Posted on 10/16/2006 5:12:16 AM PDT by Dane
Wal-Mart 'Has Declared War' on Dems, Union Foe Charges By Randy Hall CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor October 16, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - Wal-Mart "has officially declared war on the Democratic Party" just three weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, according to a group that wants to "change" the nation's biggest retail chain by unionizing its 1.3 million employees.
"Rather than embrace our positive vision for a better America, Wal-Mart has officially declared war on the Democratic Party, elected leaders and every American who believes we should pay workers a living wage, provide affordable health care to all, protect American jobs and keep America safe," Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com, said in a statement Friday.
"Even though an overwhelming majority of Americans, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, now reject President Bush's right-wing agenda that has brought us a culture of corruption, repeated scandals, shipped American jobs overseas and even jeopardized our national security, Wal-Mart is launching a political campaign to help keep President Bush in power by trying to defeat Democrats who called on Wal-Mart to be a more responsible employer," Blank added.
Blank's comments came in response to an article in Thursday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, which stated: "The world's largest retailer is about to take the unusual step of distributing information about specific candidates to its 1.3 million employees nationwide, according to a company official.
"The information, which is still being prepared, likely will include quotes from elected officials who have been critical of Wal-Mart, as well as information about their voting record concerning legislation that has affected Wal-Mart's business," the story noted.
The Star Tribune report stated that "Wal-Mart said it will specifically target local, state and national leaders who appeared this summer at a series of anti-Wal-Mart rallies organized by Wake Up Wal-Mart."
As Cybercast News Service previously reported, the "Change Wal-Mart, Change America" bus tour covered 19 states in 35 days and was designed to pressure the retail chain to increase employee wages and improve its corporate citizenship.
David Tovar, director of media relations at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., told the Star Tribune: "Our associates are very proud of the Wal-Mart they work for, and we feel they have a right to know what some politicians are doing and saying about the company."
Even Chicago aldermen, many of whom supported a measure to force large retailers such as Wal-Mart to pay employees a "living wage," could be targets, Tovar said. The bill was vetoed by Mayor Richard Daley on Sept. 11, and the city council was unable to resurrect the measure.
The controversy comes two weeks after the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company launched its associate (employee) voter registration drive in Iowa on Sept. 29. As part of that effort, Wal-Mart is distributing educational materials made available by the League of Women Voters, as well as a voter education packet.
"As the nation's largest private employer, we are in a unique position to strengthen the communities we serve by encouraging our associates to register to vote and empowering them to participate in America's democracy," Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said at the time.
Cybercast News Service has reported that several Democratic officials have been critical of Wal-Mart's policies, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy.
In addition, most of the officials who spoke at events during the "Change Wal-Mart" tour were Democrats, including Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and John Edwards, a former U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate from North Carolina.
None of that was lost on Blank, whose Wake Up Wal-Mart organization is funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union - which usually supports Democratic candidates.
"From this day forward, no citizen -- regardless of their party affiliation -- should doubt how right-wing Wal-Mart's agenda really is," Blank said. "It is an agenda that no American could support, jeopardizes the future of our country and is one of the key reasons why Wal-Mart's public image continues to collapse."
"On behalf of the American people, we are not going to allow big corporations like Wal-Mart to take America in the wrong direction," Blank added.
"In that spirit, WakeUpWalMart.com, with the help of 276,000 grassroots supporters, will be announcing a major new initiative next week that will make it clear to Wal-Mart and its right wing operatives that our movement will never stop fighting until the day Wal-Mart truly changes for the better," he noted.
"That's going a bit far," Tovar told Cybercast News Service regarding Blank's comments.
"Our voter registration campaign is part of our ongoing effort to keep our associates informed about statements that are made about the company," Tovar said. "Communicating with our associates is something that we've been doing for a long time, and this is just a continuation of that.
"Anytime misstatements about Wal-Mart are made by public officials and candidates for public office, we are compelled to let our associates know the accurate information," he noted. "At the same time, when others praise Wal-Mart, we have the same responsibility to let them know that as well.
