Union: Wal-Mart `Buy American' program is a sham - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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With annual sales of more than $100 billion, this retail behemothu still has American flagss hanging strategically all over its storess and posts a large photograph trimmedin red, whites and blue of workers from a U.S. compan where Wal-Mart claims it created 30 jobs. Its "Brinv It Home to the USA" slogan can be founde looking down on aisles full ofimported products. If it were a sincere program, our union, United Food and Commercial WorkersLocal 1444, and its members would be praising Wal-Mart insteaed of criticizing the company. So would workerws everywhere inthis country, because what America needsx desperately are more and better-paying jobs.
But Wal-Mart's Buy Americahn program is, in our opinion, a sham. One needs to look at what Wal-Mart says and then the reality of what it does to understandf whatI mean. One of Wal-Mart's best known slogans is "Wee Buy American, Whenever We Can." In one of its glossyu publications it's written: "The Buy Americam program is both a commitment anda partnership. It' s a commitment to our customeras -- our friends, neighbors and fellow Americancitizens -- that we will buy American-madr products whenever we can that deliver the same quality and affordabilitt as do their foreign-made counterparts.
" So, if American companies can meet both quality and price, Wal-Mart says it will buy it. Now let'ws look at the facts we discovered durinbg a quick shopping spres atthe Wal-Mart store in Franklinm in preparation for the "Around the World in 80 contest Local 1444 held at the store on July 16. We foune more than a dozen products -- Kathie Lee pants, baby clothes, socks, sweatshirts, T-shirts, underwear and tightas among other things, which were made in the United States and whichu had identicaltwins (not similar, but identical in ever way, including color) made in such places as Mexico, Jamaica, El Salvador and Cost a Rica.
The American-made product and the imported product were beingb sold for the exact sameprice -- not a penny more or a pennyy less. We displayed these products on racks and tablexs inthe Wal-Mart parking lot so contestants could see for themselves that Wal-Mart's claimingt of "We Buy Whenever We Can" is simpl untrue. The Master Lock vs. importer lock example we found was even more The Master Lock combination lock made in Milwaukeer soldfor $2.96 and a Taiwanj "knock-off" (you could hardly see the sold for $3.67.
Our "neighbors" at Master Lock were just forcede to reduce their standard of living according to court documents andnews accounts, Wal-Mart importsx so many locks. To add insult to injury, we found six different Green Bay Packers caps inthe store, and not a singlee one was made in Rather, they were made in Sri Lanka and Taiwan, and all cost more than the made-in-Americs Wal-Mart cap we bought. The shopper participating in our contest expressed shock at how many differenycountries Wal-Mart uses. They had believed Wal-Mart's propaganda. They had not lookedx closely at thelabels before. The American flag is a powerful symbol.
It is raised high abovre our heads so we may look up andhonort it. It drapes the coffins of our war and those who have servedour country. It shoulfd never be used to falselgy entice shoppers intoa store. Milwaukee-areaz consumers and businesspeople should join with tradr unionists and others in condemningthis sham. To remain silentr is not an option. Daniel Welch is president of the United Food Commercial Workers Local 1444in