March 28, 2007
NYC DISTINGUISHES ITSELF
NYC succeeded in distinguishing itself yet again as a city hostile to the eonomic interests of lower-income households as the CEO of Wal-Mart announced that the low-cost retailer was abandoning attempts to open a store within the city's five boroughs.
Mr. Scott’s remarks, delivered at a meeting with editors and reporters of The New York Times, amounted to a surprising admission of defeat, given the company’s vigorous efforts to crack into urban markets and expand beyond its suburban base in much of the country. In recent years, Wal-Mart has encountered stout resistance to its plans to enter America’s bigger cities, which stand as its last domestic frontier.
Much of the opposition to Wal-Mart in cities like New York is led by unions. Organized labor, fearing that the retailer’s low prices and modest wages will undercut unionized stores, have built anti-Wal-Mart alliances with Democratic members of city councils.
Yesterday, labor leaders, upon learning of Wal-Mart’s apparent retreat from New York — or at the very least Manhattan — returned Mr. Scott’s sentiment.
“We don’t care if they’re never here,” said Ed Ott, executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council. “We don’t miss them. We have great supermarkets and great retail outlets in New York. We don’t need Wal-Mart.”
Well, one can't miss what one never had and that's pretty much the crux of this issue. Whatever one thinks of Wal-Mart, this is about a powerful special interest group using its political clout to deprive New Yorkers of consumer choice and the opportunity to save some money while stocking up on groceries, or anything for that matter. And say what you will about the Arkansas chain, but there never seems to be any shortage of people applying for positions to be "exploited" there. Probably because it doesn't ask its workers to "volunteer "as check-out bag boys and work only for tips.
Posted by Lexiphane at March 28, 2007 8:46 AM
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