Articles, Studies and Resources on Wal-Mart

Index
(click a title to jump directly to it)

Introduction

ReclaimDemocracy.org is devoted to restoring citizen authority over corporations, rather than repeatedly fighting harms caused by individual corporations. So why do we compile such a vast collection of information on one company and assist communities resisting its power? Simply because Wal-Mart is perhaps the most visible symptom of the disease -- runaway corporate power -- that we work to cure, and a magnet for citizens who we hope will go on to address structural problems.

We use Wal-Mart as an entry point for deepening readers' awareness of systemic problems and -- most importantly -- pro-active solutions. We selectively archive articles we believe will be of lasting interest, including many that are pro-chain or otherwise oppose our positions. If you seek daily news or commentary on Wal-Mart, see our links page for sites providing that.

Our work related to Wal-Mart 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

Our pages on Corporate Personhood, Corporate Accountability and Independent Business offer a wealth of related information.

Articles on Wal-Mart and Big Box Stores: 2007-08

Nov 2008	Half of U.S. States Giving Away Millions to Giant Retailers (Wall St Journal)
Nov 2008	Walmart to Enter Credit Card Industry? (Business Week)
Oct 2008	Wal-Mart Promises Tighter Standards for Suppliers (NY Times)
Sept 2008	Walmart's Exploding Gas Can Problem (video clip from "60 Minutes")
July 2008	Walmart's Own Audit Documented Constant Violation of Labor Laws (Arkansas Business)
July 2008	Court Finds Wal-Mart Repeatedly and Willfully Violated Minnesota Labor Laws (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
June 2008	Union-Backed Wal-Mart Critics Soften Message (NY Times)
Apr 2008	Sweatshops: An Inside View (Washington Monthly)
Mar 2008	Interview with Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott on the corporation's environmental initiatives and PR campaign (Wall St. Journal)
Jan 2008	As Wal-Mart Board Member, Hillary Clinton Raised No Objections to Union-Busting (ABC News)
Jan 2008	Court Upholds North Carolina's Clampdown on Wal-Mart Tax Evasion Scheme (Raleigh News Observer)
Nov 2007	Subrogation Clause in Wal-Mart Insurance Policy Leaves Accident Victims Desperate (Wall St. Journal)
Nov 2007	Wal-Mart Sustainability Report (pdf) (Wal-Mart Corporation)
Nov 2007	Shell Corporations Used to Evade State Taxes (Wall St. Journal)
Nov 2007	Wal-Mart Improves Employee Health Plans (NY Times)
Oct 2007	Wal-Mart Increases Investment...in Politicians (Business Week)
Oct 2007	Inside Wal-Mart's Bid To Slash State Taxes (Wall St. Journal)
Oct 2007	Wal-Mart Routinely Challenges Tax Assessments (NY Times)
Oct 2007	Wal-Mart Era Wanes (Wall St. Journal)
Sep 2007	Crime Pays for Wal-Mart (Las Vegas Sun)
Sep 2007	The Distribution Trap (Wall St. Journal)
Sep 2007	Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Initiative: A Civil Society Critique (43 pp pdf)
Aug 2007	Wisconsin Seeks Back Taxes from Wal-Mart, Alleges Illegal Tax Evasion (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Aug 2007	Werbach and Wal-Mart (Fast Company)
Aug 2007	Wal-Mart Eyes Smaller and Higher-End Stores (Wall St. Journal)
Jun 2007	Legislators Aim for Big Boxes (Wall St. Journal)
Jun 2007	'Green' Wal-Mart: an Oxymoron? (Washington Post Writers Group)
Jun 2007	Wal-Mart Takes Back Door to Enter Banking Business (NY Times)
May 2007	Wal-Mart Seeks to Overturn Tucson Law (Arizona Star)
May 2007	Reviewing Candidate Clinton's History with Wal-Mart (LA Times)
May 2007	Discounting Rights: (a critical report on Wal-Mart from Human Rights Watch)
Apr 2007	Boxed in by Big Box Battle (Village Soup)
Apr 2007	The Danger of Doing Business with Wal-Mart (Forbes)
Apr 2007	Wal-Mart's Growth Formula Has Stopped Working (Business Week)
Apr 2007	Wal-Mart and Organics: Big Promises, Little Delivery (Business Week)
Apr 2007	Heber, Utah Wal-Mart Battle Goes to Ballot (Deseret News)
Apr 2007	Big Tax Breaks for Big Boxes (Syracuse Post Standard)
Apr 2007	Inside Wal-Mart's 'Threat Research' Operation (Wall St. Journal)
Mar 2007	An Interview with Lee Scott (Business Week)
Mar 2007	Big-box Retailing Is Intrinsically Unsustainable (Grist Magazine)
Mar 2007	Selling Wal-Mart (The New Yorker)
Mar 2007	Wal-Mart Abandons Bank Plans (ReclaimDemocracy.org)
Mar 2007	Wal-Mart Is Said to Have Big Banking Plans (Leaked email contradicts corporation's claims to FDIC), (NY Times)
Feb 2007	Wal-Mart Rejects Subsidy for Cleveland Store (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Feb 2007	Wal-Mart: Always Low Taxes (Baltimore Sun)
Feb 2007	Wal-Mart Cuts Taxes by Paying Rent to Itself (Wall St. Journal)
Jan 2007	Wal-Mart Seeks New Flexibility In Worker Shifts (Wall St. Journal)

Go to Index of 2006 Articles

2005 Articles

2004 Articles

Pre-2004 Articles

For links to anti and pro-WalMart sites or to community site battles, click here

We offer expert assistance, speakers, and tools for communities battling corporate subsidies, unwanted big box stores, and related issues. However, w e cannot help with addressing individual complaints or lawsuits against Wal-Mart or any other companies. Contact us.

If you value our work compiling these resources and our organizing to revoke illegitimate corporate power, please make a tax-deductible donation to support ReclaimDemocracy.org today! We depend almost entirely on individual supporters like you to keep us working.