Elijah'sMommy
04-20-2005, 10:44 AM
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An organization opposed to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news) took out a full-page newspaper advertisement on Wednesday that accuses the world's biggest retailer of costing U.S. taxpayers some $1.6 billion a year.
AP Photo
Slideshow: Wal-Mart
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The advertisement in The New York Times says Wal-Mart's low pay and benefits forced tens of thousands of employees to seek government aid in the form of Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance.
The group, which calls itself the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics and lists union leaders, environmentalists and academics among its directors, aims to "fight Wal-Mart on the streets, in the media, and in the customer's mind," according to its Web site.
The organization asked people to sign up at www.walmartwatch.com -- which it called a "war room" -- to help fight Wal-Mart and said it would mail sample legislation to elected officials showing them "how they can pass laws to put the brakes on Wal-Mart."
"Wal-Mart may not realize it yet, but this fight will be different," the advertisement reads.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the newspaper ad.
Wal-Mart has faced massive opposition from some human rights groups, labor activists and others who contend that the retailer drives competitors out of business and pays its 1.6 million workers poorly.
But Wal-Mart has repeatedly argued that it improves the standard of living by offering low prices, and points to huge numbers of applicants as evidence that it provides good jobs.
Wednesday's advertisement comes three months after Wal-Mart took out its own ad in newspapers across the country, touting the jobs it plans to create this year, its employee benefit packages, and the diversity of its work force.
Wal-Mart's stock, which hit a 52-week low on Tuesday, dipped 9 cents to $47.51 in early New York Stock Exchange trading
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=568&e=15&u=/nm/20050420/bs_nm/retail_walmart_dc
AP Photo
Slideshow: Wal-Mart
Related Quotes
WMT
DJIA
NASDAQ
S&P 500
47.39
10004.81
1914.20
1136.99
-0.21
-122.60
-18.16
-15.79
Delayed Data
Providers - Disclaimer
The advertisement in The New York Times says Wal-Mart's low pay and benefits forced tens of thousands of employees to seek government aid in the form of Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance.
The group, which calls itself the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics and lists union leaders, environmentalists and academics among its directors, aims to "fight Wal-Mart on the streets, in the media, and in the customer's mind," according to its Web site.
The organization asked people to sign up at www.walmartwatch.com -- which it called a "war room" -- to help fight Wal-Mart and said it would mail sample legislation to elected officials showing them "how they can pass laws to put the brakes on Wal-Mart."
"Wal-Mart may not realize it yet, but this fight will be different," the advertisement reads.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the newspaper ad.
Wal-Mart has faced massive opposition from some human rights groups, labor activists and others who contend that the retailer drives competitors out of business and pays its 1.6 million workers poorly.
But Wal-Mart has repeatedly argued that it improves the standard of living by offering low prices, and points to huge numbers of applicants as evidence that it provides good jobs.
Wednesday's advertisement comes three months after Wal-Mart took out its own ad in newspapers across the country, touting the jobs it plans to create this year, its employee benefit packages, and the diversity of its work force.
Wal-Mart's stock, which hit a 52-week low on Tuesday, dipped 9 cents to $47.51 in early New York Stock Exchange trading
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=568&e=15&u=/nm/20050420/bs_nm/retail_walmart_dc