The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.... "The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.
It should come as no secret to anyone that I don't shop at WalMart. No, it's not the shoddy, poorly-made crap they peddle to an unsuspecting and undemanding American Sheeple concerned with nothing more than the price they pay. It's not even the narrow, Conservative agenda they push in the mix of products they sell or, more importantly, don't sell. No, the reason I've conducted my own personal boycott against WalMart is the company's Profit uber Alles philosophy, which cares little for the lives, careers, dreams, and communities the compan might have to trample on their way to propping up their stock price. In short, I believe that the WalMart corporate philosophy represents a clear and present danger to our country, in that WalMart cares for nothing more than it's bottom line.
Yes, I understand that a business- any business- has a right to make a reasonable and fair profit. That's Capitalism 101, and it's not exactly a state secret. This country didn't become the most powerful economic engine on the face of the planet by not focusing on the bottom line. Businesses should profit, because when businesses succeed, we all succeed. Truly successful and respected businesses recognize and understand that their true bottom line is not calculated in terms of mere dollars and cents. No, truly successful businesses find ways to maximize profits while also maximizing their positive impact on the community they are dependent upon. Would that WalMart could see their way clear to recognize this truth.
I raise this point because it now appears that WalMart is engaged in a not-so-very-subtle campaign designed to influence how their employees vote on November 4th. Now, I could get all apoplectic and bust a vein railing against the immorality of these heavy-handed and anti-democratic ideas. There's really no need to, though, because there's a very simple solution available to everyone- if you're as outraged by WalMart's tactics as I am, all you have to do is to take your business elsewhere. As with any movement, if enough people sign on, perhaps the company's brain(less) trust will recognize that they've f----d up...big time. You can also join WalMart Watch in the battle against our era's answer to the 19th century's robber barons.
The next time you need to go shopping, feel free to stop by your local WalMart. Instead of spending your money there, though, find the store manager, and ask them why it's OK for WalMart's workers in China to unionize when the same idea in this country is viewed as something akin to Satanism, Socialism, or...even worse...Liberalism? Ask them why WalMart hates their American associates and treats them differently- and far worse- than their Chinese counterparts. Then tell them why you're taking your business elsewhere.
You CAN make a difference....
