RANTS
A Different View of Wal-Mart – From the small town point of view
June 10th, 2006
I know a few people that will get really mad at me for this and I am expecting some firey emails on the subject, but I feel the need to say them.
Before we left to begin our journey, I watched a documentary about Wal-Mart and how they are taking over the mom and pops places in small town America. This video made me so upset, that I vowed not to shop at Wal-Mart unless there was nothing left available. It stated that Wal-Mart pays minimum wage and does not pay any benefits, nor will it let its employee’s band together to even discuss a union. Being from Michigan, unions are a big thing with the Big Three automotive giants, and Kroger being a couple of the large companies that participate in these unions. The documentary also stated that it does not give sick pay or maternity leave to its employees. It went on to say that “Wal-Mart is all about big business and making a killing off of Americans who unknowingly buy the merchandise that is sent here from other countries.”
This documentary also gave an example of how the price gouging is some incredible amount since they can get their merchandise so cheep from foreign countries often made is Sweat Shops. One example was a toy tractor that cost them (I'm not sure of the exact amount) $1.32 and they are selling it for $14.99. That sounds like an incredible mark up! Wal-Mart has now become the biggest grocery sales company in the US. I have noticed that just about all of the products in Wal-Mart are printed in dual language. Whether it be French or Spanish or whatever, I have no idea what it is, I just know I can't read them.
It was also stated in the documentary that Wal-Mart is polluting the environment simply by neglecting to take the proper steps to dispose of waste. At one point, is showed detergents and lawn fertilizer draining from their parking lot, where many Super Centers store such products, into the city sewers. Apparently they were not displayed properly and left lying on the ground. The lack of concern from the disgruntled management and employees showed how unhappy they were with the chains policies. At the time, my husband and I lived in Milford, which most know is a very nice little town nestled in one of the many suburbs on the far outskirts of Detroit.
Our town was very quaint and our local stores weren’t price gouging in anyway. We had fresh produce from a few dozen different sources, and they all competed for low prices and great service. By no means did we need a Wal-Mart to come into town and take away from the many small Mom & Pop’s businesses. Much like the one we ran in this small town community. But never the less, the super store made it’s way into the outskirts of town, and set up shop in New Hudson, much to our communities disapproval.
A different look at this Debate
So here's the flip side of the coin that I have grown to realize since being on our road trip for the past five months. While we were traveling through Alabama, we had the pleasure of meeting a local lawyer, Max Cassidy, who took us out for a days paddle on a secret river in his area. Max and I got into a discussion about the lack of goods available in the surrounding area and on how many ghost towns we passed through driving to this secluded, beautiful river. Max explained to me that "People in this area have gotten together and requested that a Wal-Mart come into their town to bring up the economy." He explained that "Some people currently have to drive up to two hours to find a food store and the food and supplies available are out dated and over priced." When Max told us that "The Poor communities in the south usually pay the most for food, and it's usually the lowest quality products they are buying" it really made me re-think my understanding of this national chain store we’ve all grown to hate.
At the time, I could not under stand why any one would want a Wal-Mart in their town, as they literally kill the small grocer in your area. After being on the road for months, I now get it. There really isn't a small grocer in these areas. Small rural towns can't support a business that has so few items to offer for higher prices. One small town we were in had a 1/2 gallon of milk for double what I'd pay in a normal grocery store. Loaves of bread were way over priced, and very close to going bad sitting on the shelf. Problem was, it was the only store we had seen in hours, and we had to purchase these products at these inflated prices.
The fact is, Wal-Mart does pay low wages, with small wage increases over a long period of time, but at least it's a job for many who wouldn’t have one otherwise. In the last few states that we have been in, the economy is pretty much non existent. Towns that have one street light and five homes which look like they haven’t seen a coat of paint in decades. The General Store is a post office, video store, grocery store, gas station and hardware store all in a 2000 square foot building. The working folk here need a job at Wal-Mart because they have no other options for work. Wal-Mart can employ I'm guessing three to four towns worth of people who other wise would be unemployed.
When people live in towns this small, the general store has few fresh food items including meats and vegetables. The prices of items that people need to get by with in these stores are twice the amount of what you will pay at Wal-Mart because of the small inventory. So, the case is, rural areas have poor, unemployed people getting poor quality products for a higher price. Now I have never been one for big business, but Wal-Mart is giving people jobs, granted low paying jobs, but they are also giving the opportunity for the entire area to have better quality and selection of food and supplies for a lower price. Do we need these superstores in our yuppie areas? I’d say no, but that brings me to another topic.
