Editors' Note: This column originally appeared in December 10 edition of the Evening Sun of Hanover, Pennsylvania. After it ran, Wal-Mart complained and the paper canned columnist Jim Murren, who had written for the paper for 10 years. As Murren told CounterPunch, "One column critical of Wal-mart in my 10 years and the editor with no backbone submits to them." Murren's readers weren't informed why his column was terminated. He wrote a follow-up, printed below, which the paper refused to run. Next week CounterPunch will publish Murren's account of the affair. AC/JSC

Earlier this month Wal-Mart Stores unveiled a new policy showing they are all for improving relations between upper management and the workers. That's right, to show their appreciation, workers are now encouraged to air out any problems they may have with the company. The New York Times reported that "Wal-Mart managers at 4,000 stores will meet with 10 rank-and-file workers every week and extend an additional 10 percent discount on a single item during the holidays to all its employees, beyond the normal 10 percent employee discount."

How about that?! If you work at Wal-Mart, you now are permitted to tell the managers what you think. Maybe they should start with, "why do we get only a 10% discount?" Are you kidding me? Next to Exxon-Mobil, Wal-Mart is the biggest profit making company in the world, and their 1.3 million employees only get 10% off that Made in China thingy-ma-bob?

Better yet, how laughable is the "take-an-extra-10%-off-one-item" discount? We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, maybe it'll be two items next year.
But it gets even more unbelievably funny. We're not done!! After you complete twenty years of working for Wal-Mart, under this new policy you now get a polo shirt. That's right, twenty years of missed breaks and working overtime without getting paid and you get a shirt as a token of their thanks, a shirt that likely was made in Nicaragua or Bangladesh and costs Wal-Mart a buck or so to produce. Said Cleo Forward, a 37-year-old support manager at a Wal-Mart in Dallas, in the same New York Times article, "They are going to spend $15 on a Polo for you after 20 years? Give me a break. We would rather they lift the wage caps." No, no, no Mr. Forward. Not $15. That's the 500% mark up on the sweatshop price.

* Wal-Mart net profits in 2004: $11.3 Billion

*GDP Ethiopia (estimated 2005): $8.8 Billion

* Four of the world's top 20 billionaires are Walton family members, each with a net worth of about $15.8 billion.

* In 2001, sales associates, the most common job in Wal-Mart, earned on average $8.23 an hour for annual wages of $13,861. The 2001 poverty line for a family of three was $14,630.

* A 2003 wage analysis reported that cashiers, the second most common job, earn approximately $7.92 per hour and work 29 hours a week. This brings in annual wages of only $11,948.

* The average two-person family (one parent and one child) needed $27,948 to meet basic needs in 2005, well above what Wal-Mart reports that its average full-time associate earns. Wal-Mart claimed that its average associate earned $9.68 an hour in 2005. That would make the average associate's annual wages $17,114.

* Wal-Mart reported in January 2006 that its health insurance only covers 43% of their employees. Wal-Mart has approximately 1.39 million US employees.

* On average for 2005, large companies (200 or more workers) cover approximately 66% of their employees. If Wal-Mart was to reach the average coverage rate, Wal-Mart should be covering an additional 318,000 employees

One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:

$36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.

$42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.

$125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.

$100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.

$108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)

$9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.

The first and third statistics come from www.changetowin.org. The Ethiopia stat is from www.cia.gov. All others are from www.wakeupwalmart.com

How you spend your dollars matters?

Of course, we cannot guarantee that everywhere we spend our dollars is socially responsible. And, many of us are limited within our own economic means as to where we can shop. I understand that. Still, when we can make a choice to spend our dollars wisely, and are in a position to do so, then we should make every effort to do so.

Post Script

Dear Readers-Farewell and THANK YOU
(12/24/06, The Evening Sun, Hanover, PA)

Dear Readers,

What began in a small village in the mountains of Honduras in 1997 is now over.

Over the years we have learned of how our fellow human beings live, how the way we live influences their lives, and how we all share a common humanity. Together, we have explored the meanings of who we are as human beings, not in a finite understanding, but in the acceptance that we are always discovering who we are, and that we can change. Life is ever changing.

Change. Sometimes we are in control of it, and sometimes not. Whatever the case, we know from what we have learned in this column that we can move on from it.

And, we have learned that human beings are resilient. "Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."-Margaret Mead

From Manto, where I lived for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, to California to Africa, and back home a few times, where I have always been welcomed, we have journeyed far and wide. We expressed compassion for the victims of Hurricane Mitch when it devastated Central America. We found simplicity in the little daily routines of village life. We hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon where we committed to love. We walked in the mountains and deserts of the southern Sierra Nevada region. We spoke out against U.S. policy in Iraq before it was politically acceptable to do so. We gave water to the people of Denan, Ethiopia. We listened to refugees tell their stories. We trembled in the slave castles of Ghana. We witnessed the activities of oil companies in the Niger Delta. We stood up for peace. We supported small farmers. We voiced our concern for workers' rights here and around the world.

All of that, and more, we have experienced together. And all of that is now in the past. But we cannot leave it there. It is our responsibility to carry it with us into the future. Let us remember why we are here: Love. We are to love one another.

I thank each and every one of you for bringing me into your homes every Sunday morning and taking the time to read my writings. You did not have to read what I had to say, but you did, and for that, I am most grateful. I am also thankful to those of you that took the time to send me your thoughts, whether in support or in opposition. And, I am thankful for the many of you who have stopped me in public to say a few kind words about what I have written in this space over the years. I can tell you, one thing is for sure, I never could have imagined back in 1997 that this would become what it did. With every drop of sincerity and honesty in my body and soul, thank you, readers, for allowing me to do this.

If I may, I would like to close this final column with a few lines from my favorite song heard on the radio this time of year: "So this is Christmas/And what have you done/Another year over/And a new one just begunA very Merry Christmas/And a Happy New Year/Let's hope it's a good one/Without any fear(War is over/if you want it/War is over now)."-John Lennon

Happy Holidays to all of you. I wish you a joyous New Year, and I offer the above prayer to you and your families for years to come.

Peace be with you,

Jim

James Murren can be reached at: jimcolumn (at) yahoo.com