June 1st 2006, 7:00 pm
Medford City Council Hearing RE: Wal-Mart Supercenter in Medford, Oregon
Location: Medford City Council Chambers, 411 W. Eighth Street

WAL-MART will add 8,755 additional vehicle trips per day...
Why Not Require a Traffic Study?

City of Beaverton's Design Review Board had one of two public hearings for the proposed Walmart development near the intersection of Barnes Road and Cedar Hills Boulevard. The proposal also includes approximately 5000 square feet of office and 10,000 square feet of additional retail. For the first night, the seven member board listened to testimony from City staff, the applicant, and three citizen groups representing residents of the nearby store.

The Design Review Board gave the applicant 20 minutes to provide a presentation of their proposal. Most of the presentation focused on the architecture of the site. The Design Review Board had concerns regarding the façade of the north side of the building, garbage truck access, and the pedestrian plaza design. The attorney for the applicant mentioned he has received 453 letters of support in which 69 of the letters are residents from Beaverton.

Triple Creek Neighborhood Association, CPO1, and Save Cedar Mill each were allocated to 10 minutes of testimony. All three groups oppose the proposed development. Each group claimed the proposed development will be pedestrian unfriendly due to wide streets crossing signalized intersections. They expressed their feelings that a zoning called 'transit-orient retail commercial' should have developments that rely on public transportation instead of personal vehicles. The groups also expressed concerns regarding cut through traffic on neighborhood streets.

Tomorrow's hearing will have only public testimony. Each member of the public gets 3-minutes to speak. An opportunity to speak will be based on random drawing not 'first come, first serve.' The hearing will start at 6:30pm at Beaverton's City Hall and will last till 10:30pm.

The City of Beaverton public hearings on Wal-Mart will be held May 2-3, and Save Cedar Mill will host a rally outside on the first night, [Tuesday] May 2 at 6pm. This historic event includes great speakers and live music and will be held at Griffith Park (across from the Beaverton City Hall [4755 SW Griffith Drive, Beaverton]). Your help is needed to show overwhelming opposition to the project! ... Because the City Council Chambers has limited capacity, Save Cedar Mill will host a rally to help show our strength and support for those testifying on the first night, May 2 at 6pm...

For more than a year, we've prepared ourselves for this moment. If you've been wondering how to participate, this is the time to jump in! A huge crowd at Griffith Park will show the City of Beaverton, in a clear and concise voice, how important this issue is to our community... It will be an event to remember--and announce to Beaverton in a loud, unambiguous voice, that we do not want a Wal-Mart in Cedar Mill, Beaverton or beyond! http://www.savecedarmill.com

Please join us
Medford Citizens for Responsible Development
bring a friend or neighbor, and
MEET OTHER CONCERNED CITIZENS

Where we are to date: On Tuesday February 21, 2006, Medford's Site Plan and Architectural Committee approved the revised building design presented by Wal-Mart's representatives. SPAC will hold a hearing concerning TRAFFIC at 12:00 noon Friday, March 3, 2006, at Medford City Council Chambers. We are fighting for our right to testify at that meeting.

If we don't act now we will have to live with the consequences of this development. WE NEED YOUR INPUT AND SUPPORT!

For nearly a year, the group Save Cedar Mill has been fighting against a proposed Wal-Mart in our community. We have held rallies, held signs to raise awareness, raised thousands of dollars to finance independant surveys of traffic and community impact, written hundreds of letters, and now, we hope to pack full the Beaverton Council Chambers to show popular opposition to the proposed store. Here is an email sent around by the group leader, Steve Kaufman. [ read more ]

[ Dont let a 14 acre community farm in South Central LA turn into a Wal-Mart warehouse! | no new sprawlmarts | www.savecedarmill.com ]

On March 3rd, Wal-Mart announced that it will stock emergency contraception (EC) in all of its pharmacies, starting on March 20th. This is seen as a concession to pressure from national women's rights organizations and their supporters. Before a Massachusetts lawsuit against the national chain reached court, a state agency ruled that Wal-Mart was required by law to stock and sell emergency contraception. The company is also required to sell the product in Illinois, and pressure to introduce similar mandates is building in Connecticut and New York.

Read More On Indybay's US and Women Pages

More than 100 people packed the basement lounge of the Kay Spiritual Center at American University, on January 31 night, to hear first-hand from workers who produce clothing for Wal-Mart.

At the new Urbana Wal-Mart, pickets sponsored by the local Jobs With Justice Organizing Committee. Low wages and other poor working conditions were the focus. Wal-Mart management called the police, who spoke politely with pickets and left them to their task.

Recently Todd Wolfson and Martin Lautz of Philly IMC interviewed Wendell Young, IV, president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local 1776, one of the unions leading the charge against Wal-Mart expansion. In this interview Wendell Young details both the serious dangers Wal-Mart poses to the economic and social health of a community, as well as the type of work and political strategy UFCW employs to challenge Wal-mart in the region.

Video of interview

On Saturday, November 19th at 12 Noon, there will be a protest outside the Oakland Wal-Mart at 8400 Edgewater Drive, Oakland (near the Oakland Airport). Organizers plan to educate Wal-Mart shoppers and fight for health care, fair labor practices, and local and independent businesses-- all of which are endangered by Wal-Mart's expansion. Read more

November 13th through 19th is "Higher Expectations Week," with events planned in over 1200 locations to hold Wal-Mart accountable for its negative impacts on communities. A major complaint that many people have is that Wal-Mart's growth has been thus far nearly unchecked. A leaked internal document recently detailed the company's plans to open or expand 484 stores next year alone. The document lists 100 more expansion sites than Wal-Mart had previously disclosed. Another recently-leaked memo reveals the disregard with which Wal-Mart's executives view their more than 1.3 million employees in the U.S. It confirms facts that Wal-Mart has long denied, including that 46% of the children of Wal-Mart's U.S. employees are uninsured or on Medicaid. This memo lays out plans to remedy Wal-Mart's healthcare crisis, the memo lays out plans to cut spousal benefits, hire more part-time employees and encourage faster turnover, and discourage older and unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart by requiring more jobs to require physically challenging tasks. Read more

Read More On Indybay's Globalization Page

Come out on Saturday, November 19th for a party to celebrate independent media and the Wal-Mart Week of Action. Doors open at 9pm at the Ruba Club, 414 Green Street (one block north of spring garden).

