A new study came out indicating that reductions in crime were higher in the nineties where Wal-Mart didn’t have stores or expand the ones they had than at the locations where there was a Wal-Mart or they expanded. The study found that. “on average, communities with Walmarts had 17 more property crimes and two more violent crimes per 10,000 people than those communities without Walmarts.” I reviewed this more in Wal-Mart’s crime problem, Rolling Back Safety more than prices? where I explained that although this study is helpful they could have done better with additional data that is available and I reviewed some of that.
There were several shooting incidents at Wal-Mart’s this month including one where an employee shot a customer. There was also a shop lifter that plowed into several vehicles with her car while attempting to escape after being caught trying to steal $119 worth of goods and another that was caught with bomb making materials, although they weren’t quite complete. As usual there were also quite a few bomb threats as well where nothing was found.
A previous Wal-Mart shooting from 2012 went to trial this month where at least two people testified that the shooter said, ‘I killed a cop.’ This isn’t the only time that police have been put at risk as a result of the high crime problems at Wal-Mart there have been numerous other incidents where police have been attacked while responding to incidents and a few where they have been charged with crimes for either over reacting with abusive force, on at least one occasion lethal, or in some cases they have been the perpetrators.
It seems to me that it would be in their interest as well as every one else’s to address the problems at Wal-Mart and try to figure out how to prevent them from happening in the first place instead of waiting until after they do and punishing people after the fact while ignoring potential contributing causes from the decisions made in corporate offices and by those who take their campaign contributions.
There is also a lawsuit pending for a previous incident where the security at Wal-Mart caught a shoplifter with “$56.92 worth of body wash, socks, underwear and jeans” and held him on the 135-degree asphalt for eight and a half minutes in handcuffs until he died. There have also been numerous other incidents where petty theft has escalated endangering both customers and employees.
Many people might not be too sympathetic when the victim is a shoplifter; however if people consider the studies that indicate the Wal-Marts are a major contributing cause to increased poverty and outsourcing and that they are rarely held to the same standards when they get caught abusing employees or with fraudulent advertising it might not seem reasonable to use excessive force causing someone his life over relatively inexpensive basic necessities.
In a rather amusing story a former teenage employee came back to Wal-Mart and convinced the management that he worked for another store and was there to help and returned to work stealing $30,000.
How did he pull that off?
Could it be that they have a cult like atmosphere and people are indoctrinated to follow orders and are easily susceptible to these scams?
A former member of “Students in Free Enterprise,” or SIFE, has written a book about their corporate culture and discussed it with Josh Eidelson at Salon. He isn’t the first to report about their tactics training their employees; Bob Ortega, Barbara Ehrenreich and several others have reported some of the symptoms of cult activity although this is the highest profile report that I have seen yet to actually call it by that name. There is a strong possibility that these tactics are related to their high crime problems and they discourage critical thinking in their employees which also creates a lot of other problems.
Perhaps that is why some Wal-Mart workers have a hard time understanding simple things like when you instal a gun case that is locked and the key is taped to the back during shipping you're supposed to remove the key before putting guns in it and making it available to the customers so that some of them won't simply use the key and shoplift nine guns.
Perhaps that is also why a new survey has come out indicating that Wal-Mart is the worst major department store or supermarket compared to their competition. This could also be why their sales have also taken a major hit.
There is reason to believe that Wal-Mart has gained it’s dominance in the market thanks to help from their political allies and plenty of tax breaks; this month a Wisconsin lawmaker threatened to deprive a town of funds for a convention center that was already approved unless they allowed Wal-Mart to expand.
With their current sales and crime problems as well as the bad coverage for other reasons it is hard to imagine that their support from political connections could remain as strong much longer especially if their customers are abandoning them.
They may be able to count on the media to minimize the coverage of these incidents for a little while but if they do the media will also lose what is left of their credibility along with Wal-Mart.
Their credibility might not be any better than Mike Rowe’s is now that he has come out with his new advertising campaign for Wal-Mart and instead of attracting customers he seems to have outraged a lot of people and he claims the E-Mails he is receiving are like “a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch.”
If his non-profit group wasn’t supporting one of the most oppressive corporations in the retail business he might have more sympathizers and fewer people that would be skeptical about whether he deserves non-profit status while supporting a profitable corporation.
Strange things happen at Wal-Mart!
In 2006 Wake Up Wal-Mart did a study, "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" based on incidents in 2004, (PDF) about crime at Wal-Mart which showed that it increased when Wal-Marts opened up and that crime was higher at Wal-Mart than at other retailers. Since then Wal-Mart Shootings began compiling a list of gun related incidents at Wal-Mart and demonstrated that they have a large number of them, including on average more than one shooting per week somewhere in the country. I also added my own review about why I think that Wal-Mart policies have been contributing to higher crime in a blog, Wal-Mart high crime rate continues uninvestigaterd and have provided additional information under the author tag Walmart Crime Watch.
Stacy Mitchell has also compiled a list of other studies about Wal-Mart and how they impact society, Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business. To the best of my knowledge Wal-Mart has done as little as they seem to get away with, often relying on rhetoric that isn't backed up with action, when it comes to addressing any of their critics concerns, including crime. The following are a list of incidents that occurred in February 2014. According to the "Is Wal-Mart Safe?" the average store in their sampling had 250 incidents per year, indicating that these are only a fraction of the crime reports at Wal-Mart, and presumably, the ones most likely to make the news on the internet nationwide. This isn't statistically representative, as the 2006 study or some of the studies cited by Stacy Mitchell; but it does provide some additional information that may help recognize how many problems there are at Wal-Mart.
Walmart shoplifting boosts number of reported crimes in Bossier La. City 02/01/2014
Some Walmart customers in Bossier City have sticky fingers.
The Airline Drive Walmart reported a shoplifting spike from 94 cases in 2012 to 477 last year, an increase of 407 percent. Bossier City police spokesman Mark Natale said the number of shoplifters did not jump, but more were caught after the store instituted a more aggressive effort for targeting and catching thieves.
There were 10,529 reported crimes across the city last year compared to 10,098 in 2012. That increase largely is due to the increased number of reported shopliftings, according to a department report released Friday. Complete article
Some Walmart customers in Bossier City have sticky fingers.
The Airline Drive Walmart reported a shoplifting spike from 94 cases in 2012 to 477 last year, an increase of 407 percent. Bossier City police spokesman Mark Natale said the number of shoplifters did not jump, but more were caught after the store instituted a more aggressive effort for targeting and catching thieves.
