Sam Fights Proposed Sellwood Wal-Mart
Roland Chlapowski
When Sam learned that a new Wal-Mart store was looking to set up shop near the Sellwood neighborhood and business district, his response was swift, strong and unambiguous: Wal-Mart is wrong for Portland, and especially bad for Sellwood, for a whole host of reasons.
First, as a supporter of small businesses, he already knew that Wal-Marts often have a devastating effect on the existing businesses of the area it moves into. Second, as a supporter of living, family-wages, Sam knew that compared to its competitors Wal-Mart paid poorly, gave even worse benefits, and consistently thwarted workers' rights to unionize.
As Sam and his staff investigated the academic literature and studies on the subject, it became clear that Wal-Mart was a burden on the communities it moved into: it suppressed wages, created or contributed to traffic, crime, and environmental problems, and encouraged its employees to sign up for tax-payer financed social services instead of offering adequate benefits themselves.
Sam always has been and remains opposed to Wal-Mart. Take a look at some of our prior posts on Wal-Mart below, which include studies and some of Sam's actions to preserve the integrity of the Sellwood community.
Read Sam's initial letter to the president of Wal-Mart
And read the studies, the press, and some of Sam's efforts opposing Wal-Mart:
http://www.commissionersam.com/sam_adams/2005/12/new_study_ident.html
http://www.commissionersam.com/sam_adams/2005/11/sam_speaks_at_w.html
http://www.commissionersam.com/sam_adams/2005/06/the_case_agains_1.html
http://www.commissionersam.com/sam_adams/2005/06/tilting_at_wind.html
http://www.commissionersam.com/sam_adams/2005/12/blog_hello_bent.html
Posted by Roland Chlapowski on January 4, 2006
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Filed Under 2005 Year-in-Review, Jobs & Economy
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I am glad to hear this is a campaing Sam is working on and/or supporting.
Personally, I thought Wal-Mart's successes is the result of them using a business model that no body else has. Then I watched the movie "Wal-Mart 'the high costs of a low price'"
Granted there are two sides of every story, but based upon what I have read, it is criminal.
I did not have the time to read the letters that Sam has written concerning this PAC, but all I say is keep up the good work!!!!
Posted by: Coffeetrader | Jan 11, 2006 6:38:21 PM