The Big Box Campaigners Update, June 13, 2008

The Big Box Collaborative is the hub for organizations seeking to fundamentally transform Wal-Mart and the other “big box” retail stores. The Collaborative includes organizations drawn from multiple sectors and focused on a variety of issues. It provides a space where organizations can develop shared demands and coordinate different campaign strategies.

In this update you will find:

U p c o m i n g . E v e n t s

Upcoming Events

The Big Box Campaign Environmental Group Coordinator Job Announcement

The Big Box Collaborative seeks an Environmental Group Coordinator for 40 hours a month for July, August, and September, and 20 hours a month for the rest of 2008. The position would entail tracking Big Box environmental campaigns, monitoring target company environmental progress, facilitating coordination among environmental campaign groups, acting as a conduit between outsider and insider groups and as a liaison to other issue groups, as well as prospecting for foundation funding for member groups.

The Big Box Collaborative brings together representatives from labor, environmental and public health groups, consumer advocates, shareholder activists, international trade and labor rights groups, faith-based organizations, communities, and others from around the world in a collaborative approach to transforming the Big Box Retail Industry and, in particular, Wal-Mart.

The coordinator reports to the executive director of Corporate Ethics International and indirectly to the Big Box Collaborative Steering Committee. The position is for an independent contractor. It is virtual with flexible hours. The pay is very competitive.

Duties include:

·Convening conference calls among big box campaign environmental organizations to discuss strategy and tactics.

·Acting as a liaison between insider and outsider environmental organizations and facilitating discussions between them.

·Tracking the 14 sustainability networks that Wal-Mart has created to monitor their progress and identify problem areas.

·Prospecting for foundations that might be inclined to fund outsider or inside environmental organization efforts.

·Facilitating involvement of environmental groups in the preparation of an annual Counter Sustainability Report.

·Acting as a liaison between environmental groups and labor, community, and other issue groups to maximize collaboration and minimize working at cross purposes.

·Providing a bridge to policy groups within the beltway in an effort to translate gains into national policy.

Skills and attributes include:

– good organization skills
– good facilitation and interpersonal skills, especially over the phone
– excellent writing skills
– familiarity with environmental organizations and issues
– some experience with coalitions and outreach
– availability to travel 4-5 days throughout the rest of 2008
– ability to operate virtually with excellent computer skills
– worked in the environmental movement for at least 2 years

Send cover letter and resume to mmarx@corpethics.org

A Discussion with John Harwood

Author of “Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power”

WHEN: Monday, June 23, 2008
TIME: 7:30 PM
WHERE: Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St. NW, Washington, DC

Click here to RSVP by June 19th: http://action.walmartwatch.com/harwood

About John Harwood:

John Harwood is Chief Washington Correspondent of CNBC and a political writer for The New York Times.

Harwood was born in Louisville, Kentucky and grew up in the Maryland suburbs outside of the nation’s capital. He has been around journalism and politics all his life; his first trip on a presidential campaign press plane came when he was 11 years old and accompanied his father, then a political reporter for the Washington Post.

While still in high school, he began his journalism career as a copy-boy at the Washington Star. He studied history and economics at Duke University and graduated magna cum laude in 1978. Harwood subsequently joined the St. Petersburg Times, reporting on police, investigative projects, local government and politics. Later he became state capital correspondent in Tallahassee, Washington correspondent and Political Editor. While covering national politics, he also traveled extensively to South Africa, where he covered deepening unrest against the apartheid regime.

In 1989, Harwood was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where he spent the 1989-90 academic year. In 1991, he joined The Wall Street Journal as White House correspondent, covering the administration of the current president’s father. Later Harwood reported on Congress and in 1997, he became the Journal’s Political Editor and chief political correspondent.

Harwood joined CNBC as Chief Washington Correspondent in March 2006. The following year he joined The New York Times, where he writes the paper’s Caucus column among other duties.

In addition to CNBC, Harwood offers political analysis on MSNBC, NBC’s Meet the Press and Nightly News, and PBS’ Washington Week in Review. Harwood has covered each of the last five presidential elections. He lives with his wife and their three children in Silver Spring, MD.

Are you planning anything?

This space could be filled by something you are working on. Planning to release a report, host an event, or send out an urgent action alert: send an email to trina.tocco@ilrf.org and your info will be added in this weekly email.

Worth a Read

Wal-Mart board will feature two new members

June 7, 2008
By Tom Treweek
The Benton County Daily Record

The Wal-Mart Board of Directors will include two new faces this year, including another member of the Walton family.

Shareholders elected Arne Sorenson, the executive vice president and CFO of Marriott International Inc., and Gregory Penner, a general partner at the investment management firm Madrone Capital Partners. Penner is also the son-in-law of board chairman Rob Walton. Rob Walton has been on the board since 1978, and his brother, Arvest CEO Jim Walton, joined in 2005.

Sorenson and Penner replace the retiring Roland Hernandez and Jack Shewmaker.

In other news • Shareholders approved a board proposal to renew the Management Incentive Plan, which Rob Walton said was required to comply with Section 162 (m ) of the Internal Revenue Code.

• Wal-Mart will retain its independent accountants, Ernst & Young LLP, for yet another year, as shareholders approved a proposal to retain the company for fiscal year 2009. Ernst & Young has been Wal-Mart’s auditor since the retailer went public in 1970.

