September 19, 2005

Statement by Paul Blank, WakeUpWalMart.com Campaign Director, on First-Ever “”Congressional Hearing on Wal-Mart””

Today, in Cleveland, Ohio, Congressman Sherrod Brown will hold the first-ever Congressional field hearing on the negative impact of Wal-Mart’s business practices. WakeUpWalMart.com is proud to be a part of this important national hearing and will work to hold additional hearings to highlight the cost Americans pay for Wal-Mart’s so-called ‘low prices.’

Cong. Brown’s “”Wal-Mart Hearing”” represents a dramatic next step in the growing movement to change Wal-Mart and build a better America. This hearing will help educate consumers about why Wal-Mart needs to change and build greater public awareness and political support to change Wal-Mart into a more responsible corporate actor.

As America will no doubt learn from this hearing, Wal-Mart needlessly chooses to “”do the wrong thing”” even though they have the means and wherewithal to “”do what is right.””  The question Wal-Mart must now answer is, when will they stand up and finally address the negative effects their business practices have on their employees, their families, the community, and the nation?

We hope Wal-Mart will finally listen to the growing chorus of community voices and work with us to make Wal-Mart into a company that reflects the best of America’s values everyday.

September 12, 2005

“”Why Was Our Wal-Mart Ad Refused?””

Washington D.C. – Today, the Benton County Daily Record refused to publish a full-page advertisement paid for by WakeUpWalMart.com. The advertisement was a copy of an open letter sent to Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, by WakeUpWalMart.com. The letter extended an offer by WakeUpWalMart.com to create a new working partnership and listed “”six demands for change.””

Although the advertisement was paid for and accepted for publication on Friday, September 9th, this afternoon, Monday September 12, a representative from the Daily Record contacted WakeUpWalMart.com and informed the group the ad would not run as scheduled on Tuesday, September 13th. The representative of the newspaper stated that the open letter to Lee Scott was “”defamatory to Wal-Mart”” but refused repeated requests to explain what specific language or phrases in the letter were defamatory.

Officials at the Daily Record also refused to address questions as to whether or not our group was being unfairly targeted. Messages left by the group with the paper’s general manager, Jeff Jeffus, were also not returned.

“”Why was our Wal-Mart Ad refused? Our genuine hope with this open letter was to offer Lee Scott an olive branch, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to build a new working relationship to improve the lives of millions of Americans everyday. Evidently, the Benton County Daily Record believes asking Wal-Mart to do the right thing everyday is ‘defamatory,'”” said Paul Blank, Campaign Director for WakeUpWalMart.com.

The text of the open letter is available below.

AN OPEN LETTER TO WAL-MART CEO LEE SCOTT

Mr. Lee Scott, CEO

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611

Dear Mr. Scott,

In the wake of the terrible tragedies caused by Hurricane Katrina, Wal-Mart helped ease the suffering of many Americans. This crisis brought out the best in Wal-Mart and we applaud your hurricane relief efforts. We hope Wal-Mart’s response to Hurricane Katrina represents a turning point.

Wal-Mart has a great opportunity to work with us to help improve the lives of so many Americans who face an economic and health care crisis everyday, everywhere in America. The American people want to know, will Wal-Mart do what is right for America or will Wal-Mart lead a race to the bottom?

We believe now is the time for Wal-Mart to address the serious issues facing its 1.3 million workers, their families, our communities and our country by agreeing to the following “”six demands for change.””

1. Living Wage. Pay all Wal-Mart workers a fair living wage so they can support their families.
2. Affordable Health Care. Provide all workers comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage so they can care for their families and no longer be forced to rely on taxpayer-funded public health care.
3. End Discrimination. Ensure equal opportunity and equal pay for women and people of color in your workforce at all levels through a stringent and independent monitoring process.
4. Zero Tolerance on Child Labor. Adopt a zero tolerance policy and institute an independent monitoring program to stop the exploitation of child labor in the United States and abroad.
5. Buy American. Establish a “”Buy America”” program that annually increases the percentage of “”Made in America”” goods purchased by Wal-Mart so as to help protect American jobs.
6. Respect Communities. Work with local communities to effectively address Wal-Mart’s negative impact on issues like traffic, sprawl, the environment, and local businesses.

