took over the job of president and chief executive officer at Wal-Mart, only the fourth in company history, after overseeing the international division for four years.

H. Lee Scott, who held the top job for more than eight years, remained as chairman of the executive committee of the company's board of directors.

Doug McMillon moved from the top job at Sam's Club to president and CEO of the international division.

Brian Cornell, previously CEO of Michaels Stores Inc., took over leadership of Sam's Club in March.

Wal-Mart declined to make any of its executives available for interviews about the forthcoming shareholders meeting.

GROWING OVERSEAS

International operations are the fastest-growing part of Wal-Mart's business, accounting for 25 percent of sales in the company's most recent quarterly financial report and for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31.

David Marcotte, director of retail insight for Management Ventures Inc., said he expects Duke to make international growth a greater priority than his predecessor.

"I don't think it was a question of Lee Scott not paying attention to international, but it wasn't seen as the driver of revenue growth," he said.

Marcotte recently returned from Chile, where Wal-Mart made its latest acquisition, a majority stake in Distribucion y Servicio D&S S.A., the nation's largest food retailer with more than 200 stores. His firm, he said, has a long history of working with D&S.

Already, he said, about 20 midlevel managers from Wal-Mart's operations in the United States, Mexico and Canada have gone to Chile to help run the company.

"They were being sent there not for the short term. Most of these people have already bought homes," he said. "I think the company's prospects in Chile are excellent."

The acquisition also raises the prospect of beefing up Wal-Mart's operations in neighboring Argentina, where the company has only 28 outlets 14 years after entering the market, Marcotte said. He said the move could lead to a merged management team for operations in the two nations.

"There's much more to the market (in Argentina) than what they've been able to take advantage of so far," he said.

Chile became the home of Wal-Mart's 16th market outside the United States. Its Latin America division also includes Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico and employs more than 325,000 workers.

"I think they have learned a lot about doing business in Latin America, and I would expect them to continue to expand there," Schuster said.

She's less optimistic about Wal-Mart's Japanese operation, Seiyu, but the company has repeatedly said it is committed to having a presence in the world's secondlargest national economy.

In England, Wal-Mart's Asda grocery chain has been gaining incremental market share with its focus on low prices.

And the company continues to increase its food business in Canada, building new supercenters and converting discount stores, although the company pulled the plug on its Canadian Sam's Club operation. Rival Costco Wholesale Corp. already had a strong presence there.

'FAST, FRIENDLY, CLEAN'

In its U.S. operations, "fast, friendly, clean" has become the mantra as the company has worked to make its stores easier to shop, stepping up its remodeling efforts while slowing the rate of new store construction.

Adding new offerings such as apparel lines from designer Norma Kamali and Better Homes and Gardens home interior lines has attracted new shoppers, said Patricia Edwards, retail analyst and founder of Storehouse Partners LLC in Seattle.

"They just nailed the marketing and merchandising," she said. "Their television ads are great."

Edwards said she recalled past store visits when the premises were dirty, shoes were strewn around the shoe department and the wait in check-out lines was at least 15 minutes.

"It was painful. That experience just doesn't happen today - in the same store."

George Whalin, who runs Retail Management Consultants in Carlsbad, Calif., credits Wal-Mart with paying attention to details, keeping costs down and aggressively promoting its price message.

"Price and value [are] what consumers want today. They're in the right place at the right time," he said.

Although he acknowledges Wal-Mart has cleaned up its stores, he said shoppers don't go there or to any other mass merchandiser for the experience.

"If they think they're selling experience they're living in a dream world. People go there to save money," he said.

In the current economic environment, Wal-Mart has found growth opportunities in markets such as New England that in the past have been tough to penetrate due to local opposition.

The company also is scouting Chicago for potential sites, looking for locations that are underserved by grocery stores.

Such locations also are likely to spur strong opposition from labor groups, some of whom represent supermarket workers. Labor unions have focused on Wal-Mart, which has strongly resisted union representation, in their efforts to promote federal legislation that would make it easier for workers to form bargaining units.

Eric Bull, a spokesman for union-funded Wal-Mart Watch, which is critical of the company's employment practices, said the group intends to have a presence at the shareholders' meeting but had not finalized plans.

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Wal-Mart opens first India wholesale outlet

By ERIKA KINETZ ,
Associated Press
05.30.09                                    [back to top]

India just got its first Wal-Mart.

Bharti Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) Private Ltd., a joint venture between India's Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., opened its first wholesale outlet called "Best Price Modern Wholesale," in Amritsar in the northern state of Punjab on Saturday.

The company plans to invest $100 million over the next three years to open 10 to 15 more wholesale outlets, which would employ 5,000 people across India.

"We have put in a lot of planning and preparation over the past 12 months and are delighted that all the hard work will now bear fruit as we open the doors of our first cash-and-carry store in India," Chief Executive Raj Jain said in a statement. "We will generate significant job opportunities ... and we have been working closely with local suppliers to develop a sustainable and efficient supply chain."

The opening comes at a politically crucial time for foreign firms eager to tap India's $430 billion retail market. The entry of big-box players in India has been controversial because small, mom-and-pop "kirana" shops are such an important part of the local economy. Many fear they'd be decimated if big players like Wal-Mart are allowed unfettered access to the Indian market.

For now, Bharti Wal-Mart's Best Price shops can only sell their 6,000 food and nonfood items to other businesses because Indian law prohibits foreign companies from selling direct to customers in multi-brand retail outlets. Single-brand retailers, like Reebok, can run shops.

In the past, officials from the ruling Congress party have said they wanted to allow foreign firms to sell directly to consumers, but couldn't push through that liberalization because of opposition from India's once-powerful communist parties - who were swept from power in just-concluded national elections.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman in India declined to comment on what the election results might portend, saying the government's directives on whether it will be more open to direct-to-consumer foreign retailing have been "vague."

Related Stories Wal-Mart Insiders Belly Up To Company Bar Anatomy Of A Comeback Wal-Mart's Weight Effect Retail Ready For Its Close-Up U.S. Decelerates Into Deflation Related Videos Job Losses Worry Street Markets Seek Direction Hummer Deal Nears Biden On Stimulus Action Joy Global, Toll Brothers Report StoriesVideos But Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail consulting firm Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd. in New Delhi, is hopeful the controversial investment ban will be eased within a year.

"It's not going to be the first thing the government takes up," he said, but added, "Within the Congress party, there is not serious resistance at a senior level. I believe they should be able to push through retail investment in the next 12 months."

Singhal said a successful opening of Wal-Mart, which sparked protests in India in 2007 and has attracted controversy in other parts of the world, "will send a very positive signal out" to global firms.

"If their stores are allowed to open in India and there is no agitation it should reassure other retailers," he said.

No reports of protests at the opening surfaced Saturday, but Bharti Wal-Mart had to delay the launch by nearly a week because of riots in the area sparked by the killing of a Sikh cleric in Austria.

Foreign firms are also watching India closely to see if economic growth picks up enough to justify major investment, Singhal added.

If India can return to 8 percent annual GDP growth, the retail market could hit $750 billion in five years - $90 billion more than if GDP stutters along at 6 percent a year, he said.

"That makes it much more attractive," Singhal said. "Multibillion dollar retailers want significant revenues from India."

Britain's Tesco PLC ( TSCDY-PK.PK - news - people ) teamed up with India's Tata Group last year to launch a wholesale business in India. France's Carrefour SA has also said it wants to expand into India. Neither has yet opened stores.

Germany's Metro Group has opened five wholesale outlets in India since 2003, according to its Web site.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved

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Wal-Mart Serves Free Ice Cream to an Obese Nation

By Al norman,
The Huffington Post
May 30th, 2009                                 [back to top]

It's free ice cream day at Wal-Mart today! What could be wrong with that?

Plenty.

Wal-Mart wants Americans to stop going to ice cream parlors or restaurants for ice cream. For the second year in a row, Wal-Mart is getting sweet headlines in the media for giving out free ice cream. According to the company, "From 11am until 4pm on Saturday, May 30th 2009, Wal-Mart will be giving away free full-serving sizes of various ice cream products at supercenters around the nation."

Consumers will be able to choose between a Dibs Snack Bag, a Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar, or a Ben & Jerry's Flipped Out Cup. This is the second year that Wal-Mart has promoted this ice cream giveaway. Last year, on May 18, 2008, Wal-Mart sponsored what it called "the world's largest ice cream social." Here's how their PR firm described the company's event last year:

"As consumers look to Wal-Mart for savings during tough economic times, they'll find sweet relief on "Sundae," May 18 - and all summer - with the retailer's low prices on ice cream and sundae toppings. In fact, Wal-Mart estimates that its shoppers will spend nearly six times less on a family ice cream social at home when compared to ice cream desserts at many restaurants and ice cream parlors."

Wal-Mart set up this event to steal product market share from local restaurants and ice cream parlors. In 2008, the ice cream giveaway was held at more than 2,500 of the company's supercenters. Wal-Mart said it would have on hand "more than 5,000 ice cream scoopers to build an estimated 1 million free ice cream sundaes, complete with whipped cream and other toppings." This year, in a cost-cutting move, the 5,000 ice cream scoopers are gone, the sundaes are gone, and Wal-Mart is passing out pre-packaged "ice cream products."

"In tough economic times, our customers face tough choices. That's why we are working hard to make sure summer costs less at Wal-Mart," a Wal-Mart spokesman said last year. "Our customers can save more than 50% on their favorite summer desserts - including apple pie a la mode, ice cream cones and brownie sundaes - by getting all the ingredients for a family ice cream social from Wal-Mart instead of taking an expensive trip to an ice cream shop or restaurant." Last year, the giant retailer compared its ice cream offerings to sundaes, cones "and other cool treats" at some restaurants and ice cream shops. According to Wal-Mart: the ingredients for 10 two-scoop ice cream cones cost under $7 at Wal-Mart - the same number of two-scoop cones at a national ice cream shop could cost nearly six times more ($40). According to Wal-Mart researchers, you can get all the ingredients to make 10 brownie sundaes for under $10 at Wal-Mart -- a national restaurant chain might charge nearly five times more ($48.90). Even that most American of desserts -- apple pie a la mode -- for twenty people can be purchased for under $18, while 20 apple pies at a national family restaurant chain could cost over four times more ($79.60).

Despite the fact that Americans are suffering from an epidemic of obesity, hypertension and other heart disease, Wal-Mart is busy pushing ice cream and brownie sundaes. "Finding ways to stretch your dollar doesn't have to mean cutting out tasty pleasures in life like ice cream," Wal-Mart explains. "We're committed to helping families save money and giving them affordable access to the products they need to create memorable moments this summer and beyond."

It would be one thing for Wal-Mart to simply thank shoppers who spend thousands of dollars there by giving them a Blue Bunny frozen yogurt bar once a year. But the retailer is pointedly using this ice cream promotion as a way of steering people away from competitors, like restaurants, ice cream parlors, and other grocery stores. The company would better serve the public by giving its own workers something financially sweet. The company could 'create memorable moments' by giving their workers a summer cash bonus instead of just whipped cream.

Distributing unhealthy food in and of itself is probably nothing novel for Wal-Mart -- but given the fact that tens of thousands of its workers rely on public health programs, like Medicaid, it would be more refreshing to see the company reduce its health insurance copayments for its own employees so that they would not turn to tax-supported health plans by default.

If Wal-Mart is committed to helping families save money, they should start by giving their own workers access to affordable health care. Forget the Blue Bunny bars, Flipped Out Cup, and 5,000 scoopers. Wal-Mart should sweeten the deal for its 'associates' and stop trying to steal sales from ice cream parlors.

Readers can call Wal-Mart customer service at 1-800 Wal-Mart and leave the following message: "Like many other consumers, I'm not going to stop by to claim my free ice cream Flipped Out Cup---but I would like you to take the money it cost to create this national free ice cream day and donate that to your associates health insurance program instead. Taxpayers don't want to pay for the health insurance of your workers. In many states, Wal-Mart employees are the largest corporate users of programs like Medicaid, costing the public millions of dollars. I would rather see Wal-Mart give its own people better health care coverage, than to pick up an frozen treat at your supercenters."

