Olbermann Gives Walmart Worst Person in the World

Walmart sued a handicapped woman (and won) for money she received in a lawsuit that she received after obtaining brain damage. Olbermann slices and dices them.

Hillary Clinton and the Labor Problem

"Labor Unions are Nothing but Blood Sucking Parasites Living off of the Production of Labor of people who Work for a Living." - John Tate, Board Member at Walmart

ABC News reported this morning that while on the Board of Walmart Senator Clinton sat by and said nothing while Walmart sought to crush unions. The tapes are revealing and this has always been my main criticism of the Clintons (outside of political calculation), that they are and have always been stongly against unions. Now, she has the support of many unions. What else you can say, should Mrs. Clinton have resigned her position from Walmart because of anti-unionism? To me, the answer is she never would have because the Clintons have never supported the union movement and proof positive was the Clinton Presidency and of course NAFTA.

ABC News reported:

An ABC News analysis of the videotapes of at least four stockholder meetings where Clinton appeared shows she never once rose to defend the role of American labor unions.

The tapes, broadcast this morning on "Good Morning America," were provided to ABC News from the archives of Flagler Productions, a Lenexa, Kan., company hired by Wal-Mart to record its meetings and events.

A former board member told ABCNews.com that he had no recollection of Clinton defending unions during more than 20 board meetings held in private.

The tapes show Clinton in the role of a loyal company woman. "I'm always proud of Wal-Mart and what we do and the way we do it better than anybody else," she said at a June 1990 stockholders meeting. View the tapes here.

Asked of President Clinton why Mrs. Clinton did not help to support unions or resign because of Walmart's policies Clinton said: "We lived in a state that had a very weak labor movement, where I always had the endorsement of the labor movement because I did what I could do to make it stronger. She knew there was no way she could change that, not with it headquartered in Arkansas, and she agreed to serve,"

The story does point out that she did push for more representation of women in the higher ranks of the company and also for more green policies -- and on both counts had she at least some success. Mrs. Clinton has disavowed her time in Walmart and completely taken it from her resume. There is another story in the Times about President Clinton that could be damaging.

In other news this morning Rasmussen finds Obama gaining in California and only three points behind. The same can be said for Massachusetts.

Exploiting Mexican Kids for Profit

OUR VOLUNTEER PACKERS COLLECT NO SALARY, ONLY THE GRATUITY THAT YOU GIVE THEM. SUPERAMA THANKS YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

Above is the sign that tells Walmart Shoppers what the Mexican "volunteers" are given (which is nothing) in Walmart stores in Mexico. Walmart does not hide the practice proudly displaying the sign to shoppers. "WalMart is Mexico’s largest private-sector employer in the nation today, with nearly 150,000 local residents on its payroll. An additional 19,000 youngsters between the ages of 14 and 16 work after school in hundreds of WalMart stores, mostly as grocery baggers, throughout Mexico-and none of them receives a red cent in wages or fringe benefits."

The use of unsalaried youths is legal in Mexico because the kids are said to be “volunteering” their services to WalMart and are therefore not subject to the requirements and regulations that would otherwise apply under the country’s labor laws. Nearly half the Mexican population scrapes by on less than $4 per day. This is why families are forced to send the teens to work for tips even if it depends on the goodwill of Walmart shoppers. Walmart is quick to point out it did not invent the "volunteering" but it dwarfs all other companies that use the policy. Although WalMart’s worldwide code of ethics expressly forbids any “associate” from working without compensation, the company’s Mexican subsidiary asserts that the grocery baggers “cannot be considered workers.”

WalMart’s bottom line is also very healthy. WalMart de Mexico reported net earnings of $1.148 billion in 2006 and $280 million in profits in the second quarter of this year, a 7 percent increase in real terms over the same period last year. Buoyed by the handsome bottom-line results of the preceding 12 months, WalMart de Mexico Chief Executive Eduardo Solórzano announced plans in February to add 125 new stores and restaurants to its existing network of 893 retail establishments during the course of 2007. That ambitious expansion plan will represent new investment totaling nearly a billion dollars, according to company spokesmen.

Walmart also says it is fully within the International Labor Organization's guidelines. It cites a study conducted by the Mexican government and a U.N. agency that found that teenagers participating in the baggers’ program were less likely to use illegal drugs than peers who panhandled or hawked merchandise on city streets. Oh would that not happen if you paid them a living wage? Minimum wage? Any wage?

A study conducted by three student researchers at the Autonomous University of Mexico documented violations of the 1999 agreement at a WalMart Supercenter store in southern Mexico City. These included inadequate training and forcing youngsters to work a double shift, thereby exceeding the six-hour limit per day established by the accord. Then again, things could be a lot worse. In February 2005, WalMart agreed to pay the U.S. Labor Department $135,540 in civil money penalties to settle charges of 24 child-labor violations. Some of the accusations involved minors who operated forklifts, chain saws and other potentially dangerous equipment. Stuffing groceries into plastic bags would seem considerably less hazardous.

Of course this is fully on the backs of the U.S. government, Republicans and Democrats. Maybe even Clinton is more to blame for passing NAFTA and all the free trade agreements with nothing in the agreements for labor standards, minimum wages or human rights. Companies will not come into line because it is the right thing to do. It will only happen if we push them.

There used to be a saying at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut where I worked with teens and youth in foster care:

"People rarely do things because they see the light, the do them because they feel the heat."

That is doubly true for the amorphous conglomeration called Walmart.

Walmart to Sell Bible Action Figures: This is Not a Joke.

Walmart will begin selling Bible action figures aimed at Christian parents who would rather their children play with Noah, Samson and Moses rather than comic book characters (Satan!). The toys are made by the company one2believe (as a reminder, not a joke). David Socha the Executive Director said: "If you're very religious, it's a battle for your children's minds and what they're playing with and pretending. There are remakes out there of Satan and evil things," Socha said.

The toys, based on biblical stories, include a 3-inch figure of Daniel in the lion's den, a 12-inch talking Jesus doll and 13-inch Samson action figure. This just makes me feel sorry for whoever has to play with these, but...

Do I really need another reason to not shop at Walmart?