Truth about WalMart?

[izzarina]

I thought this article was very interesting. I am one of "those" who really hates WalMart and what it stands for. The corporate conglomerate mentality makes me physically sick to be honest, and I shudder to think of how many Mom and Pop shops closed their doors forever because a WalMart came into town and took over. Here's the link to the article, and the article itself. I found much of it to be very disturbing. Comments, anyone?

http://www.rense.com/general65/lips.htm


Wal-Mart Truth - Straight
From Their Lips - Part 1
By Ted Twietmeyer
tedtw@frontiernet.net
5-30-5


A CNBC in-depth 2 hour documentary [1] on Wal-Mart that has aired several times, and revealed the real truth about the world's largest retailer. Since few people will watch news on a weekend, especially on a holiday like this one, I've summarized the important details in this report. The documentary was the best I've seen in years, despite leaving out some important facts which I've included.
 
The chain does 32 BILLION DOLLARS a year. This report will bring out important highlights from that show. We won't get into name-calling or labels. I'm presenting the facts with a few comments. There shouldn't be one person on the planet that should not be concerned about what they are doing. With more than 500 stores in the US alone, they have a big impact and far too much power.
 
ANOTHER ARM OF THE GOVERNMENT?
 
Keep in mind as you read this, that their headquarters contains a Homeland Security office which is off limits to most Wal-Mart "associates" in the chain's headquarters. This office was never brought up in the documentary. One should ask, "WHY?"
 
The chain has more than 120 distribution centers located all around the country. One such center with more than 18 miles of conveyor belts moving individual boxes, has a floor area of more than 2 MILLION square feet. You could not see the other end of the building inside, as boxes on conveyors moved away from the camera to become tiny specs. The conveyors feed an army of tractor trailers that literally pack the boxes to the ceiling of the trailer's box.
 
In the event of a national disaster and forced rationing, the government has a ready-made distribution pipeline. There is little doubt they already know this. How many stores do you know of that have a secret office belonging to Homeland Security?
 
A constant stream of business people with products for them to sell, comes to their store's headquarters in Arkansas. There are more than 60 small rooms, all constantly packed with manufacturers, distributors and inventors attempting to get the store to market their products. Store reviewers come into each room to review products and make determinations.
 
GREED QUICKLY DESTROYS A LIFETIME OF WORK
 
Pillowtex Corp. had more than 1.2 BILLION dollars in sales, with $450 to $500 million of it with Wal-Mart according to the company's former CEO. He was quite was bitter, as he described how Wal-Mart drove his prices lower and lower. Then the store had the nerve to firmly suggest he go off-shore to get his products made. In the end, he liquidated his company and was forced to fire ALL 14,000 employees. 14,000 people all unemployed. This is the cost of jumping in bed with the devil. Think about that the next time you go to the store to buy a pillow.
 
ACADEMIA SPEAKS OUT
 
Professor Stone of Iowa State has remarked that "small business grocery stores lose 25% of their business and it never comes back." Interviews with the chain's CEO Lee Scott illustrated how he is a master at spinning questions into off-topic answers, to make himself and the store look good. Perhaps that's why he has the figurehead job in an amazingly tiny office for his position there.
 
Another surprise - the chain is taking off big in China. At the time the show was produced they had 14 stores in that country, and management was is in the planning stage to opening many others. They are also selling produce which Chinese people would normally purchase in street markets. According to one Chinese family, "the store's prices are very good and very low." This makes one wonder what will happen to the Chinese vegetable suppliers to Wal-Mart as they too, are told to "lower prices." Will they also be told to go "off shore?" OOPS! They already are off-shore!
So where to go next when "offshore" costs too much? Perhaps there is an answer to that.
 
LESSON FROM HISTORY FOR CHINESE FACTORIES FROM THE CHIP BUSINESS
 
In going off-shore, the world has a lesson to learn from the semiconductor industry. China should LEARN from this (but I doubt it.) First, silicon valley manufacturers went to Japan to have chips made. This was back in the 1970's. Then when Japan's cost of living shot up, they were too expensive for the manufacturers to use. Then it was Korea who manufactured them next, but then they became too expensive.
 
