The Grinch is Attempting to Steal Christmas Once Again
Wal-Mart faces boycott for 'banning' Christmas; The retailer is accused of discrimination while promoting Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.
I will only be purchasing Christmas presents from businesses that are not afraid to advertise using the word Christmas, whose employees can say, "Have a Merry Christmas!" There will be no Happy Holiday purchases made by me this year.
posted by Michele @ 7:39 AM
7 Comments:
perhaps we will have to go back to making our own gifts - and bring back the true spirit of Christmas!
Not a bad idea!
Don't tell me that because Dairy Queen is one of my favorite treats when I treat myself.
Now I cannot in good concious buy another Dairy Queen. But wait, the owner of my Dairy Queen is a Christian, and yes, her cakes say Merry Christmas!
ahhhhhhhh the pleasures of living in the Bible Belt!
ah come on Mooser.........a 2nd mortgage?
never bought a burger at Dairy Queen, I like the small vanilla cone or an ocassional malted
Not one for burgers.
Wal-mart is run by a bunch of commie jews. The pinkos should go back to china.
Wal-Mart treats their employees like dirt, and they run Mom and Pop establishments out of business. Once that's done, they then reduce the advertising dollars that they spend in the local papers (since they already beat down their competition), thereby hurting the local papers. Like Maddie said, either make your own gifts or support your local businesses. Screw Wal-Mart, regardless of Christmas controversies.
First and foremost, I didn’t write that asinine statement about the Jews. I do find it interesting that while you took offense to that you also took the time to assail all Dems again, even though we don’t know who wrote that idiotic statement. It says something about you, though. I think there are a few “agitators” in this blog, so my advice is that unless someone is identified and it’s clear where they stand, you may want to stop making your blanket accusations. I agree that in Texas they should be able to vote for whatever they wantYou said, “ I like to think I'm someone who has a difference of opinion...or is that not ok?”. Sure. Now why are you verbally assaulting my comments?
Secondly, no ones telling you that you can’t shop wherever you want. No one’s holding a gun to your head. You shop your conscience, and I’ll shop mine. The only ones who I believe should force people to not buy at WalMart are the people in each community when they decide whether or not they want a WalMart in their community. Some areas have actively kept WalMart out of their community, and that’s their right. Are you against people controlling their local situations?
I realize you’re a big opponent of the “cut and paste” work that gets done in here too often, but I had to post some issues on the relationship of WalMart with their employees and the communities that they serve. This is not an opinion that I cut and pasted, so try to contain your accusations. All issues are sourced, so feel free to look them up to debunk. I’m willing to hear the counterpoints if you have them. I assume you’ll just say something like “liberal garbage”, which seems to be your easy out, but we’ll see.
Wal-Mart Wages and Worker Rights
A Substantial Number of Wal-Mart Associates earn far below the poverty line
• In 2003, sales associates, the most common job in Wal-Mart, earned on average $8.23 an hour for annual wages of $13,861.The 2003 poverty line for a family of three was $15,260. [“Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?”, Business Week, 10/6/03]
• A 2003 wage analysis reported that cashiers, the second most common job, earn approximately $7.92 per hour and work 29 hours a week. This brings in annual wages of only $11,948. [“Statistical Analysis of Gender Patterns in Wal-Mart’s Workforce”, Dr. Richard Drogin 2003]
Wal-Mart Associates don't earn enough to support a family
• The national median family budget in the United States for a two-person family (one parent and one child) in 1999 was $23,705, well above the average associate's annual wages of $13,861. [“Poverty and Family Budgets” online at www.epinet.org]
Wal-Mart can afford wage increases
• Wal-Mart can cover the cost of a dollar an hour wage increase by raising prices a half penny per dollar. For instance, a $2.00 pair of socks would then cost $2.01. This minimal increase would annually add up to $1,800 for each employee. [Analysis of Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005]
Wal-Mart forces employees to work off-the-clock
• As of the printing of their 2005 Annual Report, Wal-Mart faced 44 wage and hour lawsuits. Major law-suits have either been won or are working their way through the legal process in states such as California, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005]
• Wal-Mart was recently ordered by courts to pay up to 120 workers in Gallup, New Mexico and 400 workers in 27 stores in Oregon for violating wage and hour laws.