• The retailer’s hiring policy will not include provisions to specifically protect transgender people this year after a proposal calling for such an amendment was denied.

The Rev. Jonalu Johnstone of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations called for the change. Wal-Mart prohibits discrimination based on sexual preference, but only includes gender status in a catch-all statement pledging to ban other illegal discrimination practices.

“What about a status that is legally protected in some jurisdictions but not others ? “she asked. “Should a company be selective about which stores follow which rules ?”

The board said the current legislation is enough.

• Patrina Tocca, representing Harrington Investments, proposed the creation of a Committee on Human Rights. Although the proposal only authorizes the board to report on the state of human rights as those applies to Wal-Mart’s policies, Tocca implied the committee could lead to additional focuses on sustainability and the creation of unions.

Wal-Mart’s board opposed the creation of such a committee, saying the company is already committed to protecting the human rights of its associates worldwide.

The proposal failed.

• The Rev. David Hunter of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville called, unsuccessfully, for policy forcing the company to report its financial contributions, including an accounting of all monetary and nonmonetary donations.

“Relying solely on the limited data available from the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service can give an incomplete picture of a company’s political affiliations,” Hunter said.

The board said existing regulations already provide for “ample disclosure “of political contributions.

• Hunter also proposed giving shareholders the ability to call special meetings.

“Shareholders should have the ability to call a special meeting when they think a matter is sufficiently important to merit expeditious consideration,” Hunter said. “Shareholder control over timing is especially important regarding a major acquisition or restructuring, when events unfold quickly and issues may become moot by the next annual meeting.”

The board said the proposal would be “contrary to good corporate governance practices “because it “would allow a shareholder who has owned a single share of our common stock for a single day to call a special shareholders’ meeting for any reason.”

The proposal was denied.

Walton said the voting percentages would be released Monday.

My first Wal-Mart Shareholder Meeting Experience in Fayetteville, AR

Trina Tocco
June 6, 2008
Labor Rights Blog

I presented in front of 20,000 people earlier today at the Wal-Mart Annual Shareholder Meeting in Fayetteville, AR. I spoke for 3 minutes in reference to a resolution submitted by Harrington Investments which called for the Establishment of a Human Rights Committee within Wal-Mart’s Board of Directors. You can view my speech here.

People told me it was going to be insane but that still didn’t prepare me for what I witnessed today. I arrived at 6:30am. YES THAT’S RIGHT AM! On the radio as I drove in, DJs were complaining about the traffic that was caused by the shareholder meeting. So many people!!! It seemed like everyone was wearing a Wal-Mart shirt. I saw people representing ASDA in the UK and Trust Mart in China. I followed the crowds for a while and found the north entrance which is where I was directed to sign on as a proponent of Resolution #7 which calls for the establishment of a Human Rights Committee as part of the Wal-Mart Board of Director. This resolution was proposed by Harrington Investments. I was given a proxy by Harrington Investments so that I could defend the resolution.

I was escorted to my seat by my “chaperon” Pepe in section 118 of the Bud Walton Arena on the campus of University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. There were 6 of us there to present resolutions ranging from human rights to fair compensation. I quickly learned that whatever I did, Pepe would be right by my side. All 6 of us had a special friend for the 4 hours of the meeting.

I just sat there in the beginning in awe at everything going on around me. There were teams of financial analysts, press, and important people sitting at stage level. Then there were close to 20,000 people finding their seats and listening to the rock band on stage. The Sam’s Club workers had a section, warehouse workers sat in another. All of the countries that Wal-Mart has retail stores also had an impressive delegation and everytime their country was mentioned… a huge cheering section was on its feet.

The meeting kicked off with a circus like presentation with stunts and trapeze artists coming from the ceiling. Next Queen Latifah appears as the meeting’s moderator!!!

It seemed like every 20 minutes there was another huge superstar doing something on the stage. Joss Stone performed 2 songs barefoot. There was video footage to compliment all of the spoken presentations. Many of the Wal-Mart top dogs got their chance on stage tooting their own horn. About 45 minutes to an hour into the meeting, I noticed a familiar figure coming my way. Low and behold Mr. Rob Walton and CEO Lee Scott took the time to introduce themselves to all 6 of us presenting resolutions. I have to admit this was a pretty slick move!

Early on in the meeting, I decided I wasn’t going to stand and clap everytime another person on stage spouted another praise to Wal-Mart. It was rather comical, I sat there stone faced and Pepe was up and down, up and down. One thing I noticed is that everytime someone on stage would say the word “proud,” the crowd with erupt in clapping. Early on in the meeting (show) I saw 20,000 people do the Wal-Mart cheer. This was a site to see. It seemed like Pepe wasn’t as excited about the squigley but did it anyways.

After about 3 hours passed, Rob Walton announced that it was now time to conduct the formal business of the meeting. All of the resolutions were allowed 3 minutes each. It was finally my turn to speak in front of 20,000. I have to admit, I don’t get nervous all that often but that was certainly the largest crowd I’d ever presented to. But it was only 3 minutes and I decided to add a little flare since it was clear the crowd wanted the stream of rockstars to continue.

I started out with the following:
“I know I’m not Queen Latifah but I’m here today representing a very important issue.” I went on to describe why Wal-Mart needs to expand its definition of sustainability to include people as well as the environment. I spoke of the release of the Consensus Standards for the Big Box Industry and the need for Wal-Mart to engage its critics. You can read the rest of my speech here.