There were 10,529 reported crimes across the city last year compared to 10,098 in 2012. That increase largely is due to the increased number of reported shopliftings, according to a department report released Friday. Complete article
Conway Ark. police: Wal-Mart employee arrested in store shooting
A Conway Wal-Mart employee has been arrested after, police say, he shot a woman multiple times Saturday night. Conway police arrested 29-year-old Myron Terrell, of Conway, about an hour after officers said he walked inside of the business at 1155 Skyline Drive, shot at Conway resident Lori Martin multiple times and fled the store, the police deparment's spokesman LaTresha Woodruff said. Martin was taken to Conway Regional Health System to be treated for her gunshot wounds and is in "critical, but stable condition," according to Woodruff. No one else inside of the store was injured in the shooting, and it was not immediately known how many people were inside. Complete article
He told detectives he felt threatened by her and that she had harassed him his whole life, however, he was unable to give any facts to back up his claim. Walmart Shooting Victim Still Critical, Suspect Charged With Attempted Capital Murder 02/03/2014
Witnesses Describe Scene Inside Walmart Shooting 02/02/2014
"What I want to say about him (Myron Terrell)...is I'm praying for him," he said. ..... "It's a blessing," he said. "God is definitely on our side helping us out." Walmart Shooting Victim Off Ventilator, Says First Words to Husband 02/06/2014
Conway Ark. Walmart Shooting Victim Tied to Previous Violent Attack 02/14/2014
CONWAY, AR -- Is there more to the story of a wife and mother shot six times at a Conway Walmart?
Lori Martin and her husband Adam have a history of violence, according to the Conway Police Department.
The first incident report obtained by Fox16 dates back to a 2012 domestic disturbance.
Adam Martin, the narrative reads, had scratch wounds on his face that were later determined to be from his wife.
Lori admitted to police they had an altercation and when Conway police asked why Adam lied about the wounds, he said, "He did not want his wife to get in trouble."
Later that year Lori was arrested for shoplifting and Adam was hospitalized after a stabbing. Complete Article
As indicated in excerpts from the Affidavit for Myron Terrell 02/03/2014 the police may have become suspicious of the behavior of Adam Martin when he declined to accompany his wife to the hospital.
Sgt. Casey Dunn: I heard him telling his wife that he would see her at the hospital. I advised him that he could ride with the ambulance or we would give him a ride. He refused and told me that he needed to get his car. I told him that we would help him get back to his car but that he needed to go with his wife. He refused once again and then stated that he had to check on his daughter before he could go to the hospital. I asked him where his daughter was and he stated at home asleep. I grew concerned that there was a child at home alone so I asked him how old she was and he stated that she was 16. I did not understand his prioritization of the issues at hand so I once again told him he needed to go with his wife. He once again refused and told me that he would go to his house, check on his daughter and then he would go to the hospital. I went ahead and advised Officer Waits to go to the hospital to collect any evidence. ….
Officer Charles Waits: I walked out with him after he retrieved his wife purse and cellphone. He walked over to his vehicle and put his wife purse inside. He then smoked a cigarette and paced up and down in front of the door. He called family and had them go to his house and check on his daughter. He informed them what had happened and asked them to come to the scene. After using the phone he returned inside the store. I explained to him that MEMS would be transporting his wife for further treatment and he would likely be able to ride to the hospital with his wife. He declined the offer. He stated that family was responding to check on his daughter and then he was going home to get her then he would respond to the hospital. I felt this was very odd. I tried to reason with him and he again declined. A few minutes later, Sgt. Dunn suggested that he ride with his wife. I explained to him that Mr. Martin was declining. Sgt. Dunn also tried to explain to him that he could go with his wife. Mr. Martin again declined. Sgt. Dunn then requested that I follow the ambulance to the hospital and stay with the victim. I followed the ambulance to Conway Regional Medical Center.
A Conway Wal-Mart employee has been arrested after, police say, he shot a woman multiple times Saturday night. Conway police arrested 29-year-old Myron Terrell, of Conway, about an hour after officers said he walked inside of the business at 1155 Skyline Drive, shot at Conway resident Lori Martin multiple times and fled the store, the police deparment's spokesman LaTresha Woodruff said. Martin was taken to Conway Regional Health System to be treated for her gunshot wounds and is in "critical, but stable condition," according to Woodruff. No one else inside of the store was injured in the shooting, and it was not immediately known how many people were inside. Complete article
He told detectives he felt threatened by her and that she had harassed him his whole life, however, he was unable to give any facts to back up his claim. Walmart Shooting Victim Still Critical, Suspect Charged With Attempted Capital Murder 02/03/2014
Witnesses Describe Scene Inside Walmart Shooting 02/02/2014
"What I want to say about him (Myron Terrell)...is I'm praying for him," he said. ..... "It's a blessing," he said. "God is definitely on our side helping us out." Walmart Shooting Victim Off Ventilator, Says First Words to Husband 02/06/2014
Conway Ark. Walmart Shooting Victim Tied to Previous Violent Attack 02/14/2014
CONWAY, AR -- Is there more to the story of a wife and mother shot six times at a Conway Walmart?
Lori Martin and her husband Adam have a history of violence, according to the Conway Police Department.
The first incident report obtained by Fox16 dates back to a 2012 domestic disturbance.
Adam Martin, the narrative reads, had scratch wounds on his face that were later determined to be from his wife.
Lori admitted to police they had an altercation and when Conway police asked why Adam lied about the wounds, he said, "He did not want his wife to get in trouble."
Later that year Lori was arrested for shoplifting and Adam was hospitalized after a stabbing. Complete Article
As indicated in excerpts from the Affidavit for Myron Terrell 02/03/2014 the police may have become suspicious of the behavior of Adam Martin when he declined to accompany his wife to the hospital.
Sgt. Casey Dunn: I heard him telling his wife that he would see her at the hospital. I advised him that he could ride with the ambulance or we would give him a ride. He refused and told me that he needed to get his car. I told him that we would help him get back to his car but that he needed to go with his wife. He refused once again and then stated that he had to check on his daughter before he could go to the hospital. I asked him where his daughter was and he stated at home asleep. I grew concerned that there was a child at home alone so I asked him how old she was and he stated that she was 16. I did not understand his prioritization of the issues at hand so I once again told him he needed to go with his wife. He once again refused and told me that he would go to his house, check on his daughter and then he would go to the hospital. I went ahead and advised Officer Waits to go to the hospital to collect any evidence. ….