Yesterday, Andy Stern, along with over 300 labor activists and youth and community leaders in Philly marched on Wal-Mart, presenting a list of demands to the general manager of the store on Columbus Ave. The demands were that: 1) a just healthcare package be provided for all workers, 2) Wal-Mart workers be given a living wage, and 3) that Wal-Mart pledge not take illegal actions to prevent workers from exercising their collective bargaining rights. When the demands were presented, union leaders told the store manager to “send our demands back to Arkansas!” The march was organized by Philly JobsWithJustice and included union members from SEIU, The Teamsters, UFCW, UNITE-HERE, AFSCME, AFT, TWU and IWW. Pictures here

See also: Protestors hit Wal-mart in Alexandria, mp3

This has been a busy weekend for opponents of IMF/World Bank style economics. Sunday in Alexandria, protesters asked people not to return to Wal Mart due to their anti-union policies, GMO foods, and abuse of immigrant workers.

I speak my mind; I used to not. A typical day, you work yourself to death, get tired, go home tired, come back tired... I’ve been here five years. They’re not even meeting the cost of living. Five years. I’m not even making nine dollars an hour yet. I have no heat in my house right now. My gas was shut off. Don’t have a telephone. Couldn’t keep that up. I had a car when I first started. I don’t have a car no more. Life ain’t great.
--Donna X, an employee at Wal-Mart's South Philadelphia outlet.

November 13th through 19th is "Higher Expectations Week," with events planned in over 1200 locations to hold Wal-Mart accountable for its negative impacts on communities. A major complaint that many people have is that Wal-Mart's growth has been thus far nearly unchecked. This past weekend, in hundreds of churches, mosques and synagogues across the country, congregations heard messages of economic justice, respect for community and fair labor practices. Robert Greenwald's new documentary "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price" has been shown in thousands of homes and public places all over the US. Search for more screenings

A leaked internal document recently detailed the company's plans to open or expand 484 stores next year alone. The document lists 100 more expansion sites than Wal-Mart had previously disclosed. Another recently-leaked memo reveals the disregard with which Wal-Mart's executives view their more than 1.3 million employees in the U.S. It confirms facts that Wal-Mart has long denied, including that 46% of the children of Wal-Mart's U.S. employees are uninsured or on Medicaid. This memo lays out plans to remedy Wal-Mart's healthcare crisis, the memo lays out plans to cut spousal benefits, hire more part-time employees and encourage faster turnover, and discourage older and unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart by requiring more jobs to require physically challenging tasks. Read more

Some are calling for Buy Nothing Day protests to target Wal-Mart on the day after Thanksgiving.

WalMartWatch's Full list of events | WalMartWatch's report from the beginning of Higher Expectations Week | WSWS Report: US Labor Department and Wal-Mart’s secret agreement on child labor | Sprawl Busters

Check out Philly IMC, Binghamton IMC and Indybay for more info

PhillyIMC's Ron Kaufman interviews Shivaani Selvaraj about the Wal-Mart Week of Action and local communities that are affected by Wal-Mart's business practices.

What do EZ Pass and Hewlett Packard printers at Wal-Mart have in common? A major violation of consumer privacy through wireless tracking devices.

With a tip of the hat to Professor Bainbridge, the Boston Globe has just published an interesting op-ed on the battle lines in the Wal-Mart matter, called "All the Rage: Wal-Mart as the Great Divider," by John Dicker.... [Read More]

At least ten screenings of WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price will be held in Philly during the Wal-Mart Week of Action from Nov 13 – 19 as part of the largest grassroots mobilization in film distribution history. PhillyIMC will team up with Jobs With Justice on Sunday, November 13th at 6pm to host a screening at the Gershman Y. The screening will be accompanied by speakers from the Mayor's office, labor unions, and the SBN's Buy Local Campaign as well as media and interviews from local Wal-Mart's collected by the PhillyIMC. The PhillyIMC has also created a resource guide with more info on Wal-Mart and its practices.

Attention Please... Wal-Mart is coming. Their sights are set on Portland, and they want you to save money soon! Location scouts are considering sites in SE Portland, Beaverton, and Gresham, and your neighborhood may be the next place to save.

When Wal-Mart opens, they will contribute many things to our community. They will create jobs, pay taxes, provide affordable products to Portland, and maybe even build a traffic-light or sidewalk.

Wall Mart employs an army of handsome consultants and lobbyists to repeat these high points at every possible opportunity. Nobody can argue with the benefits of Wal-Mart, they really do all the things they say. Their colors are also red, white, and blue.

However, if you look just a little bit deeper?say, the last two paragraphs of most major media stories about Wal-Mart?the value of their community contribution vanishes. [ read more >> ]

[ no new sprawlmarts ]

Wake Up Wal Mart DOT COM, a grassroots coalition of labor and community activists, kicked off their "Take Wal-Mart Back to School Campaign" with a series of press conferences Wednesday, highlighting the retail giant's abuses. Workers Independent News correspondent Vinny Lombardo reports from Philadelphia.