tagged w/ Wal-Mart
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Nearly 3,000 Years Later But Right On Time: Cyrus Cylinder Makes U.S. Debut-Wal-Mart Sues Union in Florida Over Demonstrations-Wyoming Wins Fracking Lawsuit When Judge Sides With State Oil And Gas Conservation Commission-TV Viewing Linked To Antisocial Behaviors In 5-Year Olds-NYPD Facial Recog Unit Uses Facebook And Instagram To Track Down Suspects-Cold sores may up your risk of memory problems-Suit Offers a Peek at the Practice of Inflating a Legal Bill-Israeli Stranglehold Choking Washington-Missing Vial of Dangerous Virus Highlights Security Problems at U.S. LabsNearly 3,000 Years Later But Right On Time: Cyrus Cylinder Makes U.S. Debut-Wal-Mart... more
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All the talk of Sweetbay Supermarket closings in the Tampa Bay area reminded me of this story from a happier time for the company, when it had just rebranded from Kash n Karry. New CEO Shelly Broader personally took me around a store pointing out all the cool new stuff. It was a fun cover story, although after it ran, we heard she hated the "Food Fight" cover line and the allusion to 'Animal House.' Oh, well! http://andelman.com/2013/02/food-fight-sweetbay-to-publix-see-if-you-can-guess-what-i-am-now/All the talk of Sweetbay Supermarket closings in the Tampa Bay area reminded me of... more
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SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACÁN, Mexico — Wal-Mart longed to build in Elda Pineda’s alfalfa field. It was an ideal location, just off this town’s bustling main entrance and barely a mile from its ancient pyramids, which draw tourists from around the world. With its usual precision, Wal-Mart calculated it would attract 250 customers an hour if only it could put a store in Mrs. Pineda’s field.
One major obstacle stood in Wal-Mart’s way.
After years of study, the town’s elected leaders had just approved a new zoning map. The leaders wanted to limit growth near the pyramids, and they considered the town’s main entrance too congested already. As a result, the 2003 zoning map prohibited commercial development on Mrs. Pineda’s field, seemingly dooming Wal-Mart’s hopes.
But 30 miles away in Mexico City, at the headquarters of Wal-Mart de Mexico, executives were not about to be thwarted by an unfavorable zoning decision. Instead, records and interviews show, they decided to undo the damage with one well-placed $52,000 bribe.
The plan was simple. The zoning map would not become law until it was published in a government newspaper. So Wal-Mart de Mexico arranged to bribe an official to change the map before it was sent to the newspaper, records and interviews show. Sure enough, when the map was published, the zoning for Mrs. Pineda’s field was redrawn to allow Wal-Mart’s store.
Problem solved.
Wal-Mart de Mexico broke ground months later, provoking fierce opposition. Protesters decried the very idea of a Wal-Mart so close to a cultural treasure. They contended the town’s traditional public markets would be decimated, its traffic mess made worse. Months of hunger strikes and sit-ins consumed Mexico’s news media. Yet for all the scrutiny, the story of the altered map remained a secret. The store opened for Christmas 2004, affirming Wal-Mart’s emerging dominance in Mexico.
The secret held even after a former Wal-Mart de Mexico lawyer contacted Wal-Mart executives in Bentonville, Ark., and told them how Wal-Mart de Mexico routinely resorted to bribery, citing the altered map as but one example. His detailed account — he had been in charge of getting building permits throughout Mexico — raised alarms at the highest levels of Wal-Mart and prompted an internal investigation.
More in the Series Wal-Mart Abroad »
Part 1: At Wal-Mart in Mexico, a Bribe Inquiry Silenced
But as The New York Times revealed in April, Wal-Mart’s leaders shut down the investigation in 2006. They did so even though their investigators had found a wealth of evidence supporting the lawyer’s allegations. The decision meant authorities were not notified. It also meant basic questions about the nature, extent and impact of Wal-Mart de Mexico’s conduct were never asked, much less answered.
The Times has now picked up where Wal-Mart’s internal investigation was cut off, traveling to dozens of towns and cities in Mexico, gathering tens of thousands of documents related to Wal-Mart de Mexico permits, and interviewing scores of government officials and Wal-Mart employees, including 15 hours of interviews with the former lawyer, Sergio Cicero Zapata.
