Monday's One Liners: Walmart Woos Al Sharpton...

Alec Baldwin stars in a new Wegman's commercial. More on his love for Wegman's @ Buffalo News.

UFCW Campaign Goes Global: The United Nation's International Labour Organization (ILO) found that Canada and Ontario, through Ontario's ban on farm unions, are in violation of basic human rights' provisions under two United Nations' conventions.

The Albany Times Union covers UFCW's organizing drive at a Capital Region Price Chopper, formerly Penn Traffic.

A new Shop-Rite is rumored to be opening in the Capital Region (Albany).

This weekend, ALDI, who is looking to grow their North East presence, opened their first store in Pittsburgh.

UFCW Local 21(Seattle) has reached a tentative agreement with Allied Employers, just in time for Thanksgiving week.  More @ SN.

Walmart's new Ads highlight their
"generous" donations to nonprofits in NYC

Walmart is putting tremendous effort into opening stores in NYC, last month, they hired a former Bloomberg aide, and now Crain's NY reports: Walmart solicits black leaders for help in NYC. Unsurprisingly, they're also advertising on the same page the article is posted on with this ad [right] citing their donations to nonprofits in NYC.

Looking to strengthen its hand in any battle against unions and elected officials over its planned entry into the New York City market, Walmart has launched an effort to win over local black leaders.

The Walmart Guru, or Czar, Al Norman, wrote an excellent response citing all of Walmart's PR moves to get "inner-city support" throughout the country: Walmart's Wooing of Al Sharpton.

They have done this in Chicago, where the retailer enlisted black Aldermen to embrace their cause, and in New Orleans, where developers actually paid black religious leaders to testify at public hearings about the virtues of chain stores. Now they are mining the black community in New York City.

Wal-Mart apparently feels that opinion leaders in the minority community can be purchased at an everyday low price, and that black stakeholders can become Wal-Mart sign-holders. But community leaders of any color who believe that Wal-Mart creates new jobs, don’t understand what the economic libertarians call creative destructionism–the process of destroying existing jobs in order to create ‘new’ ones. The former employees at Circuit City, for example, understand this dynamic.

No amount of good works or philanthropy can clean the hands of the “filthy rich,” or cover over the global exploitation of human resources that lies at the heart of Wal-Mart’s success

Is Mayor Bloomberg supporting a Walmart?


Walmart is losing shoppers, not trips.

Newsweek covers the eating by class in America: What Food Says About Class in America.

The 86-Page report by the NYC Council which analyzes all aspects of New York's Food Industry, entitled "Food Works" was released today.

SN covers the lead and reusable bags problems.  At least two retailers pulled bags for the time being, one of them was King Kullen.