Do you boycott Wal-Mart?

[ButterflyBlood]

Poll question: Do you boycott Wal-Mart?

My new year's resolution was to quit shopping there, and so far I've been succesful.

[vi5]

1. Luckily I don't have to...

We don't really have any close to where I am. And even if we did we have so many other stores and options even amongst the big chains that I would never have to shop there.

[CanuckAmok]

39. Geez, where do you live, Antarctica?! n/t

[wryter2000]

2. Other

Yessssssssssssss!!!

PS I saw a check-yourself-out line at Albertson's Saturday. They're trying to eliminate employees. Safeway/Von's in SoCal is trying to cut employees' health benefits. I'm staying out of Safeway and avoiding the automated line at Albertson's. This is everyone's fight, gang.

[jmowreader]

43. Another view on self-service checkouts

The first supermarket to install a self-service checkout system in Fayetteville was Harris Teeter. HT is not the low-cost leader; in fact, it's one of the most expensive grocers in the Carolinas. (Their motto is "the only low-price supermarket that doesn't act like one." If "acting like one" means having low prices, their motto's spot on.)

When you went into HT before the self-service system went in, at least half of the checkouts were unmanned at all times. Don't ask me why a store installs 24 checkout lanes then schedules 12 cashiers for peak periods, but they always did.

Now they have the system. They still have 12 cashiers for peak periods, but one of them can staff four self-service lanes. Hence, I can get out of the store with my little dab of stuff quicker than before.

If they're trying to use the system to eliminate employees, it's bad. If they're trying to use the system to increase customer flow with the same number of employees, it's good.

(If it was me, I would have installed 14 lanes plus one self-service lane then used the recovered space for more racking. Additional SKUs or longer facing for the same number of SKUs beats 10 unused registers seven days a week.)

My Home Depot installed a self-service checkout system last year. Since then, we've added six cashiers and twenty sales associates.

[lovedems]

3. My family and I have not stepped foot into a wal-mart for 3 years.

Wal-Mart sucks and they don't deserve ONE PENNY of our money. My uncle and his family also boycott wal-mart. I am desperately trying to convince my mother to do the same.

[ProudGerman]

4. Yes

I started with this past Holiday shopping season. I'm proud to say that not one dime of mine, or my families holiday spending was spent in a Wal Mart. I haven't been to a WalMart in over 2 months now, and forsee no more visits ever again.

Besides, Target is much nicer.

[Limbought]

8. I do try, but

in this neck of the woods there are not a lot of options for a few items.

For example: I was working on a crocheted baby afghan for my niece for Christmas, about half way through I knew I was not going to have enough yarn to finish it as I would like. I tried SEVERAL stores in the area trying to finds something that matched. Nada, Zilch, Bupkiss!

So, I ended up at WalMart.

[Lefty48197]

14. Wunderbar!

Fight the right! Boycott Walmart!

[Pax Argent]

5. I boycott Walmart

but my family still goes to Sam's Club because it is close to our home and we need the big-box discounts. However, Costco is about to open a franchise right down the street. Once that happens its "So long Wallyworld"! I can't wait.

[girl gone mad]

11. Costco is..

not much of a step up, unfortunately. For instance, I know they abuse the Eminent Domain laws pretty routinely.

[arwalden]

13. What do you mean?

I don't understand what kind of abuse are you referring to?

-- Allen

[girl gone mad]

17. Here is..

a National Review Online article specifically about Costco's Eminent Domain abuses.

http://www.nationalreview.com/ponnuru/ponnuru021803.asp

Eminent Domain laws serve a valuable purpose when used properly, but when misused to essentially steal prime property from private owners and hand it over to corporations... well, I am sure that is never what the framers of the Constitution intended.

[arwalden]

23. Thanks For The Link... I'll Check It Out

[Pax Argent]

25. A right wing magazine (The National Review) attacking a competitor

of a right wing poster child (Wallyworld)? Whoda' thunk it.

