Someone please explain this to me :confused:


Wal-Mart foes fail to block project


Opponents of a proposed Wal-Mart on Vineyard Road turned out in force at last night's Planning Board meeting, hoping to persuade the board to reconsider its earlier approval of the 142,000-square-foot retail outlet.


About 50 people -- a mix of residents and labor and community activists -- attended the meeting, holding signs and wearing T-shirts declaring their opposition to the big-box superstore.
But their objections apparently came too late. The board approved a resolution by a 6-1-1 vote, formalizing its Nov. 15 approval of the application. Councilman Robert Diehl voted against the resolution, and Michele Miceli abstained. Board member Sherri Ruggieri was absent.

Still, opponents hoped to get their objections on the record to strengthen a possible appeal of the board's approval. Organizers will meet tomorrow night to discuss a legal challenge. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 at the Stelton Community Center at 328 Plainfield Ave.

Residents of neighborhoods along Vineyard Road say they fear their residential enclaves will be swallowed by proposed development in the area. Wilshire Road resident Stephen Kuziel said the Wal-Mart application, which also calls for a bank, a sit-down restaurant and another retail store, will be compounded by nearby development planned at the former sites of Ford, Revlon, CIC and Electrolux.

"They're going to have to make the Route 27/Vineyard Road intersection as big as the Route 1/Plainfield Avenue intersection to handle all that traffic," Kuziel said.

Ed and Janet Hammer have lived in their Pine Street home for 37 years. But they say the increased traffic brought by a Wal-Mart is enough to make them leave.

"It's going to be almost impossible to make a left-hand turn," Ed Hammer said. "I'm ready to move."

Lucye Millerand, a Highland Park resident who studies management and labor relations at Rutgers, attended last night's meeting and said she's tracked the influx of Wal-Marts throughout New Jersey.

"I think it's a rotten idea," Millerand said. "It's rotten for business. It's rotten for labor."

Wearing an anti-Wal-Mart T-shirt, Frank DeMaria attended last night's meeting to represent the labor movement's opposition to the retail chain. DeMaria, a member of the New Jersey Industrial Union Council, said the chain superstore has earned an anti-labor reputation.

DeMaria's said his organization, a federation of 100 unions, has mobilized to fight Wal-Marts all over the state. But this time his organization, which is based at the Ford UAW hall on Vineyard Road, has picked a target closer to home.

"They come into an area and put everyone out of work. Their wages are among the lowest in the industry. They don't offer benefits," DeMaria said.

The Planning Board disregarded audience members' requests to speak against the Wal-Mart application at the beginning of last night's meeting, forcing opponents to sit through three unrelated applications and miscellaneous board business before the public-comment period. Activists made use of the downtime, circulating anti-Wal-Mart petitions. After a heated exchange between board members and audience members, two township police officers were reportedly called in to monitor the crowd.

Heres the link: http://www.thnt.com/thnt/story/0,21282,1143189,00.html


Do you all agree/disagree with this? Explain!!

why does everyone hate walmart?

I don't know if everyone hates walmart but I know I do because of personal experience. I also believe alot of people are getting sick of big corp. running their lives. I also believe alot of folks can see through WM's lies and BS

It's a "Mom & Pop" killer. The character of certain towns get changed forever.

Why do we hate Walmart?

Attracts too many fat people, and the traffic inside the store gets brutal.

Personally I just don't like the stores. Give me Target every time.

But I think it's BS the way people get all bent out of shape about WalMart. I bet no one would complain if they built a Target or K-Mart even though they also offer deeply discounted goods and entry level jobs. If people really didn't like WalMart, they wouldn't shop there, so what's the harm in putting up a store? They basically want to make the decision about where everyone in the community can shop for the community. "I value small merchants, therefore you're not allowed to shop at WalMart."

There was a great episode of South Park on about a month ago on this very topic. "WallMart" wanted to build a store in town and of course everyone was against it because they all loved the small merchants. The store finally gets built and everyone who supposedly valued the small merchants abandons them and shops at the WallMart. After the small businesses go under the people decide to burn down the WallMart and start shopping locally again. The final scene shows the small merchant growing larger and larger until it's a huge mega store that drives everyone out of business. The town burns it down.

Last year, WAL-MART announced it planned a supercenter north of Clearwater on US Hwy 19. Soon, scores of protests began, pickets lined the highway, long lines waited during objections heard at the Pinellas County courthouse, live video flashed on TV during the evening news.

