HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE FREEZER?

June 3, 2008 by PT Rothschild.

SOMETIMES THINGS YOU READ DON’T MAKE SENSE UNTIL YOU DIG UP A BONE

Temecula, CA – As I’ve said before, a ‘scene’ is much more than just music. It is a mystical area populated by interesting ‘characters’ and a swirling synergy that reaches far beyond its musical borders to give access to stories and events that most people either miss or don’t want to see or comment on. Some things are too personal for general consumption or too embarrassing, but from time to time, there comes along a story too important not to bring to light. This is one of those stories and especially in lieu of the fact that I just read about Abigail Heiselt (‘Bless the beast and the children’, Valley News Vol.8, #22) who asked for pet food instead of presents for her 11^th birthday party in the heartfelt tale. The birthday girl “didn’t want (Animal Friends of the Valley) to have to put any animals down because they couldn’t afford to feed them.” According to my ‘inside’ source ‘Daisy’, a lack of food isn’t the reason why dead ‘put down’ animals are sometimes hauled out in abundance inside large black plastic trash bags.


“You see the (AFV) shelter just takes in strays. These dogs and cats are scared to death when they are brought in. I’ve seen workers try to force an animal to comply without trying to gain their trust first, and then when the animal bites or snaps at (the worker) they are put in containment (solitary confinement) for a week. I remember this puppy that went into confinement for a minor bite for over a week. Basically there is a two-three week window for them to be adopted, one week by law and then two more weeks before they are scheduled to be put down. If they spend a week in solitaire, that’s one less week they are exposed for public adoption. Fosters can come in during that time and make a selection and pictures of the new arrivals are put online. You can also put a hold on a particular (prospect) that will save them. Still so many are being wrongfully put down. I saw an employee kick a cocker spaniel then put the dog in solitaire when he reacted back to being kicked. Small animals have been put in the freezer and left to die that way. Nobody there seems to know what’s really going on. Everyone has a different story and almost all (of the workers) are corrupt or numb to what’s happening. They have way too many animals and they seem to prevent a number of animals from being adopted by having a crappy attitude toward potential adopters. It’s so bad that people (from outside agencies and pet centers) don’t even want to go there (to the physical location). You almost have to beg them to adopt a dog or cat. (AFV) is not a place where you (as an animal) want to be.”

This story first attracted my attention when I read of the devastating fire at the AFV shelter which tragically took so many animal lives. The next ‘bone’ of contention came when I read of the dispute involving the architect that threatened to disrupt the state-of-the-art facility construction that is planned to be started shortly. Though the dispute was never fully explained for my satisfaction as to why it arose, that ‘hiccup’ and the fire was enough to turn on my Spidey sense. Thankfully ‘Daisy’, at a recent ‘scene’ event, sought me out and gave me the real poop.

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“ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE” (Another Scene Spin-off Story)

June 2, 2008 by PT Rothschild.

PRIVATE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION BRINGS BOTH UPDATE AND JOY

Temecula, CA – Almost a year ago, a major ‘civil war’ erupted in the local music scene that few bands and fewer music fans even knew of. This battle of ‘wills’ polarized most of the scene into one camp or another until the drama finally climaxed. The fall-out was tangible, and at least to some of those involved, still is.

Standing in the middle of this scene cyclone, I tried to direct the war traffic as to best effect a ‘cease-fire’, which came to pass when one of the main competitors moved from the valley to central California. For those left here in the dust, a few celebrated, but most sensed that a vital scene spark had gone. They were right because in this area of over 200,000 there are only two sets of people I know that share matching birthdates. Johnny, the owner of Cuppy’s (now defunct) and the young woman who returned to T-town last week to celebrate her 22^nd birthday, bringing her alternative reality with her, are one such set.

And so it happened, that as most folks went about their normal weekday routine, going to work, eating, and ‘hitting the hay’ at a normal time to be ready for the next day, a small group of men and the aforementioned ‘birthday girl’ were partying until the sun came up every day. I say ‘alternative reality’ because this revelry lasted almost a week with no one being missed from work or any other normal activities and no one pooped out from a lack of rest. Besides the drinking of ‘nukes’, ‘girls’, Stellas, rum, and white Russians, food was cooked on the ‘barbi’ as the fire pit roared into a blast furnace each night, fueled by old couches and a piano, among other memories.