The meeting went on for about another hour after the resolutions were presented and close to the end Rob Walton indicated that there weren’t enough votes for the 8 resolutions to pass. WHAT A SHOCKER SINCE THE BALLOTS SAID IN MANY PLACES TO VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTIONS #4-11.

The meeting ended with one hell of a performance by Tim McGraw and then I waited in traffic for over an hour trying to get back to my hotel in Bentonville, AR.

Wal-Mart Reaches Out to Candidates, Congress

June 7, 2008
By Gary McWilliams and Anne Zimmerman
Wall Street Journal

Sounding more like the ruler of a sovereign nation than a corporate chief executive, the leader of retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. used the annual shareholder meeting to sketch out a broad agenda to improve customers’ lives, and offered to partner with governments to solve social problems.

On issues from the environment to health-care reform, “we stand ready to work with the next president and next Congress, Chief Executive H. Lee Scott Jr. told stockholders on Friday. “Leaders who want to get things done will see Wal-Mart as a partner.”

In a departure from the past, Wal-Mart is communicating with each of the U.S. presidential candidates, Mr. Scott said, and has also held talks with government officials outside the U.S.

Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores’ U.S. division, speaks during the annual Wal-Mart shareholder’s meeting.

“In every country, food and energy are issues,” he said. “Wal-Mart can play a role.”

That Mr. Scott is holding the company out as a social steward and government partner for addressing the world’s ills would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Then the company was repeatedly criticized for skimpy health benefits, forcing employees to work overtime without pay, and prizing store growth over all else — including neighborhood and environmental concerns.

There are still plenty of skeptics who doubt Wal-Mart is really out to save the world. “Whether it’s health care or the environment, there’s a change election under way, and on nearly every issue, Wal-Mart is on the wrong side of change,” said Meghan Scott, spokeswoman for Wake Up Wal Mart.com, a group that is funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers union and that is critical of Wal-Mart.

Mr. Scott acknowledged that the company’s new role in social issues was to some extent thrust upon it, and urged his listeners to challenge the company’s goals if they are too narrow. “We found ourselves playing catch-up,” he said. “We can never let that happen again.”

He did not offer any new initiatives, but praised employees’ community activism and noted the company’s contributions to disaster relief in China after the earthquake, and its $4 prescription drug plan, which was recently expanded to include, among other things, an array of over-the-counter drugs.

Wal-mart also has undergone a financial transformation recently. To boost flagging returns, the retailer last year throttled back store growth in the U.S., cut merchandise inventory and renewed its founders’ focus on reducing prices — a message particularly resonant with customers pinched by higher gas and food costs.

But Wal-Mart executives remain confident that the company will continue to do well even when the economy improves. “As the economy turns, and it will, customers will have experienced several months” of a very improved service level, said Eduardo Castro-Wright, president of U.S. Wal-Mart Stores. That experience would keep these more affluent customers shopping at Wal-Mart, he said.

Earlier in the day, Thomas M. Schoewe, the company’s chief financial officer, lauded Wal-Mart’s financial performance last year, noting its revenue increased by $30 billion from the year earlier, to about $375 billion, and that its share price has recently jumped. The company’s shares declined 2% or $1.43 to $58.37 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

On Thursday, Wal-Mart announced its U.S. same-store sales rose a strong 3.9%, excluding fuel, in May, more than double Wall Street’s estimate and the company’s own forecast. Mr. Schoewe credited better management and the impact of customers spending their tax rebates.

Pointing to rising energy prices and tighter credit, he said, “This is a time our customers need us.”

Wal-Mart to Pay $250,000 for Disability Bias

infoZine staff
June 10, 2008
Kansas City infoZine News

Retail giant Wal-Mart will pay $250,000 and furnish significant injunctive relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Wal-Mart failed to accommodate and then fired a long-time pharmacy technician who suffered a disability resulting from a gunshot wound.

In its suit (1:06-cv-2514), filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the EEOC said that Glenda D. Allen had been employed with the Arkansas-based company as a pharmacy technician since July 1993, most recently at its store in Abingdon, Md. As a result of a gunshot wound sustained during the course of a robbery at a different employer in 1994, Allen suffered permanent damage to her spinal cord and other medical issues, including an abnormal gait requiring the use of a cane as an assistive device.

The agency charged that despite Allen’s successful job performance throughout her employment, Wal-Mart declared her incapable of performing her position with or without a reasonable accommodation, denied her a reasonable accommodation, and then unlawfully fired her because of her disability. The lawsuit settled shortly after the court denied Wal-Mart’s motion for summary judgment on March 10, and partially granted the EEOC’s cross-motion for summary judgment finding that Wal-Mart had no undue hardship defense.

Disability discrimination violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.

Commenting on her case, Allen said, “After beating all the odds — surviving my injury when not expected to survive, walking again when told that I would never walk again, and returning to work where I received excellent performance evaluations and consistent merit increases — I was devastated to have the rug pulled out from underneath me simply because Wal-Mart could ‘no longer accommodate my handicap needs.’ I am hopeful that this settlement will make Wal-Mart take a closer look at its policies and practices with respect to the employment of individuals with disabilities so that what happened to me will not happen to someone else.”

