NATIONAL BOYCOTT — PEF Vice President Joe Fox, who heads the Capital District Area Labor Federation, highlights the poor labor practices of Wal-Mart at an August press conference in Albany. Kathleen Donahue (right), second vice president at New York State United Teachers, and others asked the public to shop elsewhere.
— Photo by Deborah A. Miles
Corporate giant violates child labor laws
Unions unite, boycott Wal-Mart
By DEBORAH A. MILES
August 10 is a day that Wal-Mart executives will undoubtedly remember.
That’s when union leaders, teachers and community groups launched a nationwide campaign to deter back-to-school shoppers from buying at Wal-Mart because of its poor labor practices.
Activists in more than 34 cities throughout the U.S. planned press conferences and pickets against the corporate giant.
In Albany, PEF leaders joined members from the Capital District Area Labor Federation
(CDALF) and the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) at a well-attended press conference. The national campaign is sponsored by the Service Employees International
Union.
“We are here today to use this back-to-school period to highlight Wal-Mart’s very weak record on child labor, gender discrimination, taxpayer-funded health care and poverty level wages,” said Joe Fox, CDALF president and a PEF vice president.
According to Wal-Mart’s own internal audit, it was guilty of more than 1,300 national child labor law violations. Those violations included minors working too late, too many hours per day, and during school hours.
“Wal-Mart tried to shove this under the carpet,” PEF President Roger Benson told reporters. “Wal-Mart paid $135,000 in fines to settle charges of federal labor law violations in Arkansas and New Hampshire.
“Wal-Mart makes $10 billion in profits, yet it pays full-time sales associates about $14,000 per year. That’s below the $15,600, government- defined poverty level for a family of three,” Benson said.
“We need to teach Wal-Mart that child labor laws must be obeyed and families deserve a living wage and decent benefits. We need to teach Wal-Mart that kids matter more than profit.”
Kathleen Donahue, NYSUT second vice president, said, ”Wal-Mart is the single most powerful anti-union employer in the history of U.S. business.” In her statement to the press, she urged the general public not to buy school supplies at Wal-Mart.
Melanie Pores, an Albany Public School Teachers Association member, called Wal-Mart’s continuing practice of violating child labor laws “deplorable.”
“Any corporation that siphons children off with the promise of a low- wage job is not going to support the priority of children focusing on their studies,” she said.
A college-bound student, 18-year old Evan Musolino, showed his outrage at the press conference by ripping up a Wal-Mart smiley-face logo.
“Today, kids like me are losing opportunities at good jobs so Wal-Mart can sell Kix at a discount,” he said.
Benson said the press conference was the first of several actions in which PEF will participate, including a November “Week of Action” to encourage people to do their holiday shopping elsewhere.
The campaign will also include local screenings of a new documentary on Wal-Mart, as well as pickets at local Wal-Mart stores.
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