Remarks by Geralyn Lutty, United Food and Commercial Workers International Vice President and Director of Region 7, at Change to Win Founding Convention
St. Louis, Mo.
September 27, 2005
Thank you, Anna. It’s an honor to be here today and to join you and the rest of the Executive Committee as we embark on this new road together.
We’ve laid out an ambitious new agenda and vision for changing the lives of American workers.
There’s no better place to start on that agenda than at the nation’s largest private employer. Yes, Wal-Mart….the world’s largest retailer….the nation’s biggest importer of consumer goods… the top
In 25 states, Wal-Mart is the biggest employer. But their size doesn’t translate into largesse for their one million workers.
That is why we must change Wal-Mart.
We must transform the world’s largest corporation into a socially responsible company.
The Wal-Mart business model epitomizes the worst of corporate behavior in the global economy.
It embodies a worldwide race to the bottom—and, with few exceptions, the Wal-Mart business practices are becoming the model for large national and global corporations.
This business model isn’t limited to low wages and benefits.
Wal-Martization means moving production from country to country, chasing the cheapest labor—and, the weakest labor protections.
It means shifting business expenses to taxpayers and lowering community living standards.
Wal-Mart’s business model says: let someone else pay.
Let the community pay for Wal-Mart worker’s health care.
Let responsible businesses that provide health care pay; then, face competitive disadvantages because of their responsible behavior.
Here’s the Wal-Mart business model in the words of Lee Scott the company’s CEO: “In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value—with relatively high limits to qualify and low premiums.”
Wal-Mart’s cost-shifting model translates into a taxpayer cost of up to $2.5 billion a year.
Let’s be clear, the effects of the Wal-Mart business model aren’t limited to workers in the retail industry.
Wal-Mart is responsible for shipping more manufacturing jobs overseas than any other American corporation.
It is responsible for lowering working conditions around the world by outsourcing manufacturing to countries where worker exploitation and sweat shops are prevalent.
Wal-Mart’s business model exploits workers’ rights and disregards the law.
In 1996, Wal-Mart formed a diversity committee. But instead of implementing its recommendations, it disbanded the panel.
Now Wal-Mart is facing the largest gender discrimination suit in history.
The Wal-Mart corporate culture denies workers their democratic right to choose a voice on the job.
When the UFCW organized Wal-Mart meatcutters in a
When we organized WAL-MART workers at a store in
This is the model that many corporate executives envy.
But a model we must expose and oppose—and we are.
Wake Up Wal Mart dot com—and, Wal-Mart Watch dot com have developed national campaigns to empower our members, our communities and all workers with the tools to make Wal-Mart live up to its responsibilities.
These campaigns are bringing a new dynamic and focus to the Wal-Mart fight.
Brothers and sisters, we have the power to transform Wal-Mart.
We have no other choice.
We must act now to transform Wal-Mart into a socially responsible corporation.
The short trailer we’re about to roll provides a brief glimpse of what you’ll see tonight in the special viewing of Robert Greenwald’s new documentary “Wal-Mart, the High Cost of Low Prices.”
It’s a glimpse of why we must coordinate our efforts on a global scale to stop Wal-Mart’s race to the bottom.
So let’s take a look at the clip.
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