As you stated recently, “”When you do the right thing, good things accrue to you.”” We agree. Just imagine the good Wal-Mart can do if it works with us to become a better company by doing the right thing – everyday. We hope you will view our “”six demands for change”” as a sincere effort to form a new partnership for change.

In the end, we are not your enemy. Our goal is to be your partner in making Wal-Mart a better business. We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss how we can help Wal-Mart grow and prosper in new ways. But, make no mistake about it, if Wal-Mart refuses to change for the better, we will continue to build this broad-based social movement into one of the most powerful forces for change the nation has ever seen.

Wal-Mart has an incredible opportunity – right now – to work with us to better the lives of all your workers, to set a new standard for corporate America, to be a better business, and to build a better nation. We hope you will and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

WakeUpWalMart.com – America’s Campaign to Change Wal-Mart.

P.S. This November we, along with a broad coalition of community organizations, will be launching Wal-Mart Week, November 13th – 19th, to highlight Wal-Mart’s negative impact on America. You can go to www.walmartweek.com and learn more about the actions we will be taking and the movie being released. Our hope is that by then, instead of highlighting Wal-Mart’s failures, we can stand together and celebrate a new day at Wal-Mart – a day when real change improved the lives of millions of Americans.

September 12, 2005

WakeUpWalMart.com Reaches Out to Wal-Mart CEO With “”Six Demands for Change””

Group Also Officially Announces Launch of WalMartWeek.com

Washington D.C. – Today, WakeUpWalMart.com, America’s campaign to change Wal-Mart, released a dramatic open letter to Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart. The letter applauds Wal-Mart for its response to Hurricane Katrina and calls on Wal-Mart to meet with WakeUpWalMart.com and establish a new partnership for change.

Given the new standard set by Wal-Mart to do the right thing, the letter highlights “”six demands for change”” and extends the first offer to build a true working partnership between WakeUpWalMart.com and Wal-Mart in order to better the lives of their workers, their families, and millions of Americans – everyday.

“”Just imagine the good Wal-Mart can do if it works with us to become a better company by doing the right thing – everyday.  Our ‘six demands for change’ are a sincere effort to help Wal-Mart become a better business.  The question is: will Wal-Mart now work with us to improve the lives of workers who live in crisis everyday,”” said Paul Blank, campaign director, WakeUpWalMart.com.

The open letter will be published tomorrow, Tuesday, September 13th, in the Benton County Daily Record, the hometown newspaper of Wal-Mart’s headquarters.

The open letter presents Wal-Mart with the first “”list of demands.””  As the letter states, “”Wal-Mart has a great opportunity to work with us to help improve the lives of so many Americans who face an economic and health care crisis everyday, everywhere in America. The American people want to know, will Wal-Mart do what is right for America or will Wal-Mart lead a race to the bottom?””

The “”six demands for change”” include: paying their workers a living wage; providing affordable health care to their workers; and, increasing the percentage of “”Made in America”” goods sold at Wal-Mart stores.

“”We have offered this list of demands to Wal-Mart as an olive branch in the spirit of wanting real change. Our sincere hope is that Wal-Mart will work with us to improve the lives of others and to make this nation a truly better place everyday.  We, and America, await their answer,”” added Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com.

The letter also officially announced the launch of WalMartWeek.com – the new website will highlight many of the activities and events, such as the national release of the movie, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, scheduled to be released during “”Wal-Mart Week,”” November 13-19.  WakeUpWalMart.com and a broad coalition of partners from all across America will use this week to raise public awareness about the negative effects Wal-Mart has on their workers, the community, and the nation and to officially launch our holiday campaign.

In the letter to Scott, WakeUpWalMart.com states that they hope by “”Wal-Mart Week”” the two groups and the nation will able to celebrate the many changes Wal-Mart has undertaken to improve the lives of its workers and to better the nation.

