Archive for April 15, 2008
TEMECULA CHRISTIANS SET TO RECEIVE BEAST’S MARK WITH A SLICE OF PIZZA
April 15, 2008 by PT Rothschild.
ANOTHER DAY OF MARK 22 SET FOR T-TOWN FROM 10-2 on APRIL 19TH
Temecula, CA – Cloaked in the sheep’s clothing of AMBER ALERT and ‘Child Safety Day’, citizens and Christians can get their children ‘Veri Chipped’ this Saturday at the Hwy 79 South location of the Pizza Factory from the hours of 10AM-2PM. In the next step to ‘Stepford wiving’ T-town, now that new music has been eliminated and the 21+ market corralled to the Stampede, it’s time to ‘micro chip’ all the kids they can, because once the pets, dogs and cats, and kids are ‘chipped’, chipping the adults will be a piece of cake.
Poster flyers are now, as you read this story, being put at VARIOUS kid/parent friendly places to draw unsuspecting adults in with offers of a free child DNA/(finger)print I.D. kit and a free showing of ‘Karate Kid’. Sponsors of this highly touted Revelation benchmark event are: Bates’ ATA Leadership Academy, Petrol Orthodontics, Big Apple Physicians, and Amber Alert.
Consult a colorful flyer on your own and read the ‘veri chipping’ itinerary for yourself, and remember, ‘the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made’ (Gen 3:1). ‘Let those who have ears listen, and let those who have eyes see’ and let those who want to stay informed in this day of Mark 22 continue to read The Review for the latest, topical update.
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Call to arms: Yucca Valley fights the Super Wal Mart Beast
April 15, 2008 by Bill Gould, Publisher.
Small town
Yucca Valley,
It is this exact sort of vibe that is not conducive to coexisting with behemoth stores like Super Wal Mart.
Wal Mart is, if anything, a very effective machine. It cranks out people and stuff like no other. They are also the master of manipulation and marketing. They have suckered many a town all over our fair country into believing that they will not ruin the small town feel or they have used they ploy of how many jobs they are going to bring to the area and how they will provide things cheaper so you can save money. This is all a bunch of hooey. Wal Mart wants what every corprate entity wants - to raise profits for its shareholders. Wal Marts efforts have not gone unrewarded, stocks have more than doubled in value in the past 10 years to over $52 a share as of today at 940am.
Wal Mart had its PR team in full force this week at its smaller store in Yucca. They were greeting customers, attempting to convince them to support a new larger store.
“I walked into Wal-Mart yesterday, and there were two lovely corporate executives greeting people at the door. They were explaining to the customers how much they needed a Super Wal-Mart” reports local resident Susan Jordan.
“They had petitions for the customers to sign urging the Planning Commission to approve their plans for the store. They were urging customers to show up at the Planning Commission meeting in mass to support the
Super Wal-Mart. They were saying that if they don’t get an ok at this meeting, they probably wouldn’t be able to build the store”
This is typical of Wal Mart, and the same sort of jive they gave the City of
I would encourage every resident of the greater
Read up on Wal Mart -
Walmart and Wages
A Substantial Number of Wal-Mart Associates earn far below the poverty line
* A 2003 wage analysis reported that cashiers, the second most common job, earn approximately $7.92 per hour and work 29 hours a week. This brings in annual wages of only $11,948. [“Statistical Analysis of Gender Patterns in Wal-Mart’s Workforce”, Dr. Richard Drogin 2003]
Wal-Mart Associates don’t earn enough to support a family
* The average two-person family (one parent and one child) needed $27,948 to meet basic needs in 2005, well above what Wal-Mart reports that its average full-time associate earns. Wal-Mart claimed that its average associate earned $9.68 an hour in 2005. That would make the average associate’s annual wages $17,114. [“Basic Family Budget Calculator” online at www.epinet.org]
Wage increases would cost Wal-Mart relatively little
* Wal-Mart can cover the cost of a dollar an hour wage increase by raising prices a half penny per dollar. For instance, a $2.00 pair of socks would then cost $2.01. This minimal increase would annually add up to $1,800 for each employee. [Analysis of Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005]
Wal-Mart forces employees to work off-the-clock
* Wal-Mart’s 2006 Annual Report reported that the company faced 57 wage and hour lawsuits. Major lawsuits have either been won or are working their way through the legal process in states such as