Officer Charles Waits: I walked out with him after he retrieved his wife purse and cellphone. He walked over to his vehicle and put his wife purse inside. He then smoked a cigarette and paced up and down in front of the door. He called family and had them go to his house and check on his daughter. He informed them what had happened and asked them to come to the scene. After using the phone he returned inside the store. I explained to him that MEMS would be transporting his wife for further treatment and he would likely be able to ride to the hospital with his wife. He declined the offer. He stated that family was responding to check on his daughter and then he was going home to get her then he would respond to the hospital. I felt this was very odd. I tried to reason with him and he again declined. A few minutes later, Sgt. Dunn suggested that he ride with his wife. I explained to him that Mr. Martin was declining. Sgt. Dunn also tried to explain to him that he could go with his wife. Mr. Martin again declined. Sgt. Dunn then requested that I follow the ambulance to the hospital and stay with the victim. I followed the ambulance to Conway Regional Medical Center.
DNA helps police solve Connellsville Wal-Mart theft case 02/02/2014
A Pittsburgh man has been charged in a retail theft and hit-and-run at a local store that took place over four years ago. DNA led police to an arrest.
Charges were filed on Friday against Andre Edward Burse, 48, of 1405 Westmoreland St. at District Judge Richard Kasunic II's office.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Burse and another man entered the Connellsville Wal-Mart at 12:39 a.m. Sept. 26, 2008, gathered merchandise and concealed it in white plastic bags.
They allegedly left the store without paying for the items.
Two Wal-Mart employees confronted the men while they were loading the items into a white car. One of the men got into the driver's side of the car and began erratically backing up, striking the two Wal-Mart employees and knocking them to the ground, leaving them injured. Complete article
A Pittsburgh man has been charged in a retail theft and hit-and-run at a local store that took place over four years ago. DNA led police to an arrest.
Charges were filed on Friday against Andre Edward Burse, 48, of 1405 Westmoreland St. at District Judge Richard Kasunic II's office.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Burse and another man entered the Connellsville Wal-Mart at 12:39 a.m. Sept. 26, 2008, gathered merchandise and concealed it in white plastic bags.
They allegedly left the store without paying for the items.
Two Wal-Mart employees confronted the men while they were loading the items into a white car. One of the men got into the driver's side of the car and began erratically backing up, striking the two Wal-Mart employees and knocking them to the ground, leaving them injured. Complete article
3 arrested in chase after stealing from Ariz. Wal-Mart 02/02/2014
Cross-dresser robs Georgia Walmart at gunpoint 02/02/2014
Upstate NY man, 73, dies in car crash after Walmart shift 02/03/2014
Woman arrested after undressing in NC Walmart parking lot 02/03/2014
Bomb threat shuts down Skowhegan Me. Walmart for second time in a week 02/03/2014
Male cross dresser sought in Walmart robbery in Oconee County Ga. 02/03/2014
Caught On Camera: Man Steals iPad Minis From Fla. Wal-Mart 02/03/2014
Police looking for man in NC Walmart robbery, assault 02/03/2014
Crash closes entrance to Walmart in North Versailles Pa. 02/04/2014
Man, woman charged with lightbulb theft from Ill. Walmart 02/04/2014
Alabama Man Charged In Walmart Theft Suspected In Similar Cases 02/04/2014
Good Samaritan helps deputies nab purse snatching suspects outside Woodlands Tx. Walmart 02/04/2014
Worker's quick action saves Iowa Walmart during arson fire 02/04/2014
Two employees of North Bergen NJ Walmart caught under-ringing 02/04/2014
40 mile police chase ends in Wash. Walmart parking lot 02/04/2014
Walmart to give NH city $101K to restore trail system, pave street 02/04/2014
Deputies: SC Walmart employee charged with stealing DVDs, action figures 02/04/2014
WinCo, ‘Walmart’s Worst Nightmare’ Is Expanding Massively in Tx. 02/05/2014
Police: Pickens SC armed robber rocks suit, tie in Walmart holdup 02/05/2014
Why Walmart is getting too expensive for the middle class 02/04/2014 Overall, retail sales rose 4.2% in 2013, or about 2.7% after accounting for inflation. .... The company recently cut its profit outlook, with analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expecting just a 2.1% gain in sales when Walmart reports its quarterly earnings on February 20. That’s for a company that has consistently outcompeted nearly every other retailer except, perhaps, Amazon. Walmart’s stock has suffered, rising just 4% during the past year, while the S&P 500 index rose 17% during the same timeframe.
Man caught in Iowa with hundreds of scientific calculators from Walmart 02/05/2014
Some initial confusion at Penn. WalMart in Pittsburg over charging for paper bags 02/0/2014
Police: Man arrested in NC Walmart robbery, assault 02/05/2014
2 accused of taking cart full of electronics from Vt. Walmart 02/05/2014
Woman charged in NH Walmart shoplifting incident 02/05/2014
Couple tries to steal TVs from Ga. Walmart 02/06/2014
Wal-Mart Ally Ark. Senator Pryor Breaks With Obama on Wage Increase 02/06/2014
Suspect wanted for stealing DVDs from Virginia Beach Walmart store 02/06/2014
Fire inside Iowa Walmart caused $1 million damage, worker says 02/06/2014
1 injured when RV explodes in Wash. Walmart parking lot 02/06/2014
Arrest Made In Double Murder At Murfreesboro Tenn. Walmart 02/06/2014
Man flashed woman in parking lot of Wentzville Missouri Walmart, police say 02/06/2014
Thief takes $27,000 in cell phones from Ala. Wal-Mart 02/06/2014
Exclusive: Former teenaged employee tricks Ok. Walmart stores out of nearly $30,000 02/06/2014
NORMAN, Okla. – A 17-year-old is facing charges after he tricked three Walmart stores out of nearly $30,000.
Police aren’t releasing his name because he is a juvenile, but Norman police finally caught up to him Jan. 30 in Norman and arrested him.
The teen stole from the Walmart stores in Dec. after conning managers into believing he worked there.
“You would think a store manager would catch on to something like that,” said shopper Vernon Boyce.
After reading the police report, you realize no one noticed or suspected anything. The report says at a Moore Walmart he “…acted as if he was a general manager from another store.” Wearing the company’s name tag and all, he told the manager “…he was doing an inventory of the store before general managers came to inspect them after the holidays.”
Surviellance cameras caught the teenager. The report says he was “…alone in the cash office…” It says he took “… multiple bundles of cash, stuffing them inside his pockets and clothes.” He even hugged the manager before he walked out.
Sgt. Jeremey Lewis says this is one for the books.
“He’s obviously confident in what he’s doing and has a good story,” said Sgt. Lewis. The teen knew the drill because police say he worked at a Walmart in Oklahoma City until he was fired for stealing money. Complete article
NORMAN, Okla. – A 17-year-old is facing charges after he tricked three Walmart stores out of nearly $30,000.