If you go for your free ice cream bar, be sure to stop by Wal-Mart's in-store health clinic for a free cholesterol blood test.

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Wal-Mart Not Giving Up on South Side

By Natalie Moore ,
Chicago Public Radio
May 28th, 2009                               [back to top]

Chicago got its first Wal-Mart store, on the city’s West Side, just three years ago. Unions and grassroots activists fought the controversial big box coming within city limits. That fight culminated in the mayor vetoing a “living wage” ordinance passed by aldermen. Now many South Side aldermen are openly lobbying for a Wal-Mart and are treating it less like a political liability. And, in turn, activists say they are ready for another fight.

ambi: Wal-Mart

On this weekday afternoon, Wal-Mart is bustling inside and cars cram the parking lot. Located on North Avenue close to Cicero the store was billed as a bright spot in a blighted community.

Wal-Mart supporters say the store has brought hundreds of new jobs and shopping options to the Austin community. They praise the millions in tax revenues. Skeptics say it’s too soon to measure success, and there’s been some discussion about the so-called big box store having a negative effect on smaller local businesses.

Willie Cochran has made up his mind.

COCHRAN: Superstore for Wal-Mart? What would that bring? Price points, products, groceries.

The South Side alderman wants a Wal-Mart in his own Washington Park backyard.

COCRAN: And you know what? If it comes to the 20th Ward, it’s not putting any Jewel employee out of business because we don’t have them. It’s not putting any Dominick’s store of business, because we don’t have them. And the number of small stores that it would affect – if you look at the number of stores that are in Washington Park, you’ll see that there’s a very, very small number.

Cochran has recently met with Wal-Mart representatives. The quandary with the world’s largest retailer is that it’s criticized for paltry wages and benefits. But in this economic recession, some living in economically distressed communities are saying: a job is a job.

Denise Dixon disagrees.

DIXON: We want good jobs. We want living wage jobs. Wal-Mart jobs are a race to the bottom.

Dixon is executive director of Action Now, a community organization that works on the South and West Sides.

DIXON: We want jobs that lift people out of poverty – not jobs that Wal-Mart is offering that’s going to keep people applying for food stamps, applying for Medicaid.

Dixon works with Booker Steven Vance, pastor of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church. They’ve heard the whispers about more potential Wal-Marts and Vance says they are ready for a round two.

VANCE: Nothing’s really changed, it’s the same beast. We’re still not willing to give in for 30 pieces of silver. We don’t want Wal-Mart to buy off local pastors, local businesses.

Vance and Dixon are starting to organize to hold the retail giant accountable for better paying jobs and they want to see the living wage ordinance come before city council again.

Wal-Mart says it wants its next Chicago store to be off of 83rd Street in Alderman Howard Brookins’ Ward.

Wal-Mart spokesman John Bisio says more aldermen such as Willie Cochran have been receptive of the chain coming to the South Side.

BISIO: What we’ve learned in Chicago is that we need to do a better job of telling our story and setting the record straight. Because people had wanted certain special interest groups, competition have wanted to keep Wal-Mart out and protect their turf at the expense of the customer. We’ve been in this position where we’ve had to play defense.

Bisio says the West Side Wal-Mart did local outreach in hiring. The store has given millions to Chicago nonprofits. In Roseland, another economic struggling community, Alderman Anthony Beale says Wal-Mart has flaws but they’re workable.

BEALE: We have a responsibility to sit down with them and try to work with them to say hey we have rules and regulations in the cities. However, we know you have your way of operating. There has to be common ground there. No one has been willing to give and take in order to accomplish the goal.

University of Illinois-Chicago’s David Merriman says tradeoffs can cause friction.

MERRMAN: Unions have done something to protect moderately low wage workers. I can understand people representing that group being very anxious about Wal-Mart.

In the last Chicago city council election cycle, Wal-Mart gave thousands of dollars to aldermanic candidates.

Most of them lost.

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Wal-Mart says to launch Amritsar store on Saturday

Reuters India
May 28th, 2009                          [back to top]

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it would open its first cash-and-carry store in India on Saturday in Amritsar.

Bharti Wal-Mart, the joint venture between the American retailer and Bharti Enterprises, was scheduled to launch the store on Tuesday but had deferred following riots in the Punjab state related to an attack on a Sikh temple in the Austrian capital Vienna.

The store, named Best Price Modern Wholesale, will be the first of between 10 and 15 planned wholesale facilities in India, measuring about 50,000-100,000 sq ft each, and employing about 5,000 people over the next seven years.

The entry of multinational retailers into India's fragmented and tightly controlled retail industry is mired in controversy, and Wal-Mart's entry is seen as a sign of foreign investors' confidence in the country after the ruling coalition was re-elected two weeks ago.

India's retail industry, currently estimated at $500 billion, is seen rising to more than $800 billion by 2013 but less than 5 percent of the market is in the hands of modern retailers.

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Wal-Mart Fined Only $7,000 For Negligence in Black Friday Trampling Death

By Al Norman,
The Huffington Post
May 26th, 2009                           [back to top]

In a remarkable role reversal, Wal-Mart has managed to walk all over two agencies that were supposed to sanction the giant retailer for the tragic trampling death of one of its employees on Black Friday last November.

Six months after the death of a temporary worker at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, Long Island, the giant retailer has bought its way out of criminal prosecution. On November 28, 2008, 34 year old Jdimytai Damour of Queens, who was called "a seasonal worker" by Newsday, was asphyxiated by a throng of out of control Wal-Mart shoppers.

The Nassau county police were the first to lay blame on Wal-Mart for being ill-prepared to handle a large crowd. In a report released in January, 2009, the police concluded that "the responsibility for the security and control of these sales events rests with the store. Store administrators should never market a sales event without having a plan, and the proper resources to manage it."

The second pubic office to weigh in on this case was the Nassau County District Attorney, Kathleen Rice. In early May, 2009, Wal-Mart agreed to improve safety at its New York state stores as part of a deal with the District Attorney to drop her criminal investigation. D.A. Rice said that if she had brought criminal charges against the retailer in the worker's death, the company would have been subject to only a $10,000 fine if convicted. Instead, the D.A.'s office worked out a deal in which Wal-Mart agreed to improve crowd-management plans for post-Thanksgiving Day sales, and to create a $400,000 victims' compensation and remuneration fund. As another face-saving payoff, Wal-Mart gave $1.5 million to Nassau County social services programs and nonprofit groups. D.A. Rice called this money-for-absolution agreement "historic."

The D.A. deal allowing Wal-Mart to buy itself out of criminal prosecution did not sit well with the victim's family. "It's like if they were driving a car and they hit someone, killed him and then just walked away," said Ogera Charles, the father of Jdimytai Damour. The father of the victim noted that the deal left him in the dark as to what the investigation of the incident actually found. "It is the epitome of corporate arrogance that Wal-Mart can reach an agreement without admitting their responsibility, and walk away," Attorney Andrew Libo, who is representing the family, told Newsday.

After the mild rebuke from the Nassau County D.A., the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced this week that it,too, was citing Wal-Mart for inadequate crowd management. "Effective planning and crowd management could have prevented this incident and its grave consequences," said the regional administrator for OSHA. Wal-Mart is facing a mere $7,000 fine from OSHA---even less than the $10,000 fine the D.A. could have sought. The fine is the maximum allowed, OSHA said. The agency's citation is issued in cases where "death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known." A Wal-Mart spokesman told the AP the company "never had a tragedy like this occur in our stores and we never want it to happen again."

Newsday suggested in an editorial dated May 7th that the D.A.'s office had "cut a deal" with Wal-Mart, allowing the corporation to avoid criminal charges. "But the unusual deal raises an uncomfortable question: Was Wal-Mart allowed to buy its way out of criminal responsibility?" the newspaper asked.

Since the Black Friday incident, Wal-Mart has been buried beneath national criticism for its lack of a viable security plan. The company is still facing a lawsuit from several plaintiffs who were injured in connection with the stampede. Five days after the incident in Valley Stream, the family of Jdimytai Damour filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming Wal-Mart, mall owner Vornado Realty Trust, and Securitas Security Services USA as defendants in its Bronx Court filing. The lawsuit charges that the defendants "created an atmosphere of competition and anxiety amongst the crowd that caused the crowd to surge and enter into a crowd craze" and "engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy and mayhem." The lawsuit also says that Wal-Mart and the other defendants failed to provide adequate security and properly train or supervise existing security personnel, and used ineffective crowd control.

It's unfortunate that OSHA's sanction against Wal-Mart resulting from the Valley Stream trampling death amounted to only $7,000. This is akin to giving Rob Walton a jaywalking ticket. Between the Nassau County D.A.'s deal, and now OSHA's citation, it appears that Jdimytai Damour's life was not financially worth very much in the eyes of county and federal officials. It will now fall on his family to seek justice and compensation for his death through the courts, since OSHA's 'penalty' is so inconsequential.

The Nassau County police found that Wal-Mart did not have the proper resources in place to prevent this kind of deadly incident. But it's hard to decide which is more tragic: Wal-Mart's negligence, or the government's negligence in creating no effective deterrent against similar incidents in the future. Damour's family must be wondering if Wal-Mart can buy justice like any other commodity on the retailer's shelf. The company's Black Friday promotion ended up promoting mayhem and frenzy instead. Wal-Mart exposed its employees and customers to dangerous store conditions, and a tragedy resulted.

But now the D.A. and OSHA look powerless to do anything of consequence against the mighty Wal-Mart corporation, which will escape criminal prosecution. Six months after Damour's death, the corporate trampling is still going on. This time it's the family and friends of Jdimytai Damour who are being stepped on in the rush to get this case out of the national headlines.

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OSHA cites Wal-Mart in 2008 crowd death of worker

By FRANK ELTMAN ,
Associated Press
05.26.09                                   [back to top]

A federal agency has cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management in the death of a worker at a New York store.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the citation Tuesday. It says Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) should have recognized the need for effective crowd management during its sales blitz the day after Thanksgiving.

The world's largest retailer faces a $7,000 fine but has 15 days to respond to the citation. A company spokesman did not immediately comment.

A crowd broke down the Valley Stream store's doors last year. Temporary worker Jdimytai Damour (jih-mee-TREE' dih-MOHR') was trapped in a vestibule and asphyxiated.

He had been on the job about a week with no training in security or crowd control.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

WALMART CITED BY OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

WakeUpWalmart.com calls on Walmart to take responsibility for Jdimytai Damour’s Death and do the right thing

Meghan Scott,
WakeUpWalmart.com                       [back to top]

Washington, DC – Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a citation against Walmart in the trampling death of Jdimytai Damour. The temporary employee was crushed by customers in a rush to get to deals on “Black Friday” at a store in Long Island, New York. OSHA is fining Walmart $7,000 for “inadequate crowd management.”

Meghan Scott, Director of WakeUpWalmart.com, released the following statement:

"This citation and fine from OHSA is important because it shows that Walmart could have prevented this death, but did not. Walmart had a responsibility to ensure its workers were safe, but instead put profits ahead of people, and failed its employees, and its customers. The fine and citation are a penalty, but it’s simply the cost of doing business for Walmart. Based on figures from Walmart's most recent annual report, Walmart stores in the U.S. had $255.745 billion in sales in 2008. The average U.S. Walmart had more than $7,000 in sales per hour in 2008. OSHA’s serious citation is an acknowledgement that Walmart was responsible for this tragic death, but a fine of one hour’s worth of sales is not enough.

“Walmart must ensure that a tragedy like this never happens to another family. America’s #1 private employer has an obligation provide a safe work environment for all employees across the country.”

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A tale of 2 retailers: Wal-Mart vs. Target

Associated Press,
05.26.09                                     [back to top]

Wal-Mart's low-price message and emphasis on necessities are helping the world's largest retailer grab new customers around the globe in a recession, while Target - with greater emphasis on trendy merchandise - has been struggling to hold on to its shoppers and is now turning to groceries for growth.

"Target ( TGT - news - people ) is clearly making steps in the right direction," said Craig R. Johnson, president of consulting group Customer Growth Partners. "Meanwhile, Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) continues to raise the bar."

