Walmart ⋆ Reclaim Democracy!

Introduction

Reclaim Democracy! is devoted to restoring citizen authority over corporations, rather than repeatedly fighting harms caused by individual corporations. So why do we compile so much information on one company and assist communities resisting its power? Walmart impacts almost every part of North America and is magnet for citizen activism. We hope to help citizens and groups win local battles and then, win or lose, entice them to address structural problems and pro-active solutions to the core problem of runaway corporate power.

We selectively archive articles of lasting interest, including some that are pro-chain or otherwise oppose our positions. For more frequent news or commentary on Walmart, please see our links page.

Our work related to Walmart includes:

Revoking corporations’ power to override local decision-making authority;
Agitating for enforcement of laws that protect workers’ rights and safety;
Stopping massive subsidies that flow to major corporate chains, unfairly handicapping independent businesses and precluding true market competition;
Pushing for enforcement of anti-trust laws that have been all-but-ignored in recent decades
Guiding people to pro-active models to support community-based business and halt corporatization locally (AMIBA.net & ILSR.org are great places to start).

Our pages on Corporate Personhood and Independent Business offer related information.

Selected Articles & Reports on Walmart and Big Box Stores: 2007-2012

(since other groups now devote more resources than we have available to track Walmart, we are no longer adding to this index)

Dec 2012 The Bribery Aisle: How Wal-Mart Got Its Way in Mexico (New York Times)
Dec 2012 How Walmart is Devouring the Food System (Infographic by Grist.org)
Nov 2012 Walmart CEO Memo on Meeting with Obama “Equal Parts Arrogance and Ignorance” (Al Norman)
Nov 2012 Win for Environmental Law, Loss for Walmart (California Watch)
Oct 2012 Walmart’s Other (than labor issues) Sins (Good Jobs First)
Oct 2012 Walmart vs Target Redux: More Alike Than You Think (Washington Post)
Oct 2012 Record Suggests Past Protests Have Led to Wage Increases (Naked Capitalism)
Sep 2012 Inland Empire warehouse workers walk off job, protest conditions (LA Times)
Aug 2012 The Failure of Walmart’s Sustainability Measures
Aug 2012 How Do You Build A Sustainable Business in a Sea Of Parking? You Can’t. (TreeHugger)
Jul 2012 Walmart Claims Its Stores are Magnets for Small Businesses; Not So, Research Finds (ILSR)
Jul 2012 Walmart: 50 Years of Gutting America’s Middle Class (Other Words)
May 2012 Corporate Power, Walmart and the Undermining of Democratic Process (Dollars & Sense)
Apr 2012 The Walmart de Mexico Scandal: Here’s a Punishment that Befits the Crime (ILSR)
Apr 2012 New York Pension Funds to Challenge Walmart (NY Times)
Apr 2012 Walmart Part of Chamber Campaign to Weaken Corruption Laws (Washington Post)
Apr 2012 Wal-Mart Faces Risk in Mexican Bribe Probe (Wall Street Journal)
Mar 2012 The Era of Big Box Retail Dominance Is Coming to an End (Bloomberg)
Dec 2011 Walmart’s Greenwash (Grist–we link some articles individually, but the whole 9 part series is worth a look)
Dec 2011 The Challenge of Unionizing Walmart (Huffington Post)
Nov 2011 Walmart Systematically Using Ballot Initiatives to Crush Local Opposition (SF Chronicle)
Nov 2011 How Walmart Drives Down Product Quality and Durability (Grist magazine)
Nov 2011 Will Walmart Become the Largest Medical Care Provider? (Kaiser Health News)
Oct 2011 Walmart Slashes Health Care Benefits (Reuters)
Sep 2011 Do “Donations” from Walmart Corrupt Charities and Other Non-profits? (Grist magazine)
Aug 2011 Court: Walmart Owes Workers $188 Million for Unpaid Work (Business management Daily)
Jun 2011 Supreme Court Rules for Walmart Inc. in Dukes case (Supreme Court blog compilation of case)
May 2011 Thousands of Manufacturing Jobs Threatened in S Africa by Walmart Takeover, WTO (New Rules Project)
Apr 2011 Walmart’s Broken promises to Communities (pdf) (UFCW Report)
Apr 2011 Workers At Walmart-Contracted Warehouse Allege Wage Theft (Huffington Post)
Apr 2011 Walmart Fails to Benefit Minority Contractors (Crains)
Mar 2011 At Dukes Oral Argument, Court’s Male Majority Seems Ready to Revoke Women’s Class Action Suit (CNN)
Feb 2011 Testimony of Stacy Mitchell at New York City Council (New Rules Project)
Feb 2011 Is Walmart Any Worse Than Other Chains for NYC? (Gotham Gazette)
Jan 2011 Walmart Breaks Promises to Clean Up Jewelry Sourcing (Broward/Palm Beach New Times)
Jan 2011 Michelle Obama Get Fleeced by Walmart on “Healthy Food” (Grist)
Jan 2011 Detroit Resident Calls Bullshit on “Food Desert” Claims (Sweet Juniper blog)
Dec 2010 Walmart Poised to Take Over In South Africa (The Guardian)
Nov 2010 Walmart vs a Million Angry Women (Business Week)
Nov 2010 Walmart Renews Push to Enter NYC (Crains)
Sep 2010 Walmart Seeks to Force Disclosure of Opponents’ Funders (Wall St Journal)
Sep 2010 Walmart Plays the Victim of Astroturf Opposition (Dirt Diggers Digest)
Jul 2010 You Can Buy Love: Who paid pro-Walmart demonstrators $100 apiece (The Chicago Reader)
Jun 2010 Report Warned Walmart of Risks Before Bias Suit (The New York Times)
Mar 2010 The Great Grocery Smackdown: Walmart vs Whole Foods (The Atlantic)
Jan 2010 Walmart Using Fake Community Group to Manufacture Support (The Chicagoist)
Jan 2010 Walmart’s Bottom Line (pro-WM analysis) (The Freeman)
Dec 2009 Walmart, Costco and Others Exploit State Energy Tax Credit Program (The Oregonian)
Sep 2009 Debunking Walmart’s Creation Myth (American Prospect)
Jul 2009 Walmart Push Polls Chicago, Claims 74% Support New Store (The Chicagoist)
Jul 2009 Walmart Threatens Suppliers to Gain Their Promotion Dollars (Advertising Age)
Sep 2008 Walmart’s Exploding Gas Can Problem (video clip from “60 Minutes”)
Nov 2007 Walmart Sustainability Report (pdf) (Walmart Corporation)
Aug 2007 Walmart Eyes Smaller and Higher-End Stores (Wall St. Journal)
May 2007 Discounting Rights: a critical report on Walmart (Human Rights Watch)
Apr 2007 The Danger of Doing Business with Walmart (Forbes)
Apr 2007 Big Tax Breaks for Big Boxes (Syracuse Post Standard)
Feb 2007 Walmart: Always Low Taxes (Baltimore Sun)
Feb 2007 Walmart Cuts Taxes by Paying Rent to Itself (Wall St. Journal)

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Purchase a corporate logo flag (The Stars and Stripes with corporate logos in place of stars), to show your objection to corporate personhood and raise awareness for our cause.

Contents

Introduction

Selected Articles & Reports on Walmart and Big Box Stores: 2007-2012