"All of this is done on a nonpartisan level," Tovar stated. "We're not telling our associates how to vote in any way, shape or form, but we do feel that sharing this type of information is a responsibility that we owe to our associates.
"And it's something, quite honestly, that they appreciate," he added.
The democrat commie party cannot stand private buisness success and that success must be defeated at all costs
Well, fair's fair.
Good morning Dane.
I am sure glad that WAL~MART decided to make a stand and fight back.
After reading this, think I'll go shopping at WalMart on my lunch hour today.
WAL~MART Ping
Wonder if the GOP will decide to join Wal-Mart on this one?
I may have to make two trips to WM today, instead of just one.
"Even though an overwhelming majority of Americans, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, now reject President Bush's right-wing agenda that has brought us a culture of corruption, repeated scandals, shipped American jobs overseas and even jeopardized our national security, Wal-Mart is launching a political campaign to help keep President Bush in power by trying to defeat Democrats who called on Wal-Mart to be a more responsible employer," Blank added.
LOL! This is the funniest material I've read in at least a week. If Wal-Mart thought Democrat politicians were worth the oil it would take to fry them in Hell, it would simply buy a few, like every other company does.
After all, these people must know how to run a business, since they're always telling Walmart how to run theirs.
I'm sure that this new company will be a real success.
Mark
Run that by me again.. Or are you talking abut Clinton?
That's a good idea.
Maybe you should contact some of their leaders and suggest it to them.
Wal-Mart declaring war on the Democrat Party is like FDR declaring war on the Japanese on Dec, 8, 1941. It is hardly like Wal-Mart is the aggressor, here.
That's my kind of company.
For a place that only sells pretty junky stuff, they sure do keep giving me reasons to come back.
There now it tells the truth.
Big Box Ping.
If union leadership were not so solidly in the ranks of the most liberal of Dem'crats, there would be no 'war'.
Dem'crats are consumers too, and Wal-Mart does not turn back potential customers, who are also consumers, at the door. In fact, the relatively low prices (compared to other "pro-union" merchandisers) is highly attractive to most consumers (including Dem'crats), and puts the "union shop" stores at a distinct disadvantage.
Not because the "union shop" employee necessarily gets higher wages, as there is no definitive proof of this. Rather, management is free to actively apply techniques that maximize productivity, and may pass the additional productivity gains to two other facets of business - lower prices to consumers, and wage advancement based on merit to deserving employees. "Union shop", on the other hand, ties up management with endless "work rules" about seniority, about grievances, about work stoppages, and about "benefits", all of which have to be paid for at only one place - the checkout stand. Therefore higher prices, and less equity for the employee.
On an annual basis, year in and year out, a long-term Wal-Mart employee will take home MORE total income than any "union-shop" employee working at a similar position in other merchandising establishments. And have a job fifteen years later, when the "union shop" establishment goes out of business.
I don't know what to say.
The Wal-Mart haters showed up a few weeks ago to protest in front of one of their stores in Harrisburg, PA. (Union thugs)
But Wal-Mart is desperatly trying to reach liberals with a liberal message.
They have given money to LaRaza, the NAACP, a gay organization among others.
Lee Scott, Wal-Mart President/CEO, went on Al Sharpton's radio show over the summer and appeared on the Charlie Rose PBS show recently.
His mantra is an environmental one, "sustainability."
Wal-Mart is pushing "diversity" too and I should never forget that Scott has written in "Wal-Mart World" about "my friend Warren Buffett."
Its not quite as black and white as you may think.
Wal-Mart is kissing up to liberal groups hoping to divert this labor attack.
I do not think that WalMart has declared war on Democrats. WalMart has to defend itself from leftist socialist revolutionaries and union thugs, though. That group of people constitutes most of the current Democratic Party. Many life-long Democrats do not realize what their party has become; many life-long Democrats are apathetic about politics. Perhaps many life-long Democrats cannot connect the dots. So, there you are!
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