* In December 2005, a California court ordered Wal-Mart to pay $172 million in damages for failing to provide meal breaks to nearly 116,000 hourly workers as required under state law. Wal-Mart appealed the case. [The New York Times,
* In
Wal-Mart executives did not act on warnings they were violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
* Wal-Mart has known for years of a massive companywide problem of fair labor standards violations but did not take sufficient steps to address the problem. An internal Wal-Mart audit of one week of time records in 2000 from 25,000 employees had alerted Wal-Mart officials to potential violations. The audit found 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times. It also alerted Wal-Mart executives to 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day. [Steven Greenhouse, “Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock,” New York Times, A1,
* Despite this knowledge, Wal-Mart had to settle in January 2005 for violations that took place from 1998 to 2002, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $135,540 to settle U.S. Dept. of Labor charges that the company had violated provisions against minors operating hazardous machinery. [Ann Zimmerman, “Wal-Mart’s Labor Agreement Is Criticized by Former Official,” Wall Street Journal,
* In March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle allegations that it had failed to pay overtime to janitors, many of whom worked seven nights a week. [
Wal-Mart and Health Care
Wal-Mart’s Health Care Plan Fails to Cover Over 775,000 Employees
* Wal-Mart reported in January 2006 that its health insurance only covers 43\% of their employees. Wal-Mart has approximately 1.39 million
Wal-Mart’s Health Insurance Falls Far Short of Other Large Companies
* On average for 2005, large companies (200 or more workers) cover approximately 66\% of their employees. If Wal-Mart was to reach the average coverage rate, Wal-Mart should be covering an additional 318,000 employees [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005 andhttp://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf].
Wal-Mart’s Health Care Eligibility is Restrictive
* Part-timers—anybody below 34 hours a week – must wait 1 year before they can enroll. Moreover, spouses of part-time employees are ineligible for family health care coverage for 2006. [Wal-Mart Stores, “My Benefits, New Peak Time Benefits Making ad Difference For You,” 2006]
* Full-time hourly employees must wait 180 days (approximately 6 months) before being able to enroll in Wal-Mart’s health insurance plan. Managers have no waiting period. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide]
* Nationally, the average wait time for new employees to become eligible is 1.7 months. For the retail industry it is 3.0 months. [Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2005]
All of Wal-Mart’s Health Plan’s Are Too Costly for Its Workers to Use
* Since the average full-time Wal-Mart employee earned $17,114 in 2005, he or she would have to spend between 7 and 25 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles, if electing for single coverage. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW analysis]
* The average full-time employee electing for family coverage would have to spend between 22 and 40 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles. These costs do not include other health-related expenses such as medical co-pays, prescription coverage, emergency room deductibles, and ambulance deductibles. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW Analysis].
* Wal-Mart trumps the affordability of its new health care plan. According to Wal-Mart, “In January [2006], …Coverage will be available for as little as $22 per month for individuals” [www.walmartfacts.com]
* What Wal-Mart’s website leaves out: Coverage is affordable, but using it will bankrupt many employees. Wal-Mart’s most affordable plan for 2006 includes a $1,000 deductible for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for family coverage ($1,000 deductible per person covered up to $3,000). [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide]
Wal-Mart Admits Public Health Care is a “Better Value”
* President and CEO Lee Scott said in 2005, “In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums.” [Transcript Lee Scott Speech
Wal-Mart’s Health Care is Getting Costlier
* Between 2000-2005, the cost of premiums rose 169 percent for single coverage and 117 percent for family coverage. [UFCW analysis of annual Wal-Mart Associate Guides].
* In comparison, premiums for family coverage in the
* In 2004, Wal-Mart employees, in total, paid approximately 41\% of the plan costs [Wal-Mart IRS 5500 Filings, 2005].
