Advocates for workers, the poor and our environment have all become critics of Wal-Mart. There are many reasons to be concerned with the practices of this business and many reasons to be concerned with Andrew Young's decision to be a spokesperson for Wal-Mart. First, the issues:
HEALTH CARE
Wal-Mart fails to provide health insurance to over half its employees. Who pays for it? We all do. Wal-Mart workers top Medicaid rolls in at least 16 states. Read more.WOMEN
Wal-Mart is the subject of the largest class action lawsuit in history by current and former female employees who were paid and promoted at significantly lower rates than their male co-workers. Read more.OUTSOURCING
If Wal-Mart were an independent nation, it would be China's eighth-largest trading partner. Is Wal-Mart trading away America's future to fatten its corporate bottom line? Read more.LOCAL ECONOMIES
For every new Supercenter that Wal-Mart opens, two local supermarkets will close. How will this affect your town? Big box stores like Wal-Mart spend nearly four times less within local and state economies as local businesses do. Read more.WORKERS
The average pay for a Wal-Mart sales associate is $1,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. Business as usual? Not necessarily. Retail rival Costco pays its workers 65% more on average than Wal-Mart, yet earns more profits per employee. Read more.DISCRIMINATION
Two recent lawsuits by minority employees and customers have brought to light a disturbing pattern of racial discrimination by Wal-Mart. Read more.ENVIRONMENT
Wal-Mart has a long history of breaking environmental laws that its high-priced green-washing campaign can't hide. Its record of environmental abuse was described by one top law enforcement official as "widespread, systematic, repeated" and has incurred millions in fines from state and federal agencies. Read more.UNCHECKED GROWTH
Think Wal-Marts are everywhere you turn today? Just wait five years. Wal-Mart plans to nearly double its retail outlets in the U.S. by 2010 and has already demonstrated its willingness to play hardball with anyone who stands in its way. Read more.
Young is no ordinary pr flack. He is a clergyperson in the United Church of Christ, the former Mayor of Atlanta, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations, and worked as an aide to The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights struggle. He recently signed on as a spokesperson for Wal-Mart. His decision to do so has left many in the religious / civil rights community concerned and confused. Many of his fellow clergy - including leaders from the United Church of Christ - issued a statement this week to express those concerns about Young's involvement:
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., often referred to war, poverty, and racism as the triple evils of our society. It is imperative that those of us who worked closely with Dr. King and who have followed in his footsteps tread carefully as we ponder our actions when interacting with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and taking into account its harmful effects on our communities.
We are a group of religious leaders who have endured one civil rights struggle after another faced by brothers and sisters home and abroad. We are united in our concern about a new organization, which we believe serves no other purpose other than to act as a front for Wal-Mart and its unethical business practices. Regrettably, this organization is now headed by one of our own, Reverend Andrew Young.
Wal-Mart's behavior in the community has confirmed our suspicions with regard to their exploitative practices. Consequently, Wal-Mart has begun to feel the pressure and we are aware of its history of breaking child labor laws and its failure to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on the exploitation of illegal child labor across the globe. To avert our attention from their illegal activities, they have chosen a respected African-American leader to support the mission of their organization and in doing so hinders our ability to pose/raise questions or critique the business practices that ultimately affect the African-American community and beyond.
Several of us have made statements about Young's position, including Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, who said, "It is unfortunate that Rev. Andrew Young is so out of touch with his own denomination's position on Wal-Mart that he has ended up on the wrong side of the issue. Dr. King would have disagreed with Mr. Young on this issue. King sided with the poor; he took a stand against the rich who oppressed the poor. The night before he was assassinated, King was standing in solidarity with the sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Young, however, is taking a stand that is diametrically opposed to everything Dr. King stood for. Young is taking a stand against the poor and is siding with the filthy rich who are oppressing the poor."
"I am disappointed that he has chosen to defend the wayward ways of Wal-Mart. I thought that he was seeking to help them change and become a positive force, not to justify their negatives with `voodoo' economic theories and excuse their exploitative practices which swell the ranks of the working poor here and abroad," says the Rev. Joseph Lowery, former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
We also know that there is hope for Wal-Mart workers and the communities which have been negatively impacted by Wal-Mart. We know from first hand experience in the struggle against apartheid internationally and in the fight for civil and economic rights here at home that Wal-Mart workers can and will someday rise above poverty, provide their families with health care, and work free of discrimination and exploitation. We stand in support of these 1.8 million Wal-Mart workers worldwide.
We call upon our colleagues, including Ambassador Young, to stand up against Wal-
Mart and the front groups they create to divide our community. We also call upon those who care about economic and civil rights to join us and stand up with millions of Americans who want Wal-Mart to make real, substantive changes to its harmful business practices rather than giving us public relations smokescreens.
Click here to see the long list of US religious leaders who signed the letter. The Rev. John Thomas, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, sent Young a private letter on this issue.
And make sure you visit Wal-Mart Watch to learn more about this issue.
