NEWS > BUSINESS > SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS COMPLAIN; WAL-MART NOT DOING ENOUGH TO RUIN OUR LIVELIHOOD

SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS COMPLAIN; WAL-MART NOT DOING ENOUGH TO RUIN OUR LIVELIHOOD

Feb 4 2008

Bentonville, AR – The burden of being at the top has never been an easy one to bear. Criticism comes from every corner both fair and unfair. Wal-Mart, being at the top for a very long time, has been the focus of such attacks for nearly that entire time.

From criticisms of policies towards employees, to dealings with foreign governments, virtually every issue that can be brought against the world’s largest retailer has been. Increasingly though, many of those attacks are being levelled by the small business community.

Wal-Mart, as has been well documented through the years, began as one of those very small businesses nearly fifty years ago. The focus and drive that helped Sam Walton go from one small Arkansas store to building one of the largest companies in the world seems to have evaporated in the face of Wal-Mart’s sheer size. It’s become a common refrain; Wal-Mart moves into a small town and drives all the small businesses into bankruptcy.  

A growing group of independent retailers has begun to see things differently of late and they are here at the home of the world’s largest retailer eager to show the powers that be how differently they see things.  

The USBLW, The Union of Small Businesses for a Larger Wal-Mart, is a grass roots organization that has rapidly spread across the country over the last year. It’s goal? To expand the scope of Wal-Mart’s grasp.

“We’ve seen all these news reports of business going under, but we’re still here,” says spokesperson Willie Howard. “It makes no sense to us. Our businesses are still thriving even with Wal-Mart in our cities. We want equality. We want blue smocks.”

Indeed, the blue smocks have become the symbol du jour at this protest. Signs adorned in blue and the chant “Make it true, make us blue,” resonates throughout the site.

“We want Wal-Mart to put us out of business. We need them to. I can’t keep feeding my children on the money I make from my store. I need to liquidate and get a job as a department manager,” says Joe Werber, a hardware store owner from Wisconsin.

“What we are finding is that while amounts of small business are suffering catastrophic losses, not enough are,” continues Howard. “Our people want pension plans and regular wages. We no longer want to have to deal with payroll and taxes. Wal-Mart takes care of all that. Our people are busting their butts working and no longer feel they should have to, not with a Wal-Mart in the city.”

The company had a very short statement in response to the protests. “We are doing our best to drive everyone we can out of business. We are continuing our expansion, undercutting production costs, and taking up as much land as we possibly can.”

The USBLW hopes the company is willing to stand by its statements, but isn’t willing to rest on the promise. “Until we see real action, we will continue our movement. Wal-Mart hasn’t heard the last from us yet. Not until they drive every single one of our members into bankruptcty.”

William Ashford, Business Correspondent

NEWS > BUSINESS > SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS COMPLAIN; WAL-MART NOT DOING ENOUGH TO RUIN OUR LIVELIHOOD

SHARE THIS STORY! LINK IT! TWEET IT! BOOKMARK IT!

 

 

Custom Search