• In 2002, statisticians estimated Wal-Mart shortchanged its Texas workers $150 million over four years by regularly not paying them for working through their 15-minute breaks. [Sources include Associated Press, "Federal Jury Finds Wal-Mart Guilty in Overtime Pay Case," Chicago Tribune, Business 3, 12/20/03 and Steven Greenhouse, “Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock,” New York Times, A1, 6/25/02)]
Wal-Mart violates the Fair Labor Standards Act
• One week of time records from 25,000 employees in July 2000 found 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day. There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times. [Steven Greenhouse, “Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock,” New York Times, A1, 6/25/02]
Wal-Mart and Health Care
Wal-Mart’s Health Care Plan Fails to Cover Over 600,000 Employees
• Wal-Mart reports that its health insurance only covers 48% of their employees. Wal-Mart has approximately 1.3 million US employees.
Wal-Mart’s Health Insurance Falls Far Short of the Industry Average
• On average, large firms (200 or more workers) cover approximately 68% of their employees. If Wal-Mart was to reach the average coverage rate, Wal-Mart should be covering an additional 260,000 employees (Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2004).
Wal-Mart’s Health Care Eligibility is Restrictive
• Part-timers—anybody below 34 hours a week – must wait 2 years before they can enroll. Moreover, part-time employees are ineligible for family health care coverage. Full-time hourly employees must wait 180 days (approximately 6 months) before being able to enroll in Wal-Mart’s health insurance plan. Managers have no waiting period. (Wal-Mart 2005 Associate Guide)
• Nationally, the average wait time for new employees to become eligible is 1.6 months. For the retail industry it is 2.8 months. (Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2004)
Wal-Mart’s Most Affordable Health Plan is Costly
• According to Wal-Mart, “We insure more than 500,000 associates, including many family members, who pay as little as $17.50 for individual coverage and $70.50 for family coverage bi-weekly.”
• Wal-Mart’s most affordable plan includes a $1,000 deductible for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for family coverage ($1,000 deductible per person covered up to $3,000). An average full-time worker earns $17,114 a year.
• If a full-time Wal-Mart hourly employee elects for single coverage, the employee would have to spend on average 9% of their earnings before the health insurance provided any reimbursement.
• If a full-time employee elected for family coverage, an average employee would have to spend 27% of their average earnings before the health insurance covered any costs. (Wal-Mart 2004 Associate Guide and UFCW Analysis).
Wal-Mart Admits Public Health Care Assistance is a “Better Value”
• Despite $10 billion in profits, President and CEO Lee Scott said, "In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums." (Transcript Lee Scott Speech 4/5/05)
Wal-Mart’s Health Care is Only Getting Costlier
• Since 2000, the cost of premiums has risen 169 percent for single coverage and 117 percent for family coverage. (UFCW analysis of annual Wal-Mart Associate Guides).
• In comparison, premiums for family coverage in the U.S. have increased only by 59%, since 2000. (Employer Health Benefits: 2004 Annual Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2004)
Wal-Mart Employees Pay More for Health Care Costs
• In 2003, Wal-Mart employees, in total, covered approximately 40% of the plan costs (5500 Filings). Nationally, on average employees at large firms (over 200 employees) cover only 16% of single coverage costs and 24% of family coverage costs (KFF, 2004).
• In a state analysis, the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2003, Wal-Mart covered only 52% of total health care premium costs compared to K-Mart which covered 66%, Target which covered 68%, and Sears which covered 80%.
Wal-Mart Spends Less to Provide Health Care
• Wal-Mart’s spending on health care for its employees falls well below industry and national employer averages. In 2002, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart spent an average of $3,500 per employee. By comparison, the average spending per employee in the wholesale/retailing sector was $4,800. For U.S. employers in general, the average was $5,600 per employee, Therefore, Wal-Mart’s average spending on health benefits for each covered employee was 27% less than the industry average and 37% less than the national average. (Bernard Wysocki, Jr. and Ann Zimmerman, “Wal-Mart Cost-Cutting Finds a Big Target in Health Benefits,” WSJ September 30, 2003 p1)
Wal-Mart Only Spends 75 Cents an Hour Per Employee for Health Benefits
• In 2003, Wal-Mart spent $1.4 billion on its health insurance. This amounts to an employer contribution of around only $0.75 an hour per employee. This accounts for approximately a half-percent of Wal-Mart's $259 billion in sales in 2003. (Wal-Mart 5500 Filings, Wal-Mart Annual Report).