Along with the monetary payment, the consent decree settling the suit requires Wal-Mart to:

– Observe the ADA and post a notice to employees on the ADA;

– Have all salaried supervisors and managers of its Abingdon stores and in pharmacies in the district that includes Abingdon complete training on the ADA with annual refresher training for the next three years; and

– Submit a list of all employees at the Abingdon store and the pharmacies in the Abingdon district who have been denied reasonable accommodation and/or complained that they have been unlawfully denied reasonable accommodation or terminated because of their disabilities.

The EEOC will monitor the company’s compliance with the decree for the next three years.

“When an employer is faced with an employee who has difficulty performing certain tasks because of his or her disability, it cannot sit back passively and then turn around and fire the employee because of its own failure to accommodate,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Jacqueline McNair. “Federal law mandates that employers engage in a good-faith interactive dialogue with the qualified disabled employee to identify potential reasonable accommodations.”

This is the EEOC’s second settlement this year with Wal-Mart concerning the ADA. In April 2008, the EEOC settled a lawsuit concerning Wal-Mart’s failure to hire an individual with cerebral palsy in Richmond, Mo., (EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 04-cv-0076 (W.D. Mo. April 18, 2008) for $300,000 and injunctive relief. According to its web site ( www.walmart.com ), “Today, 7,357 Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club locations in 14 markets employ more than 2 million associates, serving more than 179 million customers a year.”

During Fiscal Year 2007, disability discrimination charges filed with the EEOC under the ADA increased 14% to 17,734 — the highest level in a decade. Approximately one out of every five private sector charge filings with the EEOC contains an allegation of disability discrimination.

Human Rights: Narrowing the Divide Between Business and Social Responsibility

Sam Taylor
June 12, 2008
Corporate Social Responsibility wire

In the face of western companies marketing challenges supporting the Olympics and activists linking the games to Darfur/Tibet, addressing human rights issues are top-of-mind.

Today, key global human rights issues increasingly span: Arms – Business – Children – Terrorism – Economic – Social – Health – HIV/AIDS – Labor – LGBT rights – and the list goes on. Some notable issues include:

Kenya: In May, the Kenyan government launched Operation “Rudi Nyumbani” (Return Home), aimed at returning thousands of men, women, and children to their homes, which they fled in the violent aftermath of the December 2007 elections. However, the provincial commissioner for Rift Valley province recently announced that all displaced persons camps in the province would be closed within three weeks. Since the announcement, there have been reports of forced returns and inadequate services once people reach their homes.

Burma, Colombia, Angola, Burundi: In more than twenty countries around the world, children are soldiers of war. Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 children are serving for both rebel groups and government forces in current armed conflicts.

China: The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing is presented as a unique opportunity to demonstrate to its people and the world a commitment to the fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in China’s own constitution. Several obstacles have prevented freedom of movement, religion, assembly and access to information. There is a substantial increase in human rights abuses directly related to preparations for the games such as violations of media freedom and an intensifying persecution of Chinese human rights defenders who speak out publicly about the Games.

The Role of Business: Coca-cola and GE, who have allocated millions of dollars to sponsor the Olympics, are being criticized for not speaking out about the deteriorating human rights situation in China and CSR agendas are being scrutinized.

Globalization has led to widespread growth in commerce and the reach of businesses. It has been debated that business responsibility and policies aimed at improving corporate conduct neglect to fully consider human rights issues – and – there is no shared assessment of the extent of the impact that business practices have on human rights.

As businesses ‘license to operate’ obligations continue to evolve and change so are the implications on human rights as companies are forced to take proactive measures to prevent employee misconduct, engage suppliers, address product quality/safety issues and ensure integrity of their business relationships.

While human rights models are considered to be well developed, business alignment and implementation are being scrutinized.

This was a key topic addressed at the Global Compact US Network’s first working symposium in April. Jointly convened with the Harvard Business School, the meeting drew approximately 100 corporate executives, civil society representatives, academics and other human rights experts.

Some key issues and comments brought up by the Global Compact panelists:

For human rights to be respected, it is important to partner with individuals and organizations who are experts in their field such as religious, community, legal and development organizations – Ms. Mary Robinson, The Ethical Globalization Initiative

Public health is a key component and often overlooked – Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman, Anglo American plc

Business should assess what impact business has on human rights – Christine Bader, Advisor to the UN SRSG

Important that human rights are integrated into the business – Reverand David Schilling – Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

Utilize specialized groups such as Dream for Darfur to influence China to pressure Sudan for change – Robert Corcoran, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship, GE

Olympics – The Devil You Do the Devil You Don’t:

Top sponsors of the games include Atos Origin, Coca-Cola, General Electric Manulife, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Lenovo, McDonald’s, Panasonic Samsung and Visa.

Companies expanding their business interests in China are exposing themselves to risks – politics, trade disputes, fears of unsafe products as well as being tarred by negative publicity.

Properly measuring and responding to external issues such as the Olympics, which are often larger than the company wide is hard to navigate. Also, corporations can’t be expected to intervene in a complex cultural and political situation that will fix China, Darfur and Tibet overnight. This situation underscores a more careful approach about which ‘battle you pick to fight’ in relation to longer term responsibility planning and impact.