The Times’s examination reveals that Wal-Mart de Mexico was not the reluctant victim of a corrupt culture that insisted on bribes as the cost of doing business. Nor did it pay bribes merely to speed up routine approvals. Rather, Wal-Mart de Mexico was an aggressive and creative corrupter, offering large payoffs to get what the law otherwise prohibited. It used bribes to subvert democratic governance — public votes, open debates, transparent procedures. It used bribes to circumvent regulatory safeguards that protect Mexican citizens from unsafe construction. It used bribes to outflank rivals.SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACÁN, Mexico — Wal-Mart longed to build in Elda... more
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At a meeting convened in 2011 to boost safety at Bangladesh garment factories, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) made a call: paying suppliers more to help them upgrade their manufacturing facilities was too costly.At a meeting convened in 2011 to boost safety at Bangladesh garment factories,... more
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One factory out of thousands, used to exploit labor so assholes like Sean Combs can flaunt their wealth! As your children unwrap their gifts on Christmas morning they will thank Santa. But the exploiters will thank you, for not caring enough to stop buying their junk. Who’s your Santa now?One factory out of thousands, used to exploit labor so assholes like Sean Combs can... more
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Here's a way for you to do your part against corporate abuse of workers by Wal-Mart ...find an action near you, support this action with your body,money ,and please don't shop at this corporations stores, "hit em where it hurts" in the wallet.This link to the corporate action network has all the info you need to do your part for solidarity and lets show the Walton's that American workers will no longer tolerate their abuse of their employees and the system of profits before people. Lets start working together for real change and make this world a little better for all of us. Thank you for your support.-GHere's a way for you to do your part against corporate abuse of workers by... more
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In her mind it was official; Black Friday was a national holiday to be revered like Labor or Veterans Day. The mutation of historical customs happens over time. As the woman behind me talked about the tactical assault on which stores they would hit first, her two young daughters were sitting nearby absorbing the tableau of mother, aunt and grandmother discussing Black Friday plans...
http://veracitystew.com/?p=45998In her mind it was official; Black Friday was a national holiday to be revered like... more
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More federal agencies buy multithousands of rounds of ammo
Shareholder sues Wal-Mart to get Mexico bribery documents
SOUTH AFRICA POLICE SAY THEY KILLED 30+ MINERSMore federal agencies buy multithousands of rounds of ammo
Shareholder sues Wal-Mart... more
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Kent State survivors seek new probe of 1970 shootings
Sept 11 case returns to Guantanamo tribunal
California pension fund sues Wal-Mart, alleges briberyKent State survivors seek new probe of 1970 shootings
Sept 11 case returns to... more
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Want to see who's using their wealth to exploit the 99%? This series of 1-minute videos reveals the methods of the worst of the 1%. This one's Rob Walton, chair of Walmart.Want to see who's using their wealth to exploit the 99%? This series of 1-minute... more
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Chuck “The Toy Boy” Santoro is one the country’s top toy experts. Let him help you narrow down your list this Holiday season as he shares his picks for the hottest toys of 2011.Chuck “The Toy Boy” Santoro is one the country’s top toy experts.... more
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Earlier this year, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett made headlines by
publicly decrying the stark inequity between his own effective federal tax rate (about
17 percent, by his estimate) and that of his secretary (about 30 percent). The resulting
media firestorm has drawn welcome attention to unfair tax breaks that allow the richest
Americans to avoid paying their fair share of the personal income tax. But these inequities are not limited to the personal tax.
Our corporate tax system is plagued by very similar problems, problems that allow many of America’s most profitable corporations to pay little or nothing in federal income taxes.
This study takes a hard look at the federal income taxes paid or not paid by 280 of
America’s largest and most profitable corporations in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The companies in our report are all from Fortune’s annual list of America’s 500 largest corporations, and all of them were profitable in each of the three years analyzed. Over the three years, the 280 companies in our survey reported total pretax U.S. profits of $1.4 trillion.