Manufacturing was moved to the Pacific-rim countries to make chips. I still have tubes of chips that have labels "Made in one or more of the following countries" which then lists almost every third world country on planet earth. When it was brought up in a board meeting in a Canadian company about 20 years ago on CBC television's "Venture" that "a bag of rice per month is expected by employees" in a pacific rim country along with their paycheck, one CEO said "Well, I guess we're in the rice business now."[2] I sometimes wonder if the are still there, or if they moved their manufacturing elsewhere.
 
 
RISING COST OF LIVING IN CHINA MUST IMPACT THE CHAIN
 
It would be arrogant of China to think that they too, won't become too expensive for Wal-Mart. Management won't be happy as product costs MUST rise to pay for a higher lifestyle. In fact, it's inevitable because increasing any country's standard of living depends on price increases. Could Africa become the next China? It's about the only other place left for dirt-cheap labor. China is now embracing the expensive automobile and discouraging cheap bicycles. The are now on the same path as Japan.
 
The bubble MUST burst, as the Chinese people are now enjoying a higher cost of living while at the expense of American jobs. I hope they enjoy the bubble while it's still there. Those idiot yellow smiley faces for "always low prices" in Wal-Marts will disappear. Sooner or later Wal-Mart will run out of places to setup sweatshop manufacturing. What's interesting about this is that NWO efforts to level the world's economies will actually work AGAINST Wal-Mart philosophy. The store's success must be based on "he haves" vs. "the have-nots." If America becomes a nation of "have-nots" because of the NWO and globalism, then who will be able to buy the store's products? We could actually see the return of small businesses to America in the not too far future.
 
The program revealed that the chain now has 5,000 lawsuits, with an average of 3 new lawsuits every day. After 9 years, one female employee stated her salary was just $8.43. Who can live on that? Matt Foley, a a motivational speaker character played by the late Chris Farley on SNL said it best. They could end up like him "Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a VAN - down by the RIVER."
 
BUILDING A COMPANY USING EMPLOYEES AS FLOORMATS
 
Another female employee stated that a male employee was making $10K a year more than she was, for the same job. When the CEO Lee Scott was asked about sex discrimination lawsuits, he stated "You can't run a company on how to avoid the next lawsuit." Wal-Mart is being sued with several class action suits besides sex discrimination, including locking workers in stores overnight for "employee safety." Wal-Mart is also under investigation for illegal alien employees, says "We can't verify the immigration of every employee." ANOTHER LIE. They have the office of Homeland Security RIGHT THERE. If they can't help verify illegal aliens, WHO CAN? This goes way beyond dumb and dumber.
 
ALL IS NOT WELL IN BLUE SMOCK LAND
 
Highly organized efforts are underway everywhere in America against the chain. There was a briefing of more than 200 activists in Rochester, NY. The organizer of the group said "Their employees are easy to find - they are ones wearing those stupid blue smocks."
 
There is also serious protest around the country against the store for terrible health insurance. CEO Scott was asked about the claim that the store spends $3500/employee on health care. Scott slowly answered, "Let me answer that carefully....Sam believed that as individuals they should pay part of that cost." What a dumb type-A remark. On a paycheck far below poverty level? Scott then brags about "profit sharing, 401K and other programs." When asked if Scott thinks employees feel like a partner, he answers "that's a ridiculous question."
 
He knows the answer just as we do. They all feel like slaves, and have no choice but to work there. But Scott couldn't bring himself to say it. I can't begin to describe Scott's attempt to restrain his aggressive body language to many of the well thought out questions put to him. He too, will answer one day for his actions. To that Greatest of all CEOs - who doesn't live on earth.
 
YOU CAN FIGHT THEM AND WIN
 
One man in Lancaster, PA has led a successful group effort to keep the chain out of that area for 7 years. He has raised more than $80K to hire high power lawyers to fight them, and has won the battle. When asked about the Lancaster people, Scott made a remark about how "wrong it is for a small group of people to keep them out of anywhere." What he failed to notice is that in today's economy few healthy people have the time available to fight them. Instead, the average person is just treading water trying not to drown financially - under the economic ruin the company has already rained down on the economy. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
 
In California, a public vote kept them out of the LA area. When Scott was asked about that action, he had little to say other than "we decided to accept the results of the vote." What other choice did he have? He just won't ever admit how blatantly wrong it is for the company to force itself into communities, and drive local small businesses under.
 
