What would the holidays be like without a little social justice? Working Assets, the socially-responsible long-distance telephone company, as of today has forwarded 12,032 emails to Wal-Mart from consumers who say they will not buy their presents at Wal-Mart this Christmas. The goal is to deliver 100,000 emails by December 31st. Here is the holiday message that Working Assets wants you to send to your friends “Dear friend/family member, I am writing to ask you not to buy me presents at Wal-Mart this holiday season. Wal-Mart engages in some of the worst labor practices in the country: paying its employees substandard wages, forcing unpaid overtime on its workers and refusing to provide affordable health insurance.Until Wal-Mart changes its ways, I won’t shop at Wal-Mart and I hope you won’t either. Please join me in telling Wal-Mart we won’t shop at its stores until it treats its employees better.” Consumers are also being asked to sign a pledge and email it to Wal-Mart. The pledge reads: “I pledge not to shop at Wal-Mart. And I promise to tell all my friends, “Don’t buy me Wal-Mart for the holidays!” Consumers are also asked to send the following message to Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart: “Dear H. Lee Scott Jr., This holiday season, I pledge not to shop at Wal-Mart and to ask my friends and families not to buy me gifts from Wal-Mart until the chain: Pays its one million workers a living wage; Provides affordable health insurance to its employees; Stops discriminating against women; Stops attacking employees who want to be represented by a union; Ceases forcing unpaid overtime on its employees; Stops pressuring suppliers to lower their labor costs. Signed, (your name here)
Working Assets notes, “Sure, it’s cheap to shop at Wal-Mart, but at what cost? Wal-Mart brings you its rock bottom prices by underpaying employees and forcing its suppliers to do the same. And when big box Wal-Mart comes to town, local businesses that treat their employees better can’t compete and are forced out of business.Take the pledge and tell Wal-Mart that until it changes its ways, you will take your holiday shopping to other stores and will urge your friends and family to do the same.”
For more information, go to www.workingforchange.com/activism/index.cfm