Despite all this effort to block Wal-Mart, we now have a beautiful supercenter on U.S. 19 in Clearwater. The parking lot is flashy with its' new painted lines. Rides for the kiddies dot the front of the center. Friendly faces greet you as you enter the front of the store......

and who will you find shopping in the store???

You will find all the protestors who lined up along the roadway now thumbing through the coat racks.

You will find all the Big Mouths heard at Pinellas County giving the Commissioners an earfull now filling up their shopping carts.

the only people you won't find in WAL-MART are the News reporters because they are too busy interviewing shoppers in front of TARGET who object to TARGET kicking out the Salvation Army.

I hate walmart becasue its too crowded, and the aisles are just to damn narrow. You can barely get by someone in one of the aisles if you both have a cart, which everyone there does. oh, its a nightmare. target is much better.

I sometimes shop walmart, but prefer K-mart.

My basic problem is that I do not like crowds of shoppers.
Makes me uncomfortable.

One of the biggest supporters and users of outsourcing is Walmart.
One of the biggest supporters and donors of vouchers is Walmart.
As brooks said, it destroys private buisness ventures.
One of the worst places to work apparently, no overtime pay, forced overtime, almost always on call, shitty wages, complete disrespect of the worker.(Probably second only to EA Games, who's getting sued now)
One of the biggest companies in the world. That in and of itself is bad, the shear amount of power they have.

Originally posted by Rolader

and who will you find shopping in the store???

You will find all the protestors who lined up along the roadway now thumbing through the coat racks.


I find that highly unlikely.

People who care enough about something to go to the trouble of picketing are not likely to immediately do an about face and fawningly support the very thing they stood against.

A few of them might.

All of them??!

I don't believe it.

The primary objections of the mega stores were contained in the first post==

"They come into an area and put people out of work. Their wages are among the lowest in the industry. They don't offer benefits."

Originally posted by Blibblob
One of the biggest supporters and users of outsourcing is Walmart.
One of the biggest supporters and donors of vouchers is Walmart.
As brooks said, it destroys private buisness ventures.
One of the worst places to work apparently, no overtime pay, forced overtime, almost always on call, shitty wages, complete disrespect of the worker.(Probably second only to EA Games, who's getting sued now)
One of the biggest companies in the world. That in and of itself is bad, the shear amount of power they have.

you're right, blibb. most of their stores here have frozen employment (they're not hiring any new people until further notice). the employees they do manage to hold on to, they've cut most of them down to part-time, thereby dodging their responsibility to offer benefits (medical, 401k, etc). these people are expected to work long days dealing with some nasty people (making no money, mind you), but their not allowed to work enough to reach full-time status.
and that is my major complaint about wal mart. ever notice, while you're waiting 30 minutes to check out, that although there are 40 or more registers in the store, there are only 9 or 10 open(on a good day!)?

Originally posted by Freethinker
"They come into an area and put people out of work. Their wages are among the lowest in the industry. They don't offer benefits."

Who do they put out of work? Presumably the people working in the mom and pop stores that everyone so dearly loves. Do the mom and pop stores pay more than minimum wage and offer benefits? I think not.

I love Wal Mart.

I also believe alot of people are getting sick of big corp. running their lives.
Wal Mart is running our lives?

i woke up yesterday and there was a wal-mart employee in my bedroom serving me breakfast, and gave me a list of things to do for the day.......

sorry, just to follow up on dave tooner's comment LOL.

Walmart takes money out of local circulation and gobbles it up for the higher ups.....i say wal mart is bad.

EA games?

The headline story on this thread is remarkably similar to a story going on in my area, where a newish neighborhood is rankled by Walmart's purchase of land adjacent to the neighborhood. Residents, similarly, are very displeased. I don't blame them. But clearly, Americans love Walmart. Why else are they everywhere. Same thing with McD's. Personally, I try to avoid chains, but I'm not ready to boycott them either...

Originally posted by Decka
i woke up yesterday and there was a wal-mart employee in my bedroom serving me breakfast, and gave me a list of things to do for the day.......

sorry, just to follow up on dave tooner's comment LOL.

Walmart takes money out of local circulation and gobbles it up for the higher ups.....i say wal mart is bad.