SAM WALTON - FIRST CORPORATE SLAVEDRIVER FOR WAL-MART
 
When you read Walton's biography, you get the impression of a "good ol' boy" who cares about America.What a lie that was. Also how "he drove a beat-up old pickup truck to breakfast at a local diner."
 
In reality, he had his own private plane which he piloted himself. This was not a biplane, either. The following is an eyewitness acount of flying with Walton: "He often flew cross-country, going from store to store." (Long before there were 500+ stores.) " If he saw an empty parking lot, Walton would take the plane into a terrifying nose dive, land at the nearest airfield and go straight to the store. He would then interrogate the store manager and demand to know WHY the parking lot was empty. At one store this happened as a result of a local football game. The store manager told him to "come back after 2PM and the lot will be packed."
 
This is just one example that shows the mentality of current management is a legacy of Walton himself. I've often wondered if Walton's casket was made of old wooden pallets from the store and painted blue and red with old Wal-Mart paint. But then, that might cost too much. Their plants in China never make "one" of anything.
 
 
MY QUESTION FOR THE CEO AND HEAD SLAVE DRIVER
 
OK Scott- if you read this (which I doubt) SHOW the world how using just 1% of your revenue - about $320 MILLION, on REAL health care for your "associates." Show us how that would really hurt your bottom line. Wall Street would get over it in a few days, and your employees (oops - "associates") would work harder for you. We're sure you know Mr. Scott, that with the new ruthless bankruptcy laws your employees can no longer escape the death grip of lawyers that work for labs, doctors and hospitals.
 
You have stated that you pay hospitalization for employees. You did not say how much the company will pay, or what the company benefit limits are. Your benefits certaintly will not cover ANY medical expenses incurred by a previously hospitalized employee or their spouse, who was ill BEFORE they became a slave at one of your stores. They will have their wages garnished for all eternity.
 
Or is the store planning on going into healthcare, by building a "Wal-Mart Hospital" in Bentonville where employees must go for hospitalization or go untreated? Will the entire staff be undocumented aliens or "legalized aliens" holding tacos or practicing "psychic surgery?" Or will you have a euthanasia wing for employees which you have life insurance on?
 
The law of probabilities is always at work. It would seem to indicate that some day, the store will hire a former angry postal worker who is armed to the teeth. That person might come to work one day with more than a smock in their hand. We certaintly hope not, but sooner or later the slaves revolt and THEY WIN. Read the Old Testament.
 
A SWEAT SHOP THAT DOESN'T THINK SLAVES DESERVE OVERTIME
 
In Oregon, a jury determined that Wal-Mart must pay overtime to employees. Professor Stone stated that "store managers sometimes become overzealous to meet targets and goals." How does that justify slavery? Not according to the courts. When Scott was asked 'what if 1% of your employees don't meet regulations, which is 15,000 employees, what is the impact of that?' Scott squirmed and admitted, 'well yeah that could be a problem.'
 
There are few people in the country not touched by Wal-Mart. A recent conference at the University of Santa Barbara devoted to the Wal-Mart phenomenon pointed out the "stores are a touchstone for America on so many different areas."
 
When the interviewer asked Scott if his store sets the national minimum wage, he denied that. But history shows otherwise, since in any community few can earn a higher salary than what the largest in the employer is paying. The company's influence is clear. Scott was reluctant to comment on whether their power is good or bad for America, but says "If I were to look at a spreadsheet, it would come out slightly on the positive side." He also added "There isn't anything more inherently evil about being more efficient."
 
That's exactly what Hitler thought, too. Is there any difference in global conquest between what Hitler did, and what Wal-Mart is doing? Hitler used firearms and artillery - the store uses money and prices to conquer the world.
 
BRAINWASHING EMPLOYEES
 
To work there, you must fit in. There is a chant the workers get together to do in the morning. A great psychological trick as it makes employees feel they are an important part of the company. This takes place in China as well just before the store opens. One can trace this kind of brainwashing back to the days of red communist China, where such group chants were mandatory. Could this be the origin of it at Wal-Mart?
 
TRACKING AND TRACING IS A REALITY
 
Wal-Mart has a massive near real-time data processing center in their Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters that tracks everything purchased for EACH person. Their data processing people state "the data on everything everyone purchases and where, is kept for 2 years." If the Real ID card replaces money then you will never, ever be able to buy anything anonymously again.
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
Scott's final comment: "How large can we get? As long as we keep doing things the way were doing it, I don't see any end to it."
 