* Nationally for 2004 on average employees paid for only 16\% of single coverage costs and 28\% of family coverage costs [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005].
Wal-Mart’s Spending Falls Below Industry Standards
* Wal-Mart’s spending on health care for its employees falls well below industry and national employer averages. In 2002, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart spent an average of $3,500 per employee. By comparison, the average spending per employee in the wholesale/retailing sector was $4,800. For
Wal-Mart Increased Advertising More Than Health Care
* In 2004, Wal-Mart spent nearly the same amount on advertising as it did on health insurance. In 2004, Wal-Mart reports that it spent $1.5 billion on health care benefits and $1.4 billion in advertising. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005, Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005]
* Between 2003 and 2004, Wal-Mart increased its advertising budget by $434 million, only increasing its spending on employee health care by $100 million. That means Wal-Mart increased its spending on advertising by 45 percent while only increasing its spending on employee health care by 7 percent. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005, Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005]
* In fact, Wal-Mart has consistently increased spending on advertising more than its spending on employee health care. Between 2002 and 2003, Wal-Mart put more new funds into advertising than into health care. Wal-Mart increased spending on advertising by $290 million, while only increasing health care spending by $215 million for the same period. (note: this also occurred in 1995-96, 1997-98,1998-1999). [Wal-Mart Annual Reports and 5500 Filings]
One Out of Six Wal-Mart Employees Has No Health Care Coverage At All
* This is more than double the national percentage for large firms (firms with over 100 employees). In fact, we estimate that Wal-Mart accounted in 2005 for more than 1 out of every 40 uninsured workers who are employed at a large firm. [Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005; Wal-Mart Annual Report; “Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Coverage: Sponsorship, Eligibility, and Participation Patterns in 2001,” Bowen Garrett, Ph.D., released by the Kaiser Family Foundation September 2004].
Costs to Taxpayers
Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart’s greed
* The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce,
* One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:
o $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
o $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.
o $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.
o $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.
o $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children’s health insurance programs (S-CHIP)
o $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.
[The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce,
Health care subsidies compared to executive compensation
* Excluding his salary of $1.2 million, in 2004 Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott made around $22 million in bonuses, stock awards, and stock options in 2004.
* This $22 million could reimburse taxpayers in 3 states where Wal-Mart topped the list of users of state-sponsored health care programs, covering more than 15,000 Wal-Mart employees and dependents. [Wal-Mart Proxy Statement and News Articles GA, CT,
Your tax dollars subsidize Wal-Mart’s growth
* The first ever national report on Wal-Mart subsidies documented at least $1 billion in subsidies from state and local governments.
* A Wal-Mart official stated that “it is common” for the company to request subsidies “in about one-third of all [retail] projects.” This would suggest that over a thousand Wal-Mart stores have been subsidized. [“Shopping For Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth,” Good Job First, May 2004]
Community Impact
Wal-Mart’s growth negatively impact worker’s wages
* The most comprehensive study of Wal-Mart’s impact showed that the stores reduced earnings per person by 5 percent. This 2005 study by an economist from the National Bureau of Economic Research used Wal-Mart’s own store data and government data for all counties where Wal-Mart has operated for 30 years, It found that the average Wal-Mart store reduces earnings per person by 5 percent in the county in which it operates. [David Neumark, The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets 2005]
The Cost of Wal-Mart’s entry into a community can be significant
* According to a 2003 estimate, the influx of big-box stores into San Diego would result in an annual decline in wages and benefits which could cost the area up to $221 million [San Diego Taxpayers Association (SDCTA), 2003]
Lower wages mean less money for communities
* When an employer pays low wages to its employees, the employees have less money to spend on goods and services in the community, which in turn reduces the income and spending of others in the community. In other words a reduction in wages has a multiplier impact in the surrounding area.
* For instance, in 1999,
Wal-Mart hurts other businesses when it comes to town.
