Oh dear! It appears that Wal-Mart is acting in an un-Christian-like manner, or so say 130 pastors south of the border.
In an effort to draw attention to the low employment standards at the international mega-store, these 130 pastors formed a union-backed lobby group known as WakeUpWalMart.com. This newly formed organization sent a letter asking Wal-Mart's chief executive officer, Lee Scott, to provide higher standards to Wal-Mart employees and their families. The lobby group also released a new television ad featuring Pastor Joe Phelps of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, asking, "Would Jesus shop at Wal-Mart? Should you?" The pastor continues by asking, "can we continue to shop at Wal-Mart without insulting God?" He goes on to list allegations that Wal-Mart has violated child labor laws and engaged in gender-based discrimination and says half the company's 1.3 million U.S. employees aren't covered under the company health plan. The ad is set to run in 43 media markets.
In response to the advertisement Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar said the United ad and its supporters are backing negative attacks while Wal-Mart is creating jobs.
"The fact is, union leadership is wasting millions of its members' dollars on a failing campaign against a company that is good for working families," Tovar said.
Of course, the un-Christian like employment practices of Wal-Mart cannot stop the buying blitz scheduled for next week. The mega-store announced yesterday that last-minute holiday shoppers will get a chance to shop at Wal-Mart Canada round the clock. While the books show it's an effort to boost the retail giant's year-end sales, the move affects 51 select stores across the nation starting on Monday. The round-the-clock sale will last until Dec. 24 -- a Sunday, ironically enough.
For more information go to:
http://wakeupwalmart.com/
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2006/12/13/walmart-shopping.html
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The sheer momentum of Wal-Mart kind of preempts any protest or condemnation of its many flaws. My personal boycott of W-M is about 5 years going, and the best I've achieved with it is to convince my Mother to shop there /less/ (and probably to not tell me when she does). And she's Catholic, but what does that matter when it comes to saving big bucks on all those living essentials?
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