Walmart part deux

All right folks, it is time to discuss Walmart's actions outside of the United States. I've already spoken about Walmart's unethical actions within the U.S. As you probably know, Walmart imports a lot of products. Walmart contracts with foreign factories to produce goods for their stores. While Walmart doesn't directly own or operate these factories, their actions indirectly create the circumstances for ethical violations to occur and to continue unchecked.

Walmart, in an effort to keep prices low, puts pressure on the factories to produce items at a certain cost or they'll walk. The factory is left with two (both equally unsavory) options: close down the factory when Walmart cancels the contract or lower prices to Walmart's standards by lowering working standards and pay for the workers. There have been numerous lawsuits filed by these workers against Walmart. According to Global Exchange,

In September 2005, the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of Wal-Mart supplier sweatshop workers in China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nicaragua and Swaziland. The workers were denied minimum wages, forced to work overtime without compensation, and were denied legally mandated health care. Other worker rights violations that have been found in foreign factories that produce goods for Wal-Mart include locked bathrooms, starvation wages, pregnancy tests, denial of access to health care, and workers being fired and blacklisted if they try to defend their rights.

Just last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the case of Dukes v. Walmart. A group of women from Walmart's operations around the world banded together to hold Walmart accountable for allegedly discriminating against female employees. The hearing was to determine if the women could be classified as a 'class' and if so, this would be the largest class action lawsuit in history. In typical large corporation style, this case has been dragged out for 11 years, according to Walmart Watch.

So the question at hand: is Walmart really culpable in the mistreatment of the workers producing its wares although it does not own the factories? I definitely think so because Walmart is a large corporation with a lot of power, which it knows. It regularly uses this power to knowingly manipulate vendors. When faced with financial ruin, these companies turn to ethical compromise which is not OK either. This is a systems problem, starting at the top.

 Let's not forget that we, the consumers, are part of this system as well. As those of you who know system theory, a change in any part of the system causes the entire system to change. In other words, small change can lead to big change. You can do something.

Resources:

Students Against Sweatshops

International Labor Rights Forum


- A

Wally world

My series on retailers begins with the most villainized: Walmart! Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, operating nearly 9,000 stores worldwide (source). Why has Walmart become so villainized? Many many reasons which is why I'm splitting the information into two separate posts. Today we'll talk about Walmart's unethical practices within the United States.

Walmart, like many large corporations, frowns upon unions. All employees must sign away their rights to join a union. What does this mean? Should you be mistreated, poorly paid, and ignored, who do you turn to? Walmart has been slammed with numerous lawsuits. Just to name a few: gender discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, and racial discrimination. What Walmart, and many large corporations, know is that should these unhappy employees become organized (i.e. unionize), they become a force to be reckoned with. They would then have to increase wages and engage in fair practices and who wants that, right? Walmart is notorious for their union busting tactics. If they catch wind of anything they will exert pressure on individuals to prevent them from organizing.

What kind of pressure? It all begins when the Labor Relations teams come into the stores, holding meetings where they berate unions, presenting only one side of the issue. Team members leave scared and confused about unions, only having heard one opinion. Union activists are banned from stores so they never do get to hear the benefits of unionizing.

Other underhanded tactics include management eavesdropping on employees, threatening employees with pay cuts, benefit loss, or even job loss should they organize. According to Human Rights Watch,



"Wal-Mart’s relentless anti-union drumbeat creates a climate of fear at its US stores. Many workers are convinced that they will suffer dire consequences if they form a union, in part because they do not hear pro-union views. Many are also afraid that if they defy their powerful employer by organizing, they could face retaliation, even firing. Human Rights Watch found that Wal-Mart heightens this fear with its arsenal of unlawful anti-union tactics. Wal-Mart has sent managers to eavesdrop on employees. According to former workers and managers at one store, it has even ordered the repositioning of surveillance cameras to monitor union supporters. It has told workers they will lose benefits if they organize. The company has discriminatorily banned talk about unions and prohibited union flyer distribution, while allowing discussion of other issues and circulation of non-union materials. It has disciplined union supporters for policy violations that it has let slide for union opponents. And it has illegally fired workers for their union activity." Source

Source

Why is this so important? It's important because Walmart has taken away the voice of their employees. They cannot get together and raise concern over how they're treated. Walmart loves to tout that they create tons of jobs in the United States. While they are, no doubt, a large employer, many of their employees are kept just under the requirements for benefits. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UCFW), only 52% of Walmart's workforce has insurance and for those that do, it is extremely costly. Add to that the low amount they are paid in the first place and you have a significant number of their workforce who is on welfare. According to UCFW, Walmart employees are utilizing billions of dollars in benefits a year to subsidize health care that they are not receiving from Walmart. That's money out of the taxpayers' pockets.

