The 1992 Miss America, Carolyn Sapp, joined City Council
members and union officials on the steps of City Hall last week
to denounce Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer. Ms. Sapp is
spokeswoman for the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit by
former workers, which accuses the company of passing over some
women for promotions in favor of men with fewer qualifications.
Wal-Mart is currently looking at two Staten Island sites for its
first New York City store, and the bash-Wal-Mart battle is
heating up here, although none of the Staten Island members of
the City Council attended the protest rally.
Until last Saturday, I had never been to a Wal-Mart, and the
comments I had heard from those who had been to the stores in New
Jersey were quite disturbing. I'd never realized how bigoted
those acquaintances of mine were until I heard them saying things
like "It's a ghetto store full of ghetto people" or
"It's for the project people because it's cheap, but we
don't need any more stores like that on Staten Island."
My daughter drove me to the Wal-Mart in Linden, N.J., where she
can buy a large box of diapers for $20. I pointed out that with
tolls and gas, her $10 savings on diapers is what you might call
watered down, but she countered that she also buys cheaper gas in
Jersey and saves on many other items. "Just wait and you'll
see for yourself," she said.
Well, she was right. Just about everything I shopped for was less
expensive than it is in New York. The store was huge, twice the
size of the Kmart on Hylan Boulevard, and packed with shoppers.
If this Wal-Mart was a "ghetto" store, then every town
should be so lucky to have one.
After checking out my loaded cart full of goodies, I waited near
the exit for my daughter to finish her shopping. Most of the
store's cashiers and employees are black. A black woman about my
age was checking the receipts of the customers exiting.
"Do you like working at Wal-Mart?" I asked her.
"It's a job," she answered, and she shrugged. I then
told her that some New Yorkers weren't happy about the
possibility of a Wal-Mart store opening there.
"Ha! They have no idea what they're talking about. They've
never been down South, where I come from, and seen a Super
Wal-Mart. You can fit three of this store in one Super
Wal-Mart," she said. "You can buy everything at a Super
Wal-Mart."
The woman, who is originally from Alabama, became more animated
in defense of her employer.
"Wal-Mart doesn't discriminate against age, and as long as
any young kid can pass the drug test, he can get a job
here," she said. "Wal-Mart gives jobs to people like me
and sells things cheap. The vendors don't like it because
Wal-Mart cuts into their profits, but the cheap prices are good
for poor families."
Exactly! What is so wrong with a company that provides jobs for
those without major job skills or those past their prime, while
also providing savings for struggling families? Those shoppers at
Wal-Mart paid for their purchases with credit cards or cash and
drove away in cars ranging from junk mobiles to luxury models.
From all appearances, they were hard workers spending their
hard-earned cash, yet to some biased New Yorkers, because they
are members of minority groups, they're classified as
"ghetto."
At the City Hall rally, a giant Mother's Day card was displayed
with the message "Wal-Mart should stop discriminating
against women." The council speaker, Gifford Miller,
Democrat of Manhattan, was among the signers of the card, which
was to be sent to Wal-Mart's CEO, Lee Scott.
Balderdash! Of Wal-Mart's job force, 60% are women. At the Linden
store, that percentage seemed much higher. What women are we
talking about, Mr. Miller? Do you know how easy it is for a
former worker to join a class-action suit? Is Ms. Sapp a paid
spokeswoman, and if so, who's paying her?
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman, Mia Masten, said employees, "receive
competitive wages and benefits and are treated with
respect."
"There are many women in positions of power throughout the
company," Ms. Masten said. Local 342 of the United Food and
Commercial Workers union is eager to spend $21,000 for a
billboard that would read: "The Wal-Mart monster will
destroy Staten Island businesses and devastate our quality of
life."
What the former Miss America, some City Council members, and
union leaders are really telling us is "We want you to
continue to pay higher prices so that we can keep the local Mom
and Pop stores open and our union members happy."
And perhaps keep the "ghetto people" in the ghetto?