Police aren’t releasing his name because he is a juvenile, but Norman police finally caught up to him Jan. 30 in Norman and arrested him.
The teen stole from the Walmart stores in Dec. after conning managers into believing he worked there.
“You would think a store manager would catch on to something like that,” said shopper Vernon Boyce.
After reading the police report, you realize no one noticed or suspected anything. The report says at a Moore Walmart he “…acted as if he was a general manager from another store.” Wearing the company’s name tag and all, he told the manager “…he was doing an inventory of the store before general managers came to inspect them after the holidays.”
Surviellance cameras caught the teenager. The report says he was “…alone in the cash office…” It says he took “… multiple bundles of cash, stuffing them inside his pockets and clothes.” He even hugged the manager before he walked out.
Sgt. Jeremey Lewis says this is one for the books.
“He’s obviously confident in what he’s doing and has a good story,” said Sgt. Lewis. The teen knew the drill because police say he worked at a Walmart in Oklahoma City until he was fired for stealing money. Complete article
James Lawlor stole $342 in cat food from Walmart in Clearwater Fla. 02/05/2014
Cops: NC Walmart worker stole from store 02/07/2014
UPDATE: Ga. Police ask help finding suspect in $27,000 theft 02/07/2014
KPD searching for two men who reportedly shoplifted six tablets from Tenn. Walmart 02/07/2014
Port St. Lucie Fla. police seeking two who robbed woman in Wal-Mart parking lot 02/07/2014
Escapee caught in Ms. Walmart 02/08/2014
Walmart denies selling expired food in Nicaragua 02/07/2014
The Nicaraguan affiliate of Walmart rejected Friday the complaint by a consumer group that said the retail giant is selling expired food in this country.
"In the year 2013 we had more than 40 reviews (of our supermarkets in Nicaragua), and the authorities never said that we had expired products," the manager of Corporate Affairs at Walmart for Mexico and Nicaragua, Eduardo Garcia, told Efe.
Leaders of the Consumer Defense Institute, or Indec, met in front of the Walmart-owned supermarket Pali with products they said were recently bought there and that were apparently expired.
The Walmart executive in Nicaragua cast doubt on Indec's claims.
"What caught our attention is the fact that we've never had a formal complaint from them. At the end of 2012 we asked them to inform our personnel, but we never received a reply from them as we do from the authorities," Garcia said. Complete article
The Nicaraguan affiliate of Walmart rejected Friday the complaint by a consumer group that said the retail giant is selling expired food in this country.
"In the year 2013 we had more than 40 reviews (of our supermarkets in Nicaragua), and the authorities never said that we had expired products," the manager of Corporate Affairs at Walmart for Mexico and Nicaragua, Eduardo Garcia, told Efe.
Leaders of the Consumer Defense Institute, or Indec, met in front of the Walmart-owned supermarket Pali with products they said were recently bought there and that were apparently expired.
The Walmart executive in Nicaragua cast doubt on Indec's claims.
"What caught our attention is the fact that we've never had a formal complaint from them. At the end of 2012 we asked them to inform our personnel, but we never received a reply from them as we do from the authorities," Garcia said. Complete article
If Wal-Mart didn't spend so much time denying things, even when there is overwhelming evidence against them, then more people might believe them if they actually do have a case.
This Ca. lawsuit threatens to end Walmart’s exploitative ways 02/07/2014
San Diego Ca. mother suing Walmart for millions after son dies following altercation with store security 02/05/2014
SAN DIEGO - A San Diego woman is suing Walmart for millions of dollars after she says they killed her son.
Only 10News has obtained police dash cam video that shows her son being held face-down on the pavement in the blazing heat in June 2012.
As police rolled up on scene just outside a Walmart store in Covina, they came up on a Walmart security guard dressed in a blue polo shirt. Police later learned the security guard had been kneeling on top of a man face-down on 135-degree asphalt for eight and a half minutes.
"Hey, can you hear me? Sit up," said a Covina police officer is heard saying on the video.
As the security guard got up and walked away, officers tried to communicate with 41-year-old Jose Marcos Picazo.
What they did not realize is that he was already dead.
"I'm very depressed," said Emma Mercado, Picazo’s mother. "I'm very sick, so I just want justice."
According to witness accounts, Picazo was screaming, "I'm dying, I'm dying" while he was pinned to the ground, hands cuffed behind his back, for some of that time by two Walmart employees.
"I want these guys in jail," said Mercado. "They're killers."
Police say the Walmart security guards had been watching Picazo inside the store and followed him out with $56.92 worth of body wash, socks, underwear and jeans he had not paid for. Complete article
SAN DIEGO - A San Diego woman is suing Walmart for millions of dollars after she says they killed her son.
Only 10News has obtained police dash cam video that shows her son being held face-down on the pavement in the blazing heat in June 2012.
As police rolled up on scene just outside a Walmart store in Covina, they came up on a Walmart security guard dressed in a blue polo shirt. Police later learned the security guard had been kneeling on top of a man face-down on 135-degree asphalt for eight and a half minutes.
"Hey, can you hear me? Sit up," said a Covina police officer is heard saying on the video.
As the security guard got up and walked away, officers tried to communicate with 41-year-old Jose Marcos Picazo.
What they did not realize is that he was already dead.
"I'm very depressed," said Emma Mercado, Picazo’s mother. "I'm very sick, so I just want justice."
According to witness accounts, Picazo was screaming, "I'm dying, I'm dying" while he was pinned to the ground, hands cuffed behind his back, for some of that time by two Walmart employees.
"I want these guys in jail," said Mercado. "They're killers."
