"Most Wanted" Corporate Human Rights Violators of 2005

Guess who is among them? Answer here.

Community Owned Department Stores

Arthur, Nebraska (Pop. 130), Powell, Wyoming (Pop. 5,300), Ely, Nevada (Pop. 4,000), Hebron, New Hampshire (Pop. 400) all have community owned department stores. Middlebury, VT (Pop. 8,500) residents think a community owned department store in the center of town would be better than allowing a big box like Wal-Mart to be built close by. Residents of Greenfield, Massachusetts are exploring the same idea. Read more here, here, here and here.

Leaders in Saranac Lake should at least be exploring other options besides the 'easy option' of letting Wal-Mart build in SL.

NOTE: Community Corporations

As Shuman defines community corporations, their ownership and control is institutionally bound to local people. Not surprisingly, Shuman includes municipal public enterprises, worker and consumer cooperatives, credit unions, and community-based non-profits in the category of community corporations. What is more novel is his advocacy of another type of community corporation: the for-profit corporation with a residential restriction on stock ownership. This locally-owned for-profit community corporation is one where voting shares are restricted to local residents and where no one interest can own more than a small proportion of the shares and votes. Its big advantage is that it limits the capital mobility that has devastated so many communities in recent decades.

I found this definition of a community corporation here.

I didn't know that the Green Bay Packers Football franchise is a community owned corporation. That is why they have never moved away from Green Bay, WI.

How About a Cooperative Department Store?

Here is the ideal spot for development in Saranac Lake. The area bounded by Broadway, Bloomingdale Ave, Cedar St and Margaret St. It's an eyesore in the middle of town, is located near the Union Depot, but evidently consists of lots owned by several different people. It's within walking distance of a large number of residents and if the train ever runs from Utica to SL you could even cheaply ship goods on the train. Wouldn't it be wonderful to locate a community department store based upon a cooperative venture. A forward looking community might discuss the possibility of such a venture and even search for State or Federal Funding to purchase land and put up a building to lease.

Wal-Mart Struggling in Germany

German employees at Wal-Mart don't seem to agree with Wal-Mart's new ethics manual.

the ethics-code fiasco shows that Wal-Mart is still prone to do things the Wal-Mart way without enough consideration to local customs. Rivals continue to chuckle about the customer reaction when, initially, Wal-Mart offered services such as grocery bagging. It turned out that Germans didn't want strangers handling their groceries. And when clerks followed orders to smile at shoppers, male customers took it as a come-on.

Read more here.

also:

German courts have upheld the right of Wal-Mart employees to flirt at work. It has struck out sections of the retail giant’s employee code of conduct that barred "any kind of communication that could be interpreted as sexual

America on Wal-Mart

A national survey finds that Wal-Mart is always welcomed....somewhere else. The Saint Consulting group found that 63% of those surveyed would oppose a Wal-Mart store if one were proposed in their community.

Sent by a Concerned Saranac Laker

Wal-Mart to Compete with Physicians?

Going to Wal-Mart to buy underwear? Soon you will be able to get some of your health care there too. Will this be good or bad for small rural hospitals and medical practices? I'm pretty sure the insurance companies will like it. Read more here.

A Diary by a Wal-Mart Employee

Working at Wal-Mart is a blog written by "An Associate" who lives in Maine.

Concerned about WAL-MART's impact on our world, I decided to infiltrate my local Supercenter in an effort to better understand the company and especially the conditions faced by its workers. In the months since I have truly learned what it is like to be a low-wage associate inside this retailing goliath (hint: it's not particularly pleasant...) This is the story of the working poor, which hopefully will inspire us as consumers to seek change by boycotting WAL-MART.

This person has 'infiltrated' Wal-Mart and has written about his experiences from application time to interview to training to working. It is REALLY well written and well worth reading, especially if you plan to work at Wal-Mart. Start at the bottom of the January archieve and read your way up.

Really Good New Link

I'm adding this new link from a site called "The Hometown Advantage: reviving locally owned business"

Lot's of links to big box and Wal-Mart stories. I particularly like the one by Stacy Mitchell published at TomPaine.com titled "What to do about Wal-Mart?" Suggestions are: 1) Bring back trust busting; 2) Expand community control over development; 3) Support small business creation; 4) Value work.

I've also added a link to The Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Fun at Wal-Mart!

A list of 68 fun things to do at Wal-Mart HERE

Got to admire someone who will list every single city that has a Wal-Mart store.

Those Who Said No Thanks

Read articles from 277 communities that have said 'no' to Wal-Mart (including Saranac Lake and Lake Placid).

UPDATE:Actually, they said 'no' to big box stores in general. I haven't checked all 277 cities, but 'anonymous' did spend over 21 minutes checking out the sites so there may be some cities that welcomed big box stores and 'sprawl-busters got it wrong.

