[Peace] "Wake Up Walmart" protest Dec. 17

[Ricky Baldwin]

[PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY]


WAKE UP WALMART

Informational picket line 12 noon to 2:00 in front of
Wal-Mart on North Prospect and Anthony Drive, December
17

Sponsored by C-U Coalition for a Living Wage

C-U Jobs with Justice Organizing Committee

The Wake-Up Wal-Mart Campaign – a national grassroots
movement of Americans who believe by joining together
we can change Wal-Mart and build a better America

Local questions and comments? cu_jwj_forming at mail.com 

More information? www.WAKEUPWALMART.COM

They have such low prices, why does Wal-Mart need to
change?

*They have low prices because they pay wages that are
below the poverty line.

In 2003, the sales clerks (“associates”) earned an
annual wage of $13,861.

The poverty line for 2003 for a family of three was
$15,260.

Their wages are lower than other retail wages.
Comparing Wal-Mart’s average hourly wage to industry
averages results in a large wage difference between
Wal-Mart and the industry – almost $1.00 an hour below
the average for Supercenters, Discount Stores, and
Sam’s Clubs, and close to $2.00 below the average for
Neighborhood Markets.

* They have low prices because they have horrible
medical benefits and encourage their employees to
apply for Medicaid and other welfare programs so that
you and I – the taxpayers can pay for them. Congress
estimates that medical assistance to Wal-Mart
employees costs us at least $210 million a year
nationally.

      One local Wal-Mart costs our community $420,000
a year in public assistance programs.

*Then there is Your Job when you work in the same
community with a Wal-Mart.

An Iowa study showed that in the decade after Wal-Mart
arrived, Iowa had lost 555 grocery stores, 298
hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161
variety stores, 158 women’s apparel stores, 153 shoe
stores, 116 drugstores and 11men and boys’ apparel
stores. But Wal-Mart has low prices.

* Once all the competition is gone, then Wal-Mart will
also go because its customer base has weakened. For
every dollar in wages lost, an estimated $2.08 in
spending power is lost. If your job is gone, you may
leave the area or apply for a job at Wal-Mart, which
will have moved up the road a few miles. It is chasing
city subsidies and tax deals as it leaves an
unleasable empty shell behind. But Wal-Mart HAD low
prices.     


		
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