Wal-mart reaches out to employees in upcoming elections

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday September 19, 2006

The nation's largest retailer and biggest employer, Wal-Mart, will begin a program next week that will provide voter registration and educational materials to the company's 1.3 million employees, the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill is reporting. The Arkansas-based company has come under fire from labor union and Democratic leaders over issues such as hourly wages, legal status of employees, and benefits given to the company's workers.

Democratic politicians including Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have criticized Wal-Mart and its personnel policies. Wal-Mart representatives insist that the campaign is non-partisan.

Excerpts from The Hill article follow:

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Wal-Mart’s voter registration and education programs could be among the biggest in the country, though not as big as those of its labor union opponents. The AFL-CIO, for example, has nearly 13 million members.

The company’s decision appears to be a response to several high-profile Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and four 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls, who participated in a labor-organized anti-Wal-Mart campaign this summer.

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Wal-Mart had been scheduled to announce the program today but because of last-minute reviews by its lawyers it delayed the launch until next week. The Hill learned of Wal-Mart’s plans from a public relations official who circulated news of them before the company gave its go-ahead.

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Wal-Mart for years had tried to stay out of politics. “They shunned politics for so long,” said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch, a labor-backed organization. “For the better part of two years they were claiming the debate [over its business practices] wasn’t political and shouldn’t be politicized. This is an enormous change from what they were saying.”