According to the companies' recent annual reports, here's a breakdown of sales by merchandise categories for the latest fiscal year:

_ Wal-Mart:

Revenue for year ended Jan. 31: $405.6 billion

Groceries: 49 percent

Entertainment: 13 percent

Furniture and electronics: 12 percent

Apparel: 11 percent

Health and wellness: 10 percent

Home: 5 percent

_ Target

Revenue for year ended Jan. 31: $64.9 billion

Consumables, including groceries and health and wellness: 37 percent

Electronics, entertainment, sporting goods and toys: 22 percent

Apparel and accessories: 20 percent

Home furnishings and decor: 21 percent

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Opposition to Wal-Mart Near Va. Battlefield

The Associated Press
Friday, May 22, 2009                                 [back to top]

Wal-Mart officials have a return date in Virginia to discuss their proposal to build a Supercenter near a Civil War battlefield.

Orange County planners heard a presentation from the retailer Thursday night, then sat through testimony by more than 70 speakers. The speakers opposed the 138,000 square foot store near the Wilderness battlefield by a 2-1 ratio.

Most objected to the store near the battlefield where Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant first met in battle 145 years ago this month. Supporters of the Supercenter at Wal-Mart's preferred site said the county needs the jobs and tax revenue.

The Planning Commission postponed a decision on a special use permit and scheduled a June 11 hearing on the matter.

© 2009 The Associated Press

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Look Out, Wal-Mart

Melinda Peer,
U.S. Equities
05.21.09                                     [back to top]

BJ's Wholesale Club and Target are trying hard to outshine the discount-friendly retailer.

As BJ's Wholesale Club and Target continue to reel in thrifty shoppers by offering cheaply priced fresh produce and frozen prepared meals, they remain determined to steal Wal-Mart Stores' status as the destination for deep discounts.

Unsurprisingly, increased job insecurity, tight credit conditions and lower home values have forced consumers to limit spending--making it a difficult environment for retailers. Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) has benefited from having some of the most competitive prices on consumer staples and groceries, luring shoppers with higher incomes into stores with promises of significant savings. (See "Wal-Mart Wobbles Ahead of Earnings.") In February, new customers accounted for 17% of traffic growth and Wal-Mart "newbies" had basket sizes that were 40% above the company's average, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Dreher Jr.

Although it took a while for Target ( TGT - news - people ) to shake its status as the more style-conscious discounter with slightly higher prices, the Minneapolis-based retailer kept an iron grip on costs and inventory as it offered lower prices on food and pharmacy items in the first quarter. Its efforts didn't go unnoticed -- food and commodity sales drove growth and the company reported better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday.

BJ's Wholesale Club ( BJ - news - people ) took a similar approach, increasing its food products to appeal to consumers that have been eating more meals at home to save money. The warehouse club operator also reported robust earnings on Wednesday and Citi analyst Deborah Weinswig attributed the quarter's "impressive" traffic gains to improved product mix including perishables, restaurant-branded prepared foods and smaller package options.

But Wal-Mart looks to be one step ahead as it prepares to expand its operations in India. Over the next seven years, Wal-Mart and partner Bharti Enterprises plan to open 10 to 15 cash-and-carry facilities throughout the region.

On Monday, UBS analyst Neil Currie reaffirmed a "buy" rating on the company, citing its "early mover advantage in India."

Wal-Mart shares closed Thursday's trading session up by 17 cents, or 0.4%, at $49.11; and BJ's Wholesale Club gained 13 cents, or 0.4%, to $36.50. Target's stock closed the day's session down by $1.34, or 3.1%, at $41.60.

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Green Day lashes out at Wal-Mart policy

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
The Associated Press
May 21, 2009                                    [back to top]

NEW YORK (AP) — Green Day has the most popular CD in the country, but you won't be able to find it at your local Wal-Mart.

The band says the giant superstore chain refused to stock its latest CD, "21st Century Breakdown," because Wal-Mart wanted the album edited for language and content, and they refused.

"Wal-Mart's become the biggest retail outlet in the country, but they won't carry our record because they wanted us to censor it," frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said in a recent interview.

While Wal-Mart sells CDs from acts known for raunchy content, including Eminem's latest, they offer customers the "clean" version of those CDs, which are edited for content that may be objectionable. But in Armstrong's view, "There's nothing dirty about our record."

"They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there," he said. "We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel like you're in 1953 or something."

"21st Century Breakdown" contains curses and some references considered adult.

Wal-Mart said that it's the company's long-standing policy not to stock any CD with a parental advisory sticker.

"As with all music, it is up to the artist or label to decide if they want to market different variations of an album to sell, including a version that would remove a PA rating," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said. "The label and artist in this case have decided not to do so, so we unfortunately can not offer the CD."

But guitarist Mike Dirnt said: "As the biggest record store in the America, they should probably have an obligation to sell people the correct art."

Not being sold at Wal-Mart didn't stop the band — which kicks off a U.S. tour summer tour in Seattle on July 3 — from landing at the top of the album charts this week. "21st Century Breakdown" sold about 215,000 copies since it's debut on Friday.

The album is the follow-up to their multiplatinum, Grammy-winning CD "American Idiot," and like that album, deals with weighty topics. While "American Idiot" spoke to the frustration over the presidency of George W. Bush and the Iraq War, this CD speaks to the loss of innocence and confusion in today's society.

While Armstrong, Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool are still top-sellers without Wal-Mart, Armstrong said the store's policy is disappointing, considering it has become the dominant seller of CDs with the decline of traditional music stores.

"If you think about bands that are struggling or smaller than Green Day ... to think that to get record your out in places like that, but they won't carry it because of the content and you have to censor yourself," he said. "I mean, what does that say to a young kid whose trying to speak his mind making a record for the first time? It's like a game that you have to play. You have to refuse to play it."

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Bharti Wal-Mart's First Store To Open In Amritsar

India-Server.Com
21-05-2009                                    [back to top]

IST Wal-Mart will open its first wholesale retail venture with Bharti Enterprises in India by next week. The joint venture entity called Bharti Wal-Mart Pvt Ltd will have its first store in Amritsar. The first cash-and-carry store will be inaugurated by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. In 2007, Wal-Mart had signed an agreement with Bharti Enterprises to launch a 50:50 joint venture for a new chain of wholesale stores in India.

According to Bharti Enterprises, the stores will be opened under the brand name of 'Best Price Modern Wholesale'. The company also informed that each store will have a size of 50,000-1 lakh square feet. It was earlier announced that about 10-15 oulets would be opened in India by 2015. The cash-and-carry store of Bharti Wal-Mart are not open to retail shoppers but will serve small shops, fruit and vegetable sellers, restaurants and other business outlets. As per Indian foreign investment rules, no foreign direct investment is permitted in the retail sector, which is implemented to protect local retail players. This means that Wal-Mart will have to sign franchise deals with local companies to enter the Indian market. Wal-Mart's Indian venture was earlier delayed due to massive opposition from small traders.

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Wal-Mart's Weight Effect

Art Carden,
Forbes Magazine
05.20.09                                 [back to top]

Surprisingly, discount retailers make people healthier. One might think that "everyday low prices" for food would mean that people would eat much more--stuff themselves, even. So one would expect to see more obese folks in places where Wal-Mart does more business. Right? Think again. Research tells a different story.

The University of North Carolina-Greensboro's Charles Courtemanche and I are finishing a study of big retail stores and obesity. In our first round of statistical analysis we found that greater consumer access to a Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) store was associated with lower body-mass indexes and a lower probability of being obese.

As we gathered more data on Wal-Mart discount stores, Wal-Mart Supercenters, warehouse clubs like Sam's Club, Costco ( COST - news - people ) and BJ's Wholesale Club, and other outlets, we found that the correlation holds up under a variety of different circumstances, with a clear relationship between warehouse clubs and better eating habits emerging over time. Further, we found that Wal-Mart's effect on weight is largest for women, the poor, African-Americans and people who live in urban areas.

Why was this the case? Our evidence is indirect, but we think it shows that price changes can have subtle and sometimes hard-to-detect consequences. Any change in price results in two phenomena. The first is the substitution effect: a change in consumption mix due to a change in relative prices. If a bag of salad is $2 and a bag of potato chips is $1, then the price of salad in terms of chips is two bags and the price of a bag of chips is half a bag of salad. If a Wal-Mart opens and reduces the price of salad to $1 a bag and the price of chips to 75 cents a bag, the "salad price" of chips has risen (from 1TK2 bag to 3TK4 bag) and the "chip price" of salad has fallen from 2 bags to 4TK3 bags. In short, salad has become cheaper relative to chips.

The other effect from a change in prices is the income effect, which is a change in consumption due to a change in purchasing power. If Wal-Mart sells food at lower prices--even if our incomes don't change--every dollar can buy more. Therefore, we're richer.

We found the largest and most identifiable link between Wal-Mart's presence in a community and that community's weight is for its discount stores, which carry few groceries. So Wal-Mart's effect on obesity works mostly through an income effect, not a substitution effect. We also found a clear relationship between better eating habits and warehouse club presence, suggesting that people might be taking advantage of bulk buying to stock up on healthier foods.

Our data suggest that we buy healthier food when our purchasing power increases. There is a small increase in consumption of fruit and vegetables in places where Wal-Mart does a lot of business and a decrease--or smaller increase--in fatty food consumption relative to places where Wal-Mart doesn't do business. That is, people might consume more fatty foods, but consumption of those unhealthy goods increases more slowly than it does for the rest of the population.

These findings carry weighty implications. Evidence we have accumulated suggests that Wal-Mart does not have the sort of harmful effect on American society that its more heated detractors assert is the case.

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Other Publications Forbes Asia Magazine Forbes Life Magazine Forbes Life Executive Woman Forbes Magazine Publications Second, it shows us how truly incremental economic progress really is. Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporation--and while we found a statistically significant effect on body mass index, the effect is very, very small. The Wal-Mart effect illustrates not a single important cause but a larger process whereby, to adapt a phrase from Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, capitalism has turned a world in which life is nasty, brutish and short into a world in which life is healthy, wealthy and long.

The Wal-Mart effect shows, finally, how incentives matter. We've illustrated how changes in relative prices and purchasing power affect people's decisions, and this research suggests that people do make the right decisions when the prices of healthy foods fall and purchasing power rises.

Do you want to make poor people healthier? Then restricting the growth of discount chains is the last thing you should do. Instead, repeal programs that distort incentives--like agricultural subsidies that make junk food made from corn and soybean derivatives artificially cheap. Next, cut payroll taxes. With more take-home pay in their pockets, lower-income workers can afford to buy foods that are better for their health.

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Walmart expands, revamps electronics department

Tightwad Tod
Consumer Reports.org                        [back to top]

If competitors didn’t already have enough to worry about, Walmart just announced that it’s adding more products and features to the home-entertainment department at the megachain’s 3,500 stores, hoping to make shopping more fun and exciting, and products easier to find.

Starting this week, shoppers will notice new color-coded signage and brand logos in categories such as gaming, wireless, and home office; more Blu-ray players and movies; and a wider selection of high-definition television sets, especially 1080p models, along with a dedicated area to sample the HD experience.

In addition, Walmart is beefing up its cell phone and smart phone offerings by 30 percent, and adding more wireless service plan options as well. Each store will also feature an open, interactive display center where customers can try out and compare notebook computers as well as a station where new technologies, products, and video games will be showcased.

Walmart plans on broadening its mix of electronics accessories, too, for instance, noise-canceling headphones, earbuds, and trendy Body Glove protective cases for touch-screen devices like the iPhone.

“We know customers really value our ability to bring them the brands they trust, the right level of assortment, and the most affordable prices,” said Gary Severson, Walmart’s senior vice president for home entertainment. “We want to continue to keep them engaged and inspired, making selection easier, and introducing more technologies that add comfort, fun and quality of life, for themselves and their families.”

When asked if the bankruptcy of Circuit City -- at the time of its demise the nation’s second-largest electronics retailer behind Best Buy – had anything to do with the chain’s new look and product lineup, Walmart spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien dismissed any correlation. She said various store departments get an annual makeover.

