Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Critics of Chi-Com Wal-Mart Launch Ad Campaign

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An organization opposed to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. took out a full-page newspaper advertisement on Wednesday that accuses the world's biggest retailer of costing U.S. taxpayers some $1.6 billion a year.The advertisement in The New York Times says Wal-Mart's low pay and benefits forced tens of thousands of employees to seek government aid in the form of Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance.

The group, which calls itself the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics and lists union leaders, environmentalists and academics among its directors, aims to "fight Wal-Mart on the streets, in the media, and in the customer's mind," according to its Web site.The organization asked people to sign up at www.walmartwatch.com -- which it called a "war room" -- to help fight Wal-Mart and said it would mail sample legislation to elected officials showing them "how they can pass laws to put the brakes on Wal-Mart."

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