The following presentation was made at the Community Meeting on Wal-Mart May 19, 2001
I’m Steve Waldmann and I live in Fox Run.
I used to live in Colorado Springs by the World Arena, but development ruined that area for me and my family.
First, a couple of restaurants were built, then the World Arena was erected, then a couple of hotels were built, then a Target and an Office Max moved in. Then a multi-plex movie theater came to the area. While it was very convenient to have all of these buying opportunities so nearby, the traffic and the noise that they caused was more than I could handle. After awhile, I could no longer put up with the noise of my highly urbanized area. I could no longer stand the fact that when I went out on my deck at night, I couldn’t see many stars because of the light pollution caused by all of the city’s businesses. So I bagged it and I moved out here.
I’ve been here nearly three years and I consider myself to be very fortunate to be living in this area. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful, the traffic is not horrendous, and it’s dark at night. Although things may be a little bit more expensive here and I have to drive into Colorado Springs to go to a restaurant or a movie or shopping for things other than groceries, this is the good life.
However, there is a possibility that that may all change. Wal-Mart wants to invade our community.
Wal-Mart wants to come to our community so that they can make money. While there is nothing wrong with making money, it should be done honorably. I suggest that Wal-Mart does not do that.
I believe that Wal-Mart does not treat its workers fairly. I believe that the median wage to a employee at a Wal-Mart store is about $8.50 per hour. That means that half of the employees make more than $8.50 per hour and half make less. In contrast to that, workers at King Soopers and Safeway earn a median wage of about $10.00 per hour. I believe that in our current system, workers should get health insurance from their employers. At Wal-Mart about 38% of their employees receive health insurance through Wal-Mart. The national average is 61%. To make matters worse, Wal-Mart just raised the cost of health insurance for its new employees. Wal-Mart has a lot of new employees since the turnover rate for first year employees is about 70%. As of April 2, 2001, new Wal-Mart employees have a $350 deductible on prescription drug purchases. That is far different than the $10 or $20 co-payment that you and I have to pay when we buy medication. Further, you and I typically pay for 20% of our major medical expenses under our health insurance plans. New Wal-Mart employees will have to pay for 30% of their major medical expenses.
Workers who feel that they are not receiving adequate compensation for their services typically think about organizing into unions. Last year, butchers at a Wal-Mart store in Texas voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Wal-Mart responded to this vote by eliminating the jobs of the butchers. I believe that the right to organize into a union is a fundamental right of workers and I believe that Wal-Mart’s decision to eliminate the jobs of those butchers is Anti-American.
Wal-Mart used to brag that they Bought American. Well, that’s no longer true. About 80% of the clothes sold in a Wal-Mart store are imported from foreign countries. The national average is about 55%. Wal-Mart is the world’s largest importer of products made in Communist China. In China, workers are typically paid about 25 cents per hour. In China, workers typically work 14 hour days, 6 days per week without receiving overtime pay. In China, labor unions are against the law.
In the last couple of years, Wal-Mart has been fined by the State of Maine for Child Labor Law violations, has been sued by the federal government for discrimination against disabled workers, has been fined nearly $500,000 for discriminating against Hispanic employees in northern Colorado, and has had its workers compensation operation seized by the State of Washington because Wal-Mart was not treating its injured employees fairly.
So, Wal-Mart is squeezing its employees, is selling goods made in foreign sweatshops, and is cutting costs whenever it can. What is it doing with all of this extra money. The richest man in the world used to be Bill Gates of Microsoft. As of last month, it is now S. Robson Walton, the Chairman of Wal-Mart. Also among the list of the richest people in the world are Ann Walton and Nancy Walton, nieces of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. These women live right down the street from each other in Columbia. Missouri. Ann is married to a man named Stanley Kroenke. Nancy is married to a man named William Laurie. Several years ago, William Laurie tried to use the wealth that he got from his marriage to buy the Denver Nuggets basketball team, the Colorado Avalanche hockey team and the Pepsi Center in Denver. The deal fell through and he wasn’t able to do it. So his brother-in-law, Stanley Kroenke, using the wealth that he had acquired from his marriage bought the teams and the Pepsi Center. William Laurie not wanting to be perceived as a loser at Walton family gatherings, then went out and bought the St. Louis Blues hockey team. Last night, the Colorado Avalanche played the St. Louis Blues in a hockey game.
In the early 1900s, the super-rich felt guilty about their wealth and therefore used some of their money to build libraries, fund hospitals, or help schools. The Waltons, the owners of Wal-Mart, use their money, money which they have made by treating their employees poorly and by selling goods made in Third-World sweatshops, to buy toys so that they can play games against each other.
I do not believe that Wal-Mart is honorable and I do not want them in our community.