Al Norman

DAY 7 OF THE STOP & SHOP STRIKE: EMPTY AISLES & EMPTY CASH REGISTERS AT THE GREENFIELD, MA. STORE. The last strike was in 1988.

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LYFT WILL GIVE 300 LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN ATLANTA $2 RIDES TO LOCAL GROCERY STORES & FARMERS MARKETS in 6 month project. I assume Walmart

LOTS OF SHOPPING CARTS, BUT NO SHOPPERS. The empty Stop & Shop store in Greenfield, MA around 5 pm April 16th. The parking lot is

WALMART AGREES TO PAY STOCKHOLDERS$160 M for hiding a bribery scandal in Mexico, and filing false statements to the SEC, triggering a steep drop in

AMAZON WORKERS GO ON STRIKE IN GERMANY, ITS 2ND LARGEST MARKET, over better pay and working conditions. Workers in 4 warehouses want to pushback “a

ON THE STOP & SHOP PICKET LINE with UFCW 1459 shop steward Taunette Greene and Chelsea Perras. This is the company spending $1M/year to a

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH (COSH) LISTS AMAZON IN ITS “DIRTY DOZEN” for 7 deaths at its warehouses since 2013, and a

AMAZON DOESN’T WANT YOUR CASH: it’s pushing cashier-less AMZN GO stores, where you pay using your smartphone. But cities are pushing back. Many shoppers rely

HOW TO PUNISH YOUR LOYAL WORKFORCE: Spoke with a Stop & Shop worker on strike in Greenfield today. After 26 years at the company, he

WMT & AMZN SPAR OVER WAGES & TAXES: AMZN challenges WMT: “Match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage. Do it! Better yet, go

WALMART WANTS TO SELL YOUR SHOPPING HABITS TO BRAND PRODUCTS, “monetizing” what you buy by pitching digital ads to manufacturers. Without your consent, YOU become

7 MONTHS AGO MACY’S SALES DECLINE WAS SCARING INVESTORS. Now Macy’s is opening 36 tiny (1,500 sf) “experiential stores” called “Story at Macy’s,” which change

KROGER SPRAWL: 2ND LARGEST GLOBAL RETAILER (1/3rd the sales of #1 Walmart) BUYS 335,000 SF WAREHOUSE IN OHIO WITH BRITISH PARTNER, WITH 8 YEAR TAX

“WE’RE SPENDING MORE & MORE ON REMODELS” Walmart CFO admits, converting superstores to double as “fulfillment centers.” Only 5 new WMT stores planned this year!

IN RESPONSE TO SEN WARREN’S CORP TAX PLAN to levy a 7% tax on corporate profits above $100 M, AMZN says it “pays all the

DON’T STOP & SHOP! SUPPORT THE 31,000 UFCW WORKERS ON STRIKE AT 240 STORES. “Instead of a contract that recognizes the value & hard work

IN 2014 THE SCOTUS RULED THAT “PICKERS” IN AN AMAZON WAREHOUSE WEREN’T ENTITLED TO PAY WHILE WAITING IN A SECURITY LINE, BUT the 6th Circuit

AMAZON TAKES 4TH SIP TO SELL WINE? Since 2000, Amazon has attempted 3 times to sell wine online using 3rd party vineyard vendors. AMZN charged

U.S. TEENS ARE LOYAL TO BIG BRANDS LIKE APPLE & AMAZON: Latest “Taking Stock With Teens” survey says half of 8,000 Gen Zs polled said

AMAZON & ITS 3RD PARTY VENDORS SOLD $189 B IN RETAIL GOODS IN 2018, CAUSED 62,000 SMALL MERCHANTS TO CLOSE, LEAVING 540 M S.F. OF

WALMART & AMAZON ARE WOOING SMALL MERCHANTS IN INDIA TO SUPPLY THEM WHOLESALE SO THEY WILL BE “MORE LOYAL TO US.” WMT’s new stores will

WALMART CEO SAYS “I’M COMFORTABLE”THAT $11/HR IS “THE APPROPRIATE WAGE…TO GET THE TALENT WE NEED.” BUT AOC SAYS: “Croissants at LaGuardia (airport) are going for

AMAZON ADDICTS: 2/3RDS OF U.S. ADULTS WHO BOUGHT AN ITEM ON AMAZON WITHIN THE PAST 2 YEARS, BEGIN THEIR SEARCH FOR NEW PRODUCTS WITH AMAZON,

CHINA’S ECOMMERCE SALES ARE TRIPLE U.S. SALES—BUT THE TWO NATIONS COMBINED = 72.7% OF ALL ONLINE SALES. U.S. ecommerce sales, now at $600 B, will