While I agree that it probably wasn't the intent on the founding fathers to allow business to obtain property on the cheap through eminent domain, it is a fact of life.

Locally, the city is in the process of taking land from a large corporation (Boeing) to support a car dealership because it was felt that Boeing is under-utilizing the property. Like it or not, this is the law of the land.

[TXlib]

28. I wonder how often WalMart does the same?

[shanti]

35. the national review??

pah-leeze! this is a right wing rag - you do the math!

[liberalmuse]

6. Yes, for over 4 years now...

My friends and family won't even buy me stuff from there. I'm also boycotting Coke and Pepsi products, AT&T, and usually will shop at the smaller, local grocery stores over nationally-owned chains. I think if we hit the culprits (those who help degrade human rights around the world by using cheap labor and profiteering from war, etc.) in the pocketbook, we can make a difference.

On edit: Blockbuster Video will never get my business, either.

[JCMach1]

7. Carrefour for me

:)

[Deja Q]

9. I do go in...

but I buy nothing.

I like to give the security dudes a run for their money. With over 100 cameras in the store alone, it's easy for them to keep up.

Makes it hard to surreptitiously place card promoting unionization... :evilgrin:

[acmavm]

10. I've never been in a Wal-Mart in my life, and I never will. I did go into

a Sam's club twice, but that was because I was too stupid to make the connection between the two. That was years ago.

I'm a financially challenged single mother but there are just some things that I can't force myself to do. Contributing a dime to the Walton family is one of them.

[Orrin_73]

12. I would have if I had lived

in the states, but unfortunately I dont.

kucinich.us

deanforamerica.com
clark04.com
sharpton2004.org

Tom DeLay:"I challenge anyone to live on my salary" <$158,000 a year>

[Jack Rabbit]

15. Absolutely

WalMart is a blight on the world economy in general and America's in particular. Its marketing policies place a heavy downward push on the standard of living of American workers who work for firms contracting with WalMart, not just WalMart's own employees.

WalMart shouldn't be boycotted in bankruptcy. WalMart should be boycotted into oblivion.

[Raenelle]

16. Also union busters Albertsons and Vons

[LuCifer]

27. oh damn I didn't know that!

Albertsons busts unions? Well sod them too! Plus their crap is WAY overpriced anyways, so it's not like I actually shop there.

It's hard to know ANYTHING about unions, here in the great anti-union, RIGHT TO WORK (for NOTHING) STATE of FloriDUH. GRRR. Find me a union job in this state (if there actually IS such a thing) and ya know, I might just take it...oh wait, sorry, I forgot, THERE ARE NO JOBS.

THANKS BUSH!

Lu Cifer, glad I didn't waste my time washing my car since it's raining like all Hell!

[TheMightyFavog]

18. I try not to shop there...

Emphasis on try. Hell, it's the only place to get certain items in Marinette, so I'm stuck having to go there on a number of occasions. I try to go elsewhere for things I need, buta lot of time's I'm stuck having to go to the Evil Empire.

[earthside]

19. Wal-Mart is a Socialist Company

Though they hold themselves up to be paragons of capitalism, the truth about Wal-Mart is different.

All-in-all, when you examine the totality of Wal-Mart's business practices, they obviously favor the socialist model. They want the government to take care of their employees (health care, food stamps, etc.); they get most of their goods from a communist country; they always want tax subsidies from the municipalities they move into; they try to impose their moral and political views on their customers and vendors; and they look for cheap illegal labor when possible. Worst - and most socialistic of all - Wal-Mart loves the power of the government to kick other private property owners off their land so they can build more stores.

I have not dropped a penny in a China-Mart store in years. If you want to see some of the horrible things Wal-Mart is up to today, look at the bottom of 'The Bush Bust' section of:
http://www.Earthside.com

[Deja Q]

21. Except WM is ran by swindlers who say government should stay out

Typical corporation.

We're left to die.

Nice, huh?