Yes we can all argue that the people that are working at Walmart have a choice and if they pursued a better education then they wouldn't be working at Walmart. What about the small towns where Walmart is the largest employer? What about those people who can't go to college either because of financial concerns or they're just not cut out for it? Are we willing to say that these people 'deserve' to be treated this way? Maybe those are harsh words but is that not what we're indirectly saying when we don't stand up for them? Should they not, at the very least, have the right to stand up and be heard?

Source

So what can we do? As I've said before (and sure I'll say again many many times) our money is the most powerful tool we hold. Every time we buy something, we are casting a vote. If you choose to stop shopping at Walmart, you're letting them know that this behavior is not ok.

Let's go one step further. Business is business. While Walmart has made steps as of late to remedy some of their issues, they will not willingly become as ethical as you or I would like. The only way they will do that is if they have to, i.e. laws. There are many movements active right now regarding changing labor laws so that corporations cannot do all the things Walmart is accused of. While I believe in the goodness of people, business is all about the bottom line so we shouldn't expect Walmart (or any other business) to change because they want to 'be good'; we have to force change or it won't happen.

Resources:

WakeUpWalmart

UFCW

Human Rights Watch



- A

Why you be hatin?

Most of my friends know of my disdain for Walmart. I try not to mention it because as the majority of people shop at Walmart, saying you hate it makes for awkward moments at parties.

Source

Me: ''Oooh those plates are cute, where'd you get them?' 

'Thanks! They were a great deal! I got them from Walmart'

*Rearing head back* 'What?! I.hate.walmart. You know that they have major ethical violations all around the world, including the United States?! Those plates were probably made by some poor kid who didn't even get paid!'

*Blank look on face* 'Oh. OK. I'm sorry?'                                      

See what I mean? I've gotten a little less intense as I do think it's unfair to attack people for shopping at certain places because most people don't know what they're buying. Sure, I like to get a good deal as much as anyone (OK probably more than anyone); just ask my friends. I don't, however, want to do it in a way that encourages bad behavior on the part of major corporations.

I've talked about this before and I'm now starting regular feature wherein I'll pick a store or brand and evaluate them from an ethical standpoint. My goal is to educate myself and hopefully enlighten you dear readers as to the options we all have to 1) look cute 2) buy cute things 3) waste money stimulate the economy 3) help support honest business practices that help the impoverished around the world rather than oppress them.

My question to you is: are there any brands or companies you would like to see reviewed? Let me know and I'll definitely try to do some digging to see what I find!

-A

Hidden Costs

So I've alluded to this in a previous post but the primary reason I'm participating in the 30 for 30 challenge is my desire to increase my awareness of consumer related issues. We are all consumers; it can't be avoided and I feel that the biggest power we all hold in our lives is our money, regardless of how much you have. Every time you buy something you are casting a vote, telling the industry that you like this item and they will in turn keep doing what they're doing.

However, with great power, comes great responsibility (yeah, I went there) and I want to be aware of where my money is going and what it is supporting. What are the hidden costs of my purchase? After learning of Walmart's unethical business practices, I swore off Walmart three years ago. Sure, I've been in a Walmart since (tagging along with people) but I have probably spent no more than $50 at Walmart in those three years. ($50? Don't judge. Walmart happened to be the only store open {surprise surprise} on NYE 2011 when I desperately needed food for unexpected {the best kind :-S} guests) Here is a summary of why, as stated by Green America, Walmart is the epitome of unethical big business:

"Wal-Mart, which has become both the face of big box retailers and of corporate irresponsibility, has been found guilty of violating federal and state wage laws by forcing employees to work unpaid overtime and child labor laws in the United States; Wal-Mart does not provide health insurance for its workers, forcing many to seek government assistance and costing taxpayers millions of dollars; Wal-Mart also closed a Canadian store whose workers were on the verge of becoming the first ever to win a union contract from the company. " Source

Do I really want to help support that? More recently, I've sworn off Forever21. I have also begun to research my favorite brands to ascertain whether I should continue supporting them (and looking cute in their stuff). While I love a good deal and retailers such as Walmart and Forever21 can certainly deliver, the overall cost of the product goes far beyond what comes out of my pocket. How are the workers producing these products being treated? Are they being paid fairly? Do they have benefits? If companies can't answer these questions favorably or don't want to answer them, then they should not get my money.

You can visit the Green America website where they have graded major retailers based on their ethics. As I said, this is a work in progress for me and I'm learning something new every day. I will say that phasing out unethical companies is difficult when I feel like there aren't enough ethical retailers to replace them with. I do think that as consumers start demanding fair treatment for retail workers (especially overseas) then more options will present themselves.

 What about you guys? Will the unethical behavior of companies stop you from giving them your business?

-A