Still, she readily acknowledged that the downfall of Circuit City has presented Walmart with a golden opportunity to “wow” the defunct chain’s former customers and others who haven’t shopped at Walmart for a while.

Indeed. Walmart is a much different electronics’ retailer than it was only a few years ago. The chain has expanded beyond budget and value brands to include nameplates with plenty of cache like Sony, Dell, HP, Toshiba, and Apple (iPods and iPhones). The company has also added new lines like Samsung and Vizio television sets.

The chain says it will be the first retailer in the country to offer for sale Dell’s new Studio One 19 All-in-One touch screen desktop computer. It’s due out in June, and Walmart claims the company will have exclusive distribution rights for an unspecified period.

As part of the relaunch, Walmart announced some new products, features, and promotions shoppers can look forward to in the next week or so:

• A Philips Blu-ray Disc Player on sale for $198

• An expanded selection of new Samsung, Sony, and Vizio TVs, ranging in size from 46 to 52 inches

• A wide assortment in colorful 11-inch Acer netbooks, at $298

• Sony’s E-Reader portable E-Book

• More stores will carry more cell phones including the Blackberry Bold (AT&T) and Samsung Instinct s30 (Sprint), and BlackBerry Storm (Verizon). Once available, they’ll also be carrying the sure-to-be-in-hot-demand Palm Pre (Sprint)

How does Walmart rate as an electronics retailer? In our most recent study, not so well. Our survey respondents placed them at the bottom of the rankings. We’ll have to see whether the new Walmart does better than the old.

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Court Says No to $33 Million Tax Rebate for Wal-Mart

Al Norman
Huffpost
May 19, 2009                           [back to top]

North Carolina's textiles industry has been economically undone by Wal-Mart's China First procurement policy. As if those employment losses weren't bad enough, the state has also been engaged in a multi-year legal battle to get the giant retailer to pay its fair share of state income taxes.

Two years ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a story revealing that Wal-Mart pays billions of dollars a year in rent for its stores, but in 25 states -- most of them east of the Mississippi -- it has been paying most of that rent to itself, and deducting that amount from its state taxes. This scheme has allowed Wal-Mart to avoid paying several hundred million dollars in state taxes.

Based on a dodge developed by its accounting firm, Ernst & Young, as a "local tax reduction strategy," Wal-Mart's financial self-dealing has allowed it to pay rent to itself through a maze of eight corporate subsidiaries created in 1996, including Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

Under the agreement with itself, Wal-Mart pays 2.5% of gross sales monthly as rent to its own REIT, which then wires the money quarterly to Wal-Mart Property Company in the form of a dividend, which is then paid to Wal-Mart Stores as a tax-exempt "dividends received." All of these transactions are handled through a "cash management agreement" between all the parties. Neither the REIT nor the Property Company has any employees.

The REITs don't pay taxes, as long as they pay 90% of their income out in dividends to shareholders. In Wal-Mart's case, the REITs are owned by Wal-Mart subsidiaries registered in Delaware, a state that has no corporate income tax. Wal-Mart gets the benefit of the rent expense, but also gets the benefit of the non-taxed dividend, on the same monies. The dividends escape taxation, and the original rent that created the dividends is deducted from taxable income in the states where the "expense" is incurred. The rent, in essence, goes from one Wal-Mart pocket into another.

The state of North Carolina challenged this tax work-around several years ago, and disallowed the rental deduction from Wal-Mart's taxable income for the period 1999 to 2002. North Carolina insisted that Wal-Mart submit "combined returns" for Wal-Mart Stores East, Wal-Mart REIT, and Wal-Mart Property Company. The state argued that Wal-Mart was "distorting its true net income." It charged that Wal-Mart Stores East owned all the stock of Wal-Mart Property Company, which owned a majority of the shares of Wal-Mart REIT. Wal-Mart paid their tax bill -- but then sued the state's Secretary of Revenue in 2006, charging that the retailer did not owe the higher taxes.

On December 31, 2007 an Emergency Special Judge in Wade County, North Carolina Superior Court, ruled in favor of the state of North Carolina, and against Wal-Mart's lawsuit. The Judge ruled that North Carolina had the statutory right to force a corporation to state its "true net income" through a consolidated statement, "so as to properly reflect the extent of the corporation's activities in the state." The judge ruled that Wal-Mart's treatment of rent had no "real economic substance," and was only a mechanism for reducing the taxes it pays to the state of North Carolina. "Plaintiffs do not deny the facts demonstrating the circular journey taken by the 'rents' paid by these plaintiffs," the judge wrote, "but contend that on each leg of the journey plaintiffs were only taking advantage of a lawful deduction afforded them by then-existing tax law. Such a piecemeal approach exalts form over substance, however...There is no evidence that the rent transaction, taken as a whole, has any real economic substance apart from its beneficial effect on plaintiffs' North Carolina tax liability. It is particularly difficult for the court to conclude that rents were actually 'paid,' when they are subsequently returned to the payor corporation."

Wal-Mart appealed the Wade County Superior Court ruling, and on May 19, 2009 the North Carolina Court of Appeals denied Wal-Mart's appeal. The three-judge panel voted unanimously that the state has the authority to combine the finances of subsidiaries for the purpose of calculating a company's state tax bill. "The language of the statute is broad," the court ruled, "allowing the secretary (of revenue) to require combined reporting if he finds as a fact that a report by a corporation does not disclose the true earnings of the corporation on its business carried on in this state."

Other states, most recently Massachusetts, have passed laws to require combined reporting of corporate income, and end the "circular journey" of money through companies like Wal-Mart. The retailer now has the option of appealing this week's decision to the North Carolina Supreme Court, and thereby keeping this "tax deadbeat" story alive for another news cycle. Just as Wal-Mart tries to compel its vendors to continually lower prices, so Wal-Mart has tried to continually lower its costs by avoiding its fair share of state taxes.

What Wal-Mart tries to shirk ends up being shifted to its customers -- who are also state taxpayers, and must make up what Wal-Mart sues to avoid. Wal-Mart shoppers may not feel the light touch of Wal-Mart, but the company's tax avoidance policy is akin to picking its customer's pockets even as they browse the store for everyday low prices.

This phony money-shuffling is part of Wal-Mart's "hidden tax" on the rest of us who pay our taxes without the counsel of corporate tax accountants. And we thank them by continuing to shop at their superstores.

Al Norman is the founder of Sprawl-Busters. He is the author of The Case Against Wal-Mart. His website is http://www.sprawl-busters.com

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Wal-Mart Settlement Helps Shoppers

KPHO.com
May 19, 2009                   [back to top]

PHOENIX -- Attorney General Terry Goddard has announced a $1 million settlement of a consumer fraud lawsuit regarding price accuracy against Wal-Mart stores.

According to the agreement, Wal-Mart has committed to launch a rigorous price inspection and monitoring system to ensure that all of its Arizona consumers have access to accurate and clearly posted prices.

“In today’s tough economy, consumers need accurate price information to comparison shop and decide what to buy with their hard-earned money,” Goddard said. "If Arizona’s largest retailer can commit to price accuracy, I expect every Arizona business can do the same.”

All Arizona retailers are required to price their merchandise accurately and make those prices clear to consumers, Goddard said. Between 2001 and 2006, Wal-Mart paid more than $450,000 in fines for failing 526 price accuracy inspections conducted by the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures.

Goddard said he brought the lawsuit in July 2006 to require the company to fix the problems that led to the failed inspections and to provide more reliable pricing for consumers.

Tuesday's settlement promises to bring significant improvements in the accuracy of Wal-Mart’s price posting and checkout scanning, Goddard said. It will give consumers the information they need to identify a product’s cost, comparison shop effectively and trust that the price they are quoted is the same as they price they pay, he added.

According to the agreement, Wal-Mart will appoint an independent monitoring company to design and conduct price accuracy and price posting inspections at its stores across Arizona. The monitor will inspect 40 Wal-Mart stores (out of the company’s 92 stores in Arizona) each year for three years.

Inspectors will consider a store “passing” when at least 98 percent of the merchandise inspected has prices that are clearly and accurately marked, Goddard said.

If a Wal-Mart store fails an inspection by the independent monitor, Wal-Mart will pay the state a fine of $2,500 and the store will be re-inspected until it passes. If the same store fails re-inspections by the monitor, Wal-Mart must pay an additional $5,000 fine for each failed re-inspection, Goddard said.

If any store fails two inspections in a row, Wal-Mart will create a written plan to correct that store’s specific pricing problems within 30 days, Goddard said. The independent monitor will then re-inspect the store regularly, each time assessing the $5,000 fee if the store fails, until the store passes.

In addition to these changes in business practices, Wal-Mart agreed to a financial settlement of $1 million. The money will go toward the cost of the monitoring program as well as consumer education and fraud prevention.

The settlement, which takes the form of a consent judgment, was filed earlier today in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Wal-Mart had the highest number of price-posting violations in the state at the time the lawsuit was filed, Goddard said. The $450,000 in civil fines was also the most assessed against any retailer for pricing violations at that time.

Since the lawsuit was filed, Wal-Mart has paid another $304,000 in civil fines as a result of continuing to fail inspections, Goddard said.

Copyright 2009 by KPHO.com. All rights reserved

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Wal-Mart's new Apple section seen as precursor to Mac sales

By Katie Marsal
AppleInsider                                 [back to top]

Wal-Mart's move to overhaul the electronics departments in many of its retail stores with Apple-designated shopping areas is being seen as a sign that the mega-retailer is making a pitch to eventually carry Apple's line of Mac personal computers.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter began revamping the electronics departments in approximately 3,500 of its stores this week -- including 2,600 Supercenter locations -- in a bid to capitalize on a large slice of the big-screen TV market vacated by Circuit City, which shut down its operations after filing for bankruptcy in November.

As part of the renovations, which should provide for a more spacious and interactive shopping experience, Wal-Mart will also be rolling out specialized in-store boutiques for popular brands such and Nintendo and Apple, similar to the Apple store-within-a-store layouts found in Best Buy retail stores.

Ben Reitzes, an analyst with Barclays Capital, sees the move as a precursor to Wal-Mart extending its reach beyond iPods, iPhones, and accessories to Apple's Mac line of computers.

"We believe Wal-Mart is actively pitching Apple to carry more products," he said. "With Wal-Mart improving its retail displays, we believe that the mega-retailer could eventually earn the right to sell select Mac products without diluting Apple’s brand."

Upon last check, Apple had under 10,000 distribution points for the Mac worldwide, so a move into Wal-Mart would increase Mac exposure significantly. Reitzes also noted that many of Wal-Mart's stores are located in rural areas not near one of Apple's own company stores.

That said, the analyst doesn't see the existing Mac line as a particularly good fit for the discount retailer outside of the $599 Mac mini and $999 MacBook offerings, but said he believes the company is working on more sub-$1000 products that may eventually appeal to Wal-Mart's customer base.

"We have recently stated that Apple could reposition the low-end of it Mac lines to be more affordable as well as eventually introduce an ultraportable touchscreen tablet device as early as this year," Reitzes said. He's likely referring to a couple of AppleInsider reports on those respective matters, including plans for more affordable Macs later this year and a Newton-like web tablet sometime thereafter.

Still, Apple has approached the Wal-Mart demographic with caution over the years, mainly out of concern that the big-box retailer could tarnish the company's reputation if its products aren't displayed and marketed with care.

For example, the electronics maker first tested the waters for iPod sales by providing Wal-Mart only with its budget $99 iPod shuffle. Similarly, it didn't extend iPhone sales to the retailer until the handset had been on the market 18 months and its sales first tested at another big-box retailer, Best Buy.

"Apple is very particular and exclusive with who sells its Macs (much more so than iPods) and any 'Mac experiment' with Wal-Mart would likely start very gradually via a pilot program at first -- just like Mac sales started at Best Buy," said Reitzes.

If done right, the analyst believes both sides would reap benefits: Apple would see increased distribution while Wal-Mart’s brand would likely see a boost in its attempt to compete with Best Buy as a quality electronics retailer.