J&J is sponsoring a medical training center for 2,000 Chinese medical personnel to treat athletes and spectators during the games. GE is providing ultrasound equipment to treat injured athletes, as well as power, lighting, water and security systems at sports venues.

Some conclusions to be made in the interests of uniting a variety of efforts to strengthen human rights in relation to business responsibility, protect individuals and communities from harm: Develop tools to properly assess and manage human rights issues within a company (e.g. freedom of association, right to privacy)

CSR and human rights should be integrated within the decision-making process

Access to food, water, shelter and education are linked to human rights, so companies already engaged in CSR are in a more favorable position to lead human rights implementation and education

Vouch for better inclusion and enforcement in trade agreements

Engage multi-stakeholders that represent different sectors, expertise and environments

Gauge opinions about human rights and issues that employees/customers would like companies to advocate for on their behalf

Communicate the standards and transparent measuring to key stakeholders such as NGOs, investors and employees

As for the Olympics sponsors, it would be fair to show their commitment by at least issuing a public statement of support for human rights which seeks to promote the ‘respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.’

We can only hope to protect the integrity of the games, all the athletes and countries involved.

Some useful human rights resources and links include:

Declaration on Human Rights – www.everyhumanhasrights.org –
The Human Rights-Compliance Assessment – www.humanrightsbusiness.org –
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre: www.business-humanrights.org –
UN Global Compact – www.unglobalcompact.org.

Wal-Mart Democrats?

June 9, 2008
By Ben Smith
Politico

Way back in the primary, Wal-Mart was a bogeyman. Barack Obama, you may hazily recall, even attacked Hillary Clinton for sitting on its board.

So there’s quite a lot of grumbling in labor circles today about his bringing on Jason Furman as his chief economic policy advisor, because Furman wrote a key, 2005 defense (.pdf) of Wal-Mart from the left, titled, unironically, “Wal-Mart: A Progressive Success Story.”

The piece makes two arguments. The first is that Wal-Mart lowers prices, so low-income people (and others) can buy more. The second is that Wal-Mart’s low-wage jobs are consistent with the Clintonite philosophy of making work pay, and that the right fix is to have government subsidize the low-wage workers’ salaries and help provide them healthcare. He denies that Wal-Mart lowers local wages.

His only criticism of Wal-Mart is for, in its lobbying, not supporting those progressive policies.

Furman signaled that he was reaching out to the left when his hire became public today.

“Senator Obama personally asked me to help him get advice from a broad range of economic thinkers. People like Robert Reich, Paul Volcker, Jared Bernstein and Christy Romer,” he wrote in an email to our Avi Zenilman. The inclusion of Reich — the Clinton Labor Secretary who lost to Robert Rubin’s deficit hawks — and Bernstein in particular are signs that he’s reaching out to the left.

Indeed, the Economic Policy Institute’s Bernstein has made an anti-Wal-Mart case aimed at rebutting some of the key data Furman uses.

Furman’s arrival is one more mark of the transition to a general election in which labor may grumble, but really has nowhere else to go, and in which virtually all major unions backed his rivals in the primary — . giving them seriously diminished clout on his campaign.

But is the hire reflective more broadly that Obama’s more a Clinton-style centrist than a man of labor? The case has been made that that’s a false distinction, but there’s not much evidence (aside from a couple of weeks in Ohio) for Obama as an economic populist.

Indeed Austan Goolsbee, another economist and key Obama advisor, also seems capable of mentioning Wal-Mart without spitting. He wrote in his Times column last year, in making the case that American workers are more productive htan others, that “companies like Wal-Mart seem to be more adept at translating technology into productivity than anyone else.”

Resources

Impact of Organized Retailing on the Unorganized Sector

India FDI Watch is a campaign that seeks to prevent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the retail sector in India. Specifically, they work to prevent the insertion of giant foreign conglomerates into the Indian market. This study from ICRIER, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, was provided by India FDI Watch.

The retail sector is expanding and modernizing rapidly in line with India’s economic growth. It offers significant employment opportunities in all urban areas. This study, the second undertaken by ICRIER on the retail industry, attempts to rigorously analyse the impact of organized retailing on other segments of the economy. No disctinction has been made between foreign and domestic players, in analyzing the impact of the increasing trend of large corporates entering the retail trade in the country. The findings in this study are based on the largest ever survey of unorganized retailers (the so called “mom and pop” shops), consumers, farmers, intermediaries, manufacterers, and organized retailers. In addition, an extensive review of international experience, particularly of emerging countries in relevance to India, has also been carried out as part of the study.

» View the report

» Visit the ICRIER website

» Visit the India FDI Watch website

Consensus Standards for Big Box Retailers Released

The “Consensus Standards for Big Box Retailers” was released on June 5 in time for the Wal-Mart Shareholder Meeting on Friday, June 6 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Endorsed by 35 international, national, and local groups, the document lists 20 specific standards covering worker rights, the environment, purchasing practices, community and cultural rights, and corporate citizenship, governance, and political activity. The Consensus Standards has been delivered to officials of all major big box corporations and it will be in their hands to respond to the issues the document raises. Thank you to all of the organization that decided to stand together under one common agenda… TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER! To sign onto the demands, email trina.tocco@ilrf.org.

