Pretty much everyone has their beef with Wal-Mart. When you're the world's largest retailer, people can come after you for a variety of things.
The latest contender is a group of Christian leaders, who have penned a letter to Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's CEO. This group is also running TV spots to spread the word.
The group is asking Wal-Mart to alter some of its internal practices, and is asking for:
- Fair-living wages, not poverty-level wages.
- Generous health care benefits, not eliminating low-deductible health care plans.
- Decent places to work that treat women with dignity and equality.
- Respectful schedules for children in school.
- Good benefits for sound retirements.
I can get behind these things. I try not to shop at Wal-Mart for several reasons, and I would love to see the impact that could be made if our country's largest employer changed some of the ways it does business.
Unfortunately, until something drastic happens it may just be business as usual in Bentonville.