Wal-Mart Is The Devil

[TripleDigitRide]

I stumbled upon a 95 minute documentary, 'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price', while browsing through the On Demand section of Comcast. It's been out since 2005, so some of you may have already seen it. If you haven't, I suggest you take the time to watch it. It's in the Free Movie section.

I've always been a proponent of Wal-Mart, but after watching this movie, I'm disgusted with everything Wal-Mart stands for.

If you don't have Comcast, the movie is all over Youtube. You may have to watch a section at a time, but it's all there.

Thanks to Luckyforward, here is the Google Video link.

[ame]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3836296181471292925[/ame]

Edited July 17, 2008 by TripleDigitRide

[nightrunner]

ive heard of some people absolutely disgusted about walmart and saying it went to **** after sam walton passed on, i guess this is what prompted it

[Guest bkelm18]

Yep. Seen it. Still shop there. I live paycheck to paycheck, saving money takes precedence over my conscience.

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

Yep. Seen it. Still shop there. I live paycheck to paycheck, saving money takes precedence over my conscience.

Ditto.

[Guest Mugster]

Walmart pricing is totally based on a shipping system. If fuel prices keep going up, it might hurt them. Alot.

We may revert to more of a local economy. I've read a few economic predictions that say the suburbs (that are way far out) might become multi-family homes and the "middle class" will live in the cities close to their jobs. Its happening in LA, San diego, on a small scale now.

[Im Neero]

One of my life goals is to make enough money to never shop at Wal-Mart.

[Guest c.a.s.]

Anyone wanna give a summary of the movie?

[TripleDigitRide]

Anyone wanna give a summary of the movie?

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is a 2005 documentary film by director Robert Greenwald. The film presents an unfavorable picture of Wal-Mart's business practices through interviews with former employees, small business owners, and footage of Wal-Mart executives. The film intersperses statistics between the interviews to provide large-scale examinations beyond personal opinions. The documentary was released on DVD on November 4, 2005.

While the film begins with footage of Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott praising the corporation at a large employee convention, the film spends a majority of its running time on personal interviews. A variety of criticisms of the corporation emerge from these interviews, including alleged anti-union practices, claims that Wal-Mart has a detrimental impact on small businesses, claims that Wal-Mart has insufficient environmental protection policies, and claims Wal-Mart has a poor record on worker's rights in the United States and internationally. The film ends with interviews of community leaders that have prevented Wal-Mart stores from being built in their communities and an exhortation for others to do the same.

Synopsis

While the film begins with footage of Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott praising the corporation at a large employee convention, the film spends a majority of its running time on personal interviews. A variety of criticisms of the corporation emerge from these interviews, including alleged anti-union practices, claims that Wal-Mart has a detrimental impact on small businesses, claims that Wal-Mart has insufficient environmental protection policies, and claims Wal-Mart has a poor record on worker's rights in the United States and internationally. The film ends with interviews of community leaders that have prevented Wal-Mart stores from being built in their communities and an exhortation for others to do the same.

Issues Addressed

The following list is a brief description of criticisms and accusations towards Wal-Mart from real life interviews by all kinds of people affected by Wal-Marts in their area. The interviews ranged from actual Wal-Mart managers to small town people (in near chronological order).

Small Town Effects

The first story in the film is about a man named Don Hunter who starts a hardware store in Middlefield, Ohio with other members of his family in 1992. When Wal-Mart arrives in Middlefield, the hardware stores is forced to close down after 43 years due to unbeatable competition. Later in the film an independent grocery store in Hamilton, Missouri, which was started by Red Esry in 1959 is quickly closed down by the arrival of a Wal-Mart in nearby Cameron. The relatives in the interviews felt it was unfair that the city was giving Wal-Mart subsidies when their grocery store got nothing. In urban cities, subsidies to Wal-Mart are believed to have closed down schools and important city services.

