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act now > wal-mart week of action
Higher Expectations Week
Higher Expecations Week is a time of concentrated examination of how the Wal-Martization of the U.S. economy affects everyone.
Wal-Mart’s behavior can be changed by exerting economic, public, and legislative pressure on the company. Throughout the nation, a growing movement is educating the public about the effect of the world’s largest retailer on communities.
Below we have resources for you and your congregation to become more involved in this issue at the core of the struggle for economic justice in America.
To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Expected
Interfaith Worker Justice and Wal-Mart Watch prepared this resource for Higher Expectations Week, November 13-19, 2005. Contributors include Kim Bobo, Rev. Dr. William Jarvis Johnson, Rabbi Robert J. Marx, Dr. Farid Esack, Junaid S.Ahmad, Fr. John T. Nowlan, Julie Polter, Rev. Teran Loeppke, and Bob Hulteen.
Here is one portion of that material:
What People of Faith Can Do About Wal-Mart
People of faith are concerned about the standards Wal-Mart is setting for the nation and often ask,"What can I do?" Below are five concrete things you and your congregation can do:
- Organize a group in your home or congregation to watch Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.This movie takes you behind the glitz and into the real lives of workers and their families, business owners and their communities, in an extraordinary journey that will challenge the way you think, feel... and shop.
NEW--Download flyer for Chicago premiere
To order your own copy on DVD or VHS
To find a showing near you
- Lead a small delegation of religious and community leaders to meet with the manager of your local Wal-Mart. Ask the manager about the wages and benefits paid in the store. If you get the information, you can compare the answer with what it takes to raise a family in your community. Just asking the question demonstrates community concern about these core issues and will surely be conveyed to the regional and national management.
- Encourage your congregation to publicly choose Costco for its bulk purchases. If the congregation has a Sam’s Club membership (the bulk purchasing club owned by Wal-Mart), switch from Sam’s Club to Costco. Costco pays significantly higher wages and health care benefits and allows workers the right to organize. The contrast between the two companies is quite dramatic and demonstrates the difference leadership can make on improving working conditions.
If your congregation intentionally chooses Costco, please:
- Inform Interfaith Worker Justice so it can publicize your choice.
- Send a letter to both Costco and Sam’s Club explaining your choice. Sample letters will be available here very soon.
- Send a press release about your congregation’s choice to area newspapers and your denomination’s publications. A sample press release will be available here very soon.
- Participate in campaigns seeking community benefit agreements. Whenever Wal-Mart wants to open a new store, it is an opportunity to get commitments from the company about wages, benefits, and working conditions. For a list of the current campaigns, visitWake Up Wal-Mart.If you will be speaking to your congregation on this issue, please let us know.
- Support city and state legislation that requires higher standards for large employers. In the Spring of 2006, 35 state legislatures will considered state legislation requiring large employers to either provide health insurance for their workers or pay into a state fund to help their workers. This legislation will help many Wal-Mart workers as well as many others. Similarly, some cities are considering “Big Box” ordinances that would set wage and benefit standards for big box stores, such as Wal-Mart or Home Depot, that operate in the cities.
For more information about plans for Higher Expectations Week, contact Rev. Jarvis Johnson or visit the Wal-Mart Watch website. For more resources related to Wal-Mart and faith-based labor information, contact Charese Jordan at IWJ.
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