February 2019

WALMART, TARGET, LOWES & OTHER RETAILERS ARE TESTING THIS SUMMER A FEDEX 200 LB. ‘SAME DAY’ ROBOT FOR ‘LAST MILE’ HOME DELIVERY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/02/27/fedex-sameday-bot-may-make-deliveries-walmart-pizza-hut-and-target/2992119002/ Read more

CITY OKs AMAZON MINI-WAREHOUSE (87 K sf) AT FORMER AIR FORCE STATION IN KETTERING, OHIO. City pretends the warehouse will benefit the community, and is

JUDGE: FORMER UNITED HEALTH/OPTUM WORKER CAN STAY WITH AMAZON-LED HEALTH PLAN. Optum said David Smith stole trade secrets & violated his non-compete clause. But judge

REPUBLICAN OFFICIAL SALIVATES OVER 1 M sf AMZN WAREHOUSE IN SCHODACK, NY. & defends 10 year tax cuts. “If you don’t incentivize employers, they’re not

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FRENCH KING HIGHWAY The new Episode of LOCAL BIAS produced by Drew Hutchison features Al Norman on the history &

AMAZON DOWNPLAYS MONOPOLY POWER. “More than 1/2 the items sold in our stores come from small/medium businesses.” It has a 47% share of online sales,

WALMART GETS BLOWBACK FOR LAYING OFF GREETER WITH CEREBRAL PALSY. A N.C. WMT is getting rid of the greeter after 17 years on the job,

WARREN BUFFETT ON ELEPHANTS: the tug-of-war between big retail chains and some consumer brands: ‘When you have Amazon and Walmart fighting, it’s certainly like elephants

WALMART’S “BABY SAVINGS DAY” LEFT CUSTOMERS CRANKY! All shoppers at one store got was a WMT reusable bag, a packet of wipes & baby item

ADMINISTRATOR IN NY TRASHES AOC, says she “should hang her head in shame” because of AMZN HQ2 collapse in Queens. Scoffs at neighbors fighting AMZN

NYC DEVELOPMENT OFFICIAL BLAMES AMZN FOR HQ2 COLLAPSE: “They didn’t perform particularly well at their public hearings…They never really connected with people.” (And their subsidy

CONSERVATIVE GROUP BUYS BILLBOARDS IN NYC BLAMING AMZN HQ2 COLLAPSE ON AOC: but it was AMZN’s decision alone to pull out, not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Corporate

NY OFFICIAL AFTER LOSS OF AMZN HQ2: “We need to assert our commitment to business & recognize the critical role the private sector plays in

eMARKETER SAYS AMZN IS “SLOWING DOWN,” but it’s online sales will more than double to $517B by 2020! That’s half a trillion $ that competitors

ANALYST SAYS WALMART IS “DOING AN AMAZING JOB OF EVOLVING THEIR BUSINESS.” Not so amazing job of providing their workers with a living wage &

DID YOUR TAXES DROP BY 33%? HOME DEPOT’S DID, thanks to Trump’s corporate tax cuts. HD’s effective tax rate has been 35% the past few

WALMART CEO COMPLAINS ABOUT INDIA: “WE WERE DISAPPOINTED in the recent change in law & the lack of consultation…We hope for a collaborative regulatory process…which

AMAZON STILL CRUSHES WAL-MART ONLINE. WMT brags that e-commerce sales rose 43% in Q4–but off a very small baseline compared to AMZN. This chart shows

‪INSTEAD OF UPGRADING ITS WAGES, Walmart “returned $13.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.”‬ ‪“The way management treats their associates,” said Sam Walton,

WALMART HAS 37,000 “PICKERS” WHO PREPARE YOUR GROCERY ORDER & HAND IT OFF TO DRIVERS PAID LESS THAN MIN. WAGE. “You can …have too many

WALMART BOASTS THAT ITS Q4 SAME STORE SALES WERE “THE STRONGEST GROWTH IN 9 YEARS,” and its 40% e-commerce growth is benefitting from grocery pick

70 ACTIVISTS GATHERED ON THE TOWN COMMON IN GREENFIELD, MA YESTERDAY FOR A “FAKE PRESIDENT’S DAY” RALLY. One sign read: “The only national emergency in

WALMART BODY COUNT: A 45 year old man was shot and killed Feb. 17th. by an off-duty ICE Agent using his “personally owned firearm” in