Associate woes

Several interviews show Wal-Mart associates who are overworked and underwaged. To add to their troubles, the company's health care plan is shown as very expensive at around $70 a week from a regular weekly paycheck. A vast percentage of families are supported by government health care which Wal-Mart seems to encourage their employees to do. It is also revealed that Wal-Mart corporates prevent the creation of any unions within their stores and keeps a closer eye on associates socializing with each other while working as a result. In Germany, Wal-Mart acquired two major retail franchises that were already unionized. The German employees feel that it is unfair for American employees to not have the same benefits they have working at a Wal-Mart. There are also allegations of racism and anti-feminism as well as cheating workers of overtime pay. Other incidences include hiring and locking immigrant workers in their stores during their night shifts.

Environment

Environmentalists in North Carolina uncover contamination of water the Wal-marts in the area seem to be responsible for. There are also numerous accusations of clean water violation acts by Wal-mart throughout the country.

Outsourcing

This segment features an interview which portrayed a day in the life of a Chinese Wal-Mart factory worker and her boyfriend. Rent and utilities are taken out of the workers' paycheck. Rent is taken out regardless of whether or not they wish to live in the dormitories the factory provides. There are also allegations that the employees must lie to inspectors who visit the factory that they work 6 days instead of the actual 7 days a week they work. In Bangladesh, women are overworked in sweatshops earning under a quarter an hour. A global service manager was deeply affected by the discovery of working conditions in Latin America.

Safety

Numerous reports of car thefts, assaults, rapes, and murders of both associates and customers are believed to have been due to Wal-Mart's cost-cutting of security. Most of these reports were committed outside the stores in parking lots. One incident involved a woman being abducted from a parking lot, which was clearly seen on the Wal-Mart security tape, and later murdered. The security videos were unsupervised as the video cameras were meant only to watch out for union activity, not customer safety.

Fighting Back

The final segment of the film tells the story of two towns that fought off Wal-Marts being built in their towns. One was led by a female pastor in Inglewood, California and another by a senior resident in Chandler, Arizona. Both campaigns eventually grew in high numbers. The film ends with a large list of American cities where Wal-Marts were planning to build but were rejected.

That's the short version.

You need to watch the movie to really appreciate the cause. It makes me sick.

Edited July 17, 2008 by TripleDigitRide

[Luckyforward]

May also be accessed here:

[ame]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3836296181471292925[/ame]

[Guest eyebedam]

screw sally world I refuse to go there.

[Guest abailey362]

ive heard of some people absolutely disgusted about walmart and saying it went to **** after sam walton passed on, i guess this is what prompted it

I lived in NW arkansas (home of walmart) for a couple of years and everyone there has worked for walmart at one time or another and they all have this same sentiment

[TripleDigitRide]

May also be accessed here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3836296181471292925

Thank you! I didn't think about looking on Google videos.

[Guest abailey362]

I've read a few economic predictions that say the suburbs (that are way far out) might become multi-family homes and the "middle class" will live in the cities close to their jobs. Its happening in LA, San diego, on a small scale now.

but the multi-family dwellings in la and san diego are also non english speaking dwellings

[Smith]

I've worked at Walmart and my family helped open the second Walmart in Harrison, AR. I've got a different opinion than the band wagon. Statistics prove otherwise, but as Twain said, "Get your facts first, then you can distort them as much as you want."

I think it will follow the same model as Sears and Roebuck. No company can expand forever, eventually it will have to contract or diversify. They are trying to diversify, but time will tell.

[Im Neero]

At my local Wal-Mart I can get an oil change, grab a bite to eat at mcdonalds, get my prescription filled, buy anything under god's green earth, get a hair cut, and report a crime at the police sub-station. How much more diverse could they possibly get?

[chipperi]

Personally I find that if you watch the sale ads at local grocery stores you can normally beat wal mart.

[Rightwinger]

All those folks who work there and complain seem to have forgotten they live in freaking America and can choose to quit on the spot and move on!

If I owned a business I would be totally anti union as well!

Healthcare is a BENEFIT not a right! If you don't like the benefits, keep looking! Make yourself competitive enough in the market to walk in anywhere, interview and bargain for your compensation!