Wal-Mart Increased Advertising More Than Health Care
• Over the last two years (2004 and 2003), Wal-Mart has increased its advertising budget $724 million, which is more than half the $1.4 billion it spent in 2003 on health care -- the last reported year.
• In fact, between 2002 and 2003, Wal-Mart put more new funds into advertising compared to health care. Wal-Mart increased spending on advertising by $290 million, while only increasing health care spending by $215 million for the same period. (note: this also occurred in 1999-98, 1998-97, 1995-96). (Wal-Mart Annual Reports and 5500 Filings)
• Excluding his salary of $1.2 million, in 2004 Lee Scott made around $22 million in bonuses, stock awards, and stock options in 2004.
• This $22 million could reimburse 3 states where Wal-Mart topped the list of users of state-sponsored health care programs, covering more than 15,000 Wal-Mart employees and dependents and costing state taxpayers between $21 to $24 million total. (WMT Proxy Statement and News Articles GA, CT, AL).
One Out of Seven Wal-Mart Employees Has No Health Care Coverage At All
• This is nearly double the national percentage for large firms (firms with over 100 employees). In fact, we estimate that Wal-Mart accounts for more than 1 out of every 40 uninsured workers, who are employed at a large firm. (walmartfacts.com; Wal-Mart Annual Report; “Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Coverage: Sponsorship, Eligibility, and Participation Patterns in 2001,” Bowen Garrett, Ph.D., released by the Kaiser Family Foundation September 2004).
Costs to Taxpayers
Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed
• The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [“Harper’s Index,” Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 310, No. 1858, 3/2005]
• One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:
o $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
o $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.
o $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.
o $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.
o $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)
o $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.
[THE HIDDEN PRICE WE ALL PAY FOR WAL-MART, A REPORT BY THE DEMOCRATIC STAFF OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE, 2/16/04]
Your tax dollars subsidize Wal-Mart's growth
• The first ever national report on Wal-Mart subsidies documented at least $1 billion in subsidies from state and local governments.
• A Wal-Mart official once stated that “it is common” for the company to request subsidies “in about one-third of all [retail] projects.” This would suggest that over a thousand Wal-Mart stores have been subsidized. [“Shopping For Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth,” Good Job First, May 2004]
Community Impact
Wal-Mart wages negatively impact overall wages
• The influx of big-box stores into San Diego would result in an annual decline in wages and benefits between $105 million and $221 million [San Diego Taxpayers Association (SDCTA)]
• “[The threat of Wal-Mart's incursion into the southern California grocery market] is already triggering a dynamic in which the grocery stores are negotiating with workers for lowered compensation, in an attempt to re-level the `playing field.’” [Rodino and Associates]
Lower wages mean less money for communities
• When an employer pays low wages to its employees, the employees have less money to spend on goods and services in the community, which in turn reduces the income and spending of others in the community. In other words a reduction in wages has a multiplier impact in the surrounding area.
• For instance, in 1999, Southern California municipalities estimated that for every dollar decrease in wages in the southern California economy, $2.08 in spending was lost-- the $1 decrease plus another $1.08 in indirect multiplier impacts. [“The Impact of Big Box Grocers in Southern California” Dr. Marlon Boarnet and Dr. Randall Crane.]
Longer term effects of Wal-Mart can be disastrous
• Over the course of [a few years after Wal-Mart entered a community], retailers' sales of mens' and boys' apparel dropped 44% on average, hardware sales fell by 31%, and lawn and garden sales fell by 26%.