Please read the open letter to Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, below:

AN OPEN LETTER TO WAL-MART CEO LEE SCOTT

Mr. Lee Scott, CEO
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611

Dear Mr. Scott,

In the wake of the terrible tragedies caused by Hurricane Katrina, Wal-Mart helped ease the suffering of many Americans.  This crisis brought out the best in Wal-Mart and we applaud your hurricane relief efforts. We hope Wal-Mart’s response to Hurricane Katrina represents a turning point.

Wal-Mart has a great opportunity to work with us to help improve the lives of so many Americans who face an economic and health care crisis everyday, everywhere in America. The American people want to know, will Wal-Mart do what is right for America or will Wal-Mart lead a race to the bottom?

We believe now is the time for Wal-Mart to address the serious issues facing its 1.3 million workers, their families, our communities and our country by agreeing to the following “”six demands for change.””

1. Living Wage.  Pay all Wal-Mart workers a fair living wage so they can support their families.
2. Affordable Health Care.  Provide all workers comprehensive, affordable health insurance coverage so they can care for their families and no longer be forced to rely on taxpayer-funded public health care.
3. End Discrimination.  Ensure equal opportunity and equal pay for women and people of color in your workforce at all levels through a stringent and independent monitoring process.
4. Zero Tolerance on Child Labor. Adopt a zero tolerance policy and institute an independent monitoring program to stop the exploitation of child labor in the United States and abroad.
5. Buy American.  Establish a “”Buy America”” program that annually increases the percentage of “”Made in America”” goods purchased by Wal-Mart so as to help protect American jobs.
6. Respect Communities. Work with local communities to effectively address Wal-Mart’s negative impact on issues like traffic, sprawl, the environment, and local businesses.

As you stated recently, “”When you do the right thing, good things accrue to you.””  We agree.  Just imagine the good Wal-Mart can do if it works with us to become a better company by doing the right thing – everyday. We hope you will view our “”six demands for change”” as a sincere effort to form a new partnership for change.

In the end, we are not your enemy. Our goal is to be your partner in making Wal-Mart a better business.  We welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss how we can help Wal-Mart grow and prosper in new ways. But, make no mistake about it, if Wal-Mart refuses to change for the better, we will continue to build this broad-based social movement into one of the most powerful forces for change the nation has ever seen.

Wal-Mart has an incredible opportunity – right now – to work with us to better the lives of all your workers, to set a new standard for corporate America, to be a better business, and to build a better nation. We hope you will and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

WakeUpWalMart.com – America’s Campaign to Change Wal-Mart.

P.S. This November we, along with a broad coalition of community organizations, will be launching Wal-Mart Week, November 13th – 19th, to highlight Wal-Mart’s negative impact on America.  You can go to www.walmartweek.com and learn more about the actions we will be taking and the movie being released.  Our hope is that by then, instead of highlighting Wal-Mart’s failures, we can stand together and celebrate a new day at Wal-Mart – a day when real change improved the lives of millions of Americans.

September 8, 2005

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott Addresses WakeUpWalMart.com at Boston Conference

Boston – This morning, after being greeted by more than 50 supporters of WakeUpWalMart.com, Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott addressed the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign directly. Mr. Scott was making a presentation at the Prudential Equity Group Back-to-School Consumer Conference in Boston.

Mr. Scott began his remarks by first acknowledging WakeUpWalMart.com’s supporters and then went on to say, “”When it comes to the group outside it is the largest most well financed corporate campaign in the history of business.”” Scott continued, “”This is not going away…this is a significant issue we face.””

“”Wal-Mart is right about one thing – WakeUpWalMart.com will not go away until Wal-Mart makes real changes, not just today, but everyday,”” said Paul Blank, WakeUpWalMart.com’s campaign director. “”The American people expect no less.””

Mr. Scott also suggested our campaign to change Wal-Mart is “”directed at slowing this company down.”” He continued, “”this is not a matter of Wal-Mart just needing to hire public relations people. …We believe this will be a strategy we have in place for a long time. …We recognize that…and we continue to make significant improvement.””

Reflecting on Wal-Mart’s efforts in the Katrina aftermath, Lee Scott said the lesson was, “”when you do the right thing good things accrue to you.”” We agree. So, Mr. Scott, we challenge you to ‘do the right thing’ and address our genuine concerns of poverty level wages, no company health care for 52% of your associates, child labor law violations, gender discrimination, and other important issues we have raised.