[blondeatlast]

49. Impressive! Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[mitchum]

20. Yes

Part of my job entails taking LD kids out into the community and, unlike others, I never take them to the Walton empire.

[Mandomaniac]

22. Whenever Possible

Ok, this makes me so mad I finally decided to sign up to DU to post.


Out here in Denver CO, they are actually trying to FILL IN PART OF A LAKE to build a wal-mart. Un f-king believable!

And the city is backing the plan! I believe its in the suburb of Lakewood....soon to be called Wal-wood.

[silverlib]

30. Wecome to DU!

Glad you are here.

[silverlib]

32. deleted by poster - wrong place

[blondeatlast]

50. Welcome to DU! Do you have a link to that?

Please tell me it's a joke . . .

[LuCifer]

24. SCREEEEEEEEW WALMART!!!

Although, I do like to go there just for shmits and giggles, wearing my TRENCH COAT and one of my KMFDM shirts. I politely ask someone at the electronics area "you have the new Marilyn Manson CD?" and OF COURSE they say NO. So I say "Damn, I was going to buy every last copy you have! I just hit the lotto a few days ago...ok, uh, do y'all have any high power RIFFLES, beer and is the pharmacy still open, I need to get my anti-psychotic medication refilled, why not do it here?" Oh holy crap, the looks you will get if you do this with a straight face!!!!!!

Lu Cifer, remiding you that TARGET AND BJ'S ARE BETTER!!!!!!

Edit: Ya know...I really gotta start using the SPELLCHECK thing! Oh! Before I forget: I will also pass on buying any of Kathie Lee's sweatshop crap clothing! THANK YOU!

[Kickin_Donkey]

26. Yup ...

... never been in one. Will never, ever set foot in one.

And I've got my parents to stop going, too.

Mike

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[brainshrub]

31. I suggest you read the following articles:

This is my own essay:

http://brainshrub.com/Essays/Adam_Smiths_Invisible_Slap.htm

And this is an excellent essay on the way Wal Mart is gutting what is left of the manufacturing base:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

Wal-Mart is like a parasite on the middle-class. They are not stretching anyones dollar, in fact, every dollar you spend at a Wal-Mart is going to cost your local community money.

[silverlib]

33. ...and

Sorry I don't still have the link, but I posted it here a couple of weeks ago.

WalMart setteld for an undisclosed amount on a class action law suit. WalMart insured employee, taking out life insurance policies without their knowledge, profiting from their deaths. Some of the families of these employees had borrowed money to cover the funeral and healthcare expenses of these families.

The above links are great! Thanks for posting them.

[philosophie_en_rose]

34. They also imprison employees.

Walmart is in the middle of a lawsuit in which employees claim to have been locked in the store at night until the work was finished. Not only did they falsely imprison American citizens (and also underpaid undocumented workers), they forced them to work with no compensation except being freed from Walmartian jail for the night.

These threads pop up occasionally and someone always pipes up that "Walmart is cheap. Thus, it's friendly to poor people." I hope that someone eventually compiles the myriad of reasons why that isn't true.

To Start:

1. Walmart sets the tone for shitty employment practices. It's the largest employer in the country and does everything possible to infiltrate and squish unions, exploit employees, and evade labor laws. All of that contributes to the economic deprivation of the people who are forced by limited income to shop at Walmart. It's a vicious cycle.

2. I like a bargain, but nothing at Walmart is worth the suffering of the CHILDREN that work in sweatshops.

[brainshrub]

38. Your talking about these links:

Wal-Mart settles suit over COLI policies
"In the 1990s, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart purchased life insurance policies on its employees and made itself the beneficiary to obtain certain tax benefits, a suit by the families of deceased Wal-Mart workers charged."
(This article only mentions the Texas case, but I know for a fact they used to do what you are describing in other states.)

And if you think that isn't evil enough:

Wal-Mart tries end run around balky city
"Stung by strong opposition in nearly every corner of the country where it proposes a large-scale development, Wal-Mart is taking a new tack here: bypassing local regulators and going straight to voters for permission to build a mega-store. By introducing the ballot measure, which goes to voters April 6, Wal-Mart hopes to avoid several major obstacles to building its so-called super-center: environmental reviews, traffic studies, public hearings and especially obstinate municipal officials who until now had the final say."