• In towns without Wal-Marts that are close to towns with Wal-Marts, sales in general merchandise declined immediately after Wal-Mart stores opened. After ten years, sales declined by a cumulative 34%. [Kenneth Stone at Iowa State University, “Impact of the Wal-Mart Phenomenon on Rural Communities”]
Wal-Mart stifles competition
• A Congressional Research Service report in 1994 explained that Wal-Mart builds stores in nearby connected markets in order to stifle any competition in the targeted area by the size of its presence. [Jessica Hall and Jim Troy, “Wal-Mart Go Home! Wal-Mart’s Expansion Juggernaut Stumbles as Towns Turn Thumbs Down and Noses Up,” Warfield’s Business Record 1 (July 22, 1994]
Wal-Mart destroys the environment
• In October 2004, the United States sued Wal-mart for violating the Clean Water Act in 9 states, calling for penalties of over $3 million and changes to W-M building codes. [U.S. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 2004 WL 2370700]
• The United States Environmental Protection agency fined Wal-Mart $1 million, settling allegations that Wal-Mart violated the Clean Water Act with dirt discharges while building stores in Massachusetts, New Mexico, Okalahoma, and Texas. [Wal-MartLitigation.com]
• The Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Department fined Wal-Mart $100,000 for polluting rivers. [Business Week, 5/31/99]
• Wal-Mart was fined $765,000 for violating Florida’s petroleum storage tank laws at its automobile service centers. Wal-Mart failed to register its fuel tanks, failed to install devices that prevent overflow, did not perform monthly monitoring, lacked current technologies, and blocked state inspectors. [Associated Press, 11/18/04]
• In Georgia, Wal-Mart was fined about $150,000 for water contamination. [Atlanta Journal- Constitution, 2/10/05]
Wal-Mart increases vehicle traffic
• A study of estimated additional driving costs of Supercenters in the San Francisco Bay area concluded that there would be up to an additional 238 million vehicle miles traveled per year.
• These extra miles traveled could cost communities in the Bay area up $ 256 million in additional costs for infrastructure repair and environmental degradation. [Supercenters and the Transformation of the Bay Area Grocery Industry: Issues, Trends, and Impacts. Bay Area Economic Forum, 2004]
Wal-Mart desecrates sacred grounds
• In 2004, Wal-Mart built a 71,902-square-foot store near the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon in San Juan Teotichuacan, Mexico. Teotihuacan was called "the place where the gods were created" by the Aztecs. [Kinght Ridder, 10/25/04]
• In 1993 in Southern California, Wal-Mart, faced with threats of a nationwide boycott if it proceded with a development project that have destroyed Indian burial grounds, which Indians consider to be as holy as a church, synagogue or mosque. Wal-Mart was forced to compromise with the Indian activists by building a monument on store property to honor the grounds. [Los Angeles Times, 10/16/93]
• Wal-Mart reached a tentative settlement with a nonprofit group in Hawaii that alleged Wal-Mart violated state law dealing with the protection and preservation of human remains and desecration of graves while constructing a store in Honolulu. [KHNL-TV/KHBC/KOGG, HI. 7/19/2005]
Wal-Mart's empty stores are blighting communities
• Wal-Mart’s rapid expansion of Supercenters and Sam's Clubs has contributed to hundreds of vacant stores across the country. [“Wal Mart site: Use as is or rebuild?”, Dallas Morning News, 2/20/02]
• When Wal-Mart decides to convert a discount store into a larger Supercenter, it is often cheaper or easier simply to relocate entirely. David Brennan, associate professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn, notes that Wal-Mart stores relocate so regularly that, “it is not uncommon to relocate right across the street." [“Home Depot to Move from Old to New Store Next Door,” Providence News-Journal, 8/17/03]
• Wal-Mart plans to build another 55 million square feet of store space this year, or roughly the equivalent of 1,000 football fields or 15 Pentagon buildings. [Wal- Mart Annual Report 2005]
• Big box retailers will most likely enter a community, only to be among the first to consolidate or fold when conditions begin to change. [“The Impact of Big Box Stores in S. California,” Dr. Marlon Boarnet]
• In 2001, Wal-Mart controlled around 30 million square feet of vacant retail space through ownership or leases. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/28/01]
• Vacant property drains the value from the surrounding area, whether commercial or residential.
Wal-Mart and China
Wal-Mart buys much of its merchandise from China
• Wal-Mart reports that it purchased $18 billion of goods from China in 2004.
• Wal-Mart is responsible for about 1/10th of the U.S. trade deficit with China.
[“U.S. Stock Investors Wary of Analyst `Yuan Plays': Taking Stock, Bloomberg, 7/1/05]
• If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China’s eight-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada.
