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SCSU group to protest Wal-Mart and its practices
By Holly Santiago/Contributing Writer
A group of SCSU students and community members will protest Saturday against what it claims to be a negative effect Wal-Mart has on smaller communities.
The group, named People Uniting for Peace (PUP), will hold the protest on 33rd Avenue and Second Street South between 2 and 5 p.m.
Wal-Mart is one of the nation's most successful businesses and largest employers. It claims to operate with respect and loyalty to its customers, surrounding communities and those working within the company.
The group, however, believes these claims to be false or misleading. The group plans to inform local consumers about the alleged effects of Wal-Mart's business practices.
PUP members are planning to carry signs and distribute informational flyers to the Saturday traffic near Wal-Mart shopping center.
According to Mike Christensen, SCSU senior and PUP member, the group opposes the effects of Wal-Mart on smaller communities and its anti-labor policies.
Engaging in unfair global and local trade, utilizing sweatshops, breaking up small business competition and keeping wages low are some of the practices that Christensen and other PUP members identify as the most problematic policies of the nation's largest corporation.
"Wal-Mart puts everything you need to buy into one store," Christensen said. "Then people don't need to go store to store like they would if they were shopping downtown. Wal-Mart sucks the money from the smaller stores and takes it out of the community."
Another member of PUP, Nina Fredrickson, hopes to bring attention to poor working conditions and low wages.
"What a lot of people don't know is that half of the people employed at Wal-Mart can apply for financial assistance or welfare," Fredrickson said.
Wal-Mart management declined to provide information beyond the official policies stated on the company's Web site at www.walmartstores.com.
The policies deny sweatshop allegations and anti-union policies. Wal-Mart also claims to provide benefits, health care and share holding to its employees, who totaled more than one million in 2000.
According to Wal-Mart's Web site, store policies reflect a commitment to the values of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, and to communities that stores operate in.
PUP organizers believe that citizen concern, awareness and opposition will lead to change within Wal-Mart and its procedures.
According to Christensen, a number of Wal-Mart stores around the country have closed because of demonstrations similar to that planned for March.
For more information on PUP, contact [email protected].
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