"Note that Apple’s Mac sales growth accelerated markedly when it first expanded with Best Buy and more distribution deals may not be far behind if Apple wants to keep pace with the rapidly growing netbook category in its own distinctive way," Reitzes said.

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Preservation group: Civil War battlefield at risk

By STEVE SZKOTAK ,
Associated Press
05.19.09                                         [back to top]

Preservation Virginia has joined a growing opposition that says a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Wilderness Battlefield threatens the Civil War site where nearly 29,000 troops were killed or injured 145 years ago.

The private nonprofit preservation group sided Monday with a who's who of historians, congressmen and celebrities who have taken a stand against the 138,000-square-foot store in Orange County.

"The proposed Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) would degrade the rural character of the battlefield, promote commercial sprawl, and drastically increase traffic through the heart of the park," Preservation Virginia said in a statement.

Orange County planners are scheduled to hold a public hearing Thursday on the Wal-Mart proposal. The Board of Supervisors will have the final vote later.

Wal-Mart maintains the store along a commercial strip will not diminish the battlefield and will provide hundreds of jobs to a rural area located about 60 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. Some local officials have also said the rural county could use an economic boost.

The Wilderness is known primarily as the place where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and his Union counterpart, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, first met in battle on May 5-6, 1864.

Approximately 2,700 acres of the Wilderness Battlefield are protected as part of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

Preservation Virginia included the Wilderness Battlefield in its 2009 list of most endangered historic sites released Monday. The others, and Preservation Virginia's concerns, include:

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_ The Obici House in Suffolk, built in 1924 by Amedeo Obici, the founder of Planters Peanut Co. Suffolk is home to Mr. Peanut, the dapper nut with the top hat on his unshelled head that Obici used to promote his Virginia peanuts. The home is now vacant and neglected.

_ McIntire Park in Charlottesville, called the city's largest and most underused park. Philanthropist Paul Goodloe McIntire gave the land to the city in 1926. It includes a nine-hole municipal golf course. Proposed road construction threatens to limit activities within the park.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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US dismisses claims against Wal-Mart

By JON GAMBRELL ,
Associated Press
05.19.09                                             [back to top]

The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint by labor groups accusing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of unlawfully pressuring employees to vote against Democrats in the November election.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, FEC commissioners say they found no evidence to support claims that Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) broke election law by telling employees that Democrats such as Barack Obama would support a bill to make it easier for workers to unionize.

The labor groups, which included the AFL-CIO, American Rights at Work and WakeUpWalMart.com, based their complaint on a story in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper's story said Wal-Mart held mandatory meetings with store managers and department supervisors to warn that if Democrats prevailed, they likely would push through a bill making it easier for workers to unionize.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved

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NC appeals court upholds tax bill for Wal-Mart

By GARY D. ROBERTSON ,
Associated Press
05.19.09                                           [back to top]

The state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its efforts to get a $33 million tax refund, upholding a trial judge's ruling that found a complex corporate structure was used primarily to avoid corporate income taxes.

In a unanimous opinion, the three-judge panel said the state revenue secretary has the authority to combine the finances of multiple subsidiaries when determining the discount retailer's tax bill in North Carolina.

Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) said it did nothing illegal. The appeals court rejected its definition of true taxable earnings in state law while determining Wal-Mart Stores and its Sam's Club warehouse division are not entitled to refunds.

"The language of the statute is broad, allowing the secretary to require combined reporting if he finds as a fact that a report by a corporation does not disclose the true earnings of the corporation on its business carried on in this state," Judge Donna Stroud wrote for the court.

Wal-Mart is reviewing the decision, which could wind up at the state Supreme Court, although an appeal isn't offered automatically.

We feel all taxpayers should be able to rely on clearly defined laws that are reasonably and fairly enforced," company spokeswoman Daphne Moore said.

The case has received attention because it may signal the extent in which North Carolina and other states are able to evaluate revenue subject to state tax law even when profits generated in North Carolina are shifted to tax shelters.

In the mid-1990s, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company began to shift its corporate structure as a method to reduce its state taxes, according to court documents.

It created a captive real estate investment trust, which served as a landlord to Wal-Mart retail stores. The stores, operating as a corporation called Wal-Mart Stores East, paid rent to the trust. The rent was tax-deductible for Wal-Mart Stores East.

The rent money was then paid out as dividends to another Wal-Mart subsidiary based in Delaware, providing the company another tax break.

That subsidiary then returned the earnings to Wal-Mart Stores East. Such dividends paid by a subsidiary to a parent corporation aren't counted as taxable income.

The state Revenue Department audited the tax returns for Wal-Mart Stores East from 1999 through 2002 and by examining two other subsidiaries ordered additional income tax payments for the company.

Stroud, along with Judges Sanford Steelman and Barbara Jackson, also upheld interest and penalties tacked on to the tax bill.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Wal-Mart Wants In On The Used Games Biz, Too

Tameka Kee,
PaidContent.org
05.18.09                                    [back to top]

GameStop has been the only major player in the used video game business for at least five years—but that all changed in 2009.

In Q1 alone, Best Buy ( BBY - news - people ), Amazon.com ( AMZN - news - people ) and Toys R Us have staked their claim to a piece of what has become a billion-dollar industry, and now Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) is joining the pile-up.

A NeoCrisis contributor spotted a games trade-in kiosk at his local Wal-mart; the retailer has teamed up with entertainment kiosk-maker e-Play to deploy about 80 units in the Northeast.

An e-Play rep told Kotaku that the trade-in values would fluctuate based on various factors (likely demand and rarity), and users get a credit for the game on their credit or debit card within a number of business days.

Why GameStop ( GME - news - people ) still might not be worried:

That cuts out one revenue stream for Wal-mart—at least temporarily—since the kiosks aren’t doling out store credit; the retailer told Kotaku it wanted to see how many people actually used the machines before brokering that kind of deal with e-Play. But Wal-mart is still getting either a space rental fee from the kiosk-maker, or a cut of whatever profit e-Play is making on the value of the games.

Wal-mart faces some of the same challenges as Toys R Us and Amazon with these kiosks: the lack of instant gratification and the stigma of selling games back to an “uncool” retailer.

There’s also the notion that more game publishers are flocking to downloadable add-on content as a way to keep people from selling old games back (players can’t thrash out to newly released Guitar Hero tracks, for example, if they sell the original disc back; that has kept most people from turning it in).

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Walmart to roll out video game trade-in kiosks

By Brett Molina
May 18, 2009                             [back to top]

Walmart is bringing e-Play kiosks to 77 of its stores that allow users to trade in used video games, says a representative for the retailer.

The e-Play website offers details on how to execute trade-ins, which require both a credit card and identification for security reasons.

Users scan the game box's bar code and get a trade-in price. If they accept, users then swipe their credit card and driver's license and insert the game disc into a slot on the kiosk. Instructions on e-Play's site say users will receive a credit to their account in 2-3 business days.

Walmart says there are no plans to expand the pilot program beyond the 77 stores. Gaming blog Kotaku reports the kiosks are at locations in the Northeast -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. Site Neocrisis has posted images of the kiosks and a first-hand account of the user experience.

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Target shareholder finds fault with food offering

Associated Press,
05.18.09                                         [back to top]

Activist shareholder William Ackman said Monday that the retailer Target Corp. has been hurt by a limited food offering and its unwillingness to look into ways to capitalize on its real estate.

Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund holds a 7.8 percent stake in Minneapolis-based Target, has nominated five candidates for election to Target's board at its annual meeting on May 28.

Pershing said Monday that an independent proxy advisory firm recommended that Target's shareholders vote for two of its nominees, Winthrop Realty Trust Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Ashner and former Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Jim Donald.

Proxy Governance Inc. also said that stockholders should vote against Target's plan to limit the board to 12 members, Pershing said. Ackman wants Target to have a 13-member board.

In a letter to Target shareholders, Ackman said that the current board is insular and is ill equipped to deal with its shortcomings in the food business, calling it more limited that competitor Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s.

"We strongly believe that the board does not have sufficient food retailing expertise to advise, guide or challenge management on the company's grocery expansion strategies. In our view, these are all strategic missteps for which we hold the incumbent board of directors accountable," he wrote.

Ackman also blamed Target's underperformance on a profit decline at its credit card business, which he said came mostly from "the board's failure to execute a credit-risk transfer transaction, despite our emphatic efforts, beginning in August 2007, to convince the company to do so. Such a transaction would have transferred a substantial majority of the credit card business' credit and funding risk to a partnering bank."

Aside from Ashner and Donald, Pershing Square has nominated Ackman, law professor Ronald Gilson and Richard Vague, the former chairman and CEO of First USA.

Target's slate of current board members consists of Mary Dillon, global chief marketing officer of McDonald's Corp.; Wells Fargo & Co. Chairman Richard Kovacevich; George Tamke, partner with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc.; and Telstra Corp. Chief Executive Solomon Trujillo.

Pershing's fifth candidate is running for the seat left vacant by the resignation of former Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Ulrich, who resigned from the board on Jan. 31.

In a previous SEC filing, Target said it does not plan to fill the vacancy left by Ulrich. The company is asking its shareholders to vote to limit the size of the board to 12.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Wal-Mart reports flat 1st-quarter profit

Associated Press
05.14.09                                       [back to top]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is reporting a flat first-quarter profit as revenue was hurt by the stronger dollar.

The world's largest retailer said Thursday that it earned $3.02 billion, or 77 cents per share, for the period ended April 30. That was flat from a year earlier. Revenue fell 0.6 percent to $93.47 billion, from $94.04 billion a year earlier.

Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) said earnings were hurt by 4 cents per share because of currency exchange rates. Without the that impact, the company said sales would have increased 4.5 percent to $98.31.

Analysts were expecting 77 cents per share on revenues of $96.37 billion.

Wal-Mart has been doing better in the recession than many other retailers as its focus on low prices and the shift in merchandise it offers came together as the economy soured.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved

California Court Blocks Wal-Mart Supercenter

Wal-Mart Violated California Law by Ignoring Climate Change

Matt Vespa,
Center for Biological Diversity
May 14, 2009                                               [back to top]

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.— Today a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge overturned the controversial approval of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter near Joshua Tree National Park because the project’s environmental study improperly dismissed the impacts from the project’s greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The court agreed that Wal-Mart broke the law by refusing to even consider common-sense measures to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of its latest big-box store,” said Matt Vespa, senior attorney with the Center’s Climate Law Institute.“ California law requires consideration of greenhouse emissions and other environmental impacts from new development, and it is only fair that Wal-Mart comply with this important requirement.”

The lawsuit is one of a series of court challenges brought by the Center to reduce greenhouse gases from new development through the California Environmental Quality Act. The Act mandates that where an environmental impact is determined to be significant, all feasible mitigation measures must be adopted to substantially lessen the impact.

In its environmental review for the proposed project, which is located close to Joshua Tree National Park in Joshua tree woodland, habitat for the imperiled desert tortoise, Wal-Mart attempted to avoid adopting feasible measures to reduce the carbon footprint of its Supercenter by determining that the project’s cumulative impact to global warming was less than significant. The court rejected Wal-Mart’s finding that the project’s impacts were not significant as unsupported and contrary to science.

“Wal-Mart talks a lot about fighting global warming, but when it comes to actually taking action, it bent over backwards to avoid incorporating cost-effective features like solar panels to reduce its carbon footprint,” said Matt Vespa. “The enormous disconnect between Wal-Mart’s stated environmental goals and its actions is classic greenwashing.”

The court also ruled that the environmental study illegal for several other reasons. It neglected measures to reduce ozone and dust pollution, and environmentally superior alternatives. The environmental study also disregarded data that the Supercenter would result in “urban decay,” a process that causes other local stores to go out of business.

“Business-as-usual big box sprawl is devastating to our environment and communities,” said Vespa. “California law requires Wal-Mart to take stronger steps to live up to its promise to reduce significant environmental impacts like global warming.”

Visit the Center’s Web site for more information on our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the California Environmental Quality.

