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Wal-Mart Target Of Union-Led Boycott

Teachers Unions Wants Parents to Look Elsewhere for School Supplies

August 11 8, 2005
With parents searching for back-to-school supplies, organized labor is asking them to look anywhere but Wal-Mart. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, National Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association have joined forces, urging consumers not to stock up for school at Wal-Mart stores.

Wal-Mart • General Complaints • Black Friday • Customer Service • Dangerous Products, Conditions • Grocery/SuperCenters • Lawn & Garden • Monogram Credit Card Bank • Pet Department • Pharmacy • Photos • Pricing Disputes, Errors • Returns • Sporting Goods • Tire & Lube • Vision Center • WalMart.com --- • Employees Complaints --- News • Wal-Mart Gaining On Grocery Chains • Black Friday Ads Target Wal-Mart • Wal-Mart Era Is Over, Wall Street Journal Declares • Consumers Respond to Toxic Wal-Mart Pet Toy Stories • Wal-Mart Expands $4 Generic Program • Lab Tests Find Lead, Other Toxins in Pet Toys Sold at Wal-Mart • Wal-Mart Plans Its Own Debit Card • Wal-Mart To Open In-Store Health Clinics • Wal-Mart Gives Up Bank Plans • Congressman Challenges Wal-Mart Banking Plans • Wal-Mart Expands Generic Drug Plan • Christmas Returns to Wal-Mart • Wal-Mart Jump-Starts the Holiday Shopping Season • Wal-Mart Cuts Generic Rx Prices To $4 In Florida • Wal-Mart Ending Its Layaway Program • FDIC Puts Retailers' Banking Plans on Hold • Wal-Mart/Sam's Club Settle with Connecticut on Pricing Violations • Congress May End Wal-Mart's Banking Dreams • Arizona Charges Wal-Mart, AutoZone with Consumer Fraud • Michigan Fines Wal-Mart $1.5 Million for Item Pricing Violations • Opposition Grows as FDIC Examines Wal-Mart Banking Bid • Wal-Mart's Banking Plans Draw Critics • Michigan Challenges Wal-Mart on Item Pricing • Wal-Mart May Stock "Emergency" Contraceptives • Black Friday Gives Wal-Mart a Black Eye • Connecticut Probes Wal-Mart Pricing • Wal-Mart Pushing Extended Warranties on Electronics • Bankers Oppose Wal-Mart's Entry into Banking • Wal-Mart Target Of Union-Led Boycott • Wal-Mart to Pay $14.5 Million for California Gun Law Violations • Wal-Mart Target Of Union-Led Boycott • Wal-Mart Tries to Buff Its Image

The unions’ nationwide boycott has nothing to do with low prices that consumers pay, but rather the chain’s employment policies. The teachers unions, for example, say they give Wal-Mart failing grades for what they said were low wages, a lack of affordable health care, discrimination against women and violations of child labor laws. Wal-Mart calls the charges a publicity stunt and smear campaign.

“Wal-Mart enjoys a strong relationship with local teachers, schools, and families in communities across America and helps get them ready to go back to school,” the company said on a special Web site it has set up to counter the boycott, www.walmartfacts.com.

“Through low prices -- like 25-cent crayons -- and substantial support for local education, students are our priority, not politics. Isn't it time the teachers' unions do the same?”

The company said it has given out more than $45 million toward education and grants and continues to be “one of the nation’s largest supporters of teachers and education.”

But among the gripes voiced by the teachers unions is Wal-Mart’s support of the school voucher program, which provides tuition tax credits for parents who send their children to private schools.

Edward J. McElroy, President, American Federation of Teachers, even criticized Wal-Mart’s response to the unions’ boycott, saying he was astounded the chain included in its press release statement a plug for its 25-cent crayons.

“Wal-Mart just doesn’t get it,” McElroy said

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