Via WUWM blog we find that some Democratic members of Congress allied with WUWM are calling for a mothers' day Wal-Mart boycott:
Rep. George Miller of California, a fervent Wal-Mart critic, said, "None of us here wants to see Wal-Mart fail as a company. On the contrary, what we want to see is Wal-Mart succeed responsibly � with employees who are fairly compensated, without accelerating the flow of U.S. jobs overseas, and with a respect for the law and workers."If Mr. Miller succeeds in directing corporate policy the way he wants, then he will see WM fail. And Ms. Sapp is just making things up about Wal-Mart.Added beauty-queen Sapp, "They have intelligent, passionate women who want to succeed ... but what they�re saying is [that the women] are not good enough, smart enough or worthy to demand that wage."
It's interesting to see how the press conference is spun by local media. For instance, in New Haven, CT, the main driver is claimed to be the local representative, Rosa Delauro:
New Haven Rep. Rosa DeLauro is targeting retail giant Wal-Mart.If the suit is in the courts, and should be decided by the merits of the case, not public opinion, then why exactly does she need to get support?DeLauro is asking people to avoid shopping at Wal-Mart for Mother's Day gifts this year. It's part of her effort to get support for a federal lawsuit that accuses the nation's largest retailer of discriminating against women.
Some more pertinent information:
Strangely enough, I couldn't find any information on the websites of the female representatives, but I could right away on George Miller's website. Is this evidence of discrimination against female members of the house :-) ? George Miller's press release, from which all the news articles are taken almost in whole, is worth a read, even if to notice that Mr. Miller completely ignores the not-insignificant steps Wal-Mart has taken to ensure "fairer" pay.
Other members of Congress joining the campaign were Linda Sanchez and Hilda Solis of California and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson and former Miss America Carolyn Sapp also backed the effort."For the most part boycotts rarely are very effective," said Chris McCormick, a portfolio manager at Seizert Capital in Birmingham, Mich., which manages more than $700 million, including Wal-Mart shares. "I'm not sure campaigns against them (Wal-Mart stores) have had any material effect in slowing their growth."
Posted by Kevin on April, 27 2005 at 12:39 PM