You think you are angry now? Wait until you read this.
http://www.ctj.org/corporatetaxdodgers/CorporateTaxDodgersReport.pdfEarlier this year, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett made headlines by... more
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Wal-Mart Women Pave the Way for Paycheck Fairness
By Beverly Cooper Neufeld
WeNews commentator
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Supreme Court ruling on Wal-Mart spotlights the tough fight between female wage earners and employers. To balance our family checkbooks, we all need help from local politicians to pass the Paycheck Fairness bill.
Subhead:
The Supreme Court ruling on Wal-Mart spotlights the tough fight between female wage earners and employers. To balance our family checkbooks, we all need help from local politicians to pass the Paycheck Fairness bill.
Byline:
Beverly Cooper Neufeld
Share(WOMENSENEWS)--For all the attention, expense and 10 years of legal maneuvering that led to the Supreme Court's decision last month against the female workers of Wal-Mart, the basic question is still unanswered: Is Wal-Mart guilty of widespread, long term wage discrimination?
Despite the evidence that this monolithic company flourished at the expense of employees, the lead plaintiff Betty Dukes and other women will have to tough it out, either as individuals or in smaller groups. These tenacious women vow to fight on, not because of a big payout, but because what they really want is for Wal-Mart to change its ways.
Now that the Supreme Court has refused to certify as many as 1.5 million female employees as a class, that's not going to happen without public outcry and the political will to pass stronger wage discrimination laws.
Unequal pay, unequal promotion, and unequal opportunity for jobs that provide a living wage create a "pay your bills" gap for women around the country.
Nationally, on average, a woman misses out on about $10,000 in wages each year. How do you count that? A year's worth of food? Months of rent or 2500 gallons of gas? Childcare or health insurance?
Family Checkbook Issue
This is not a women's issue, it is a family-checkbook issue.
With more than 6-in-10 women acting as primary or co-breadwinners, everyone is affected when female workers are undervalued, including local economies and tax bases. In New York the wage gap equals $22 billion lost each year, which is a lot of revenue not being spent here.
Ending wage discrimination was the goal of the Equal Pay Act signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 when the retro TV series "Man Men" was a reality and women struggled for a place in the paid work force.
The Equal Pay Act requires employers to pay all employees equally for equal work, regardless of gender. It was a major step at the time. Loopholes and limited sanctions in the law, however, has meant progress in closing the wage gap has been unacceptably slow, about half-a-cent annually over 50 years.
The federal Paycheck Fairness Act--which almost passed in the U.S. Senate last year-- provides a 21st Century update to this 20th Century law.
It would give the Equal Pay Act teeth by increasing penalties for violators and providing the government with new tools such as data collection and programming to promote better wage practices.
| MoreFreedom to Discuss Wages
Critically, the Paycheck Fairness Act would also protect workers from retaliation if they choose to discuss their salaries. More than 60 percent of workers report fear of retaliation as a reason they don't deal with wage inequity.
If employers restrict workers' ability to share salary information women can't find out if they are earning less than they should. With salary information, workers have the opportunity to address inequities in real-time, not years later when courts may decide they waited too long.
In New York, coalitions of advocates have been working to pass a similar bill. As it has annually since 2002, our Assembly passed the NYS Fair Pay Act this April. As usual it got stuck in Republican-controlled Senate committees. In a compromise effort, this year Senator Liz Krueger carved out the key "wage secrecy" portion to stand alone as a single bill. She vows to bring it back in the next term and work for passage.
Not willing to rely on the state and federal legislative successes, New York City is mounting a grassroots campaign. Elected officials are responding to the calls of our coalitions – the New York Women's Agenda and its Equal Pay Coalition NYC - to ferret out and respond to disparities.
NYC Gets First Gender Analysis
Comptroller John Liu helped by producing the first gender-equity analysis of New York City's public and private sector work force, based on data that has been readily available for some time. It provides a snapshot look at job sectors. Workers and agencies can now see how they are faring and have a chance to respond.
Council Members Letitia James and Julissa Ferreras--champions of female wage earners--are using this report to develop remedies. Both are writing pay-equity legislation applicable to city law. The comptroller's office is also looking at some key report findings, such as gender segregation in certain fields and a wider wage gap for female city employees who have children.