Wal-Mart Lobby: MA Commonwealth Study Commission on Corporate Taxation

Wal-Mart pays $208,678 for high price lobbyists in Massachusetts, according to a Massachusetts Commonwealth Study Commission on Corporate Taxation…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-norman/walmart-pays-208678-fo_b_84601.html

Massachusetts Commonwealth Study Commission on Corporate Taxation …

http://www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dor/Publ/PDFS/Study%20Commission%20on%20Corporate%20Taxation%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf

Video: Do As We Say, Not As We Do – Wal-Mart and Women’s Empowerment

March is National Women’s History Month – and there’s no denying that Wal-Mart has had an enormous impact on women.

In front of the camera and in the public eye , Wal-Mart claims it is “committed to empowering all women.” But behind closed doors, Wal-Mart sends its employees a very different message.

Take a look at this “behind closed doors” footage of Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott at a 1995 Wal-Mart logistics meeting:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/page/invite/doaswesay

Once you watch the video, it should come as no surprise that Wal-Mart is the subject of the largest class-action lawsuit in America’s history: Dukes v. Wal-Mart.

Over 1.6 million women are suing Wal-Mart for business practices that deny them equal job assignments, promotions, training and compensation.

Although women outnumber men 4-1 among hourly supervisors, in 2001 they made up just 45% of all Support Manager positions – the highest-level hourly position.

And the further up the ladder you go, the worse it gets. Women make up only 37% of Assistant Managers, 21% of Co-Managers, and 15% of Store Managers. In 2001, those women who did become salaried Wal-Mart managers earned about $14,500 less than men per year.

Wal-Mart knew about the problem – and chose to do nothing to fix it.

Wal-Mart might suggest that the performances featured in the footage from this 1995 meeting were intended to be funny, but discriminating against women is no joking matter. Watch the video now:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/page/invite/doaswesay

As the largest corporation in the world, Wal-Mart should set the right example and treat all employees with respect. Unfortunately, it looks like the company still has a long, long way to go.

David Nassar
Wal-Mart Watch

Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart’s Violation of US Workers’ Right to Freedom of Association

» View the report

This report was released back in May 2007 by Human Rights Watch. Thanks to the thorough work of HRW, this report points the figure at Wal-Mart over and over again.

“Wal-Mart is a case study in what is wrong with US labor laws. It is not alone among US companies in its efforts to combat union formation, following the incentives set out in unbalanced US labor laws that tilt the playing field decidedly in favor of anti-union agitation. It is also not alone in violating weak US labor laws and taking advantage of ineffective labor law enforcement. But Wal-Mart stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus and actions.”

Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Initiative: A Civil Society Critique produced by 23 organizations

» Download the report

The Big Box Collaborative is proud to announce the release of Wal-Mart Sustainability Initiative: A Civil Society Critique written by 23 organizations which analyzes Wal-Mart’s smoke in mirrors sustainability initiatives. This report calls on Wal-Mart to reframe their sustainability efforts so that workers, the environment and communities are all respected.

This report was coordinated by the Big Box Collaborative, and includes contributions from ActionAid International USA, Agribusiness Accountability Initiative, American Independent Business Alliance, American Rights at Work, Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Centro de Investigación Laboral y Asesoria Sindical (CILAS), The Cornucopia Institute, Corporate Ethics International, Dogwood Alliance, Environmental Investigation Agency, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Good Jobs First, Global Exchange, Gulf Restoration Network, Institute for Policy Studies, International Labor Rights Forum, Mangrove Action Project, STITCH, WakeUpWalMart.com, Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now (WARN), and Washington State Jobs with Justice.

Download the report at http://www.laborrights.org/creating-a-sweatfree-world/wal-mart-campaign/resources/1009

Get Involved and Take Action

Wal-Mart: Keep Your Promise to Debbie

Remember when Wal-Mart told Jim Shank on April 1 that the company would not claim Debbie Shank’s money in her trust so it could be used for her medical care? Apparently, Wal-Mart is not keeping its promise to Debbie and her family. They still have not released a single penny to the Shank family.

In fact, Jim Shank called the bank this week and is no longer authorized to request a statement on the account.

After a massive public outcry against Wal-Mart’s efforts to sue this brain-damaged former employee for the money in her trust, Wal-Mart finally agreed in writing to let Debbie keep her money to pay for her ongoing medical care. But it’s a month later, and Wal-Mart has failed to make good on its word.

Check out MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight at 8:00pm EST for Jim Shank’s thoughts on Wal-Mart’s failure to keep its promise.

Wal-Mart did what it needed to do to put out a public relations fire, yet it’s not keeping its promise to Debbie Shank and her family. We know that the only way Wal-Mart will act is if we keep the pressure on.

Send an e-mail to tell Wal-Mart’s executives that the company needs to keep its promise to the Shank family right now:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/promise

When Wal-Mart tried to grab the little bit of money Debbie Shank has for her medical care, thousands of people like you took action. Together, we called on Wal-Mart to relinquish its claim to the remaining $200,000 settlement money in Debbie’s trust fund so her family could continue to pay for her medical expenses.

The national and local media harangued Wal-Mart for its heartless treatment of Debbie Shank. Finally, Wal-Mart Executive Vice President Pat Curran contacted Debbie Shank’s family and told Jim Shank that Wal-Mart would not claim the money so the Shank family could use it for Debbie’s care.

But despite its promise, the company still retains all rights to the money and has not relinquished the principal or the accrued interest to the family.