* In
* Food stores in
* Over the course of [a few years after Wal-Mart entered a community], retailers’ sales of apparel dropped 28\% on average, hardware sales fell by 20\%, and sales of specialty stores fell by 17\%. [Kenneth Stone at
* In towns without Wal-Marts that are close to towns with Wal-Marts, sales in general merchandise declined immediately after Wal-Mart stores opened. After ten years, sales declined by a cumulative 34\%. [Kenneth Stone at
Wal-Mart destroys the environment
* Between 2003 and 2005, state and federal environmental agencies fined Wal-Mart $5 million.
* In 2005, Wal-Mart reached a $1.15 million settlement with the State of
* In May 2004, Wal-Mart agreed to pay the largest settlement for stormwater violations in EPA history. The
* In 2004, Wal-Mart was fined $765,000 for violating
* In
Wal-Mart increases vehicle traffic
* A 2004 study of estimated additional driving costs of Supercenters in the San Francisco Bay area concluded that there would be up to an additional 238 million vehicle miles traveled per year. [Supercenters and the Transformation of the Bay Area Grocery Industry: Issues, Trends, and Impacts. Bay Area Economic Forum, 2004]
* These extra miles traveled could cost communities in the Bay area up $ 256 million in additional costs for infrastructure repair and environmental degradation. [Supercenters and the Transformation of the Bay Area Grocery Industry: Issues, Trends, and Impacts. Bay Area Economic Forum, 2004]
Wal-Mart’s empty stores are blighting communities
* As of May 2006, Wal-Mart Realty has listed 320 vacant or soon to be vacant properties that the company is looking to lease or sell. They total to over 25 million square feet. Combined they are more than 6 times larger than the Pentagon building and larger than 440 football fields. [www.walmartrealty.com]
* Wal-Mart’s rapid expansion of Supercenters and Sam’s Clubs has contributed to hundreds of vacant stores across the country. [“Wal Mart site: Use as is or rebuild?”, Dallas Morning News,
* When Wal-Mart decides to convert a discount store into a larger Supercenter, it is often cheaper or easier simply to relocate entirely. David Brennan, associate professor of marketing at the
* Wal-Mart’s stores are uselessly large for most other tenants. An average discount store is 97,000 square feet. Wal-Mart’s Supercenters are on average nearly twice as large at 186,000 square feet. [www.walmartfacts.com]
* Also Wal-Mart often resists other large retail stores moving in. A president of a major real estate developer in
* Wal-Mart planned to build another 60 million square feet of store space in 2006, or roughly the equivalent of 1,040 football fields or 16 Pentagon buildings. [Wal-Mart Stores, Twelfth Annual Analysts’ Meeting, FD (Fair Disclosure) Wire
Wal-Mart and Imports
* Wal-Mart highlights its American suppliers but imports 60 percent of its goods
* Wal-Mart directly imported 60 percent of the goods they sold in the
* Just because Wal-Mart bought goods from suppliers based in the
Wal-Mart and Worker Injuries
Wal-Mart cares little for the safety of its workers
* In 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld a $5,000 fine against a Wal-Mart store in
* According to New York Times report in 2004, Wal-Mart instituted a “lock-in” policy at some of its Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. The stores lock their doors at night so that no one can enter or leave the building, leaving workers inside trapped. Some workers reported that managers had threatened to fire them if they ever used the fire exit to leave the building. Instead, they were supposed to wait for a manager to unlock doors to allow employees to escape in an emergency. [
* The
Wal-Mart takes a combative approach to workers’ compensation claims
* Arkansas Business in 2001 described Wal-Mart as “the state’s most aggressive” when it comes to challenging worker’s compensation claims. The company “stands far above any other self-insurer in challenges to employee claims.” [
Wal-Mart Non-Health Care Benefits
Wal-Mart fails to provide a secure retirement benefit for its employees.
* Wal-Mart sponsors two retirement plans — a profit sharing plan and 401(k) plan — neither of which guarantee workers a fixed monthly pension benefit.