Pro Wal-Mart Websites

I'm having a tough time finding links to pro Wal-Mart websites. There is the Ludwig von Mises Institute made up of libertarians devoted to some Austrian economist that didn't get the Nobel Prize they thought he deserved. There is a story asking if Wal-Mart destroys communities, one about how Wal-Mart serves humanity and one about the union conspiracy against Wal-Mart workers. I don't care too much for most libertarian views and the devotion of faculty at The Mises Institute for a dead Austrian economist scares me a bit. More about them here. Note that the Southern Poverty Law Center has problems with The Mises Institute.

Then there is Working Families for Wal-Mart. Not really much information on their website but if you like Pat Boone you will love Working Families for Wal-Mart. This group apparently gets financial support from Wal-Mart.

UPDATE: Ok, Americansforwalmart here. Lots of information from a pro Wal-Mart organization. However, they admit that most of their facts are obtained from Walmartfacts.

Many of the general facts about Wal-Mart used in this section come from the company’s informational website, www.walmartfacts.com

Pass Drug and Personality Test if You Want a Job at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart, like many large American corporations with low-wage employees, screens potential hires through a drug test, in addition to a multiple choice personality test, which asks applicants to express their level of agreement with statements such as "rules have to be followed to the letter at all times." (Ehrenreich, 124)

Hint: to pass the personality test answer the obvious questions with 'very strongly agree' or 'very strongly disagree' not 'strongly agree' or 'strongly disagree'.

Example: Question: rules have to be followed to the letter at all times
Answer: very strongly agree not strongly agree (if you want the job)

Health Care Benefits at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart employees with health insurance 48%
Costco employees with company health insurance 82%
NY Times, 5/4/05

Wal-Mart employees must wait 6 months (full time) and 2 yrs (part-time) to qualify for benefits and the deductible can be $1000.
Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/16/05

Employees on the “Value Plan” cannot count the following services towards the $1,000 or $3,000 deductible: pharmacy copays, mammograms, pap smears, well-child benefits, ER and Ambulance deductibles, and per event deductibles. As a result, Wal-Mart makes it hard to ever meet its high deductibles forcing employees to shoulder more costs. Unlike many small local businesses, Wal-Mart can afford to do better.

"There are government assistance programs out there that are so lucrative it's hard to be competitive, and it's expensive to be competitive," Lee Scott, Wal-Mart CEO
St. Louis Post Dispatch, 04/06/05

Does Wal-Mart Really Want a 121,000 sq ft Store?

A good point has been brought up. Is Wal-Mart proposing a 121,000 sq ft store just so they can eventually 'compromise' on the size they really want? What if the size they really want is a 100,000 sq ft store. Public relations wise they will look very 'cooperative' if they agree to 'reduce' the footprint of the store from 121,000 to 100,000 sq ft when 100,000 sq ft is what they wanted all along. What size store to people in SL really think we need?

Another Famous ADE 'Poll'

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise began a new poll last Monday 13 Feb. The question is "Do you want the 121,000-square-foot Wal-Mart that has been proposed for Saranac Lake"? I think the question would have been better and more informative if the word 'Wal-Mart had been left out. Ninety percent of people in the area want a general merchandise store. One point we could agree upon is the size of the store.

One disappointing feature of this 'poll' is the comments section, or at least the way it is used. Most of the comments were reasonable and relatively civil for the first couple of days and then went downhill from there. I don't favor a Wal-Mart in Saranac Lake but I certainly don't want those who do want a Wal-Mart to move away. Also, I think it's silly to treat recent transplants to Saranac Lake poorly. Don't we want people to move to SL? I'm glad Wal-Mart will hire 300 people. I'm not happy that those people are going to be treated poorly by a corporation that can afford to be more generous to it's employees. I also honestly feel that some local businesses are going to have a very hard time surviving after Wal-Mart moves into town. I feel badly for those business owners who may have to close their businesses.

I also find it sad that good people like Linda Piro and Mark Kurtz are being disparaged. Both of them are doing what they feel is right for our community.

Let's 'Work Together'

Unscientific poll now ongoing at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise website. The question is "Do you want the 121,000-square-foot Wal-Mart that has been proposed for Saranac Lake"?

I believe there are basically three groups involved in the ongoing Wal-Mart story. The first group wants a Wal-Mart and only a Wal-Mart and the bigger the better. The second group understands the need for a large retail store but seems to want to limit the size of the store to 68,000 sq ft or below. A large proportion of this second group also does not want the store to be owned by Wal-Mart because of Wal-Marts business practices. The third group wants the status quo - no large retailer. I believe the first and second groups probably comprise at least 90% of the people in the area. I also believe that the sizes of the 1st and 2nd groups are quite similar.