Translation: "Small businesses, BEWARE...." If you are a company or small business owners, become anti-Wal-Mart activists now while you still can if you want to stay independent. Remember what happened to great American companies like Pillowtex, because they bought into the Wal-Mart BS and jumped in bed with them.
 
Yet keep the faith - as the expression goes, "every dog has it's day." Everyone foolishly thought the real estate bubble could never burst, willfully ignoring the lessons of history. They too, learned that all power is only temporary.
 
And consider this - what are the first three letters of the word associate?
 
 
Ted Twietmeyer

[emmline]

I dunno Izzy. There's a lot of emotion and hyperbole in that article. OTOH, I personally detest setting foot in Walmarts just because of the way they make me feel if for no other reason.
It would seem the exploitative approach to low costs would have to collapse sooner or later, as the writer suggests.
Anyone been in a Walmart lately? Did you notice whether the Sith action figures or the Jedi are more prominently displayed? Maybe that would give us a hint!

[Jeff Stallard]

While I agree with a lot of the stuff in that, it's no more a documentary than Farenheit 9/11. It's filled with translations, implications, opinions, insults, conjecture, etc. How is that a documentary?

[Jeff Stallard]

For the record, I avoid Wal-Mart as well, but I don't hate them. I favor Target, simply because Wal-Mart already has tons of customers. Target will appreciate my business more, plus it's not packed 24/7.

[Wanderer]

For the record, I avoid Wal-Mart as well, but I don't hate them. I favor Target, simply because Wal-Mart already has tons of customers. Target will appreciate my business more, plus it's not packed 24/7.

I read an article that showed that while Wal-Mart's revenue growth was shrinking, Target's was growing. Not becase of lower prices, but because Targets are just better places to shop in terms of what they carry and the atmosphere and cleanliness of the store.

I must admit that Target as really cleaned up from what I remember as a Kid, where Walmart keeps getting worse: Commodity goods just stacked in the aisles, no room to maneuver. And while the grocery selection at the
Walmart near my house used to be better than the Tom Thumb, they've since winnowed down (probably to the most profitable core items), and so the only advantage is a few cents price difference.

As a result, I rarely shop at the Wal-Mart near my house any more.

[Tyler]

Did anyone see the episode of The Simpsons where they go to Sprawl-Mart?
Seriously, though. I dont hate Wal-Mart. I dislike what it is doing to the economy through Chinese goods, but a good deal of that can also be blamed on the Chinese currency manipulation.
I will freely admit that, though I dislike Wal-Mart, I do shop there for food occasionally when Target has a higher price on comparable goods. To be fair, though, the same can be said, though, for the local chains, whom I support whole heartedly. When they carry a similar item for a comparable price, I go there instead. It's actually a farther drive to the Sprawl-Mart or Target than to my local chain grocer, so I try to factor that in also, you know? Mpg, vs. price difference and time wasted on the road (the urban sprawl is awful here!). Whichever has the better value after the equation get's my business.
Yeah, part of that equation is subjective, but I hate wasting time on the road. A great sterio has lessened the agrivation a bit, but I have better things to do!
So, long story short, I do patronize the local chain more, but because of the rising consts of healthcare and recent events related to that, I'm not below Wal-Mart visits either.

[OutOfBreath]

 
The chain does 32 BILLION DOLLARS a year.

Oooh, they're successful - they must be evil.

We won't get into name-calling or labels. I'm presenting the facts with a few comments. ... And consider this - what are the first three letters of the word associate?

 
Oh, yes, sterling journalism, that! :roll:

Sometimes I shop at Walmart. Sometimes I shop at Target. Sometimes I shop online. And sometimes I even shop at the local "mom and pop" stores that Walmart has supposedly put out of business. Guess what, in all these years none of those folks has ever put a gun to my head and forced me to shop there!

[The Weekenders]

The article is a mess to be sure though there is some decent info interspersed. Good ol' advocacy journalism.

GIANT CONVEYOR BELTS!! In the 50s, they would have made narrated movies of em and showed it to schoolkids.

PS. There is even the comparison with Hitler!

[izzarina]

I dunno Izzy. There's a lot of emotion and hyperbole in that article.

