Yesterday, it was announced that INS officials arrested 71 illegal immigrants who were working at Wal-Mart stores. This bust was nicknamed "Operation Rollback." Supposedly, these immigrants worked for a sub-contractor who was hired to clean their stores.
Don't play innocent with us. We're not suckers. As a corporation, Wal-Mart is absolutely ruthless with both its suppliers and employees, getting lower prices for goods and labor. People shop there to stretch their paychecks, in turn allowing the company to buy more goods from the same suppliers (these suppliers usually hire third world workers to make the goods), creating a vicious circle.
Wal-Mart is also an active union buster. According to this article at Tom Paine.com, the company actually has around 70 workers on its staff dedicated to keeping unions out of its stores. A high turnover rate is also helpful in keeping people from banding together to improve their working conditions. The National Labor Relations Board has also filed several suits against the company in the last four years. Also looming is a massive sex discrimination suit.
The article raises a good point: why are we asking for the right of China's workers to unionize when there is a company in the United States with a huge profit margin who is allowed to keep its workers from unionizing?
And I haven't even scratched the surface of why Wal-Mart is bad news. How about the environmental problems? (They won't build in a city. There's too much competition. So they build out on the edge of suburbia, further helping to destroy natural areas.) Or how they squash locally owned businesses who can't compete with their supposedly low prices? Or their uncompetitive practices with other "big box" stores? (Wal-Mart is a big part of the reason K-Mart went downhill.)
Things you can do:
-Shop at locally owned stores. You may have to pay a little more, but isn't it nice to be able to walk into a store and talk with a knowledgable owner or employee who can take the time to help you?
-If you shop at a "big box" store, do a little digging into the company. For example, for fellow Michiganders, Meijer is a locally-based store (HQ is in Grand Rapids). Their employees are also unionized.
-Be aware that despite their claims, Wal-Mart doesn't always have the cheapest price on an item. Do your homework before you make a purchase.
-If you hear about a new Wal-Mart store going up in your local area, go to your town's council meetings and tell them that you don't want it. There are plenty of good reasons not to want a store in your area.
Together, we can help change their corporate practices and make them behave like a good citizen.
1:14:52 PM 
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