The birthday girl, one Keirah Robbins, brought us all up-to-date on her future career plans, read us her very personal poems, and took us all on journeys to Sea World, her two favorite Chinese food restaurants, and Lady of the Lake, the foremost ‘new age’ store in the valley. Parents and siblings joined the birthday expedition at times as did a few old scene artist friends like Franny and Chuck D.

The depth and intensity of the almost week long celebration could be glimpsed in the silence of the car that returned from the bus station at Keirah’s departure. While I am thrilled to see the life progress made by any of the scene regulars that I have come to know and care about, without a doubt, like Mary, there’s Something about Keirah that begs definition. In a way, ‘Alice’ doesn’t live here anymore and we all miss her, a lot.

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Call to arms: Yucca Valley fights the Super Wal Mart Beast

April 15, 2008 by Bill Gould, Publisher.

Small town California does not want Super Big Box retailers in their pristine valley

Yucca Valley, California - I received word this morning that Super Wal Mart is attempting to move in to on of my favorite places, Yucca Valley. Now before you say ‘are you kidding, Yucca Valley?’ - this town is amazing, and creates a wide variety of Southern California’s best music talent. Favorites like Shawn Mafia and the Ten Cent Thrills and any band Bob or his daughter Allison Garcia is in is only a small slice of the talent. Venues like the Water Canyon Coffee Co, the Beatnik Cafe give the entire stretch of HWY 62 through the So Cal desert a unique feel. The Hi Desert Playhouse provides many a great show and Pappy and Harriet’s is freakin’ legendary to say the least.


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” Jordan further explained.

This is typical of Wal Mart, and the same sort of jive they gave the City of Hemet and its residents. Wal Mart touted the huge amount of jobs and better service that they were going to provide if allowed to open a Super Wal Mart. They promised the City they would have the old Wal Mart building leased out ASAP. After half a decade, there is a graffiti ridden boarded up empty building on the cities main drag, Florida Ave that used to house the Wal Mart.

I would encourage every resident of the greater Yucca Valley to attend tonights Planning Commision meeting and let them know how you feel. You should also take a moment to read about Wal Mart and its many dubious practices in the information below. This list was compiled by Tasya Herskovits.

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 California, Indiana, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2006]

* 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, December 23, 2005]

* In Pennsylvania, the lead plaintiff alleges she worked through breaks and after quitting time — eight to 12 unpaid hours a month, on average — to meet Wal-Mart’s work demands. “One of Wal-Mart’s undisclosed secrets for its profitability is its creation and implementation of a system that encourages off-the-clock work for its hourly employees,” Dolores Hummel, who worked at a Sam’s Club in Reading from 1992-2002, charged in her suit. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 12, 2006 ]

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, 6/25/02]

* 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, 2/15/05]

* 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. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 11/7/05, Forbes, 10/10/05]

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 US employees. [http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf]

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 4/5/05]

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 U.S. have increased only by 59\%, from 2000-2005. [Employer Health Benefits: 2004 Annual Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2004] Wal-Mart Employees Pay More for Health Care Costs

* 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 U.S. employers in general, the average was $5,600 per employee, Therefore, Wal-Mart’s average spending on health benefits for each covered employee was 27\% less than the industry average and 37\% less than the national average. [Bernard Wysocki, Jr. and Ann Zimmerman, “Wal-Mart Cost-Cutting Finds a Big Target in Health Benefits,” Wall Street Journal September 30, 2003 p1]

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, 2/16/04]

* 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, 2/16/04]

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, AL].

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, Southern California municipalities estimated that for every dollar decrease in wages in the southern California economy, $2.08 in spending was lost– the $1 decrease plus another $1.08 in indirect multiplier impacts. [“The Impact of Big Box Grocers in Southern California” Dr. Marlon Boarnet and Dr. Randall Crane, 1999.]

Wal-Mart hurts other businesses when it comes to town.

* In Maine, existing businesses lost over 10 percent of their market in 80 percent of the towns where Wal-Mart opened stores. [Georgeanne Artz And James McConnon, The Impact of Wal-Mart on Host Towns and Surrounding Communities in Maine, 2001]

* Food stores in Mississippi lost 17 percent of their sales by the fifth year after a Wal-Mart Supercenter had come into their county, and retail stores lost 9 percent of their sales [Kenneth Stone and Georgeanne Artz, The Economic Impact of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on Existing Businesses in Mississippi, 2002]

* 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 Iowa State University, “Impact of the Wal-Mart Phenomenon on Rural Communities,” 1997]

