| Protesters bash wal mart attempts in two cities { May 2 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-walmart02.htmlhttp://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-walmart02.html
Protesters bash Wal-Mart's attempt to open 2 stores in city May 2, 2004
BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter
Chants bashing Wal-Mart filled the St. Sabina Church auditorium Saturday as more than 300 people attended a Chicago Workers' Rights Board protest of the retail giant's attempt to move into Chicago.
Speaker after speaker -- from religious and political leaders to labor and community activists to current and former Wal-Mart employees -- accused the company of providing low-paying jobs with meager benefits, gobbling up competitors and running roughshod over women and illegal immigrants. Wal-Mart disputes the claims, saying it has been unfairly maligned.
"I think we have to get away from the mentality that we're just glad to get a job," said St. Sabina's pastor, the Rev. Michael Pfleger. "We've got to stop accepting crumbs as if it's the only thing we're meant to eat. A slave job is a slave job."
Wal-Mart's efforts to open two stores in predominantly black Chicago neighborhoods have fueled tensions. The proposals are for a former West Side industrial area at Kilpatrick and Grand and on the site of the old Ryerson Steel plant at 8301 S. Steward.
"I'm for jobs in this community, but I have an insult level," said state Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago). "People need a livable wage. As an African-American woman, I once worked for $1 an hour. I'm not talking about what I don't know."
Despite a fierce zoning battle led by the Chicago Federation of Labor and its aldermanic allies, Wal-Mart's initial entries into the Chicago market are expected to come before the full City Council for a vote Wednesday.
"Right now, we have to organize and tackle this beast," said Elce Redmond of the South Austin Coalition Community Council, who added that "a ton" of West Side residents will attend the meeting.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Webber maintained the retailer is innocent of the group's criticisms.
"You become the target of a lot of different criticisms when you're as large as we are," she said. "I firmly believe at Wal-Mart we do our best to treat people right and treat them with respect. We believe we bring good things to communities."
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