LAANE
needs your financial help in covering the costs of our latest
confrontation with Wal-Mart.
Earlier
this week, a delegation of community leaders from Inglewood,
CA - the same leaders who spearheaded the historic defeat
of Wal-Mart's Inglewood ballot measure last year - staged
a dramatic action on the retail giant's home turf.
In
the presence of reporters from around the world, Inglewood
elected officials, workers and church leaders challenged
Wal-Mart to sign a legally binding community benefits agreement
that would guarantee living wages, health care, and protections
for small business and the environment.
The
action coincided with the corporation's first-ever media
conference - the latest move in its efforts to clean up
its tarnished image following a series of a series of lawsuits,
numerous studies documenting the company's poor wages and
health benefits, and growing opposition from communities
across the country. Since Wal-Mart's Inglewood ballot measure
was overwhelmingly defeated, the corporation has spent hundreds
of millions of dollars on PR, but has failed to acknowledge
that its business model is wreaking havoc on the country.
The
Inglewood delegation's press conference was covered in media
outlets from NPR and CNN to the New York Times and the Financial
Times of London. Held inside the same hotel as Wal-Mart's PR
event, it succeeded in focusing the media on the reality
of Wal-Mart's impact on communities and workers.
Wal-Mart,
for its part, was caught off-guard and found itself scrambling
to accommodate the delegation. Perhaps for the first time,
senior vice presidents felt compelled to meet with community
representatives about their demands for living wages, health
benefits and protections for small businesses and the environment.
As
delegation leader and California Assemblymember Jerome Horton
notes in the New York Times, "We're very much concerned
about Wal-Mart's business practices because they place a
burden on California taxpayers when they don't provide health
insurance to employees and when they pay wages that perpetuate
poverty in the community."
The
Inglewood delegation not only sent a powerful message to
Wal-Mart, it launched the Inglewood community benefits campaign
- and the concept of community benefits - on the national
stage.
The
expenses of our delegation and media-related work total
over $15,000. You can make a tax-deductible donation by
sending a check to:
LAANE
215 W. 6th St, Suite 1204
L.A., CA 90014
or
click
here to use your credit card.
Contact
ljoseph@laane.org for information related to donations.