* 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 Iowa State University, “Impact of the Wal-Mart Phenomenon on Rural Communities,” 1997]

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 Connecticut for allowing improperly stored pesticides and other pollutants to pollute streams. This was the largest such settlement in state history. [Hartford Courant, 8/16/05]

* In May 2004, Wal-Mart agreed to pay the largest settlement for stormwater violations in EPA history. The United States sued Wal-mart for violating the Clean Water Act in 9 states, calling for penalties of over $3.1 million and changes to Wal-Mart’s building practices. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, May 12, 2004, U.S. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 2004 WL 2370700]

* In 2004, Wal-Mart was fined $765,000 for violating Florida’s petroleum storage tank laws at its automobile service centers. Wal-Mart failed to register its fuel tanks, failed to install devices that prevent overflow, did not perform monthly monitoring, lacked current technologies, and blocked state inspectors. [Associated Press, 11/18/04]

* In Georgia, Wal-Mart was fined about $150,000 in 2004 for water contamination. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/10/05]

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, 2/20/02]

* 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 University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn, noted that Wal-Mart stores relocate so regularly that, “it is not uncommon to relocate right across the street.” [“Home Depot to Move from Old to New Store Next Door,” Providence News-Journal, 8/17/03]

* 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 Dallas said in 2002, “They’re not going to be very receptive to any retailer going into it and even if they sell it, they might put a non- compete clause in there.” As one Wal-Mart spokesperson said in 2004, “There are times when it’s in our interest to get the property moving faster, but we’re certainly not going to give a competitor an advantage.” [Dallas Morning News 2/20/02, Wall Street Journal, 9/15/04]

* 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 October 25, 2005]

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 U.S. in 2004. [Frontline, 11/16/2004]

* Just because Wal-Mart bought goods from suppliers based in the United States does not mean that they were actually manufactured in the United States. In fact, Ray Bracy, Wal-Mart’s vice president for federal and international public affairs, was asked, “Do you have any idea what percentage [of non-grocery, domestic sales] comes from overseas?” He responded, “What we don’t know is the numbers of products that come from distributors or from manufacturers that they [sic] decide where to manufacture.” Wal-Mart fails to track where their products are manufactured. [Frontline, 11/16/2004]

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 Hoover, Ala., for blocking emergency exits. The court upheld a decision by a judge who found that Wal-Mart was guilty of a serious and repeated offense. [New York Times, 5/17/05]

* 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. [New York Times 1/18/2004]

* The West Virginiastate workmen’s comp agency placed Wal-Mart in an “adverse risk” pool because Wal-Mart had unusually high accident rates. [Charleston Gazette, 6/3/99]

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.” [Arkansas Business, 1/8/01]

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 U. S. employee for profit sharing and 401(k) plans for the United States. [Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005, www.walmartfacts.com]

* 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 Jonquierre, Quebec in April 2005 after its employees received union certification. The store became the first unionized Wal-Mart in North America when 51 percent of the employees at the store signed union cards. [Washington Post, 4/14/05]

* In December 2005, the Quebec Labour Board ordered Wal-Mart to compensate former employees of its store in Jonquiere Quebec. The Board ruled that Wal-Mart had improperly closed the store in April 2005 in reprisal against unionized workers. [Personnel Today, 12/19/05]

* In 2000, when a small meatcutting department successfully organized a union at a Wal-Mart store in Texas, Wal-Mart responded a week later by announcing the phase-out of its in-store meatcutting company-wide. [Pan Demetrakakes, “Is Wal-Mart Wrapped in Union Phobia?” Food & Packaging 76 (August 1, 2003).]

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 U.S. government has been forced to issue at least 60 complaints against Wal-Mart at the National Labor Relations Board. [International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in the United States: Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of the United States (Geneva, January 14-16, 2004)]

* 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 June 21 2004 as the largest class action lawsuit ever. [Mondaq Business Briefing, November 1, 2004]

* 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, 11/20/03]

* 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, 11/5/05, CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005]

* 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, 11/5/05]

* In October 2005, Wal-Mart shut down work on seven stores under construction in North Dakota to check for undocumented workers after two illegal immigrants working on Wal-Mart projects in Bismarck were charged with molesting two 13-year-old girls. [Associated Press, 11/18/05]

* Federal immigration officers, in November 2005, arrested 125 illegal workers in a raid at a Wal-Mart distribution center under construction north of Philadelphia. The workers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico were detained Thursday at the site. [Associated Press, 11/18/05]

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