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News :: Protest Activity |
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Locals greet Urbana Wal-Mart with protest |
Current rating: 0 |
by Ricky Baldwin
Email: baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified!)
Phone: 328-3037 |
04 Feb 2006
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At the new Urbana Wal-Mart, pickets sponsored by the local Jobs With Justice Organizing Committee. Low wages and other poor working conditions were the focus. Wal-Mart management called the police, who spoke politely with pickets and left them to their task. |
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(Urbana) Roughly three dozen area residents turned out on a cold and windy Tuesday afternoon at the inconvenient hour of 3pm on the last day of January, 2006, to picket outside the brand new Urbana Wal-Mart superstore on its Grand Opening.
“Your taxes subsidize Wal-Mart wages,” read one sign.
“Wal-Mart discriminates against women,” another.
“Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the world with over $10 billion in profits,” noted the flyer handed out to passers-by. “Yet, Wal-Mart lowers our wages, causes more of our jobs to be shipped overseas, and shifts its health care costs onto us, the American taxpayers. It’s time for Wal-Mart to wake up.”
The informational picket, sponsored by the local Jobs With Justice Organizing Committee (JWJOC), aims to get the multinational mega-corporation to “wake up” and be the community-minded business its advertising portrays.
The picketers say Wal-Mart treats its own employees poorly enough, but the impact on the wider community is also a net loss.
Currently government subsidies for the average 200-employee Wal-Mart store add up to $420,750 a year. That’s $2,103 per employee.
Even with this public assistance to the employer, Wal-Mart still offers wages and benefits typically so low that employees must rely on welfare themselves to pay bills and seek medical care.
Recent studies also show that the impact of a Wal-Mart store coming to town is that wages in the surrounding community decline by several percentage points.
So why do people shop there? Why do people work there? For one thing, Wal-Mart often drives other businesses under by offering cheaper items, and more of them concentrated in one location, than most small businesses can afford, thereby limiting other options for employment or shopping.
The corporate giant is able to offer this because it saves money by a variety of means: low wages; poor benefits (which most Wal-Mart employees cannot afford); importing cheap goods assembled in sweatshops abroad (Haiti, China, etc.) and wantonly cutting corners in violation of environmental, child labor, immigration and other labor laws.
One Iowa study showed that in the decade after Wal-Mart arrived, the state lost 555 grocery stores, 298 hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women’s apparel stores, 153 shoe stores, 166 drug stores and 111 men’s and boys’ apparel stores.
Wal-Mart is also a viciously anti-union employer willing to pay millions in fines for violating laws to protect the rights of employees to join and form a union if they so choose.
The chain is currently facing the largest gender discrimination case in US history, involving 1.6 million women. During the proceedings of this suit Wal-Mart was forced to reveal that although 72 percent of its hourly employees are women, only 15 percent of its store managers are women.
Numerous other lawsuits are pending against the corporate giant.
Though the local JWJOC campaign against these practices is just getting started, it is part of a national effort by Jobs With Justice and others called “Wake Up Wal-Mart.” Jobs With Justice is a national network of local coalitions dedicated to struggles for economic justice. JWJ chapters now exist in over 40 cities around the country and consist of labor unions, churches and other community groups.
The local JWJOC hopes to start an official chapter here in Champaign-Urbana as soon as possible. But they aren’t waiting for the chapter charter before diving into the work with both feet.
To get involved locally, email cu_jwj_forming (at) mail.com or phone 344-3354. |
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See also:
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com
http://www.jwj.org
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Related stories on this site:
Strip Mall --song lyrics from recent Wal-Mart picket
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This work is in the public domain. |
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Re: Locals greet Urbana Wal-Mart with protest |
by George R. Carlisle
carlisle (nospam) soltec.net (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
06 Feb 2006
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I do not wish to shop at Wal*Mart, but if I can't find what I need elsewhere, I may be forced to. A local camera store is going out of business, so I may ahae to buy batteries at Wal*Mart. They do not stock slide film. 2006 will likely be the last year I can shoot slide film. I stocked up what was left, and some outdated film from Osco Drug of Urbana, but when that is gone, that may be it.
If I must shop at Wal Mart, I go to Savoy where the sales tax is lower.
Already, due to Champaign's increased sales tax to biuld new library, I had to collect aluminum cans from Champaign and feed the "Golden Goat" to recover the taxes. I had no choice but to buy slide film in Champaign, except for a few rolls outdated film form Osco's. |
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You Know What They Say about Ass-U-mptions? |
by kids first
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
06 Feb 2006
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I don't recognize the little girl, but 'Sam' you're obviously too young or too stupid to think she's the product yet of ANY school system. She hardly looks old enough to be in pre-school. Given that, I'd say her spelling skills are remarkably advanced for her age.
But hey, poor academic skills certainly won't keep you from being president these days. Let's hope her dad is an ex-president and she'll go far, I'm sure, if she's a member of the New American Royalty.
BTW, but you really shouldn't get your "facts" about education from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly. It's not a directly comparable study -- it's about math, Sam, which involves NUMBERS, like 1, 2, 3, etc, not letters -- but public schools are actually quite cost-effective in giving students what they need to succeed -- if their dad doesn't happen to be an ex-president. Check out:
http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/06/0123lubienski.html
Once demographic adjustments are made -- since public schools don't "cherry-pick" students from wealthy parents like most private schools do -- public school students actually do just as well, or in some cases exceed, the performance of those in private schools in math skills.
Finally, no god blessed Sam Walton -- greed did. |
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Go Away IckWalMurt--and go away, Sam! |
by Paul Kotheimer
herringb (nospam) prairienet.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Feb 2006
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Hi "Sam"
The boy depicted holding the "Go Away Ick WalMurt" sign is my son. He'll be 4 years old on Sunday. He came up with the slogan on his own and did the lettering all by himself.
So, in answer to your question, I am the kind of parent who "lets" my child walk around like that. More accurately, my son walks around all by himself and doesn't need anyone to "let" him.
He's not a goat or a dog. He's a human. Unlike you, apparently. |
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Re: Locals greet Urbana Wal-Mart with protest |
by Ricky Baldwin
baldwinricky (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Feb 2006
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Sorry about that, Paul. I didn't see the comment, but I can imagine. I just thought it was a cute picture. And, yes, as the father of two four-year-olds who also has known a lot of other four-year-olds, I think his spelling is very advanced, not to mention his cognitive abilities. He's also a really nice kid. |
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Re: Locals greet Urbana Wal-Mart with protest |
by confused
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
13 Feb 2006
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So where's this post from "Sam?" |