Don't sit on your ass, get some of a high school education, get your buddy to fill out the application at Wally world and then once hired demand the same rate of pay and benefits that someone who worked their arse off in school, got the knowledge and then went out and became the analyst, doctor, lawyer, technician, driver, teacher, etc did. It is NOT going to happen.

Find your niche and live happy there, don't keep looking up and wishing there was an elevator that could get you around hard work!

RANT OFF, I gotta go to work tomorrow so I can afford low prices!

[Guest CrazyLincoln]

I watched this too. I thought it was a bit biased. I would have like to seen the other side of the coin too.

That being said, the Wal-Mart mentality is hurting our economy by increasing our trade deficit. I buy American when I can and local if its available. If not, Wal-mart is acceptable.

So, buying American, and local if your needs are met, is probably the best thing you can do as an individual to help the economy. However, if you can't afford it, I can't blame you for going to Wal-Mart.

I don't avoid Wal-mart when I can because of the poor workers in China (which is sad, but not the point). I avoid Wal-Mart because buying here helps our economy, which does affect me.

[Guest jackdog]

Well I can drive 35 miles to wally world in Clarksville or Paris TN. Or I can stay with in 8 miles of the house and get everything I need. I pretty much stay in town. Maybe oncwe a month we venture to Clarksville or paris. The local prices are just about as good on most food items and better on some. Plus I dont burn gas on an 80 mile trip. Local hardware store/ gun dealer supplies most of my other needs. So wally worls sees very little of my money.

[BryanP]

I used to support them because they continued to sells guns and ammo. These days I every Wal Mart within range of me has ceased selling guns. I still go there occasionally for a few boxes of WWB ammo, but otherwise there's nothing I can't get from stores closer to me. They've become the ultimate expression of "anything for a buck." I find that attitude distasteful and choose to spend my money elsewhere when possible.

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

It's the same ole tired "Wal-Mart is so unfair" BS you hear year after year after year.........

Why don't people who buy all these BS videos and "documentaries" bother looking up the info for themselves? Verify the story as presented? Talk to a few employees themselves? Oh that'd be too hard. Might find out it's not exactly as presented.

Here's a challenge for ya....go look up Wal-Mart's Healthcare package. If you aren't amazed at the choices they get, I'll kiss your a$$. And guess what....NO INSURANCE IS FREE!!!!!!!!! I can only WISH mine was only $70/week. ANd I'd love to have those $4 prescription choices they have.

That's just a scratch at the surface.

Get a grip people. I guess ya'll bought the Michael Moore "documentaries" too.

[G27]

Get a grip people. I guess ya'll bought the Michael Moore "documentaries" too.

Some of us know how Chinamart treats vendors and don't have to rely on outside information. While I understand Chinamart allows some folks to afford things the otherwise couldn't, please realize that they are indeed a pretty filthy company that only cares about the bottom dollar, no matter what.

I've seen enough first hand to refuse to spend my money with them.

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

Oh dear....a corporation thats out for profit?? Imagine that. Of all the nerve. And they buy from China too?? Oh heavens.....I better start shopping at all those other retail giants who sell nothing made in China. Another challenge. Name ONE retail giant that sells no products made in China. Just one.

I don't care if people shop at Wal-Mart or not, truly. But the same ole stories of woe year after year (this video is in FACT 3 years old) gets so tiresome. They need to at least come up with a new claim of demonism. The China hangup and the "they are anti-union and treat employees like crap" has been used to death. Personally, I think unions suck too, but thats a whole other thread topic.

[Guest jackdog]

Well it's hard to deny that wally world has screwed up a lot of small town business's across the country. They have tried to get into Dover twice and been denied, thank god. Hope the they never get in here. Those that like wally world are fine with me, they are just not my cup of tea.

[Luckyforward]

Thanks, TripleDigitRide.

My greatest problem with the World of Wallace is how they have totally forsaken their "Made in the USA" campaign, which was a major advertising/merchanding issue for them not so many years ago.

An industry leader such as WM could lead to a greater emphasis for all companies to spotlight items made in our country. But the need to make a profit and enrich China overwhelms the need to help the US.