AMZN DEAD IN QUEENS, but neighbors in tiny Schodack, NY (pop. 5,500)are still appealing in court to block 113 vacant acres from becoming a 1

WALMART RELEASES ITS EARNINGS REPORT TUESDAY AM. Forbes, Barron’s et al. are putting out expected numbers and wondering if the stock will yo-yo up or

AMAZON SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING: Has corporate welfare finally reached a tipping point? Amazon played HQ2 “like a PR stunt.” Big Tech is now

TARGET MAKES MOMENTOUS DECISION: Employees can now wear khaki’s or blue jeans to work! The pay still sucks-but you can relax in your denims while

YOU PAY MORE FEDERAL TAX THAN AMAZON. The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy says Trumps 2018 tax bill “appears to have made the company’s

100 WOMEN SUE WALMART FOR SEX DISCRIMINATIO: The lawsuit, filed Feb. 1, states that WMT is guilty of abuse & discrimination, withholding raises and promotions

WALMART GETS GRILLED: In 2018, a federal appeals court overturned a $32.5 M verdict against Walmart Inc for infringing “The Backyard” trademark of discounter Variety

DELIVERING GROCERIES FOR WALMART “NOT SO LUCRATIVE.” WMT makes good money on the fees, but the drivers often make less than $7.25/hr. Amazon pays drivers

Greenfield, MA City Councilor Ashli Stempel steals the show at the zoning discussion, suggesting a “bigger vision” for our future than gas stations and fast

YOU HAVE TO BE TOUGH TO MAKE IT IN NEW YORK CITY.” That’s what New York City Mayor DeBlasio said when he learned that Amazon

2 YEARS AGO THE GREENFIELD, MA TOWN COUNCIL TABLED A MOTION TO DESTROY AN ENVIRONMENTAL OVERLAY ZONE. The “new” version being shown tonight, agreed to

WALMART IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR?Walmart has shut the door on a field test begun in 2017 which asked consumers to give WMT “keyless entry” to their

TOWNS THAT WALMART KILLED TWICE: PBS aired the story of a small town that is struggling after WMT closed down—and how they are now pinning

DELIV SAYS WALMART CAN’T DELIVER. Same-day grocery delivery partnership has ended. Deliv drivers, who are local freelancers, said they often waited 40+ mins. for grocery

“AMAZNO”— THE GRAFFITI READS NEAR THE SITE OF AMAZON’S HQ2 SITE in Queens. Many State Democrats & unions hate the enormous tax breaks, which Mayor

SEARS & KMART WORKERS, along with former Toys “R” Us and Walmart workers demonstrated last week in NYC to call for accountability from Wall Street

AMAZON & WALMART BATTLE FOR AD REVENUES ONLINE. WMT hired execs from NBC Universal & CBS to increase its advertising revenue. Amazon may sell ads

VIGILANTE JUSTICE? RETIRED COP SHOOTS ALLEGED SHOPLIFTER IN THE NECK AT HOME DEPOT IN CA. “The shooting did not appear to be justified.” Police arrested

FED JUDGE IN AZ. RULES WALMART VIOLATED THE RIGHTS OF AN EMPLOYEE WHEN IT FIRED HER FOR LEGAL USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA, and proved no

FOOD GLUT: KOHL’S, WHICH BEGAN AS A GROCERY STORE 92 YEARS AGO, HAS INVITED GERMAN RETAILER ALDI TO MOVE NEXT DOOR to bring in more

WALMART CAN’T BACK OUT OF INDIA. With $16 B sunk into FlipKart, WMT says its ties to India are “deep and long-term.” But Indian business

VIRGINIA & TENNESSEE THROW TAX DOLLARS AT AMAZON, BUT BEZOS MIGHT PULL OUT OF NY. “Amazon has extorted NY from the start…If their view is,

PEOPLE MAG. SAYS WALMART HAS AN “INSANELY GORGEOUS” LINE OF FURNITUR, “the trendiest pieces at a totally affordable price,” like this $350 chair—which costs a

NO APPETITE FOR FAST FOODS IN SCHOOL: On McDonald’s Nights, the fast food corp. gets teachers to work for free, serving its junk food to

FACEBOOK EMPLOYEE BONUSES WILL NO LONGER BE BASED ON USER GROWTH & COMPANY REVENUE (LIKE WALMART)but on new company goals like: progress on social issues,

Read more on Facebook