Police say the Walmart security guards had been watching Picazo inside the store and followed him out with $56.92 worth of body wash, socks, underwear and jeans he had not paid for. Complete article
Decades of Greed: Behind the Scenes With An Angry Walmart Manager 02/06/2014
Kevin Hunt: Wal-Mart Wouldn't Match Walmart.com Price, But Toys 'R' Us Did 02/08/2014
Craigslist sale led to gunfire in Fla. Wal-Mart lot 02/05/2014
Wal-Mart attempted robbery leaves Northport Ala. man jailed 02/07/2014
Social media tip leads detectives to Fla. Walmart thieves 02/07/2014
Police Seek Man Who Used Stolen Credit Card At OKC Wal-Mart 02/07/2014
Walmart shooter struck vehicle, no injuries Mustang Ok. police say 02/07/2014
Couple Charged with Stealing from Ky. Walmart 02/07/2014
Food Lion, Walmart hit in Mooresville NC armed robberies 02/08/2014
Man flashes Ga. Wal-Mart shopper 02/06/2014
Brandon Fla. woman tricked out of $25,000 in jewelry and cash at Walmart on Causeway Boulevard? 02/05/2014
Lawsuit may proceed against Wal-Mart's Whitehall Township Mich. 'superstore,' judge rules 02/04/2014
Id. Walmart worker charged with burglary 02/07/2014
Ca. Walmart Flasher Flees After Female Victim Strikes Him In "Exposed Genitals" 02/03/2014
Woman looking for a “steal” at Ok. Walmart arrested for theft 02/08/2014
Pa. Wal-mart's waste, farmers' treasure Farming cooperative hopes to expand compost program 02/08/2014
Shoplifters threaten employee with handgun in Ohio Walmart 02/08/2014
Shoplifters steal $1,000 worth of goods from Lockport NY WalMart 02/09/2014
Woman charged with leaving toddler in car while she shopped at Iowa Wal-Mart 02/09/2014
Police make arrest in Avon Ind. Walmart abduction assault 02/10/2014
Johnson City Tenn. Man charged with theft after shoplifting items from local Walmart 02/10/2014
Walmart study says Supercenters are good for California 02/10/2014 “It’s no surprise a study commissioned by Wal-Mart would reach conclusions favorable to Wal-Mart,” said Jacques Loveall, president of UFCW Local 8 in Roseville, in a prepared statement. “Independent studies have done a thorough and convincing job of establishing Wal-Mart’s disastrous effects on local economies.”
No Walmart, no state help with KI Center, Wisc. state lawmaker says 02/11/2014
Brooksville Fla. Walmart closed following fire 02/11/2014
Operation Homefront Receives $50,000 from the Walmart Foundation 02/11/2014
Woman Robbed With Gun To Her Head In Port St. Fla. Lucie Walmart Parking Lot 02/11/2014
Bomb Threat at Wagoner Ok. Walmart was false alarm 02/11/2014
Forbes: Raising The Minimum Wage Would Be Good For Wal-Mart, And America 02/11/2014
Woman arrested for attempted theft at Tenn. Walmart 02/11/2014
NC City temporarily stops using Walmart bus stop following scuffle, miscommunication 02/1/2014
Wisc. State legislator is 'bullying' city over Walmart, county supervisor says 02/11/2014
Do you know this person, who stole a cart full of merchandise from Central Square Wal-Mart? 02/12/2014
Union City police looking for man who attacked woman at gunpoint in Ca. Walmart Parking-lot 02/12/2014
High Point NC Walmart on North Main Street robbed at gunpoint 02/12/2014
Police: Thieves steal jewelry, donuts from NC Walmart 02/12/2014
'Fire' at SC Walmart actually smoky air exchange, say officials 02/1/2014
Mayor says loan deal on Wisc. Walmart site was a mistake 02/13/2014
Shots fired in Tx. Walmart parking lot after Craigslist buyer snatches iPhone 02/13/2014
Half dozen guns stolen from Tenn. Walmart 02/13/2014
Shoplifter captured after striking officer in Epping NH Wal-Mart parking lot, escaping in car 02/14/2014
Gallipolis Ohio Walmart Bank Robber Pleads Guilty to Holdup 02/14/2014
Tenn. Walmart Money Center Robbed By Man In Ski Mask 02/14/2014
Mother, daughter and friend charged with shoplifting at Walmart in Derry NH 02/14/2014
Cops: Thief robbed Gwinnett Ga. Walmart with knife 02/14/2014
Police seek man connected to Utah Wal-Mart aggravated robbery 02/14/2014
Dems to Wal-Mart: Quit tobacco 02/14/2014
Men steal $6,500 worth of iPhones from Aurora Ohio Walmart 02/14/2014
Bomb threat causes two-hour evacuation at Wasilla Alaska Walmart 02/14/2014
Falling prices: Dollar stores now cheaper than Walmart 02/12/2014
Mike Rowe Touches the "Third Rail" of Retailing: Walmart 02/12/2014
Forbes: Opinion: Walmart Is Far From A Victim Of 'Partisan' Labor Board 02/12/2014
Galt City Ca. Manager Jason Behrmann expects large increase in tax revenue from new Walmart 02/15/2014
Counterpunch: The High Cost of Wal-Mart 02/14/2014
A Walmart Worker Explains Why Walmart's Customer Service Is Horrible 02/12/2014
Walmart’s Labor Practices Backfire 02/10/2014
A new study shows Walmart Supercenters are good for California communities. 02/12/2014 "The Hatamiya report was commissioned by Walmart for the specific purpose of rehabilitating its reputation, which has been shredded by reports of widespread abusive treatment of its workforce and independent studies documenting Walmart's devastating effects on urban, suburban and rural economies," Loveall said.
What Can Walmart Tell Us About The U.S. Economy - Part 2 02/14/2014 Like many American companies, Walmart (WMT) has been aggressively repurchasing its shares in order to boost the share price and show earnings per share growth in excess of net income growth. Over the February 1, 2013 - October 31, 2013 period, Walmart spent a total of approximately $5.8 billion to repurchase 77.9 million shares of its own common stock. ...
Video catches driver plowing into cars in Ga. Walmart parking lot 02/14/2014
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — There was an amazing scene outside a local Walmart as an accused thief began using her car as a weapon, damaging several cars.
It was described as a demolition derby. Police say as two shoplifting suspects fled the store, one ran and the other jumped in her car and started plowing into other vehicles.
Snellville police said surveillance video showed Ashley Bender and a friend as they left the Walmart without paying for their goods. In the video, a store employee followed the duo and within seconds, they ran. When the friend took off on foot, Bender jumped in her car. The video captured her circling in the lot several times. On one pass, she banged into a parked Oldsmobile. Two more circles, then she slammed into an entire row of cars.
“Clearly, that was about as reckless as you can be. Obviously she wasn't looking where she was going and that's why we think she was looking for the other lady,” said police chief Roy Whitehead.
Bender and her heavily damaged Camry tried to leave the scene, but police were able to catch up with her.
“It was a very dangerous situation, especially as she's going around that parking lot. Especially for a misdemeanor amount of $119. That's what was taken in the theft,” Whitehead said. Complete article
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — There was an amazing scene outside a local Walmart as an accused thief began using her car as a weapon, damaging several cars.
It was described as a demolition derby. Police say as two shoplifting suspects fled the store, one ran and the other jumped in her car and started plowing into other vehicles.