So how do groups 1 and 2 'work together'. Well, obviously the square footage of the store would be an easy place to begin to compromise. A more difficult problem is with those who insist that Wal-Mart has to be the store and refuse to consider trying to attract another company. They have the advantage that Wal-Mart obviously wants to come to the area and thus far K-Mart or Target or someone else has not expressed a desire to build here. Wal-Mart also now owns two contracts to purchase the land in SL. However, those contracts are probably worthless without the 10 acres that belong to the village.

I wonder how much Wal-Mart would be willing to compromise in this situation? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the village could insist that Wal-Mart provide affordable health care coverage for Wal-Mart employees. Many states are now beginning to pass laws that companies with over 10,000 employees must spend a certain percentage of their income on employee health insurance. Wal-Mart can afford to provide decent healthcare coverage unlike many local businesses. Wal-Mart could increase their prices by one half percent and easily start treating their employees like human beings.

Liberals Are Intolerant

Google 'liberal intolerance' and you will find thousands of conservative rants about how liberals are 'intolerant' and thus hypocritical. You see liberals claim to be 'open minded'. See how liberals are intolerant of Wal-Mart.....See!

Well I have to admit I am very intolerant of Wal-Mart. I cannot tolerate their definition of a 'full time' worker. I cannot tolerate the fact that they offer health insurance that their employees cannot afford. I cannot tolerate that they are discriminating against hiring people who might be health insurance risks (overweight) or the way they discriminate against women. I cannot tolerate that they pay wages lower than other large mechandisers. I cannot tolerate that a multi-billion dollar corporation relies on tax payers dollars so we can have 'Always Low Prices, Always'. I can't tolerate how they are responsible for the migration of manufacturing jobs overseas. I have little patience for the disregard they have for small town stores and the predatory practices they use to put them out of business.

But mostly I guess I'm intolerant of those that who allow Wal-Mart to succeed using such unethical business practices.

Does Saranac Lake need a large retailer? Sure it does. Do we need 121,000 sq ft of stuff for sale? Well it seems that could be a point of compromise. Would a downtown location for a retailer be a better option? Certainly a question deserving of an answer. Can the people of Saranac Lake, it's towns and counties work together to find the answers? One would hope so.

Fridays Home Town Gazette

There was a one sheet insert in Fridays Adirondack Daily Enterprise called Home Town Gazzette. This is billed as an independent Editorial publication and the only clue to the publisher is an email address: slconcerns@yahoo.com.

There are basically five articles in the Gazette. The first is titled Area Shoppers Impressed with Variety, Value! "Under the leadership of a single volunteer, local resident Ms. Gloria Volz, area merchants were asked to complete lists of the kinds of merchandise they carry for their valued customers". The jist of the article is that Saranac Lake merchants indeed sell most of what you need to get by. A newly formed Local Merchants Association of the SL Chamber of Commerce plans to spread the word about the "friendliness, variety, and vitality of downtown businesses".

The second article is titled Wanted: Department Store, but what kind, where and how big? It asks do we want to look like "everytown USA" or preserve the towns unique character? It goes on to say that an informal Chamber of Commerce survey indicated a 65% preference for a store no larger than 60,000 sq ft.

The third article - Here's how you can participate. It basically calls for educating yourself about the issues from traffic to predatory pricing. I doubt very much that this will happen to any extent. People in SL that want a department store want Wal-Mart and the bigger the better. It doesn't really matter how many children are enslaved to make the products Wal-Mart sells.

The fourth article - A big box here -- What's the logic? A Wal-mart the size of the one proposed for SL would be almost 3 times the size of Price Chopper in LP and one-third bigger than the entire Ames shopping center that currently houses seven businesses.

The last article - Thinking outside the big box. A call for creative thinking, building on our strengths and self-sufficiency. "Encourage our area to put a moratorium on major development as a unified Town/Village Master Plan is created, and encourage planners to cap new store development at 40,000 sq ft - or new plaza development at 68,000 sq ft - a size limit used successfully in many communites our size". This is the same request being made by Sound Adirondack Growth.

Alice Walton - Richest Woman in the World

Ok, Alice and her mother each have 18 billion dollars so I guess they tie for richest woman. Alice was good enough to donate 2.6 million dollars to the Progress for America PAC, the group that funded the 'Swift Boat Veterans for Truth'. Wal-Marts political action committee is the 2nd biggest donor to the GOP giving them 2.1 million dollars in 2004. See a company like Wal-Mart has to insure that Democrats never come to power. You wouldn't want to have to stop screwing the country over medical insurance, medicare and medicaid. And, you definitely want to keep paying your employees poverty level salaries. That's how you get Low Prices Always. Always.