[China Business Weekly, 12/02/2004]
Many of Wal-Mart's “American Suppliers” actually manufacture most or all of their products in China
• An example of an “American Supplier” is Hasbro. Today, Wal-Mart is the largest purchaser of Hasbro products—accounting for 21 percent of all Hasbro goods or more than $600 million in sales. But Hasbro reports, “We source production of substantially all of our toy products and certain of our game products through unrelated manufacturers in various Far East countries, principally China.” Hasbro specifies that “the substantial majority of our toy products are manufactured in China.” [2004 Hasbro 10-K filed with the SEC]
Wal-Mart's Chinese factory workers are treated poorly
• Workers in China’s Guangdong Province who made toys for Wal-Mart toiled as much as 130 hours per week for wages averaging 16.5 ¢ per hour (below the minimum wage) and no health insurance. [National Labor Committee, “Toys of Misery 2004,” February 2004]
• Striking workers at a factory that supplies Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, China said they had to work 11 hour days, including mandatory 3 hours of overtime. Half of their small wages were deducted to pay for accommodation in company dormitories. [New York Times, 16 December, 2004]
Wal-Mart and Worker Injuries
Wal-Mart cares little for the safety of its workers
• West Virginia’s Employment Programs Performance Council voted to put Wal-Mart into the “adverse risk” pool, raising the premiums by 15%. Only employers with unusually high accident rates are placed in that pool. [Charleston Gazette, 6/3/99]
• The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld a $5,000 fine against a Wal-Mart store in Hoover, Ala., for blocking emergency exits. The court upheld a decision by a judge who found that Wal-Mart was guilty of a serious and repeated offense. [New York Times, Steven Greenhouse, 5/17/05]
Wal-Mart takes a combative approach to workers’ compensation claims
• Arkansas Business described Wal-Mart as “the state’s most aggressive” when it comes to challenging worker’s compensation claims. The company “stands far above any other self-insurer in challenges to employee claims.” [Arkansas Business, 1/8/01]
Wal-Mart Non-Health Care Benefits
Wal-Mart fails to provide a secure retirement benefit for its employees.
• Wal-Mart sponsors two retirement plans — a profit sharing plan and 401(k) plan — neither of which guarantee workers a fixed monthly pension benefit.
• Wal-Mart has shifted risks to employees by concentrating investment in its own stock.
• From January 2000 to January 2005, the average adjusted share price of Wal-Mart’s stock lost more than a fifth of its value. By being concentrated in one security, employees’ retirement plans are subject to the whims of one stock rather than having the safety of a diversified portfolio.
• Wal-Mart's retirement plans are Enron-like -- in 2003, 67% of their combined assets were invested in Wal-Mart stock.
Wal-Mart shares little of its $10 billion profits with employees.
• Wal-Mart has stated that it has contributed around 4 percent of its earnings to its combined profit sharing and 401(k) accounts. For 2003, this would come out to a $302 a year contribution per employee.
Wal-Mart shifts retirement costs onto communities
• When employees retire without adequate savings and benefits, they are less able to pay for health care, housing, and food. Communities and taxpayers ultimately bear the cost.
Wal-Mart Anti-Union Policy
Wal-Mart closes down stores and departments that unionize
• In 2000, when a small meatcutting department successfully organized a union at a Wal-Mart store in Texas, Wal-Mart responded a week later by announcing the phase-out of its in-store meatcutting company-wide. [Pan Demetrakakes, "Is Wal-Mart Wrapped in Union Phobia?" Food & Packaging 76 (August 1, 2003).]
• A Wal-Mart employee in Quebec filed a request in a Canadian Superior Court seeking a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Canada, saying the retailer’s decision to close a Jonquierre, Quebec, store after its employees received union certification violated the rights of its workers, and entitles them to compensation and damages. [Quebec Union Seeks Class-Action Suit vs. Wal-Mart,” Supermarket News, April 22, 2005]
Wal-Mart has issued "A Manager's Toolbox to Remaining Union Free,"
• This toolbox provides managers with lists of warning signs that workers might be organizing, including "frequent meetings at associates' homes" and "associates who are never seen together start talking or associating with each other." The "Toolbox" gives managers a hotline to call so that company specialists can respond rapidly and head off any attempt by employees to organize. [Wal-Mart, A Manager’s Toolbox to Remaining Union Free at 20-21]
Wal-Mart is committed to an anti-union policy
• In the last few years, well over 100 unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Wal-Mart throughout the country, with 43 charges filed in 2002 alone.