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ShopRite, local group sue to prevent Walmart in Wawarsing

By Adam Bosch,
Times Herald-Record
May 9th, 2009                                         [back to top]

A national grocery chain and local anti-Walmart group have sued to stall Walmart's development of a store in Wawarsing.

The suit, filed April 23 by ShopRite and Wawarsing-Ellenville for Responsible Development (WERD), accuses the town Planning Board of unjustly bypassing a complete environmental review for Walmart's 140,000-square-foot supercenter.

The Planning Board agreed in March to forgo the long-form review because Walmart's future location at the site of the Napanoch Valley Mall on Route 209 had been used for retail and grocery sales when Ames and Grand Union occupied the building a few years back. But ShopRite and WERD charge that Wawarsing officials missed the 20-day deadline to skip the long review after declaring they'd be lead agency for the project.

Wawarsing Supervisor Ed Jennings called the suit "absolutely ridiculous," and didn't think it would stop Walmart from building.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a go," Jennings said of Walmart.

The suit also accuses Wawarsing of ignoring recommendations by the county planning department to study impacts on policing, traffic and the local economy.

ShopRite has a local history of suing companies that threaten its market share. Over the past decade, ShopRite sued in New Windsor to stall Price Chopper, in Thompson to stifle Walmart, and hired engineers to warn the feds that Hannaford's proposed site in Warwick could affect endangered bog turtles. The turtle scare delayed the construction of Hannaford's by one year.

None of ShopRite's efforts stopped competitors from building.

"We spent a lot of time and a lot of dollars in court because of ShopRite," Thompson Supervisor Tony Cellini said. "It's a lot of aggravation that's uncalled for."

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Wal-Mart mail-order prescription drug service raises worries

By Cami Reister,
The Grand Rapids Press
May 8th, 2009                               [back to top]

When Mike Hatfield walks into his neighborhood pharmacy, everybody knows his name.

"I love to come in here," the Grand Rapids man said of the Village Pharmacy, 4236 Kalamazoo Ave. SE. "It's like I'm a celebrity. I feel like I'm on 'Cheers.'"

That personal relationship -- where pharmacists know a customer's name, their health issues, what drugs they take and whether they live alone or have family support -- is at risk when customers move to mail-order prescriptions, pharmacists say.

That, and the fear of losing business, is why a program piloted in Michigan by Wal-Mart is causing concern among smaller pharmacies.

The retail giant this week launched a mail-order drug program that would deliver a 90-day supply of any of the 300 generic prescriptions for $10 to Michigan residents.

Wal-Mart touts it as expanding access to affordable prescriptions along with its existing $4-for-30-days generic program.

Concerns raised

But the National Community Pharmacists Association issued a statement saying the program raises questions about patient safety and the cost of treatment when drugs are used improperly, which has been estimated at $177 billion a year.

"Clearly, more patients risk adverse drug events, and the resulting treatment costs would soar if the patient's primary community pharmacist is traded for envelopes and 1-800 numbers," the statement said.

Pharmacist Jim Byington, co-owner of the Village Pharmacy and Ada Hillside Pharmacy, said customer interaction is key.

"Especially with a lot of our seniors, it's a big part of being able to keep track of how they're doing," he said.

Red flags

Byington listed several examples where familiarity with the customer flagged important issues with their medication, including a new prescription from a specialist clashing with current medication ordered by a previous doctor.

"And when one of our patients is admitted to the hospital, if there are questions related to the medication they take, they call us," he said. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't get a call from one of our three hospitals."

Mike Rose, pharmacist and co-owner of Parkwood Pharmacy, 1106 Burton St. SW in Wyoming, said it is another marketing ploy, and customers must do some research for the best deal.

Wal-Mart and other large chains may offer cheap or free medications, "but they are overpriced on some of the other items not on their hot list," he said. "That sometimes offsets the free medication. The total still may be more than at their normal pharmacy."

He also said the number of people without prescription drug insurance is shrinking thanks to Medicare Part D and other programs.

"Less than 10 percent of our prescription sales are cash sales," he said. "Everything else runs through insurance."

Diversity important

Programs such as this are what pushed pharmacist Patti Smeelink to diversify her business.

"I don't think it's a good idea, but you can't fight city hall, either," said Smeelink, owner of East Paris Pharmacy, 1000 East Paris Ave. SE in Grand Rapids Township.

She offers diabetes shoes, flu shots and shingles vaccines, among other nonprescription items, to help the bottom line.

"I'm the No. 1 immunizer in the U.S. for shingles vaccines," she said. "I've learned to make a living doing other things. If I were to try to compete with Wal-Mart, I would lose."

Hatfield, who has been a Village Pharmacy customer for six years, said he does not want to switch to mail order and give up the relationship he has with his pharmacy.

"As long as I've been coming here, that's one thing I love," he said. "They know who their customers are. It's something that is missing, I believe, in our society."

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Retail Results, Bernanke Speech On Tap

Markets will focus on Wal-Mart and retailer results next week. Consumer sentiment and Bernanke's view of the economy command attention.

Peter C. Beller,
05.08.09                              [back to top]

Next week should bring continued focus on the health of U.S. banks when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke talks about the financial system's health on Monday. Bank shares soared this week after the Fed's stress tests revealed the largest institutions need tens of billions of new capital. Bernanke will give his speech Monday night in Georgia.

Retailers will also be shedding light on where the economy is headed. Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ), the world's largest retailer, reports quarterly earnings on Thursday. Wall Street expects a profit of 77 cents a share, a penny more than last year. Other stores reporting on Wednesday and Thursday include Kohl's ( KSS - news - people ), Macy's ( M - news - people ) and Nordstrom ( JWN - news - people ).

Also announcing results next week as earnings season winds down, gourmet supermarket chain Whole Foods ( WFMI - news - people ) is expected to say on Thursday it made 18 cents a share, down from 29 cents a year ago. Analysts are guessing that electronics giant Sony ( SNE - news - people ) will announce it lost $2.09 compared to a 28-cent profit last year.

On Wednesday, data on retail sales and business inventories comes out, followed on Thursday by weekly unemployment claims and the producer price index. Economists expect April retailing will be unchanged after a 1.2% drop in March. The release of consumer price data and consumer sentiment on Friday should give markets a hint about whether inflation should be feared and whether American shoppers, historically a huge component of gross domestic product, are feeling better about the future.

Analysts and investors will be looking at the data for confirmation of recent optimism about an end to the recession. Friday's jobs report painted a mixed picture, with unemployment increasing to 8.9%, but jobs losses decreasing to 539,000 last month after several months of big layoff figures. Markets finished the week higher despite that.

The bond market will be trying to catch its breath after a slew of companies rushed to sell debt at lower interest rates after corporate bonds rallied strongly. Investment-grade issuers sold $27.1 billion of debt this week, and on Friday, Hasbro ( HAS - news - people ), Gannett ( GCI - news - people ) and Bank of America ( BAC - news - people ) joined in. (See "Bond Market Recovery.")

Thomson Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Walmart to Stop Reporting Monthly Same-Store Sales

By Natalie Zmuda ,
Advertising Age
May 7th, 2009                             [back to top]

Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, will cease reporting monthly sales, giving analysts and Wall Street less insight into consumer behavior in the teeth of a nasty recession.

The retailer made the announcement as it reported a 5% increase in April same-store sales. Going forward, Walmart said it will only report quarterly same-store sales. Same-store sales, a comparison of year-over-year sales at stores open at least a year, have long been considered a key measure by which analysts and Wall Street determine a retailer's health. And given that the move comes in the midst of a recession, analysts say the lack of information will make it that much more difficult to discern what consumers are doing and buying.

Walmart is "a bellwether," said Patricia Edwards, retail analyst and founder of Storehouse Partners. "As a retail analyst, it's causing me a little bit of heartburn. They're the first set of retail numbers I pull up every month. They are the most important. To find out we're not going to have that level of detail on a monthly basis is hard."

Eliminating short-term volatility Walmart argues that by reporting on a quarterly basis, it will be able to eliminate short-term volatility. Given that the retailer has consistently reported same-store sales gains throughout the recession, Ms. Edwards said it has the "political capital" to make that decision.

"Walmart was built on a foundation that manages for long-term success," said Tom Schoewe, exec VP-chief financial officer, Walmart Stores. "This decision aligns investors with the long-term view we take to build shareholder value. We feel this also will reduce the intra-period volatility related to events such as calendar shifts."

Retailers across categories have embraced similar arguments and pushed back on the metric in recent years. According to TNS Retail Forward, 34 companies now report monthly same-store sales, down from 87 five years ago.

Long-term trend "This is a long-term trend that has been steady, with perhaps six to 12 companies dropping monthly reporting each year for various reasons," said Frank Badillo, senior economist at TNS Retail Forward. "The trend is likely to continue and it may or may not be accelerated by Walmart's decision to stop reporting monthly results. ... The decision can depend, to a great extent, on pushback from investors and the markets."

Indeed, in February 2008 Macy's announced it would stop reporting monthly sales, which some say fueled concerns about the retailer's viability. Macy's subsequently returned to reporting monthly sales later that year. While some analysts indicated that the timing of Walmart's decision was likely coincidental, perhaps related to management changes, others took a more doubtful view.

"My cynical response is that they are facing tougher comparisons as they move ahead, and that's a typical response of any company. When news gets more negative, stop the news," said Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. "It's a bad message for Walmart to send, especially in these times. ... And it's a bad message for the economy as a whole."

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Lake authorities arrest man posing as Walmart employee

By Anthony Colarossi,
Orlando Sentinel
May 7th, 2009                                       [back to top]

Lake authorities are holding a man they say preyed on consumers across the state by telling them he was a Walmart employee and offering them low-priced "overstock" television sets.

Investigators said Joseph W. Torma scammed victims by meeting them in restaurants and other social settings, identifying himself as a Walmart employee and offering them great deals on TV sets due to an overstock at his particular store.

Torma would later meet the individuals at a Walmart location, accept about $300 in cash and tell them to wait for him at a store entrance, according to an affidavit provided by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

"The defendant would tell the victim to wait at one door, then enter the store and leave through another door without ever making contact with the victim again," the affidavit states. The investigation found that Torma "consistently used the same method to attract, bait and scam his victims in nearly every incident."

Many victims described Torma as having bad teeth.

Torma, 60, is listed as homeless and charged with organized fraud, according to Lake County Jail records.

Law enforcement agencies reported a man fitting Torma's description using the same methods in Largo, Pinellas County, Brevard County, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, West Melbourne, Sumter County, Sebastian, Lake City and Lake County.

Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Herrell said Torma turned himself into the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and he was later transported to Lake based on an arrest warrant issued there.

Ultimately, Herrell said, the statewide prosectors office will handle the case.

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EEOC sues Fresno Sam's Club on behalf of Latinos

Associated Press
05.07.09                                          [back to top]

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims some Hispanic employees at a Fresno Sam's Club were subjected to a hostile work environment.

The suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court against parent company Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ( WMT - news - people ) alleges that managers failed to stop repeated verbal harassment, including the use of derogatory words, against employees of Mexican origin.

EEOC officials say they filed the suit after attempting a voluntary settlement. They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages and creation of a formal complaint procedure.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Michelle Bradford said the company works to ensure employees are treated fairly.

"We work hard to make sure they feel respected and valued in the workplace," Bradford said from the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. She declined further comment.

Discrimination based on national origin violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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5-year-old dies after bike crashes into truck

Police: Smyrna boy rode through stop sign

By JENNIFER PRICE
The News Journal                               [back to top]

A 5-year-old boy died Wednesday evening in Smyrna after he crashed into a tractor-trailer while riding his bicycle, Delaware State Police said.

Christopher T. Foote, Jr. was riding his bike north on School Lane around 6:10 p.m. when he came to the intersection at Glenwood Avenue and failed to stop at a stop sign, said Sgt. Joshua Bushweller, Delaware State Police spokesman.

Vaughn E. Wilson, the driver of the 2005 Freightliner, was traveling west on Glenwood Avenue when Christopher's bike struck the side of the 18-wheeler and crashed underneath the truck, Bushweller said.

