Adrianne Shropshire, Executive Director of
New York Jobs With Justice, a supporter of the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, writes an
excellent response to Alicia Colon's misinformed editorial on Wal-Mart (scroll to the bottom of the NY Sun's page):
Furthermore, critics never claimed that Wal-Mart fails to hire women. The question, instead, is whether the women Wal-Mart is hiring are given fair wages and an equitable chance at advancement.
As the court depositions and expert testimony show, this was not the case. According to expert witness Richard Drogan, women who work full-time at Wal-Mart earn $5,000 less than men in the same position. He further concludes that women earn $1.16 less than men do in hourly positions and that women were systematically under-promoted. Former and current employees back up the data with affidavits pointing out how newly hired men often made significantly more than their experienced female counterparts and how women, due to the camaraderie between male managers and male employees, weren't told about otherwise poorly publicized advancement possibilities.
Adrianne has let us know that this paragraph was edited out:
As an African American woman I am offended by the tone Ms. Colon takes when referring to “ghetto people”. More than half of the participants at the Mother’s Day press conference were people of color, including council members, representing communities that deserve more than poverty-level wages and benefits. Low priced products can never make up for Wal-Mart’s discriminatory practices or the attitude of people like Ms. Colon that suggest that people of color should be happy with whatever job they can get.
You all should also check out the
Health Care Security Act, a piece of legislation Jobs with Justice is pushing that would level the playing field for responsible businesses in terms of health care.