Snellville police said surveillance video showed Ashley Bender and a friend as they left the Walmart without paying for their goods. In the video, a store employee followed the duo and within seconds, they ran. When the friend took off on foot, Bender jumped in her car. The video captured her circling in the lot several times. On one pass, she banged into a parked Oldsmobile. Two more circles, then she slammed into an entire row of cars.
“Clearly, that was about as reckless as you can be. Obviously she wasn't looking where she was going and that's why we think she was looking for the other lady,” said police chief Roy Whitehead.
Bender and her heavily damaged Camry tried to leave the scene, but police were able to catch up with her.
“It was a very dangerous situation, especially as she's going around that parking lot. Especially for a misdemeanor amount of $119. That's what was taken in the theft,” Whitehead said. Complete article
Armed confrontation at Ariz. Walmart 02/14/2014
Wal-Mart outlook hit by store closings, food stamp cuts 02/01/2014
Man allegedly flees Ca. Walmart Supercenter with alcohol 02/13/2014
New Wal-Mart ads tout manufacturing return, the ‘Working Man’ 02/10/2014 The more money they spend on these ads the less they have for activities that benefit the consumer.
Man accused of hitting Ok. Walmart employee with truck 02/14/2014
Car Crashes Into Harrisburg Ill. Walmart 02/14/2014
Cops: Duo pepper sprayed SC Walmart employees, stole money cart 02/14/2014
Police search for man who robbed Fla. Walmart 02/13/2014
Gadsden Ala. man charged with robbery after Walmart incident 02/14/2014 Jordan said Fletcher told the staff he was not going to jail. He pulled out a chipping hammer and threatened the staff, allegedly lunging at them with the hammer. He then ran to his blue Ford Ranger and left.
Man Purchasing Pellet Gun Robs Ga. Walmart With Knife 02/15/2014
17-Year-Old Fired From Ok. Walmart Scams Store Out Of $39,000, Police Say 02/11/2014
Walmart stores in Connecticut reportedly charging tax on tax-exempt gun safes 02/16/2014
Fight at an Arizona Walmart leads to man shot to death 02/17/2014
Orleans Sheriff's deputy fires gun at robbery suspect at Algiers La. Walmart 02/16/2014
Residents rally to bring Wal-Mart to West Louisville Ky. 02/17/2014
Tenn. Walmart Employee Accused Of Replacing Cash With Counterfeit 02/17/2014
Report: Thief attempts scooter heist at Ga. Walmart 02/17/2014
Two charged with stealing jewelry from Elizabeth City Va. Walmart 02/17/2014
4 arrested after teen is beaten, robbed outside downstate Del. Wal-Mart 02/17/2014
Woman robbed in Burlington NC Walmart parking lot 02/17/2014
Memphis Tenn. man charged with abusing 3-year-old at Bartlett Walmart 02/17/2014
Crews battle fire inside Newport RI Walmart 02/17/2014
Alleged thief admits beating at Ind. Wal-Mart last November 02/17/2014
Why Is Walmart Paying Chris Christie's Pals? 02/18/2014
Walmart removes, recalls questionable hamburger meat in Montana and Wyoming 02/18/2014
Research: Crime Stats, Staffing Problems Plague Walmart 02/18/2014
Who Is Behind New Pro-Walmart Group? 02/17/2014
Walmart’s Epic Fail: Commercial Promoting Pro American Factories Uses Song By Canadian Band 02/17/2014
Early morning fire closes Hometown Pa. Walmart 02/18/2014
Walmart puts up $250,000 for ballot fight in SD 02/17/2014
Mom of woman stabbed to death in SC Walmart files lawsuit 02/17/2014
Former "Green" Mayor Manny Diaz Now Representing Walmart's Fla. Midtown Push 02/18/2014
Nestlé Recalls Hot Pockets Sold at Walmart, Stop & Shop, Martin’s and Giant 02/17/2014
Water trouble at Hawaii Walmart 02/18/2014
Man Stabbed During Fight Over Walmart Parking Spot, Hartford Conn. Police Say 02/17/2014
Condoms the Target for Shoplifting Teen at Ga. Walmart 02/17/2014
Suspect wanted in Uniondale NY Wal-Mart theft 02/17/2014
Ark. Walmart Self Checkout Machine Mistakenly Gives $10s Not $1s in Change 02/18/2014
‘I killed a cop,’ officer testifies Brandon Daniel said at police station 02/18/2014
5:30 p.m. update: Brandon Daniel appeared to have a blank stare and his speech was slurred and lethargic, moments after he shot and killed Austin police officer Jaime Padron, witnesses testified Tuesday.
But Daniel smiled and winked at officer Albert Arevalo as he took him away from the location, asking if he would get his motorcycle back and in what county the crime had occurred, Arevalo told jurors.
“He asked for a possible sentence for his actions,” the officer recalled on the stand. “He wanted to know whether he was going to get life or death.”
Once at the Police Department’s downtown headquarters, Arevalo said Daniel made the statement, “I killed a cop.” .....
4:25 p.m. update: In the early hours of April 6, 2012, Brandon Daniel ambled through a North Austin Walmart, swaying through the aisles and dropping items, before he encountered a store employee and Austin police officer Jaime Padron, as seen in a security camera video played Tuesday in the courtroom. .....
11:30 a.m. update: On the stand Tuesday, Walmart employee Lincoln LeMere described the deadly struggle between officer Jaime Padron and Brandon Daniel, inciting tears and gasps from the audience as he remembered Daniel had chuckled after the shooting.
He looked over at Padron, who lied lifeless on the floor of the North Austin store, laughed and said, “‘I killed a cop,’” LeMere told jurors on the first day of testimony of a capital murder trial for Daniel, charged in the April 2012 killing of the officer. Complete article
Daniel guilty of capital murder in Officer Padron slaying 02/21/2014
5:30 p.m. update: Brandon Daniel appeared to have a blank stare and his speech was slurred and lethargic, moments after he shot and killed Austin police officer Jaime Padron, witnesses testified Tuesday.
But Daniel smiled and winked at officer Albert Arevalo as he took him away from the location, asking if he would get his motorcycle back and in what county the crime had occurred, Arevalo told jurors.
“He asked for a possible sentence for his actions,” the officer recalled on the stand. “He wanted to know whether he was going to get life or death.”
Once at the Police Department’s downtown headquarters, Arevalo said Daniel made the statement, “I killed a cop.” .....
4:25 p.m. update: In the early hours of April 6, 2012, Brandon Daniel ambled through a North Austin Walmart, swaying through the aisles and dropping items, before he encountered a store employee and Austin police officer Jaime Padron, as seen in a security camera video played Tuesday in the courtroom. .....