Debbie, who is permanently brain-damaged, paralyzed and in a nursing home, needs every penny to cover her current and future care. Wal-Mart needs to surrender the money and all accrued interest immediately.

Please contact Wal-Mart executives and let them know Wal-Mart needs to keep its word to Debbie Shank now:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/promise

Thank you for your help.

David Nassar
Wal-Mart Watch

Tell Wal-Mart to Clean Up Its Act

Wal-Mart has talked a big game on the environment during the past few years. But talk and action are very different things.

The company’s initiative to open green stores has been diluted by its environmentally damaging business practices. The gains made by a few green stores are lost when Wal-Mart opens up a new energy-guzzling behemoth every two days.

Today is Earth Day – and Wal-Mart needs to get serious about becoming an environmentally responsible company.

Tell Wal-Mart to clean up its act:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/earthday

Wal-Mart has made a lot of promises, but has yet to make significant progress on any of the green goals it established in 2005:

1. To be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy.
2. To create zero waste.
3. To sell products that sustain our resources and environment.

Just last month, when asked whether Wal-Mart would achieve these lofty environment goals, CEO Lee Scott responded, “I have no clue.”

The fact is, Wal-Mart’s business model isn’t compatible with eco-friendly living. As Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, wrote on the environmental news website Grist.com:

Wal-Mart’s initiatives have just enough meat to have distracted much of the environmental movement, along with most journalists and many ordinary people, from the fundamental fact that, as a system of distributing goods to people, big-box retailing is as intrinsically unsustainable as clear-cut logging is as a method of harvesting trees.

With “mom ‘n’ pop” shops shutting down, customers are driving further distances to shop at stores like Wal-Mart. And each Wal-Mart store requires massive amounts of land, labor and energy to function.

That’s not all. By importing the vast majority of its products from countries overseas, Wal-Mart is creating an enormous global footprint. Forcing manufacturers to use cheap factories in countries with lax environmental laws is not only dangerous for product safety, it’s dangerous for our planet.

Tell Wal-Mart to stop talking about helping the environment, and to start taking action:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/earthday

But if Wal-Mart really wants to “go green,” it should start by following the law.

Only a few weeks ago, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources caught Wal-Mart trying to recycle hazardous agricultural products, instead of a using a more expensive hazardous waste disposal contractor, as required by law.

And Wal-Mart is still under investigation by the States of California and Nevada for violations of their hazardous waste disposal policies.

Wal-Mart’s Earth Day campaign talks about how customers’ choices, “multiplied by 200 million, can equal a brighter future for us all.” That’s true. Wal-Mart needs to start living up to its own promises and following our country’s environmental laws to achieve those goals.

http://action.walmartwatch.com/earthday

David Nassar
Wal-Mart Watch

Vote Wal-Mart into the Corporate Hall of Shame!

If there were a Corporate Hall of Shame, would Wal-Mart belong in it? Of course they would.

Thankfully, there IS a Hall of Shame for abusive corporations, and now we can help make sure Wal-Mart is inducted.

Corporate Accountability International, a membership organization that protects people through campaigns that challenge abusive corporations, is opening up voting to the public for the second year in a row for their popular Corporate Hall of Shame.

The Hall of Shame exposes some of the most abusive, manipulative and harmful corporations — and this year Wal-Mart is one of eight possible inductees.

Voting is open now, so click here to vote to make sure Wal-Mart gets inducted.

It just takes a second, and you can also post comments about why they deserve to be in the Hall of Shame.

Corporate Accountability International will announce the three new inductees in July, and having Wal-Mart included will add pressure to our own campaign work.

Thanks for voting.

T.J. Faircloth
Corporate Accountability International

Keep Wal-Mart’s Health Care Nightmare in the News!

Now that Wal-Mart dropped its claim against Debbie Shank, everything is OK with Wal-Mart’s health coverage, right?

Wrong.

Debbie Shank’s tragic story was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Wal-Mart and health care. It is representative of the retail giant’s nickel-and-dime approach to its workers’ health coverage.

With all the attention being paid to the Shank family’s tragic ordeal, now is the time to make sure the media continues to investigate Wal-Mart’s failure to take care of its employees. Use our simple tool to write to the major media outlets and tell them there’s much more to this story:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/page/speakout/healthcarehypocr

The American people need to know the larger context of the Debbie Shank saga.

Even though Wal-Mart makes the $470,000 it sought from the Shank family every 38 seconds, the retail giant still hounded them for the money for nearly three years until the public outcry force it to stop.

And even though Wal-Mart made $11 billion in profit last year, it still offers such poor health benefits that only half its workers participate in the company health plan.

This is unacceptable for the nation’s largest private employer — and we need to make sure the American people know it.

Help keep the pressure on Wal-Mart. Write a letter to the national media urging them to run more stories on Wal-Mart’s poor record on health care:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/page/speakout/healthcarehypocr

In an interview last week, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott had the nerve to criticize other U.S. businesses over their poor health care policies.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black — Wal-Mart’s failure to take responsibility for its employees’ health care is why cases like Debbie Shank’s occur.

As the world’s largest company, Wal-Mart should be a leader in corporate responsibility. It can start by providing good wages, safe and fair working conditions, and quality health coverage for its employees.