The accident occurred not far from Christopher's home, Bushweller said. No one was riding with the boy and it was not raining at the time of the accident, he said.

Christopher, who was not wearing a helmet, died at the scene and was taken to Kent General Hospital in Dover.

Wilson, 42, of Suffolk, Va., was transporting freight from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Smyrna. Wilson, who is a driver for Schneider National Carrier, was not charged with violating any traffic laws. Police said he was wearing a seat belt and was not injured.

The intersection is in a residential neighborhood, Bushweller said. Both School Lane and Glenwood Avenue have 25 mph speed limits. Wilson was not speeding, he said.

Due to the nature of the accident, Smyna Police asked state police to investigate.

The roads were closed for about three hours and reopened shortly after 9.

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Woman sues La. Wal-Mart over 'Norman the nutria'

Associated Press,
05.07.09                                    [back to top]

A Louisiana woman is suing a Wal-Mart store over what she claims was a much-too-close encounter of the furry kind. Rebecca White says in her lawsuit that employees at a Wal-Mart in Abbeville let a rat-tailed rodent known as a nutria run loose and scare her. She says that not only did employees know it was in their store, but gave it a pet name, Norman, and failed to warn shoppers.

White says she was pushing a full shopping cart down an aisle in October when the nutria ran out from behind a rack. She says she pulled the cart backward in a panicked attempt to protect herself and hurt her back and foot.

The local store referred all questions about Norman to the Bentonville, Ark.-headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ( WMT - news - people ), the nation's largest retailer.

A spokeswoman there said the company has not seen the nutria lawsuit, which was filed in state court in Abbeville, but is investigating. The parish nuisance animal control officer said no one has called him about the animal.

Nutria have bright orange buck teeth and can weigh up to 18 pounds. Would-be fur farmers in 22 states imported them in large numbers in the 1930s and '40s, then released them when they proved unprofitable. They proliferated in south Louisiana.

White wants compensation for pain, suffering, mental anguish, fear, disabling injuries, and medical expenses. Her attorney says the surgery bills aren't in yet, but other medical bills totaled nearly $2,000.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published

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Victims not happy with Wal-Mart settlement

BY MATTHEW CHAYES
newsday.com
May 6, 2009                                [back to top]

Wal-Mart trampling victim Leana Lockley, with her 3-week old daughter, Alicia, in her father's Far Rockaway home. (Photo by James Carbone / May 6, 2009)

More than five months after a Wal-Mart seasonal worker was crushed to death by a throng of bargain-hungry shoppers, the worker's family and the then-pregnant mother who credits him with protecting her womb in the melee all say that Wednesday's government settlement does little to ease their pain - and would do nothing to end their own lawsuits.

Seasonal worker Jdimytai Damour's parents are still anguished by his death last November at the Valley Stream Wal-Mart, family friends said.

The pregnant mother whom Damour protected, Leana Lockley, now spends her days worrying that her 3-week-old daughter might have sustained unnoticed injuries in the crush.

Alicia Skye Lockley was born relatively healthy last month, but Lockley, 28, of South Ozone Park, and their doctor remains vigilant because the fetus was "almost . . . crushed in my womb."

Lockley, who said she suffered injuries to her back and neck, as well as two black eyes, is in psychological counseling, said her attorney, David Sloan of Hicksville. "She actually saw this poor gentleman Mr. Damour die right in front of her very eyes," Sloan said.

Nicole Jean, 60, of Rosedale, a Damour family friend, said the $400,000 available to victims doesn't begin to compensate for the loss.

"Two million? For somebody's life?" Jean asked. She added: "He was 34 years old. It's nothing! It's nothing! . . . People walked on him, breaking all his bones."

Ogera Charles, Damour's 67-year-old father, who lives in Fresh Meadows, said Damour's mother was "not doing too well" in her grief.

As for the safety measures announced Wednesday meant to prevent future crowd disasters, Sloan said he'd reserve judgment until they're put into effect.

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Wal-Mart pays $2M to avoid charges in death probe

By FRANK ELTMAN
The Associated Press
May 6, 2009                     [back to top]

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — Wal-Mart agreed Wednesday to pay nearly $2 million and improve safety at its 92 New York stores as part of a deal with prosecutors that avoids criminal charges in the trampling death of a temporary worker.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who began a criminal investigation shortly after last November's customer stampede at Wal-Mart's Valley Stream store, said that if she had brought criminal charges against the retailer for negligence in the worker's death, the company would have been subject to only a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Instead, she said, the company has agreed to implement an improved crowd-management plan for post-Thanksgiving Day sales, set up a $400,000 victims' compensation and remuneration fund, and give a $1.5 million grant to Nassau County social services programs and nonprofit groups.

The agreement included no admission of guilt by Wal-Mart.

"Rather than bringing the world's largest retailer to court and imposing a small fine against them, I felt it was important to require significant safety changes that will affect the whole state," Rice said. "Our goal is for the protocols that are set up to be the gold standard for crowd management in this industry."

Wal-Mart vice president Hank Mullany said, "The crowd management plan we are announcing today was developed by a team of experts whose experience includes NFL Super Bowls, Olympic games, concerts and national political conventions."

Jdimytai (Jimmy-tree) Damour, a temporary employee, had been on the job for about a week and had no training in security or crowd control when a crowd estimated at 2,000 broke down the Valley Stream store's doors, trapping him in a vestibule.

Built like an NFL linebacker at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, the 34-year-old Queens man died of asphyxiation. Eleven others, including a pregnant woman, were injured.

Earlier this year, Damour's family announced plans to sue the county, retailer and others. The family's attorney did not immediately comment on Wednesday's announcement.

Any victims who accept payment from the Wal-Mart compensation fund will be required to waive their right to a separate civil suit against Wal-Mart, Rice said. Also, she said, Wal-Mart has agreed to advertise the compensation fund in the daily and weekly newspapers that cover Valley Stream and its surrounding neighborhoods.

"Facilitating the compensation is one of the main goals of this settlement," she said.

The company also agreed to an independent review of its procedures for post-Thanksgiving Day sales. The prosecutor said her office will oversee compliance.

"We are hoping that this safety plan becomes the nationally recognized model for crowd management among all retailers and becomes an industrywide best practice," she said.

The community grant money includes $1.2 million for Nassau County's Youth Board, which helps nonprofit agencies provide career development, employment training and other opportunities. The retailer also will donate $300,000 to the United Way of Long Island's Youth Build Program in Nassau County. The deal also calls for Wal-Mart to hire 50 high school students annually to work in its five stores in the county.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Investigation of NY Wal-Mart trampling death ends

By FRANK ELTMAN
May 6, 2009                                     [back to top]

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — Wal-Mart will establish a fund for victims and implement improved safety measures as part of a deal with New York prosecutors to avoid criminal charges stemming from the death of a worker trampled by post-Thanksgiving bargain-hunters last year.

Nassau County prosecutors and a Wal-Mart vice president will announce an agreement on Wednesday. Had Wal-Mart been prosecuted and found guilty, it would have only been liable to pay a fine.

Jdimytai Damour (jim-mee-TREE' Di-MOHR'), a temporary worker at Wal-Mart's Valley Stream store on Long Island, was killed in the Nov. 28 stampede. At least four others were injured.

Damour's family also has announced plans to sue both Nassau County officials, and the retailer.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Wal-Mart Distribution Center Meets With Strong Resistance

NewsBlaze.Com
May 06,2009                        [back to top]

MERCED - A massive Wal-Mart distribution center - which would service stores throughout the Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley as far north as Sacramento over to the San Francisco Bay Area - is meeting with strong resistance from residents here, according to letters sent to the City here.

Hundreds of Merced residents have expressed serious concerns - from air pollution and the safety of children in nearby schools to traffic and sinking property values - over the 1.2 million-square-foot facility planned for their city.

A news conference held Thursday, April 30, revealed the contents of some of hundreds of letters submitted to the City at the close of the 60-day comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).

The City of Merced must now ensure that all EIR deficiencies are resolved and that there is an honest and thorough assessment of the impacts of the distribution center on the neighborhoods, and the environment.

The project is expected to generate hundreds of diesel trucks daily, exposing thousands of residents, including children in nearby schools and neighborhoods, to pollution as air quality worsens.

Property values of adjacent homes are expected to sink further because of the 230 acre size of the 1.2 million-square-foot Wal-Mart project.

"I am very concerned about the environmental hazards," wrote Jason Flores about the Wal-Mart facility. He said his family had developed respiratory problems already as residents of Merced. "I have nephews who are toddlers who live in the area...and with three schools within 2 miles (of the Wal-Mart) the Merced City Council should be taking the health of the community seriously."

The "huge increases" in truck traffic because "trucks and kids don't mix," wrote citizen David Martin in his letter to the City of Merced. He said he thinks the environmental laws are not being followed.

And, Jaime Enrique, a local teacher, wrote that he already has many students missing classes because of respiratory problems (22 percent of area children carry inhalers now).

"Please think thoroughly how this distribution center will affect students will respiratory issues," he said.

Coincidentally, the American Lung Association today/Wednesday released findings that the San Joaquin/Sacramento Valley remains the most polluted region in the country resulting in thousands of premature deaths because of air pollution.

Actor Duvall "chasing" Wal-Mart from battlefield

By STEVE SZKOTAK ,
Associated Press
05.05.09                                                    [back to top]

Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall has fired a verbal salvo against plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter near a Virginia Civil War battlefield where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee first fought the Union's Ulysses S. Grant.

Duvall, who is a descendant of Lee, said he will help preservationists in "chasing out" the retailer from a site near the Wilderness Battlefield.

At a news conference on Monday, Duvall said he has no grudge against Wal-Mart ( WMT - news - people ) but believes in capitalism coupled with sensitivity.

Duvall, who won an Academy Award for best actor in "The Apostle," was joined by Congressmen Peter Welch of Vermont and Ted Poe of Texas, representing states that lost many lives at the Wilderness battle 145 years ago.

The Wal-Mart proposal must first be approved by Orange County supervisors.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved

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Wal-Mart to test $10 mail-order drug program

Associated Press,
05.05.09                                            [back to top]

Wal-Mart says it is expanding its discount prescription drug program, testing a program that will allow customers to get 90-day supplies of generic prescription drugs through the mail for as little as $10.

The Bentonville, Ark., company will pilot the program in Michigan.

With the announcement, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ( WMT - news - people ) enters a territory primarily occupied by pharmacy benefit managers.

Pharmacy benefits managers like Medco Health Solutions Inc. ( MHS - news - people ) have been encouraging their clients to fill their prescriptions through the mail, and to replace monthly prescriptions with 90-day orders, which are both cheaper for patients and more profitable for the pharmacy benefits manager.

The companies say the programs save money for both health plans and plan members, and the pharmacy benefits managers themselves make larger profits.

The announcement comes the same day as CVS Caremark posted solid results for a program that lets customers order 90-day supplies of drugs but pick them up at a retail pharmacy rather than getting them through the mail.

Wal-Mart said its program will have no membership or enrollment fees. Customers will be able to get any of 300 common prescriptions for $10 per 90-day order, and will be able to get more than 3,000 other prescriptions, both brand-name and generic, for higher prices.

In 2006, the company launched a program though which customers could fill a 30-day prescription of a low-cost generic drug for $4. It began testing the program in September of that year and took it nationwide by early 2007.

Related Stories Retail Results, Bernanke Speech On Tap How To Keep Your Products On Shelves When Retailers Slash SKUs David B Snow Jr on CEO Compensation (2009) Retail's Brief Rally Build A Defensive Portfolio Related Videos Banks Weigh On Street Markets End Week Higher Retail Detail Asia Braces Itself Against Swine Flu Friday Rally, Oil Gains StoriesVideos Wal-Mart shares slid 58 cents to $50.26 in afternoon trading.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved

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Wal-Mart CEO Backed Gay Adoption Ban

By Julie Bolcer
May 03, 2009                          [back to top]

The new CEO of Wal-Mart was among those who signed a petition to place an initiative on the Arkansas ballot last November to ban adoption and foster parenting by gay couples, reports the group KnowThyNeighbor.org.