With Wal-Mart seeking to enter the New York City market, the Dukes v. Wal-Mart decision has special significance.
City Council hearings called by Speaker Christine Quinn this winter spotlighted questionable workplace practices and drew crowds of protesters. Elected officials queried and cajoled. Now our question is, what will be done to ensure that Wal-Mart --and every employer – creates and maintains equitable workplace practices? That will take more action than talk.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has been wrong before. Ask Lilly Ledbetter who took her discrimination case there only to be denied.
Congress corrected that ruling by passing the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill signed by President Barack Obama. Now it must do the same for Betty Dukes and all workers facing discrimination by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act.
We need to make it clear to politicians in Washington, D.C., and state capitals and localities around the country that it's their job to create a more equitable workplace that respects our current work force. We are watching.
For more information:
TAKE ACTION! Paycheck Fairness Act:
https://secure2.convio.net/nwlc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=635
New York Campaign:
http://www.equalpaynewyork.org http://www.nywa.org
Would you like to Send Along a Link of This Story?
http://www.womensenews.org/story/equal-payfair-wage/110705/wal-mart-women-pave-the-way-paycheck-fairness
Beverly Cooper Neufeld, a nonprofit consultant, is president of the New York Women's Agenda and director of its Equal Pay Coalition NYC. The two coalitions represent more than 100 organizations in New York City.
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Source URL (retrieved on 2011-07-06 15:45): http://www.womensenews.org/story/equal-payfair-wage/110705/wal-mart-women-pave-the-way-paycheck-fairnessWal-Mart Women Pave the Way for Paycheck Fairness
By Beverly Cooper Neufeld
WeNews... more
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WOMENSENEWS)--One of the best analysis pieces this week about the big rebuff by the Supreme Court to Wal-Mart's female workers came from Lila Shapiro at the Huffington Post.
In recent years, class actions have been employed by workers--particularly lower-wage workers--as a substitute for the force that collective bargaining wielded in an era of broader union representation, Shapiro wrote in "Walmart: Too Big to Sue."
"By banding together in large-scale lawsuits, workers have effectively organized themselves into unified, powerful voices, gaining leverage in negotiations with management," Shapiro said.
In this case, a large national voice of female workers was found to be too big to certify as a class, since they were spread out among as many as 3,400 stores and worked for a wide variety of managers.
Wal-Mart is the country's largest private employer. Apparently, once a company reaches such stature, its workers cannot claim common ground, even if the profits they help generate flow toward the same bottom line.
"In a sense the court has said, the banks we have were too big to fail, with Wal-Mart we have too big to sue," Ken Jacobs, chair of the Labor Center at University of California-Berkeley, was quoted as saying by Shapiro. "Basically if you're saying that the overall corporation is off the hook for what local managers are doing, that removes the incentive for corporate headquarters to really pay attention and to set up structures to make sure you do have the law being followed."
That's why the 5-4 decision is being widely seen as so wounding to wide swaths of workers; so favorable for the relatively few who wield corporate clout.
Sensing Repercussions
Almost immediately, women in other large class actions were sensing the repercussions. Costco Wholesale, for example, may be able to block women accusing it of gender bias from suing as a group because of the ruling, Bloomberg News reported June 23.
Linda Basch and Elizabeth L. Grayer decried the decision in a June 23 joint column in the Star Ledger and reminded readers of how many other underpaid women in the United States were, broadly speaking, represented by this suit.
Women are still paid 77 cents to every dollar a man earns," they wrote. "And the cost of pay discrimination to women and their families has been estimated to average $500,000 over a lifetime, and as much as $2 million or more for professional women."
The High Court had no precedent for coming down so heavily on a group of plaintiffs. It was simply being asked to rule on whether the women could certify as a class, not whether they could win the case.
"For 45 years, since Congress approved the criteria for class actions, the threshold for certification of a class has been low, with good reason because certification is merely the first step in a suit," The New York Times editorialized on June 20. "Members of a potential class have had to show that they were numerous, had questions of law or fact in common and had representatives with typical claims who would protect the interests of the class."
That's why the majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, is considered so discouraging to class actions in general.