I absolutely agree....I should have said right off the bat that the article was more of an opinion (a very heated, emotion filled opinion at that). I just found it to be interesting and was interested in what you all thought. As for your musing about the Star Wars figures, I would tend to think they have more Sith in prominent areas. But of course, I'm very biased in that opinion I may have to run out now and look so I can give an update

[Wormdiet]

Ahh, the genius of unrestrained capitalism.

When that much market power is concentrated in one firm, bad things happen.

what scares me more than walmart itself, though, is the decreasing competition in the bookstore business. You basically have two national giants driving out many/most of the local independent bookstores. I personally don;t care if my cheerios are the walmart brand. I do care that two firms have *enormous* control over what gets published and is made accessible to the public. Thank god for the offsetting effect of the internet.

[StevieJ]

To be fair, though, the same can be said, though, for the local chains, whom I support whole heartedly. When they carry a similar item for a comparable price, I go there instead.

Haha. Surely if you supported them wholeheartedly, you'd shop there regardless of whether their prices were comparable.

[susnfx]

I think it should be pointed out that this article is about the documentary - not the documentary itself and the author makes this clear from the first.

"A CNBC in-depth 2 hour documentary [1] on Wal-Mart that has aired several times, and revealed the real truth about the world's largest retailer. Since few people will watch news on a weekend, especially on a holiday like this one, I've summarized the important details in this report. The documentary was the best I've seen in years, despite leaving out some important facts which I've included. " (my italics)

His summarization of the documentary is obviously one-sided and he makes no attempt to hide his feelings - but he never said it was "sterling journalism."

Susan

[bradhurley]

Far more disturbing to me (because it's a report from an on-the-ground journalist who speaks Chinese) is Isabel Hilton's article "Made in China" in the current issue of Granta.

A relevant excerpt:

Wal-Mart, who in 2003 bought 15 billion dollars' worth of goods in China, or twenty percent of China's entire exports to the United States, has nearly 5,000 direct suppliers who themselves have an estimated 30,000 upstream manufacturers. It uses its vast buying power to drive down prices at the factory gate. 'You can't pay the minimum wage and observe health and safety and still produce goods at Wal-Mart prices,' [says Jane Trevor, a compliance officer in China for a major American sports shoe manufacturer] 'It's completely impossible. If I am in a factory where my company accounts for twenty percent of the output, I can make them change. But if I am in a factory with Wal-Mart, forget it.

Wal-Mart employs one hundred auditors and inspects at least some of its suppliers. We know this because of a document known as a 'cheat sheet' which in 2004 found its way to an NGO from a worker at a Wal-Mart supplier, the Heyi factory in Dongguan, in Guangdong Province. The factory had prepared the document in advance of an inspection that was scheduled to take place in February 2004. It showed that workers would be paid fifty yuan each if they memorized the answers to questions that the inspectors were likely to ask them. The correct answer, for instance, to the question 'How long is the working week?' was 'Five days.' The correct number of days worked in a month was twenty-two; overtime was not forced and was paid at the correct rate; they were not obliged to give the factory a deposit when they started work there; wages were paid on time; there were enough toilet facilities in the dormitory and the dormitories themselves were spacious and clean. There were fire drills, and they were not made to pay for their own ID cards or uniforms. If all this were true, what need would there have been for the workers to memorize the answers?

She provides other evidence in the article that many Chinese factories underpay and mistreat their workers, while hiding it from inspectors.

[Jeff Stallard]

Wal-Mart employs one hundred auditors and inspects at least some of its suppliers...the Heyi factory in Dongguan...showed that workers would be paid fifty yuan each if they memorized the answers to questions that the inspectors were likely to ask them...Chinese factories underpay and mistreat their workers, while hiding it from inspectors.

So the real problem isn't Wal-Mart, but Chinese manufacturing. Wal-Mart is being duped by unethical Chinese executives.

[missy]

while I detest Wally World.......

"It showed that workers would be paid fifty yuan each if they memorized the answers to questions that the inspectors were likely to ask them...................... If all this were true, what need would there have been for the workers to memorize the answers?"


Ok - I don't pay them fifty yuan, but whenever we have a external safety audit coming up, we DO send around a "likely" question and answer email to help refresh personnel's memory. I really don't see anything wrong with that.


Missy