Walmart and Basic Rights to Privacy

Walmart Sued for Secret Bathroom Surveillance of both employees who they already treat like shit and customers who they tolerate but still belittle and abuse as much as possible, because they can usually get away with it.

Some brainiac thought video-taping people in a changing room/bathroom was a good way to cut down on theft but it also happens to be a great way to eliminate privacy altogether. And none of the people spied upon has been accused of any theft at all, this was all invasion of privacy without any reason to suspect any theft was actually taking place.

Walmart presumes the worst about its customers and employees and treats them accordingly. Which is to say, customers and employees are expendable in the never ending chase for every last dollar they can gather in.

Are low prices (which aren't even that low in reality) worth getting your ass videotaped and posted on the internet? I'm thinking no but apparently many, too many people have no problem with it.

An Excellent Wal-Mart Labor Synopsis

If you still want to try and defend Wal-Mart, then maybe give a read of Wal-Mart's Labor Problem and think about it.

With the exception of a billion where it should say million (the article states each individual store is worth $204 billion but that's just a little outrageous), the article does a pretty thorough job of exposing just how much Wal-Mart sucks.

From income discrepancies to violations of Fair Labor Standards Act to The Family Medical Leave Act violations to union busting to deplorable health care coverage to discrimination. Its all there with references.

Read it and draw your own conclusions.

A Succinct Indictment of Wal-Mart

Co-Op American's Responsible Shopper Profile: Wal-Mart:

"'Always low prices', always low standards for corporate responsibility. Wal-Mart dominates the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican markets and is currently China's eighth-largest trading partner. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart confines its leadership to the realm of sales and in other areas promotes the attitude that virtually everything--products, workers, or even communities--can be disposable . Wal-Mart may drive prices down, but it drags the quality of life for millions of people down with it. With hundreds of employees dependent on public assistance to meet their basic needs, American taxpayers subsidize Wal-Mart's low prices at the rate of roughly $420,750 a year for every 200-employee store by paying for low-income services. Women working for Wal-Mart have been denied equal opportunities for advancement. Wal-Mart hurts U.S. communities by undercutting local merchants and increasing urban sprawl, and its suppliers have been cited for labor and human rights violations."

Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, quality of life, violation

Wal-Mart Opponents Win First Round

N.C. Court of Appeals says board violated rules in granting permit

The appeals court upheld a Superior Court ruling that said the Union County Board of Adjustment didn't follow proper procedure when it gave Wal-Mart permission to build a 206,000-square-foot Supercenter at Rea and Tom Short roads.

The appeals court ruling was filed Tuesday. It says the residents were denied due process in the Union County zoning proceedings and that they had the right to appeal the decision, something Wal-Mart had disputed.

The unanimous decision by the three-judge panel marks a significant victory in what has become a nearly six-year battle against the Arkansas-based company, residents and their lawyers said.

But they're also braced for Wal-Mart's next move.

Because Wal-Mart is a persistent and exploitive opponent who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Good on the residents in and around Marvin, North Carolina. I wish them well in their battle against the retail juggernaut.

And what does it say about a company that is forcing itself on people that very clearly do NOT want them there? It says that company cares nothing for the places it infests, it says the company cares nothing for the damage it wreaks on townships, it says the company is not ethically driven, they are driven by money, money, money and they will do almost anything, legal or illegal to get more money.

Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, permits, fight the power