"Give me a W-A-L-M-A-R-T! What does that spell? Wal-Mart!" This joyful cheer can be heard at any local Wal-Mart during their daily staff meeting, which usually takes place near the store's entrance for your viewing enjoyment. This collegiate haven for your every food craving and daily living necessity is the world's number one retailing corporation. From the greeter who stands ready to welcome you through the shiny automatic doors to the infamous smiley-faced logo posted throughout the store and the world, Wal-Mart is everyone's favorite shopping center.
However, behind the catchy slogan "We Sell for less" is the harsh reality that much of Wal-Mart's astounding wealth is linked to cheap labor in underdeveloped countries.
In January 2002, the National Labor Committee (NLC), led by Charles Kernaghan, investigated the Chinese toy factories that supply companies like Wal-Mart with their merchandise. They published their findings in a lengthy report called "Toys of Misery."
The NLC estimates that within China alone there are thousands of these so-called "factories." "Toys of Misery" revealed shocking working conditions: 13-16 hour daily shifts, wages of 13 cents per hour (well below China's minimum wage of 31 cents per hour), an above-ninety-degree working environment filled with toxic fumes and crammed worker dormitories.
The NLC also maintains that in addition to Wal-Mart's use of toy factories in China, they are using 700 to 1000 factories in China for their private label clothing.
The NLC first exposed Wal-Mart's corruption in 1998 when they sought to disprove Wal-Mart's claim that they buy American-made goods. Kernaghan and the NLC traveled to 14 Wal-Mart stores in 12 states and counted more than 105,000 items of clothing, shoes and accessories. They found that only 17 percent of the items they counted were made in the United States, while 83 percent were made in foreign countries. It didn't take long for Wal-Mart's slogan to shift from its "We Buy American" focus.
Not only do Wal-Mart workers outside the U.S. have serious grievances with the corporation, but there are numerous lawsuits being brought against Wal-Mart within our own country. According to last week's Indianapolis Star, Wal-Mart "is the target of 6,640 active lawsuits of all sorts."
Among the most crucial is a suit filed in 2001 that accuses Wal-Mart of discrimination against women in the workplace. This lawsuit, if brought to class action, could mean adding a potential 1.5 million plaintiffs to the suit, making it the largest suit of its kind.
Even though there are many corporations that are guilty of violating labor laws and false advertising, Wal-Mart is the biggest. How can smaller businesses ever hope to compete with the cheap-labor-guaranteed low prices of Wal-Mart except by sinking to the same means of inhumane production?
Regardless of whether you have the will power to abstain from Wal-Mart shopping, the best way to fight this injustice is to take action through letters, complaints and forcing companies like Wal-Mart to account for how and where their products are being made. Please, do not allow this madness to continue. To learn how you can protest against Wal-Mart and others who abuse labor, go to www.nlcet.org.Write to Carla at caalderman@bsu.edu
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