My own opinion is that anyone who claims to care about human rights or fair-trade and still shops at Wal-Mart for ANY reason is a hypocrite of the highest order.

Sometimes people say to me: "But Brainshrub, I live so far away from anything else...I HAVE to shop at Wal-Mart." :nopity:

I say to those people: No one is asking you to face down the bosses hired thugs, no one is asking you to work 80 hours a week to feed your family, no one is asking you to give up your freedom, no one is going to kill you for just whispering about improveing working conditions.
If your not willing to boycott Wal-Mart, you are disrespecting the blood and sacrifice of generations of Labor-rights activists who built the middle-class that gives you your lifestyle.

I wrote a short poem about it:

http://brainshrub.com/Essays/Globalisation_Version_Niemoller.htm

[hlthe2b]

36. I never liked Wal-Mart and haven't shopped them for years...

That's not an elitist comment as I like to save like many, but I just always got very bad vibes there. Underlit, crowded, cheap quality, warehouse feel. By contrast, Target was always brightly lit, with their merchandise laid out so you could find it and with some variety in quality levels. Target's employees never seemed so overworked and depressed as those in Wal-mart and I noted Target's attempt to hire the handicapped, which I thought a nice precedent. These were all things I observed a decade ago, when Wal-mart's transgressions were not well known.

I do shop Costco, but like most of these big warehouses, I do so infrequently as I have no where to store things in bulk.

[corporatewhore]

37. yes esp since they tried to build over barton springs aquifer im also

also boycotting lowes for this reason

[ScreamingMeemie]

40. It's pretty easy to boycott. The ones by us our way too crowded.

Aisle wise that is. I will confess that I have taken my grandmother there, But I really really cannot stand the store. I don't do Sam's anymore either.

:hi:

[ncrainbowgrrl]

41. I went with a group of college kids and a global map

And colored in all of the countries that I saw on the "made in" labels. Y'all should really try it. I also see an educational tie-in here for our youth, perhaps as an addition/ field trip for homeschooled kids- It's a great way to learn the names of all of the developing countries!!

I was amazed at how long it took to find something that was manufactured in the USA. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but wow.

Anyhow, now I drive to K-Mart. Probably not much better, but at least I don't feel like I'm helping to put my neighbors out of work.

[brainshrub]

42. My attitude is:

Take out one bastard at a time.

Yes, K-Mart & Target are evil. But Wal-Mart is Evil with a capital "E".

I will not walk into a Wal-Mart until I see a union-label on the front door.

For Christmas, I made all my relatives promise they would not buy me anything from that store. Once Wal-Mart is reformed, I'll start dancing on the heads of Target.

[MrsMatt]

44. don't boycott

but then, I couldn't even tell you where the nearest one was! I've only stepped into a Walmart twice in my life (Sam's Club once) and both times I was with someone else when they purchased. Not bragging, just stating the facts.

[Dogmudgeon]

45. Worse than that

I've dated not one, but TWO of the Wicked Women of Wal-Mart.

Spanked 'em both, and made 'em call me 'sir'.

That'll teach them!

--bkl
Cruel Master,
Incompetent Servant

[usrbs]

46. I haven't gone in years.

But last month I stepped in out of desperation when I couldn't find what I wanted in 4 other stores. I was amazed at how low they keep the prices - there are many items half the price of what they cost elsewhere. I was feeling very lousy about being there, and in the end walked out without buying a thing. I was feeling so dirty....

[F-5]

47. Yes and no.

I do shop there once in a great while if I'm with my parents.

Other than that, I never make any attempt to shop there.

[blondeatlast]

48. I have boycotted them for over 10 years--I never liked the place

anyway, and now that I'm aware of their political and social machinations, it makes me ill to think about it.