“”If Wal-Mart’s response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrates anything, it is that Wal-Mart can choose to change and do the right thing, but everyday it does nothing to address the health care and economic crisis facing working America,”” said Blank.

September 7, 2005

WakeUpWalMart.com Reaches Record Milestone of American Support

Washington, D.C. — WakeUpWalMart.com, the group leading the national fight to change Wal-Mart, announced today it has achieved a record milestone of support. Over 66,215 Americans have now joined the WakeUpWalMart.com movement, which was launched on April 5th of this year. The WakeUpWalMart.com campaign now enjoys growing grassroots support in all 50 states.

“”All across America, from towns to cities, from red states to blue states, Americans have made our campaign a true grassroots movement. We will not stop fighting. We will use every political, legislative, economic, and legal tool available to grow this movement into an army of change. In the days ahead, on behalf of the American people, we will change Wal-Mart into a corporation that reflects the best of American values,”” said Paul Blank, Campaign Director for WakeUpWalMart.com

In just five months, WakeUpWalMart.com has become one of America’s fastest growing political and social movements. Supporters of the effort have signed on to the campaign at public events held by the group or via the campaign website, WakeUpWalMart.com. The group also officially announced that its next goal is to reach 150,000 supporters by December 31st, 2005.

“”WakeUpWalMart.com is a powerful, broad-based, movement to change the largest corporation in the world. Our supporters will take the fight for a better America to Wal-Mart from one corner of this nation to the other. We will not rest until this company ‘wakes up’ and does what is right for its workers, our families, our communities, and the nation,”” added Paul Blank.

With the support of over 66,215 Americans, the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign has successfully led the national fight to change Wal-Mart. Among the many accomplishments of the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign and its supporters include:

• Launched the “”Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart”” Mother’s Day Campaign where 21,788 Americans signed the “”Love Mom, not Wal-Mart”” pledge and promised to not purchase their Mother’s Day gift at Wal-Mart until the company addressed its record of discriminating against 2 million women.
• Coordinated a National “”Mother’s Day of Action”” on May 7th in 26 states and 70 cities and towns to raise awareness about Wal-Mart’s record of gender discrimination.
• Hosted a press conference with several key Members of Congress, including Rep. Rosa De Lauro. Rep. De Lauro then released a “”Dear Colleague Letter”” from 51 Members of Congress asking Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, to release wage data to investigate claims of gender discrimination.
• Mobilized thousands of supporters to successfully force Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, to end the “”Wal-Mart Nazi Ad”” and publicly apologize for using the ad against Arizona citizens who opposed Wal-Mart.
• Launched the “”Make Wal-Mart Care About Health Care”” campaign with a series of press conferences in 8 states and 325 Meet-Ups in over 270 cities involving over 10,000 supporters of Democracy for America (DFA) and WakeUpWalMart.com. Press conferences with civic, community, and labor leaders were held in Concord, NH; Seattle, WA; Phoenix, AZ; Madison, WI; Little Rock, AR; Austin, TX; Hartford, CT; and Atlanta, GA.
• Hosted a press conference with Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator John Corzine, and Representative Anthony Weiner to introduce the Health Care Accountability Act – the first national legislation that would expose the true cost that American taxpayers bear because Wal-Mart forces tens of thousands of its workers onto public health care, like Medicaid.
• Held house meetings in 134 cities and 38 states where nearly 2,000 citizens agreed to become citizen co-sponsors of “”Fair Share Health Care”” legislation. The WakeUpWalMart.com campaign will be leading the effort to introduce “”Fair Share Health Care”” legislation in all 50 states in the coming months.
• Officially launched on June 23rd our “”Community Fight Campaign”” that provides the most comprehensive strategies and tools to help supporters and activists fight the destructive effects of Wal-Mart in their community.

The efforts to change Wal-Mart will reach a new level in the coming days and months as WakeUpWalMart.com prepares to mobilize its supporters in a series of new campaigns that will reach out to Americans all over the nation.