11:30 a.m. update: On the stand Tuesday, Walmart employee Lincoln LeMere described the deadly struggle between officer Jaime Padron and Brandon Daniel, inciting tears and gasps from the audience as he remembered Daniel had chuckled after the shooting.
He looked over at Padron, who lied lifeless on the floor of the North Austin store, laughed and said, “‘I killed a cop,’” LeMere told jurors on the first day of testimony of a capital murder trial for Daniel, charged in the April 2012 killing of the officer. Complete article
Daniel guilty of capital murder in Officer Padron slaying 02/21/2014
Deputies seek suspect in theft of wallet at Lehigh Walmart 02/18/2014
Serial Shoplifter Goes to Prison for Attempted Theft From Md. Walmart 02/18/2014
McDonald’s, WalMart ads in Wash. parks? 02/18/2014
Man Arrested For Alleged Arson at Pa. Walmart 02/18/2014
Suffolk Va. police search for suspects in attempted Walmart theft 02/18/2014
Suspect surrenders in Newport RI Walmart arson 02/19/2014
Tenn. Wal-Mart murder suspect's hearing continued until March 02/19/2014
Walmart denies reports saying it is considering minimum wage increase 02/19/2014
Chandler Ariz. Walmart shooting: Husband died protecting me, widow says 02/19/2014
Ga. Wal-Mart smash & grab couple caught on camera 02/19/2014
Gunmen rob a man outside a Texas Walmart 02/19/2014
Hazel Green Ala. residents fear new Walmart will increase deadly wrecks unless traffic plan improved 02/19/2014
Ask Joe: Should Walmart reimburse shoppers for wind related damage? 02/19/2014
Crimeline: Police seek female duo in NH Walmart thefts 02/19/2014
Man charged in NH Walmart shoplifting 02/19/2014
Wal-Mart Forecast Trails Estimates on Weak Economy 02/20/2014
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the world’s largest retailer, forecast profit this year that trailed analysts’ estimates as the sluggish U.S. economy and government benefit cuts threaten to restrain sales.
Profit per share in the year through January 2015 will be $5.10 to $5.45, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said today in a statement. The average of 28 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $5.55 a share. ....
Wal-Mart fell 1.8 percent to $73.52 at the close in New York. The shares have dropped 6.6 percent this year, compared with a 0.5 percent decline for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Fourth-quarter net income fell 21 percent to $4.43 billion, or $1.36 a share, from $5.61 billion, or $1.67, a year earlier, the company said today. Excluding some items, profit was $1.60 a share. The average of 22 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $1.59.
Revenue increased 1.5 percent to $129.7 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 31. Analysts projected $130.2 billion. Sales at Wal-Mart U.S. stores open at least 12 months excluding fuel fell 0.4 percent. Complete article
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the world’s largest retailer, forecast profit this year that trailed analysts’ estimates as the sluggish U.S. economy and government benefit cuts threaten to restrain sales.
Profit per share in the year through January 2015 will be $5.10 to $5.45, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said today in a statement. The average of 28 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $5.55 a share. ....
Wal-Mart fell 1.8 percent to $73.52 at the close in New York. The shares have dropped 6.6 percent this year, compared with a 0.5 percent decline for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Fourth-quarter net income fell 21 percent to $4.43 billion, or $1.36 a share, from $5.61 billion, or $1.67, a year earlier, the company said today. Excluding some items, profit was $1.60 a share. The average of 22 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $1.59.
Revenue increased 1.5 percent to $129.7 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 31. Analysts projected $130.2 billion. Sales at Wal-Mart U.S. stores open at least 12 months excluding fuel fell 0.4 percent. Complete article
Infant Dies After Needing Medical Attention At Pa. Walmart 02/20/2014
Mass. Walmart worker faces charges for stealing, then returning money 02/20/2014
Hogs turned into cannibals; comparing Whole Foods and Walmart; catfish standards: food safety roundup 02/20/2014
‘Tech savvy’ Augusta teen to be charged over Skowhegan Me. Walmart bomb threats 02/20/2014
TSU football player shot outside Tenn. Walmart in road rage incident 02/20/2014
Woman wanted for Short Pump Va. Walmart purse snatching 02/20/2014
Police make second arrest in Murfreesboro Tenn. Walmart double murder 02/20/2014
Watch out for fake offers for $100 Walmart and Target gift cards 02/20/2014
Tx. Walmart Store Lowers Dog Food Display Amid Safety Concerns 02/21/2014
Wal-Mart's China syndrome a symptom of international woes 02/21/2014
Robber snatches purse in Gateway Road Ga. Walmart parking lot 02/21/2014
Man, woman sought in NH Walmart ATM theft 02/21/2014
Wal-Mart says it’s ‘neutral’ on a minimum wage hike. Lobbying disclosures suggest otherwise. 02/21/2014
Man accused of groping woman in Butte Montana store 02/21/2014
Clarksville Tenn. man charged with robbing woman in Walmart parking lot 02/21/2014
Oregon Shoplifter doesn't have to pay Walmart to put goods back on shelf: Northwest courts roundup 02/21/2014
Glendale Ariz. police seek public's help in purse snatching in Walmart parking lot 02/20/2014
Four Pharmacy Workers Arrested At Aledo, IL Walmart 02/21/2014
How many of the groceries sold at Walmart would be banned by Whole Foods? 02/18/2014
12 NEWS DEFENDERS: Wal-Mart sends corporate executives to Troy Ala. store 02/21/2014 We found filthy conditions, poor customer service and merchandise nearly non-existent. Less than 48 hours after WSFA 12 News Defenders uncovered the conditions, executives from the Wal-Mart corporate office came to the city to see for themselves.
St. Anthony Minn. Walmart Reopens After Bomb Threat 02/22/2014
Oakland Ca. residents arrested after Martinez Walmart theft, car chase 02/22/2014
Hendersonville Tenn. Police Seek To Identify Walmart Theft Suspects 02/23/2014
Walmart and The Container Store Have Something Surprising In Common 02/23/2014 The Container Store started a fund for employees in need and got a lot of pats on the back. A Walmart store took up donations for employees in need during the holidays, and was pilloried for the effort. Two companies with two identical goals, have two very different outcomes.
Police: Man had bomb-making materials near Cedar Park Tx. Walmart 02/24/2014
CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) – Two people were arrested after police found homemade bombs in a car at a Cedar Park Walmart parking lot.
Cedar Park police officers were responding to a call about a hit-and-run wreck at 7:30 p.m. Sunday when a woman made the call from the Walmart near U.S. Highway 183 and FM 1431.
