Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Wal-Mart Meeting Tonight in the Bronx

On the heels of the pathbreaking decision of the Chicago City Council to set a floor for big box store wages, the NYC anti Wal-Mart coalition will be holding a town hall meeting tonight in the Bronx. As Crain's In$ider reports the meeting will be held at Our Lady of Refuge Church, 290 E. 196th Street, just east of the Grand Concourse.

It is expected that quite a few local legislators, clergy and labor leaders will be present to discuss how to replicate the Chicago success in NYC. For more information you can contact either Richard Lipsky (914-572-2865) or Pat Purcell (973-583-9651) of Local 1500 of the UFCW.

Of course not everyone is happy with the Chicogo vote. As usual, the NY Sun editorializes against the legislation because it believes that "Wal-Mart is actually a boon for lower income Americans..." This is the essence of the Wal-Mart debate: Is the store a "boon" or is it a direct threat to the overall salary and wages of working class Americans? We're happy that this debate has begun.