Why the war against Wal-Mart?

Oak Lawn (IL) Reporter ^ | 4/1/04 | Michael M. Bates

[Mike Bates]

Chicago aldermen are taking a break from whatever it is they usually do to save the city’s populace from a fate that’s apparently at least as bad as death.

They’re fighting to keep Wal-Mart from defiling the toddlin’ town.

Aiding them in this valiant struggle are labor unions. The president of the Chicago Federation of Labor outlined a terrifying scenario for the Chicago Sun-Times: "Once this first Wal-Mart comes, you’ll see two more pop up quick and, within a year, you'll probably see 10 of ‘em. This is Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of labor."

What he should have said is that Wal-Mart is Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of union labor. Almost 90% of American workers don’t belong to a union. Their Public Enemy No. 1 possibly, just possibly, might not be a giant retailer offering a large selection of merchandise at good prices.

Who knows? There may even be a union member or two who wouldn’t mind saving a few bucks.

Opening a Wal-Mart means jobs and plenty of them. Many of them would be at entry-level positions, which are so badly needed in the inner city.

But they’re not union jobs. It must be an alderman’s sacred duty to protect Chicago’s unemployed from the humiliation of earning less than what union bosses dictate.

Those who would have been hired by Wal-Mart may be impoverished. They may be dependent on public assistance of one kind or another. They may have to ask for help from relatives and friends.

But, thanks to Chicago’s city council, they’re able to hold their heads high and proudly proclaim, "No, I don’t have a job, but if I did, it’d pay union scale."

One of the aldermen blocking the proposal to build a Wal-Mart told the Chicago Tribune, "I’m here for union labor." How very comforting. Can you spell "lapdog", boys and girls?

Not to be overlooked are the millions of dollars in tax revenue that a Wal-Mart or two would bring to the city’s coffers. Certainly Chicago has a reputation for fiscal prudence. It’s renowned for having absolutely no fraud, waste, mismanagement or kickbacks. Still, I’m sure that city officials would have found a way to spend all that additional revenue.

Wal-Mart seems to aggravate the heck out of some liberals, and it’s not just the company’s non-union policy. There are other problems.

John Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, said a few weeks ago that Wal-Marts "drive me crazy" because "they destroy communities."

The same week in a Los Angeles debate, her husband also disclosed his revulsion for the retailer: "And you've got companies like Wal-Mart . . . that hire part-time people, that have actually advertised to come and work, so they won't do their health care."

Not all of us are as wealthy as the Kerrys, who own five multimillion-dollar homes. We weren’t raised in an affluence that permitted shopping at the most exclusive and expensive stores.

There is, I suspect, an element of elitism in some of the opposition to Wal-Mart. I recently heard from a reader critical of a column I wrote about Costco executives giving large contributions to defeat President Bush.

Wal-Mart wasn’t even mentioned in the column, yet the reader wrote how the store "pays miniscule wages, offers lousy health benefits, and stabs consumers with voodoo pricing," whatever that is.

What particularly interested me was the way he finished his communication: "I'll stick with Costco, you go ahead and fill your double-wide with Wal-Mart crap." For those of you not familiar with the James Carville School of Deprecating Remarks, the double-wide reference is a suggestion I live in a trailer.

Again, there seems to be some snobbery at work in all the Wal-Mart loathing. Is it because the stores provide decent goods at affordable prices to the great unwashed, thereby improving their living standards even to the point of having some of the same conveniences as their betters?

Perhaps a reason is the chain has a policy of not selling CDs with sexually explicit lyrics. Maybe the irritation is the senior citizens hired to be greeters. Wal-Mart sells religious literature, even Bibles. Possibly that’s an annoyance.

Or is it because Wal-Mart is a prime example of how free enterprise can benefit millions of Americans, including the more than one million who work there? Capitalism can just be so unbridled sometimes.

[newsmeat.com]

Do you think this lengthy list of political contributions by the Walton family has anything to do with it?

[retrokitten]

Our Wal-Mart is horrible. It's way too crowded with stuff. It's messy. The aisles are way too close together (only one cart at a time can fit down some of them) and it's just an uncomfortable place to shop.

OTOH, a brand spankin new Target opened less then a mile from my house and it is wonderful! Bright. Huge aisles. Tons of check-out lanes and it's clean!

[RetiredArmy]

Patton Boggs LLP is a Washington, D.C. law firm, so yes, strongly socialist they are.

[green iguana]

Wal-Mart is hardly a threat to chain supermarkets

Wal-Mart is now the #1 grocer in the US. It has killed off many regional supermarkets and is taking on the big ones. Here in Austin, Wal-mart is now the #2 grocery chain, taking pretty much all of its share from Albertson's and Safeway (Randalls.) And it's going to get worse for the big boys, because Wal-Mart will soon be plastering the US with 40,000 sq-ft stores that are primarily grocery with added general goods (versus the primarily general goods with added grocery of its supercenters.)

Wal-Mart is a huge threat to chain supermarkets. Not that I necessarily think this is a bad thing.

[Cooter]

Ironic that the headquarters for Sears and Montgomery Wards are located in Chicago. They were the Wal-Marts of their time.

[IYAS9YAS]

Wal-Mart does not run anyone out of town. The consumers do. They stop going to the other places for a reason. Lower prices is one of them. I got so fed up at one of our locals constantly having "pricing problems" with their sale merchandise, I left them for good. I still support the locals when I need certain specific things. But for the same goods, why pay more?