• Since 1995, the U.S. government has been forced to issue at least 60 complaints against Wal-Mart at the National Labor Relations Board. [International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in the United States: Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of the United States (Geneva, January 14-16, 2004)]
• Wal-Mart’s labor law violations range from illegally firing workers who attempt to organize a union to unlawful surveillance, threats, and intimidation of employees who dare to speak out. [“Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart," A Report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 2/16/04]
Wal-Mart & Gender Discrimination
Wal-Mart does not treat its female employees fairly
• In 2001, six women sued Wal-Mart in California claiming the company discriminated against women by systematically denying them promotions and paying them less than men. The lawsuit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, has expanded to include more than 1 million current and former female employees, and was certified on June 21 2004 as the largest class action lawsuit ever. It is now being appealed by Wal-Mart.
• In 2001, while more than two-thirds of Wal-Mart's hourly workers were female, women held only one-third of managerial positions and constituted less than 15 percent of store managers. This is all despite women having had on average longer seniority and higher merit ratings than their male counterparts.
[Neil Buckley and Caroline Daniel, “Wal-Mart vs. the Workers: Labour Grievances Are Stacking Up Against the World’s Biggest Company,"” Financial Times 11, 11/20/03]
• In 2001, women managers on average earned $14,500 less than their male counterparts. Female hourly workers earned on average $1,100 less than male counterparts. [Drogin 2003]
• In 2001, for the same job classification, women earned from 5 percent to 15 percent less than men, even after taking into account factors such as seniority and performance. [Drogin 2003]
Wal-Mart & Child Labor
Wal-Mart violates Child Labor Laws
• An internal Wal-Mart audit found "extensive violations of child-labor laws and state regulations requiring time for breaks and meals.” (New York Times, 1/13/04)
• One week of time records from 25,000 employees in July 2000 found 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day. There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times. (New York Times, 1/13/04)
• Wal-Mart agreed to pay $135,540 to settle child labor violation charges in January 2005 for allegedly breaking child labor laws in 24 incidents. (Wall Street Journal, 2/12/05)
• Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the state found 11 violations in three Wal-Mart stores in the state and that 337 minors worked at the company's 32 Connecticut stores from 2003 to 2005. The probe came after the Labor Department in February said the retailer had similar violations nationwide. (Bloomberg News, 6/22/05)
• Wal-Mart has also been fined $205,650 for 1,436 violations of child labor laws in Maine for the period 1995 to 1998. The settlement represents the largest number of citations as well as the largest fine ever issued by the Maine Department of Labor for child labor violations. (Bureau of Business Practice News)
Wal-Mart & Undocumented Immigrants
In March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle federal allegations it used undocumented immigrants to clean its stores. [CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005]
Since 1997, federal authorities have uncovered the cases of at least 250 undocumented immigrants who were employed by janitor contracting services and hired by Wal-Mart in 21 states. Many of the janitors - from Mexico, Russia, Mongolia, Poland and a host of other nations - worked seven days or nights a week without overtime pay or injury compensation. Those who worked nights were often locked in the store until the morning. [CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005]
Fox betrays Christmas crusade, sells "Holiday" ornaments for your "Holiday tree"
Although Fox News hosts Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson have lambasted what they see as a "secular" "war on Christmas," Fox News' own online store advertises "Holiday" ornaments rather than "Christmas" ornaments, as apparently first noted on the weblog Daily Kos. The items are grouped under the category "Holiday Ideas."
O'Reilly, host of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, has recently waged a campaign against corporations that greet customers with "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." For his part, Gibson, the host of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson, has published a book titled The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought (Sentinel, October 2005).
Despite O'Reilly's specific criticism of those who use the term "holiday tree" instead of "Christmas tree," an O'Reilly Factor ornament for sale at the Fox News store features this tagline: "Put your holiday tree in 'The No Spin Zone' with this silver glass 'O'Reilly Factor' ornament."
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