My next point is, if it's not Wal-Mart, then who else would be jumping in to take the market from the little guy. The smaller merchants can't give the low prices and the good quality, simply because they can't buy in bulk. Wal-Mart is now opening up super centers with tire stores, kids play areas, eye care specialists, pharmacies, and food stores inside. They even have hair salons for Pete’s sake. The hair cut and blow dry is only $8.99. The last time I got my hair cut at a salon, they didn't wash or dry my hair and the girl snidely said “$38.00”. Now for people with a low or no income, how can they afford to pay these inflated prices at their local merchants?
Aren't the other chain businesses such as Home Depot, Lowes, Target and Blockbuster in the same boat as Wal-Mart? Don't they also have employees that are over worked and under paid? Aren't they taking money from the lumber mills, the hardware stores, the video section of your local General Store? Aren't these chain stores also charging less money for a good quality item that are more readily available to the consumer just as Wal-Mart is? Why did Wal-Mart get the black eye? Didn't Wal-Mart begin as a small, local, family owned store and become the huge conglomerate that it is today? Isn't that the American Dream to grow wealthy and prosper in what you do best? Along the road, they might have forgotten their small town roots, but does any of the Big Three not use products from overseas? Aren’t we all still buying American automobiles and supporting them?
Where has this union that was here to save your job gone now? Why are so many of our workers who have paid into these union benefits, lost their jobs and way of income? Why did so many plants in our areas close down, so they could shift their factories overseas to countries that offer cheap labor and why do we still support them, yet yell and scream at a company that is at least still hiring workers rather then laying them off.
Let me tell a little story from my own experience. I applied at a local Kroger many years ago to be a cashier. I was hired and was called into the office to get the pay structure. I figured out that for my $5.80 an hour job (minimum wage was around $3.60 I think) my take home would have been, after paying union dues and my initial cost to join the union, around $2.60 per hour. Granted it was the union and I would have rights to keep my $2.60 an hour job if I was treated unfairly, and the pay raises were .25 cents on a 6 month time frame, but Come On, how am I supposed to survive on that?!? Let’s not forget that Uncle Sam still had to take his chunk. As I said, why is this better than Wal-Mart?
One more thing I have to say and I will be done. I have spent quite a bit of time at Wal-Mart since they seem to be every where in these southern states we've been traveling through and we can obviously stay in the parting lot of a Wal-Mart for free if need be. I have yet to go into a Wal-Mart with unclean working conditions. I don't see 14 years old kids shoveling piles of raw sewage to make a living. What I have seen is small communities that are eager and anxious to work for a company that pays them a salary, even if it’s only a minimum wage salary at that. It helps to put food on the table and food that they can now afford.
I really don't know enough about this situation to quote facts on it; however, I did speak to a Wal-Mart employee in Arkansas to get the following information. He explained to me that Wal-Mart is requiring that the foreign companies that they get goods from, must open a Home Office in Arkansas in order for Wal-Mart to carry their product. He says that they are trying to boost the income and economy of the state and it’s made the local economy boom because of all this new work. Long term work if you think about it. Bringing new companies into an area boosts the construction business and all the trickle down companies that follow these development booms, much like our local government is doing in Michigan by offering tax breaks to businesses willing to move in to Michigan. The only difference is, Wal-Mart isn’t a local government; they took the task to do this themselves and boosted the local economy with many new jobs without giving tax breaks to the businesses moving in.
Needless to say, my opinion has changed on the Wal-Marts popping up every where. I have talked to 6 employees of Wal-Mart in different locations and each and every one of them is happy to have a job. The lack of a job market and businesses in these under populated rural towns gives few opportunities for employment. Some of the individuals that are hired are retired people, handicapped people, uneducated people, and some that can only work part time. In the competitive job market of today, there is unfortunately no place for these individuals to work. Wal-Mart seems to find a place for them, granted they don't pull down 75k a year, but they do have some money to help pay life’s expenses.
A Wal-Mart might not be needed in every town across America, but there are plenty of small towns that I've seen that have really needed one.
If anyone has a comment on this rambling that you have just read, please send me an email and give me your opinion. Especially if you have seen the infamous Wal-Mart Documentary video I mentioned. I’d love to hear a few different sides to the story.
--Cindy Bonish
cindy@everymilesamemory.com
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