November, 2005

Come see Robert Greenwald's latest documentary
and decide for yourself!

Wal-Mart would have us believe that it only gives us what we want:
everyday low prices. Left unsaid is that we pay for these "bargains"
many times over in social & environmental losses. The reality is that
Wal-Mart uses its market power to impoverish workers,
take over communities, and create dependency on its "low prices".

For more information, please check these websites:

www.uujec.net
www.walmartmovie.com

A Socio-Ethical Commentary by Unitarian Universalists
for a Just Economic Community

By this time, we are all aware of just how hard it is to find consumer products that are not made in China. We know these products sell because of their low prices. Still, we are troubled by the ethics of corporations who would exploit people and the environment to bring us cheap goods.

This year, UUJEC has chosen to focus its action campaign on how Wal-Mart and other big box retailers are restructuring the global economy entirely for their profit. The campaign's goal is to encourage UUs to take specific, powerful actions that prevent big box retailing from profiting from injustice.

It is true that for many people Wal-Mart is the answer to how to make ends meet. But poor people do not necessarily shop at Wal-Mart because they want to, but because they have to. And they have to because they can't afford not to, considering the below poverty level wages they make. Such wages depend, in turn, on the standard set by the nation's largest private employer Wal-Mart.

Moreover, in many communities, Wal-Mart has made sure it is the only place to shop. Using predatory pricing, Wal-Mart forces smaller community-based businesses to close. For poor communities with no other choices of where to buy essentials, Wal-Mart is the modern-day equivalent of the slave plantation store.

But Wal-Mart is also a creature of the prevailing economic order. Seeking justice, we must also consider actions to address income inequality, rampant consumerism, and growth for growth's sake.
As people of conscience, we must speak out against Wal-Mart using slave labor to subsidize our consumption in order to guarantee their profits.

A just economy indeed serves the common good. This is why we must reject Wal-Mart's self-serving creed as a model for economic development. The choice is to take a stand for economic justice or live under the rule of a planet Wal-Mart.

The text above is a partial quote from this website:
www.uujec.net