What does Wal-Mart really cost you?
What has Wal-Mart Watch and over 300 allied organizations around the country so concerned?
What is Wal-Mart’s impact to our environment, to U.S labor standards, to small town America?
There are few topics that are relevant to such a broad spectrum of individuals and interests. Liberal and conservative, rural or urban, Wal-Mart – by sheer size and economic influence – deserves intense scrutiny. Add its many lawsuits, track record of discrimination, connections to China and reliance on billions in public tax subsidies to pad its bottom line, our collective spotlight must stay on Bentonville until real and lasting reforms are made.
Here are just a few of the most important issues that serve as the foundation of our work:
- 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.
For more detailed information, click here to read our section of in-depth special reports.