[Iron Matron]

" . . .but the selection is adequate. . ."

Wal-Marts selections are adequate as you say, but I prefer a more than "adequate" selection. Wal-Mart is a destroyer of choice, but hey!, more power to them, you know?

[Tacis]

Sure, the politicians hate Wal-Mart because their union boss masters tell them to!! But, there are other reasons. It is hard to extort Wal-Marts. The politicians and community leaders can't put friends and relatives on their payroll in phantom jobs and can't demand cash payments for certain public services. No expediting fee for processing permits. And, the bros in the neighborhood can't help themselves to whatever they want knowing that the merchant won't stand up against the politician.

We have a cluster of new Wal-Marts and they are great!! I don't have to wait around 'til the Albertson's deli guy has nothing better to do than wait on me. The Albertson's vendors believe they own the aisles and floor space during the day and don't have to worry about customers. The last ma & pa store in this area (good selection and good customer support on the floor) still has ma handling the cash at the only checkout register. She, no matter how many people are on line, also answers the 'phone. Why shouldn't a well run Wal-Mart with good prices and selection drive a poorly run, high-priced place out of business?

[IYAS9YAS]

Their clothing disintegrates upon the first wash

Really? The clothes I buy and enjoy wearing have yet to fade or fall apart and I've been wearing some of the shirts well over two years. I don't have very many, so most shirts are worn and washed weekly.

[Iron Matron]

The mom and pops never had any selection and never carried anything the least bit in style.


Boy, small town chip huh?

IMO, what is considered "style" varies from person to person. I dont like impersonal stores like Wal-Mart, but they do have a right to a piece of the pie.

Plenty of people like Wal-Mart, or else they would not be as big as they are. Me? I prefer other stores - not necessarily mom and pops - just ANY other store!

[IYAS9YAS]

As far as our Wally world in Nampa, ID. It popped up and there are new stores popping up all around it. Most of the grocers are still here as are specialty clothing shops. We didn't have much in the way of general goods except a few Farm Goods and other supply type stores. All are still around. The only ones that aren't are the ones who were dying before Wally world came in.

[Iron Matron]

Food?? Remember when their slogan was "made in America"? Their clothing disintegrates upon the first wash...Their pillows have feathers seeping out of them after one month...Everthing the sell..or damn near, is now made in China! Screw "Wall of China" Mart!!



Well, I do not buy ANYTHING from Wal-Mart, mainly due to their homosexual loving policies.

[Iron Matron]

It killed the crappy little downtown stores that were dying anyway - good riddance


I'm sure the mostly elderly owners of these stores were as happy as well!

[IYAS9YAS]

And yet, Albertsons just up and bought a huge amount of stores from another chain. Just this last week. Yeah, they're hurting. I've yet to see an open Albertsons have an empty parking lot.

[international american]

You have had a lot better luck than me! I dont buy anything at Wall Mart anymore than automotive stuff and cleaning supplies.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Maybe the irritation is the senior citizens hired to be greeters.

But they're very clean senior citizen greeters.

[Il Duce]

"Their clothing disintegrates upon the first wash..."

So then don't buy clothing from them. Look: Wal-Mart's policy is simple--stock it deep and sell it cheap.

Wal-Mart doesn't sell amazing clothes. If you want a shirt that won't fall apart, order your shirts from Jermyn Street. Sure, your shirt will cost $120, but it won't fall apart. In case you're a little out of the loop, buy from Charles Tyrwhitt. I buy all my dress shirts from them and they are terrific.

http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/CategoryStatic.aspx?StaticItem=/Static/Category/en-GB/formalshirts.html&CurrentCategory=Home|Men|Form

No one puts a gun to your head and makes you buy from Wal-Mart, especially in these days of the Internet, in which you can log online and buy anything from any corner of the world. But there are a lot of people that live in small towns and Wal-Mart does an amazing job at stocking a wide variety of products at a low, low price--which we appreciate. Without Wal-Mart, we wouldn't have the access to the products otherwise available, especially at such low prices.
So its clothes are made in China? So? Consumers have a funny way of preferring lower prices. If you want to spend more, just click on the link above, you can spend until your little heart is content. But don't knock Wal-Mart for the rest of us who appreciate what they've done, especially in the smaller towns in which we live.

[IYAS9YAS]

Yeah. I abuse the stuff I wear, too. Usually with the same automotive stuff and cleaning supplies you buy there. Bulk oil on the cheap. I buy the good stuff and a good filter for less than the changing places around here can do it for the basic stuff.

Takes me less time, too. All I need is a 18 inch 2x6 (to drive up on with the driver's front tire) and an eleven mm wrench for the drain plug. Well, a few dozen shop towels too. Dang filter placement dribbles all the oil out over the passeger front suspension.

[Iron Matron]

If the crowds are any indication, Wal Mart still has a lot of fans out there

Oh, here is another thing I hate about Wal-Mart. There is ALWAYS a crowd, ALWAYS a long wait.

Wal-Mart employees are usually over-worked and under-friendly - they are always harrassed looking and act like they do customers a favor by waiting on them.

Americans are forgetting quality. Wal-Mart offers cheap, sub-standard wares and their employees are, well, rude! SO, you get what you want I guess.

[international american]

Did I say anything about boycotting Wall Mart?? No I didn't. I just said their quality has gone way downhill, and it has.