MY FAVORITE PLAYWRIGHT HAS A NEW PROJECT: CHECK IT OUT HERE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/718816018/no-one-is-forgotten-a-new-play-by-winter-miller?ref=section-homepage-projectcollection-staff-picks-newest Read more on Facebook

TARGET WAGES 2 YEARS BEHIND AMAZON. In Oct 2017, Target set its min. wage at $11/hr, now 1.5 years later, up to $13–promising to reach

WALMART PAYS HALF A MILLION IN PENALTIES IN DECEPTIVE PACKAGING COMPLAINT FILED BY SIX CA. COUNTIES. WMT deceived customers with oversized containers, “nonfunctional side fill,

FEDEX EXPANDING INSIDE WALMART & WALGREENS. FedEx Office bought out Kinko’s in 2004 for package pick up/drop-off points. FedEx quotes study saying 75% of consumers

TARGET RAISING MIN. WAGE TO $13/HR IN JUNE. AMZN pays $15/hr. Walmart still at $11/hr. A single woman with 1 child working 36 hrs/wk at

A PROVOCATIVE NEW PLAY BY GREENFIELD NATIVE WINTER MILLER OPENING THIS JULY IN NEW YORK CITY. Read more here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/718816018/no-one-is-forgotten-a-new-play-by-winter-miller?ref=section-homepage-projectcollection-staff-picks-newest Read more on Facebook

REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT BIG BOX STORES OR LIBRARIES, THE USE OF FACEBOOK COMMENTS ON A PUBLIC WEBSITE [THE RECORDER]TO BULLY, THREATEN OR

$2 B IN GOODIES FOR AMAZON AT HQ2 IN VA: new Metro station, bridge to Reagan airport, $750 M in job creation incentives, innovation campus

FACEBOOK USER DATA EXPOSED ON AMAZON CLOUD: FB doesn’t allow storing of its info in a public database. “Once alerted to the issue, we worked

OVERBUILT: WALMART TELLS 400 WORKERS THEIR DALLAS STORE IS CLOSING 4/26. No wonder: there are 12 WMT’S within 10 miles of this store—where police recently

VIOLENCE EVERYDAY AT WALMART: police say one man was shot outside a Northgate, Ohio Wal-Mart. Two groups got into an argument in the parking lot.

WHOLE FOODS, DISCOUNTED PRICES: Amazon begins cutting prices 20% today on hundreds of Whole Foods produce like greens, tomatoes & fruits, plus free grocery delivery

THE US INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION IS REVIEWING CHARGES THAT AMAZON, VERIZON AND APPLE HAVE INFRINGED ON PATENTS OWNED BY DATA SCAPE LTD. The Dublin-based company

FEW PEOPLE REALIZE THAT SERVERS IN RESTAURANTS MAKE A SEPARATE MINIMUM WAGE THAT IS MUCH LOWER THAN THE STANDARD MINIMUM WAGE. This is hard physical

RESTRICTING CITIZEN REFERENDUM PROCESS: Civil Rights Issue “In other news from the Valley, in a phone interview on March 29 Al Norman told the Valley

AMAZON MARKETPLACE HAS BECOME “A CESSPOOL OF UNVETTED MERCHANTS & UNQUALIFIED PRODUCTS.” Each seller pays $468 per year to display, a total of $2.8 billion

“HEY GOOGLE, TALK TO WALMART.” In an attempt to compete with Amazon’s Alexa, WMT has teamed with Google Home to allow shoppers to use their

WALMART FACING “HUNDREDS MORE” SEX DISCRIMINATION LAWSUITS. The case of Dukes v Walmart ended 8 years ago, but 1.5 M women in the class action

IN 2018 WALMART BOUGHT AN 81% SHARE OF INDIAN E-COMMERCE FLIPKART FOR $16 B, negatively affecting its net income through at least 2020. Gandhi was

WAL-MART IS THE LARGEST U.S. EMPLOYER AT 1.5 M WORKERS. Amazon has only 27% as many (400 K). But SBA says firms with fewer than

OH, HAPPY DAY! WALMART IS CLOSING STORES IN THESE 11 COMMUNITIES ON 4/19: Chandler & Tucson, AZ; San Jose, CA; Liberal, KS; Lafayette, LA; Columbia,

AMAZON TWITCH PRIME MAKES PITCH FOR ONE FREE YEAR OF NINTENDO SWITCH. “Voice chat with friends while playing games.” Or, read a book and avoid

OK, MANHATTAN—IF YOU DON’T WANT US—WE’RE MOVING OUR JOBS TO AUSTIN! It appears Amazon is moving 800 engineering jobs to Texas, part of the 25,000

TARGET DISCOVERS GREENHOUSE GAS, wants to reduce emissions from “source to shelf,” by changing store lightbulbs, adding solar rooftop panels…but still building 135,000 sf concrete