I sent this to letter to the editior at the PI:
First let me mention that Wal-Mart is owned by five of the top ten richest people in the world. As a comparison, Microsoft’s Bill Gates is of course the richest, but Microsoft provides its employees with the most favorable benefits of any private corporation in the United States. The employees at Microsoft have driven the economy of the Northwest to become one of the most dynamic in the world.
A preemptive view of what is to come follows:
The October 19, 2003 New York Times has the following article that addresses the plan of Wal-Mart to open 40 new super centers in Southern California over the next five years. Currently there are thousands of supermarket workers solidly in the middle class on strike. They are preemptively striking against Safeway, Kroger’s and Albertsons to maintain wages secure health care benefits and provide a continuing middle class wages for their families.
“A big savings for Wal-Mart comes in health care, where Wal-Mart pays 30 percent less for coverage for each insured worker than the industry average. An estimated 40 percent of employees are not covered by its health plan because many cannot afford the premiums or have not worked at Wal-Mart long enough to qualify.”
"What this means is, if I'm a Wal-Mart employee and I hurt my hand and go to the emergency room, who's going to pay for it? The taxpayer is," said Mr. Brown, the supermarket executive. "Wal-Mart's fringe benefits are being paid by taxpayers."
Recently, Local IFPTE 17, published this article in its magazine entitled: Avoid Wal-Mart or "Go Union"
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) has been trying to unionize Wal-Mart for years and have been unsuccessful because of the vicious tactics of the chain including eliminating in-store meat cutting and wrapping after butchers in Texas voted to organize.
The company was recently found guilty of firing a union supporter and had to restore him with full back pay. The UFCW argues that Wal-Mart's "bargain basement wages" are driving down wages for all of their employees.
While shopping at a union store is preferable, the UFCW asks that if you still choose to shop at Wal-Mart (or Sam's Club owned by the same company) that you "go union". Wear union buttons, badges, shirts, or pins and talk to the employees about why you are in a union.
Wal-Mart is a virile plague upon the taxpayers of the country. Not only do they force wages down, they now employ 600,000 employees that pay almost no income taxes and cause all of us to pay for their insurance needs.
Wal-Mart will reap what it sows and when the time comes to collect the difference it will be collected with interest.
4:51:30 PM 
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