A signature from Mike Duke, with an address that matches the known residence and birth date of the Wal-Mart head, was verified by the state and counted to place Act 1 on the ballot. The initiative, which passed with 57% approval among voters, makes it illegal for unmarried cohabitating couples -- gay or straight -- to adopt or foster children.

Opponents of Act 1 charged that the true intent behind the measure was to limit the family rights of same-sex couples. The proposal included straight couple s to ensure its constitutional viability, given that a previous ban targeting only same-sex couples had been struck down.

Last week, KnowThyNeighbor.org posted online the names of more than 83,000 Arkansas residents who signed the petition to place Act 1 on the ballot. The public data, which was provided by the Arkansas secretary of state, can be found here.

Duke, 59, became the fourth CEO of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, in February. He has worked for the company since 1995, most recently being in charge of international operations. In January, Newsweek magazine ranked him number 26 on its list of the world’s 50 global elite.

Advocate.com © 2009 Regent Entertainment Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Wal-Mart workers on Capitol Hill

Aubretia Edick
walmartwatch.com                                   [back to top]

I'm Aubretia Edick, and I recently sent you a video I made about my experiences working at Wal-Mart. The video has already made life at Wal-Mart better for me, and it makes me smile knowing that supporters like you helped make it happen.

In response to my video, dozens of people like you sent photos showing your support for Wal-Mart workers. You've proven that we're not just speaking out for ourselves -- we're representing everyday people all across the country.

Tomorrow, April 30th, nearly 100 Wal-Mart workers like me are speaking out again. They'll be in Washington, D.C., to meet with their elected officials -- and they need your help.

Make their message even stronger by writing to your senators, urging them to listen to my coworkers' stories and support the Employee Free Choice Act. Click here to speak out:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/CapitolHill

It touched me and my coworkers to see so many of you send in signs that read "I Support CHANGE for Wal-Mart Workers."

From all of us, I want to thank you for supporting us.

But today we need you to stand with us again. Our elected officials need to know that it's time for things to CHANGE for Wal-Mart workers. We need them to hear what life is really like for Wal-Mart workers like us, so that they realize how important it is to pass the Employee Free Choice Act now.

I've been so impressed with how determined my coworkers are to pass the Employee Free Choice Act and get real change at Wal-Mart. With you supporting us, we can really make it happen.

Click here to see a slideshow of all the CHANGE photos and to contact your senators:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/CapitolHill

Thank you for continuing to support Wal-Mart workers -- it means so much to us to know that you are here for us.

Sincerely,

Aubretia Edick
Wal-Mart Associate

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Union once again looking to organize Wal-Mart workers

By Paul Demko
5/1/09                                               [back to top]

With revenues of roughly $400 billion and 1.4 million workers at more than 4,000 stores in the United States alone, Wal-Mart is the largest company in the world.

Yet for the last five years, the United Food and Commercial Workers — the largest union in the country representing retail workers — has largely eschewed organizing drives aimed at Wal-Mart workers.

After years of unsuccessfully seeking a toehold within the retail chain, the union simply decided that under current labor laws trying to organize workers in the face of fierce corporate resistance was futile.

“Workers at Wal-Mart have wanted to organize for a long, long time and have made efforts in various places,” says Doug Mork, organizing director for UFCW Local 789. “But there just hasn’t been a real possibility. If their employers have been committed enough and capitalized enough to fight them to the mat on it, workers simply haven’t had the opportunity to organize under existing labor law.”

But the UFCW now vows that its capitulation to Wal-Mart is over. The union has started organizing campaigns in 17 states, including Minnesota, targeting more than 100 stores. The impetus for the organizing drive: the new administration in the White House and the possibility of passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Under the proposed legislation, workers would join a union after more than half of the workers sign a card indicating support. Under present law, an election must be held to determine whether a majority of workers are in favor of joining the union.

President Obama has consistently voiced support for the Employee Free Choice Act. UFCW organizers are utilizing cards with a picture of the popular president to entice workers to sign off on unionization. The cards include a 2007 quote from Obama specifically calling out Wal-Mart. “I don’t mind standing up for workers and letting Wal-Mart know they need to pay a decent wage and let folks organize,” he said at the time.

But the proposed legislation has floundered as the economy has tanked. President Obama has not made it a top legislative priority, and some former supporters, including Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) and Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), have turned against it.

UFCW’s Wal-Mart campaign is part of an effort by organized labor to build support for the Employee Free Choice Act and apply pressure to Congress.

“Every union has been lifting up clear examples of where current law has not worked well,” says Mork. “Wal-Mart is clearly one of the examples for the UFCW. There’s adequate evidence that all sorts of people can look and say, ‘Yes, workers at Wal-mart wanted to organize.’ There’s been clear energy and interest in the past, and they’ve been able to completely shut it down.”

In the Twin Cities, UFCW has had discussions with workers at nine stores, according to Mork. But it’s difficult to say whether the union is gaining significant traction. Mork is reluctant to specify exactly how many workers have so far signed cards indicating support for joining the union.

“I don’t want to give Wal-Mart any information that they don’t have in terms of what’s happening here,” he says. “We’re certainly not a majority anywhere yet. But we’ve got stores where significant numbers of folks have signed.”

Wal-Mart seems unfazed by the campaign. “We have noticed that the UFCW has been working harder in its attempt to get Wal-Mart associates to sign union cards,” says Daphne Moore, a spokesperson for the company. “We don’t think our associates have any reason to be more interested than before.”

However, the retailer is notorious for the lengths it will go to keep organized labor out of its stores. When meat cutters at a Texas store voted to unionize a decade ago, the company responded by eliminating meat cutters from 180 stores in six states. After workers at a Wal-Mart in Canada voted to join a union in 2004, the company shuttered the store.

But less dramatic tactics are the backbone of Wal-Mart’s crusade to keep unions out of its stores, as documented in a 2007 report by Human Rights Watch. Managers are given extensive training in union prevention techniques. New workers are required to watch anti-union videos. There is a union hotline that managers are directed to call at the first hint of organizing so that advice can be dispensed directly from the corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Nelson Lichtenstein, author of the forthcoming book The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business, says such tactics have now become standard for national retail chains. “It’s no longer extraordinary,” says Lichtenstein, who teaches labor history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Now everyone does it. Target does exactly the same thing.”

While these tactics have undoubtedly played a major role in keeping organized labor out of Wal-Mart stores, some observers also argue that unions haven’t made a persuasive case to workers.

“Why is it that workers that everybody acknowledges are not really that well paid are also not willing to vote to put a union in place at Wal-Mart?” asks Charles Fishman, author of the The Wal-Mart Effect. “That’s the $12-an-hour question. … What it says is people don’t think the union has more to offer them than Wal-Mart.”

Fishman points out that if every Wal-Mart worker received a $2 an hour raise, it would eat up all of the company’s $12 billion in profits.

“If Wal-Mart were to be unionized, the stores might look the same,” he says. “The prices wouldn’t be the same, and the way the place operated wouldn’t be the same. Because there’s no room in there to be quote-unquote more generous to people on benefits or pay or staffing without changing the operation.”

After years of unsuccessful battles with Wal-Mart, the UFCW has been content in recent years to concentrate on bloodying the company’s image. The main vehicle for this effort has been the “Wake-Up Wal-Mart” marketing campaign. Through a Web site, protests and other communications tools, the UFCW has tarred Wal-Mart as a corporate behemoth that treats its workers like dirt and routinely violates labor laws.

There is some evidence that the campaign has been successful in affecting consumer behavior and instigating changes in Wal-Mart’s personnel policies. For example, the company has twice in recent years altered its health-insurance policies to make them somewhat more affordable for workers. And in December it settled 63 lawsuits alleging that Wal-Mart failed to pay employees their rightful wages for $352 million.

“They’ve had a positive impact, particularly on health insurance and particularly on the notion that somebody’s watching Wal-Mart,” says Fishman, about the “Wake Up” campaign. “We all know how we do the dishes, clean the kitchen, fold the laundry, rake the leaves if someone’s standing there with their arms crossed watching us.”

Now the UFCW hopes to capitalize on that groundwork by organizing workers.

Peter Rachleff, a labor historian at Macalester College, believes the time is ripe for the UFCW to take another run at Wal-Mart.

“Their anticipation of EFCA getting passed and their estimation of a changed political and economic climate all make this a time — not necessarilly a good time or an easy time — but a necessary time to shift their strategy and try to organize Wal-Mart,” he says.

But that doesn’t mean he believes they’ll be successful. “There‘s a lot at stake,” he says. “I’m not optimistic.”

Lichtenstein is even more blunt in assessing the UFCW‘s chances. “They know it will fail,” he says. “It’s designed to fail.”

But even failure can have an upside. “Demonstrating that failure shows we need something new,” Liechtenstein says. “We need a new law.”

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VIDEOS

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Fighting Wal-Martization 25min. (2005)

A new video by The Labor Video Project 25 min. (2005)

Wal-Mart is now the largest private employer in the United States and has the same impact that General Motors had nearly 50 years ago. This 26-minute video shows why working people and trade unionists are fighting back and what Wal-Mart has in store for the communities it is seeking to build stores in. "Fighting Wal-Martization" is a hard hitting documentary that looks at how the constant price cutting not only drives local small businesses out of the community but how this ends up driving down the living conditions of the very people who shop at Wal-Mart. The video also looks at the healthcare crisis and how Wal-Mart increases its profits by sending it¹s employees to public hospitals to get treatment thereby shifting costs back onto the taxpayer. This video can be used at union meetings, community meetings and on cable TV to get the message out about the Wal-Martization of America and what it means to every working person.

Please mail your check of $20.00 and order form to

Labor Video Project
P. O. Box 720027,
San Francisco, CA 94172

For more info: lvpsf@labornet.org, (415) 282-1908

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices (www.walmartmovie.com)

Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom & Pop (www.independentamerica.net)

Big Box Mart (www.jibjab.com)

Garth Brooks Parody (www.walmartworkersrights.org)

"Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" Frontline, PBS Video, (www.pbs.org)
 

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BOOKS

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NON-FICTION

The Case Against Wal-Mart By Al Norman Raphel Marketing ruth@raphael.com

Wal-Mart: The Face Of Twenty-First Century Capitalism Edited By Nelson Lichtenstein The New Press www.thenewpress.com

The Great Risk Shift: The Assault on American Jobs, Families, Health Care and Retirement By Jacob S. Hacker Oxford University Press www.oup.com

War On The Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back By Lou Dobbs Viking, a member of Penguin Group www.penguin.com

Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age By Allison H. Fine Jossey-Bass www.joseybass.com

Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, By Stacy Mitchell, www.beacon.org www.newrules.org

Wal-Mart: The Face Of the Twenty-First-Century Capitalism, Edited by Nelson Lichtenstein, Published by The New Press www.thenewpress.com

 The Bully Of Bentonville - How the high cost of Wal-Mart's Everyday Low Prices is Hurting America, By Anthony Bianco, Published by Doubleday
Email: specialmarkets@randomhouse.com

 How Wal-Mart is Destroying America (and the world), By Bill Quinn, Published By Ten Speed Press, Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707, www.tenspeed.com (pp. 163)

Slam Dunking Wal-Mart, By Al Norman, Published By Raphel Marketing, 12 S. Virginia Avenue, Atlantic City, New Jersey 08410, www.sprawl-busters.com (pp. 237)

The Great American JobsScam, By Greg LeRoy, Published By Barrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916, www.bkconnection.com (pp. 257)

Nickel and Dimed, By Barbara Ehrenreich, Published By Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 115 West 18^th Street, New York, NY 10011, www.henryholt.com (pp.221)

United States of Wal-Mart, By John Dicker, Published By Jeremy P. Tarcher (Penguin Group usa), www.us.penguingroup.com (pp.257)

The Wal-Mart Effect, By Charles Fishman www.penguin.com

Megamall On The Hudson, By David Porter and Chester L. Mirsky www.trafford.com

FICTION

Death By Discount, By Mary Vermillion, Published By Alyson Publications, P.O. Box 4371, Los Angeles, CA 90078-4371, www.maryvermillion.com (pp. 275)