You sound like a liberal Decka.

walsh** employs alot of people, have for a long time now, how many of these people make it to full retirement not many considering how many they employ. Why because they are full of sh** I know this 1st hand they will and do sh** on there assosciates. They also sh** on the public, they put on a beautifull dress{cover} but underneath,.,.,nothing but pus and scapes. moral of the story just because she looks pretty doesn't mean she won't kill ya. :eek: :D

Dave; Be very carefull of all those so called wonderfull markdown prices. What I liked the best is when walcarp advertised how they were so "American". Well we use to get the goods from 3rd world countries, rebox it, then but an "american pride" sticker on it. Never trust the wolf with sheeps clothing.

walsh** employs alot of people, have for a long time now, how many of these people make it to full retirement not many considering how many they employ.
So? What is your point? If working for Wal Mart is your idea of starting a good lifelong career, then, well.... I feel sorry for you.

maybe it's not a career that many of us would choose, but for some, there aren't many other options. and it's sad that these people can't get necessary benefits (like medical insurance)

Jenny - I like your sig line. lol

thank you very much. honesty speaks volumes!!

it's sad that these people can't get necessary benefits (like medical insurance)
Give me a break. Are you telling me you expect Wal Mart to give medical insurance to some college or high school kid running their cash register and stocking shelves?

Originally posted by DaveTooner
Give me a break. Are you telling me you expect Wal Mart to give medical insurance to some college or high school kid running their cash register and stocking shelves?

no, i expect hard-working, full time employees (which, i guess, rules out h.s.kids) to be able to work their full 40 hours and be able to have medical coverage.

I hate Walmart because they have shitty clothes. ;)

Originally posted by Overdose
I hate Walmart because they have shitty clothes. ;)

that's funny

EA games?
Directed toward my comment?
EA games is well known in the gaming industry to... not pay their employees. The best explaination is the open letter sent by a spouse of an employee, and currently there is a class action lawsuit.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ea_spouse/274.html

The gist: EA was forcing their employees by contract to work overtime, ungodly hours of overtime. It was the "usual crunch before release time", that extended for a year or so. EA is one of the biggest game developers in the world, and small game companies have all but disapeared, programmers don't really have anywhere to go, as all big corporations do basically the same thing.

no, i expect hard-working, full time employees (which, i guess, rules out h.s.kids) to be able to work their full 40 hours and be able to have medical coverage.
Working the cash register at Wal Mart? Please.

You know, I'm pretty sure there are very few businesses that give CASHIERS and BAGGERS and STOCKERS medical coverage. It ain't something Wally World invented

Originally posted by DaveTooner
Working the cash register at Wal Mart? Please.

You know, I'm pretty sure there are very few businesses that give CASHIERS and BAGGERS and STOCKERS medical coverage. It ain't something Wally World invented

it doesn't matter if they're cashiers, garbage men, or stock brokers, if they're full-time employees, they should have benefits available to them.

Working the cash register at Wal Mart? Please.
You need them, they at least deserve to not die.

thank you. that's what i'm saying. i doesn't matter what job they have. if they are full-time employees, they deserve benefits. if not, they'd be better off not working, living off of government assistance. that way they'd have medical coverage.

You people realize that it's not just Wal Mart that doesn't give freaking CASHIERS health coverage, right? Virtually NO BUSINESS does that.

Originally posted by DaveTooner
You people realize that it's not just Wal Mart that doesn't give freaking CASHIERS health coverage, right? Virtually NO BUSINESS does that.

well, dave, i can't be sure all of "us people" realize that; i just mentioned it here because of the given topic. i'm fully aware of that happening all over. i think it's particularly sad for an empire such as wal mart

Well, a big-box retailer like Wal-Mart has two options - pay great wages and benefits (relative to the competition) and as a result have uncompetitive prices and as a result be unable to expand much or create many jobs, or their current, quite successful model (for the shareholders, that is) and create lots and lots of not especially wonderful jobs. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion as to whether its better to create lots of bad jobs or a much smaller number of better (but not great) jobs. Regardless, the people have voted with their wallets and all they care about is low prices, not the welfare of the workers or country of origin of the products sold there. And as much as people talk about Wal-Mart driving small business out of town, it seems that the stories in the paper have much more to do with similarly large competitors being driven out of business - i.e. Toys 'R Us is considering closing its toy stores because it can't compete with Wal-Mart and a lot of the large grocery chains are also having problems.

Coincidently, I got a big flyer in the mail today from these people (http://www.oki4goodjobs.org/) about the evils of Wal-Mart. Since I don't shop there I didn't pay much attention.