Message to the White House: We need good jobs in our community, not a continued cycle of poverty
July 20th, 2011 – The following statement is being issued in response to a July 20th announcement from the White House in which First Lady Michelle Obama recognized retailers who want to expand their business into underserved areas and provide more healthy food choices. Walmart is among the short list of retailers.
While we applaud the First Lady’s commitment to addressing childhood obesity in the U.S. and increasing access to fresh food, we are concerned with the White House’s engagement of Walmart in this effort. More than any other private employer in the country, Walmart creates millions of poverty-level jobs that leave workers unable to purchase healthy food or provide a good life for their families.
Walmart has saturated most of the rural and suburban markets in the United States and has now made a business decision to grow into urban communities like Puget Sound. Coming into urban markets is not a charitable effort for Walmart, it is the only growth strategy Walmart has left.
UFCW 21 issued a report earlier this year called “Broken Promises? Does Walmart Do What Walmart Says They’ll Do for Local Communities?” The report raised concerns as to the trustworthiness of Walmart claims it makes to local communities in order to gain access and local approval.
As our urban Puget Sound region is working to recover from economic challenges, we need to rebuild the middle class on which our economy survives. Parents who can make ends meet is what is going to give our kids access to healthy food. And to rebuild the middle class, we need jobs that support the middle class. That means good wages, health care and respectful treatment of employees that includes predictable schedules, getting paid for all hours worked, and adequate workplace protections.
As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart sets a bar for the industry. As they have paid poverty level wages with meager benefits, others in the retail industry have been pressured to follow suit. That is not going to help build a middle class or help people with lower incomes buy healthier foods.
If Walmart desires to expand more into the urban Puget Sound area, they should be held accountable to the values of our communities and their own promises. Any commitments to local communities should be binding and enforceable so that if WalMart fails to follow through (a track record seen in many places), they can at least be held accountable by local communities.
