Wal-Mart: corporate dictators

Blake Aued
DM Opinion Editor

Through the course of the Wal-Mart Supercenter debate, it has struck me that, although dozens of Daily Mississippian writers and readers have weighed in with their opinions, no one has yet explained why Wal-Mart is so horrible as a corporate entity.

Many have pointed out that a Super Wal-Mart will increase traffic, put local businesses out of business and be an eyesore in the community.

Traffic is already awful, local business have been closing for years due to our ordinary Wal-Mart, Square businesses mostly cater to an upper-class clientele and so won't be affected, and I don't think West Jackson could be any more of an eyesore if a bomb was dropped on it.

The reason I hate Wal-Mart is that it's an evil corporation that abuses its workers, sells products made in sweatshops and engages in censorship for its own profit.

¥ In 1999, Wal-Mart was fined more than $200,000 by the Maine Department of Labor for over 1,400 violations of Maine child labor laws. The violations involved included forcing minors to work too early or too late, too many hours a week or too many days in row. Violations were found at all 20 Maine Wal-Marts. The fine and number of citations were the highest ever in Maine history.

¥ Wal-Mart, the nation's leading seller of pop music, accounting for 9 percent of the market, sells only sanitized versions of tapes and CDs. The chain refuses to carry any recording that contains a "dirty" word, a "controversial" cover or "explicit" lyrics. The targets are not just the usual gangsta rap or heavy metal. Censored artists include such noncontroversial figures as Sheryl Crow and John Mellencamp. Even albums which have not recieved a "parental warning" sticker from the Recording Industry Association of America have been censored at Wal-Mart.

¥ Wal-Mart frowns upon the formation of worker's unions. "I have always believed strongly that we don't need unions at Wal-Mart," said founder Sam Walton. It took a 1997 court order to allow employees of Canadian Wal-Marts to be represented by the United Steelworkers of America. The Windsor, Canada store which brought the suit then became the first Wal-Mart out of over 3,000 stores worldwide to unionize.

¥ In 1997, 290 employees of a company in New Hampshire that manufactures artificial trees lost their jobs because Wal-Mart, which advertises "Buy American," decided to purchase its trees from China.

¥ When a black Wal-Mart employee in Raleigh, N.C., decided to quit, she was told "Slaves can't quit, they have to be sold." She subsequently sued for racial discrimination and won $6 million.

These are just a few examples of why Wal-Mart sucks. I found dozens of other examples of worker mistreatment, racism and sexual harrassment.

The good news is, dozens of communities nationwide have resisted efforts by Wal-Mart to ruin their communities for profit. Oxford is our community, and if we the people don't want a Supercenter, we should tell them to get out. If our elected officials won't follow the will of the people, we should tell them to get out. It's our world. Wal-Mart just lives in it.

Blake Aued is a senior English and journalism major from Trussville, Ala. He can be reached at baaued@olemiss.edu.