* Wal-Mart has shifted risks to employees by concentrating investment in its own stock. From January 2000 to January 2005, the average adjusted share price of Wal-Mart’s stock lost more than a fifth of its value. By being concentrated in one security, employees’ retirement plans are subject to the whims of one stock rather than having the safety of a diversified portfolio. [Wal-Mart Annual Reports, 2000-2005]
* Wal-Mart’s retirement plans are Enron-like — in 2003-04, 67\% of their combined assets were invested in Wal-Mart stock. [Wal-Mart Stores 5500 IRS Filing, 2004]
Wal-Mart shares little of its $11 billion profits with employees.
* In 2004, Wal-Mart contributed $570 a year per
* To boost its profits by 1 percent, Wal-Mart is seeking to reduce its contributions to the profit sharing and 401(k) plans from 4 percent of wages to 3 percent of wages. As opposed to reducing the benefit to the 1.2 million hourly workers, Wal-Mart should reduce the number of stock options that it grants to management. In 2004, this expense amounted to 2 percent of net profit. [Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005, Wal-Mart Proxy Statements 2004-5]
Wal-Mart shifts retirement costs onto communities
* When employees retire without adequate savings and benefits, they are less able to pay for health care, housing, and food. Communities and taxpayers ultimately bear the cost.
Wal-Mart Anti-Union Policy
Wal-Mart closes down stores and departments that unionize
* Wal-Mart closed its store in
* In December 2005, the Quebec Labour Board ordered Wal-Mart to compensate former employees of its store in
* In 2000, when a small meatcutting department successfully organized a union at a Wal-Mart store in
Wal-Mart has issued “A Manager’s Toolbox to Remaining Union Free,”
* This toolbox provides managers with lists of warning signs that workers might be organizing, including “frequent meetings at associates’ homes” and “associates who are never seen together start talking or associating with each other.” The “Toolbox” gives managers a hotline to call so that company specialists can respond rapidly and head off any attempt by employees to organize. [Wal-Mart, A Manager’s Toolbox to Remaining Union Free at 20-21]
Wal-Mart is committed to an anti-union policy
* In the last few years, well over 100 unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Wal-Mart throughout the country, with 43 charges filed in 2002 alone.
* Since 1995, the
* Wal-Mart’s labor law violations range from illegally firing workers who attempt to organize a union to unlawful surveillance, threats, and intimidation of employees who dare to speak out. [“Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart,” A Report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 2/16/04]
Wal-Mart & Gender Discrimination
Wal-Mart discriminates against women
* In 2001, six women sued Wal-Mart in California claiming the company discriminated against women by systematically denying them promotions and paying them less than men. The lawsuit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, has expanded to include more than 1.6 million current and former female employees, and was certified on
* In 2001, while more than two-thirds of Wal-Mart’s hourly workers were female, women held only one-third of managerial positions and made up less than 15 percent of store managers. This is all despite women having had on average longer seniority and higher merit ratings than their male counterparts. [Neil Buckley and Caroline Daniel, “Wal-Mart vs. the Workers: Labour Grievances Are Stacking Up Against the World’s Biggest Company,”” Financial Times 11,
* In 2001, women managers on average earned $14,500 less than their male counterparts. Female hourly workers earned on average $1,100 less than male counterparts. [Drogin 2003]
* In 2001, for the same job classification, women earned from 5 percent to 15 percent less than men, even after taking into account factors such as seniority and performance. [Drogin 2003]
Wal-Mart & Undocumented Immigrants
* In 2003, federal authorities arrested 250 undocumented immigrants who were employed by janitor contracting services and hired by Wal-Mart in 21 states. Many of the janitors - from Mexico, Russia, Mongolia, Poland and a host of other nations - worked seven days or nights a week without overtime pay or injury compensation. Those who worked nights were often locked in the store until the morning. [Wall Street Journal,
* In March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle federal allegations it used undocumented immigrants to clean its stores. This was the largest immigration related fine ever levied. [CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005 and Wall Street Journal,
* In October 2005, Wal-Mart shut down work on seven stores under construction in
* Federal immigration officers, in November 2005, arrested 125 illegal workers in a raid at a Wal-Mart distribution center under construction north of
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