Do your part to help get this message out to the rest of the country:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/page/speakout/healthcarehypocr

David Nassar
Wal-Mart Watch

Tell TIAA-CREF to Put Pressure on Wal-Mart and Divest

There is an ongiong campaign to pressure TIAA-CREF to use their power to pressure Wal-Mart to change and also for TIAA-CREF to divest from Wal-Mart directly. If you would like more information, email Al Norman or Neil Wollman.

Would it upset you to know that TIAA-CREF—the nation’s largest retirement fund, with over $400 billion and three million participants—is a major investor in Wal-Mart? Millions of TIAA-CREF investors are contributing their money to support Wal-Mart’s abusive human and labor rights practices, environmental sprawl, loss of manufacturing jobs, and harming of local communities. Even if you are not in the TIAA-CREF system, you can help promote corporate responsibility.

It’s time for faculty, staff, organizations, and citizens across America to tell TIAA-CREF that it must use its considerable shareholder power to influence Wal-Mart for the better–or stop investing in it.

1) Turn up the heat on TIAA-CREF to truly invest for the “greater good.” Help us educate faculty/staff/organizations you know–and nationwide. Whether you have money invested in a TIAA-CREF account or not – email the below message to CEO Roger Ferguson at RWFerguson@tiaa-CREF.org, and send a copy to: [[trustees@tiaa-cref.org|trustees@tiaa-cref.org]]. Also leave the same message in a phone call (800-842-2733 or 212-490-9000 and ask for CEO Roger Ferguson).

Sample message: I am concerned about TIAA-CREF being a major investor in Wal-Mart, a company involved in abusive human and labor rights practices, environmental destruction, and harm to local economies and neighborhoods. I want TIAA-CREF to put Wal-Mart on notice that if it doesn’t clean up it’s bad practices, that TIAA-CREF will find other companies to invest in.

Let Ferguson know if you are in the TIAA-CREF system; and if you are able to do so at your institution and feel strongly enough, say that you (or your whole school/organization) will withdraw money from TIAA-CREF if it doesn’t engage or withdraw from Wal-Mart.

2) As a faculty/ staff/organization, send a letter to TIAA-CREF and/or pass a resolution concerning Wal-Mart and send it to: Roger Ferguson, CEO, TIAA-CREF, 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

3) Write a letter to the editor of your school, local, or a national newspaper that “friends don’t let friends invest in TIAA-CREF” because of their large holdings in Wal-Mart stores.

BBC Working Groups

The Big Box Collaborative has active working groups and welcome additional participants. See the list of working groups and contact info for each group below. The BBC also welcomes new working groups, contact trina.tocco@ilrf.org with your ideas.

Environment
This Working Group includes organizations in internal dialogue with Wal-Mart and other big box retailers as well as organizations that are conducting external pressure campaigns. This group is focused on inside/outside strategy development to move forward environmental, public health and related campaign finance issues. Member organizations share information and develop strategy concerning both their internal dialogue with Wal-Mart, through the company’s sustainability networks, as well as their external campaign efforts to put pressure on the industry. This group includes environmental and public health advocacy organizations, as well as labor, human rights, and internationally-focused NGOs.
Lead group: Corporate Ethics International
Contact: Michael Marx, Corporate Ethics International mmarx@corporateethics.org

Food and Agriculture
This Working Group launched in December 2006 after a strategy meeting in Washington, DC, that brought together organizations from around the world. This group is focused primarily on issues around organics, fair trade, and farm-worker rights.
Lead Group: Action Aid, Agribusiness Accountability Initiative, BBC
Contact: Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Action Aid International Karen.Hansen-Kuhn@actionaid.org & Judith Pojda. Agribusiness Accountability Initiative agribizacct@comcast.net

International Labor Rights within the Supply Chain
In May 2006, the Big Box Collaborative co-hosted the U.S./Asia dialogue with the International Labor Rights Fund to launch this Working Group. Much of the discussion within this Working Group focuses on the purchasing policies of big box retailers as well as information sharing among organizations that have strong relationships with trade unions and labor-allied organizations (such as the Asia Floor Wage Campaign) in the developing world. Thus far allies in southern Africa, Asia, Mexico, and Central America have been consulted and invited to become active in this working group. This group convenes discussions between domestic and international campaign organizations and shareholder advocates in developing effective inside/outside strategies.
Lead Group: International Labor Rights Forum
Contact: Trina Tocco, International Labor Rights Forum trina.tocco@ilrf.org

Shareholders
This Working Group helps share information and coordinate strategy between shareholder advocates and between shareholders and activist organizations. A number of shareholders participate in the other Working Groups, such as Environment and Food & Agriculture. Several are also engaged in Wal-Mart’s sustainability networks or other forms of direct dialogue with companies.
Lead Group: As You Sow
Contact: Conrad MacKerron mack@asyousow.organd Patricia Jurewicz patricia@asyousow.org

State and Local Initiatives
This Working Group is focused on state and local laws and initiatives that regulate Big Box Retail stores. Examples include laws that set a minimum wage or minimum benefits for the big box retail sector. This Working Group creates a space in which local field organizers can interact with resource providers, such as legal experts and public policy researchers, similar groups in other regions of the U.S., and local politicians.
Lead group: Cities For Progress and Jobs With Justice
Contact: Karen Dolan, Cities For Progress kdolan@igc.org