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Fights Yet to Come
The justices, meanwhile, said nothing about the women's underlying charge of bias on pay and promotion. Those fights are yet to come; possibly store-by-store and region-by-region, according to a plaintiff's lawyer quoted by The New York Times.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the dissenting opinion and was joined by Justice Stephen Breyer and the two other women on the court: Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Ginsburg would have allowed the Wal-Mart women to proceed with their case under another class-action category. She spoke out against the court disqualifying the women "at the starting gate," according to a story in The New York Times. She also cited the low proportion of women in management--30 percent--given the female-majority work force.
Could managers with a broad leeway in determining who gets paid what and who gets promoted all be subject to the same male bias? Ginsburg didn't think it could be ruled out. "Managers like all humankind, may be prey to biases of which they are unaware," she wrote.
This enormous, time-consuming, 10-year case is likely to sensitize managers far beyond the walls of Wal-Mart stores to gender bias. But whether they decide to change anything could depend on the multiple law suits still to come, brought by individual women and smaller groups of workers.
Lead plaintiff Betty Dukes and other women are vowing to push on.
Women's advocacy groups have protested the decision, according to Ms. Magazine's Feminist Wire. On June 21, many rallied outside the Supreme Court and rallies were held in other cities, including San Francisco, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Would you like to Comment but not sure how? Visit our help page at http://www.womensenews.org/help-making-comments-womens-enews-stories.
Would you like to Send Along a Link of This Story?
http://www.womensenews.org/story/in-the-courts/110624/wal-mart-ruling-puts-big-chill-female-workers
Read the full weekly news wrap up here.
Corinna Barnard is editor of Women's eNews.WOMENSENEWS)--One of the best analysis pieces this week about the big rebuff by the... more
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We're taking a look at some of the most popular stories from the Current community, and we've rounded up some highlights to share. Check them out and add your two cents:
President Obama to move US closer to leaving Afghanistan!Submitted by kennymotown
Obama is likely to announce a plan to withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan.
Obama spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that the president had finalized his decision on the withdrawal plan and would address the nation from the White House at 8 p.m. Wednesday. He said the president informed his national security team of his plans during a White House meeting Tuesday morning.
Wal-Mart Wins in Sexual Bias CaseSubmitted by Incredulous
The Supreme Court sided with Wal-Mart in a sex bias suit, ruling that the certificaton of class was not consistent with federal rule.
"Today's decision is deeply disturbing. The highest court in our nation has turned its back on collective remedy for workers facing widespread injustices," said Joe Hansen, international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. "The UFCW will continue to demand accountability from Walmart to its workers who deserve fair treatment, fair pay and respect on the job."
FDA Reveals Bigger, Graphic Warning Labels For Cigarette PackagesSubmitted by Misti
The FDA has unveiled nine new graphic cigarette warnings, which will cover 50 percent of the packaging and be required on all cigarette packages by September 2012.
Cigarette packages will now carry one vivid color image and one of these warnings about the consequences of smoking: "Cigarettes are addictive"; "Tobacco smoke can harm your children"; "Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease"; "Cigarettes cause cancer"; "Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease"; "Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby"; "Smoking can kill you"; "Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers"; and "Quitting smoking now greatly reduces serious risks to your health."
Join the discussion -- or head over to the News group for more popular stories from the community.We're taking a look at some of the most popular stories from the... more
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Reuters is reporting that Wal-Mart has won it’s sex discrimination class-action suit, and boy, the entire business world is pleased as punch. Evidently, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the case, so that means any U.S. company can treat women just like Wal-Mart does! From the article:Reuters is reporting that Wal-Mart has won it’s sex discrimination class-action... more
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The Supreme Court put the brakes on a massive job discrimination lawsuit against mega-retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., saying sweeping class-action status that could potentially involve hundreds of thousands of current and former female workers was simply too large.
The ruling Monday was a big victory for the nation's largest private employer, and the business community at large.
The high-profile case– perhaps the most closely watched of the high court's term– is among the most important dealing with corporate versus worker rights that the justices have ever heard, and could eventually impact nearly every private employer, large and small.
The case is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes (10-277).The Supreme Court put the brakes on a massive job discrimination lawsuit against... more
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