In the meantime, Nicholas Domingo Salinas, 31, pulled up in a separate car to join her in the parking lot, police said. Salinas claimed to be friends with the woman, but police say their stories didn’t add up.
“He had come to the Walmart parking lot to assist a woman who had been involved in a hit-and-run in the parking lot,” said Cedar Park Police Chief Sean Mannix. “However, security footage at the parking lot showed that no collision had in fact occurred.”
Salinas then agreed to let police search his vehicle. Officers said they found drugs, drug paraphernalia and two homemade pipe bombs.
“It doesn’t appear that he was out last night targeting a location to use it,” Mannix said. “It appears that those devices had been running around his car for some time. It’s very unusual.” Complete article
CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) – Two people were arrested after police found homemade bombs in a car at a Cedar Park Walmart parking lot.
Cedar Park police officers were responding to a call about a hit-and-run wreck at 7:30 p.m. Sunday when a woman made the call from the Walmart near U.S. Highway 183 and FM 1431.
In the meantime, Nicholas Domingo Salinas, 31, pulled up in a separate car to join her in the parking lot, police said. Salinas claimed to be friends with the woman, but police say their stories didn’t add up.
“He had come to the Walmart parking lot to assist a woman who had been involved in a hit-and-run in the parking lot,” said Cedar Park Police Chief Sean Mannix. “However, security footage at the parking lot showed that no collision had in fact occurred.”
Salinas then agreed to let police search his vehicle. Officers said they found drugs, drug paraphernalia and two homemade pipe bombs.
“It doesn’t appear that he was out last night targeting a location to use it,” Mannix said. “It appears that those devices had been running around his car for some time. It’s very unusual.” Complete article
Aurora Ind. police seek several people in Walmart jewelry theft 02/24/2014
Tewksbury Mass. Walmart evacuated due to bomb scare 02/24/2014
Walmart’s Big Push to Go Small—and Destroy Your Neighborhood Dollar Store 02/24/2014
Virginia Beach Police looking for Walmart shoplifting suspect 02/24/2014
Years after past fights, Walmart adding gas station near newest Fla. Supercenter 02/24/2014
Police: Woman stole from Metro-East Missouri Walmart also caught with drugs 02/24/2014
Police investigate a possible bomb threat at Fayetteville Ark. Walmart 02/24/2014
Ocoee Fla. Walmart cashier accused of passing counterfeit money 02/25/2014
Will new NC Walmart turn U.S. 301 into Skibo Road? 02/25/2014
Man Sought Who Exposed Himself to Girl at Ohio Walmart 02/25/2014
Suspects Wanted for Stealing TVs From Md. Walmart 02/25/2014
Birmingham Ala. police seek man who snatched elderly woman's purse at Montclair Wal-Mart 02/26/2014
Walmart Doubles Down on Hydrogen Fuel Cells 02/27/2014
Nine ‘Assault’ Rifles Stolen From Memphis Tenn. Walmart 02/27/2014
Did They Use A Key? 9 Guns Stolen From Tenn. Walmart Gun Safe 02/27/2014
Crime Stoppers unsolved case: Shoplifting at Walmart in north Springfield Missouri 02/27/2014
California man shoots himself in the leg in Walmart parking lot 02/25/2014
Drug addict admits NY Walmart theft scheme 02/27/2014
Reidsville NC police investigate larcenies at Walmart, Sheetz 02/28/2014
TV star’s ugly Wal-Mart defense: Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe goes nuclear 02/28/2014
“Dirty Jobs” star Mike Rowe pushed back against Wal-Mart critics Monday, comparing a mass email campaign to “a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch” and urging that “unhappy” workers apply for scholarships from his foundation because their “jobs could very well become obsolete in just a few years.”
Rowe has drawn waves of praise and scorn since narrating an ad for Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the world. In the ad, “I Am a Factory,” which began airing during the Olympics, Rowe states, “We will build things and build families and build dreams.”
The Wal-Mart ad’s on-screen text touts Wal-Mart’s commitment to put “$250 billion to work to help create new manufacturing jobs in America” over the next decade. Reuters reported last September that “In many cases, Wal-Mart’s suppliers had already decided to produce in the United States, as rising wages in China and other emerging economies, along with increased labor productivity and flexibility back home, eroded the allure of offshore production.” Rowe and Wal-Mart did not respond to Wednesday inquiries.
In a Monday post on his Facebook page, Rowe offered the latest in a series of responses to critics who’ve cited recent Wal-Mart controversies. Rowe wrote that Wal-Mart’s “$250 billion investment in US manufacturing is worth talking about,” and “I’m happy to ‘shill’ for any company that gets this country back to work.” Rowe then turned to a CBS story on the controversy, taking issue with the reporter’s framing and word choice, emphasizing that he was not “empowered to speak on Walmart’s behalf in some sort of official capacity,” and then offering an open letter to Jobs With Justice press secretary Ori Korin, who was quoted in the CBS piece saying Rowe had “dismissed people’s concerns.”
Jobs With Justice, a labor-backed nonprofit, has helped organize protests in support of striking Wal-Mart workers over pay, hours and alleged retaliation. It urged its members (mostly not Wal-Mart employees) to send Rowe an email supporting Wal-Mart workers who’ve asked him for a meeting; the message drafted by JWJ says Wal-Mart workers “deserve more than their dirty jobs, and they deserve to be heard.”
Addressing Korin by name, Rowe said he was “sympathetic to your objectives and sensitive to the needs of your members,” but that having 5,048 people email his office “had the same effect as a flood of telemarketing calls during my dinner, or a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch.” Rowe called it “ironic” that a group concerned about excessive workloads didn’t “think twice about flooding an unsuspecting non-profit foundation with an endless stream of form letters,” and warned that another 5,000 “just might inspire the nice woman who oversees my foundation to throw herself out the window.” Complete article
“Dirty Jobs” star Mike Rowe pushed back against Wal-Mart critics Monday, comparing a mass email campaign to “a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch” and urging that “unhappy” workers apply for scholarships from his foundation because their “jobs could very well become obsolete in just a few years.”
Rowe has drawn waves of praise and scorn since narrating an ad for Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the world. In the ad, “I Am a Factory,” which began airing during the Olympics, Rowe states, “We will build things and build families and build dreams.”
The Wal-Mart ad’s on-screen text touts Wal-Mart’s commitment to put “$250 billion to work to help create new manufacturing jobs in America” over the next decade. Reuters reported last September that “In many cases, Wal-Mart’s suppliers had already decided to produce in the United States, as rising wages in China and other emerging economies, along with increased labor productivity and flexibility back home, eroded the allure of offshore production.” Rowe and Wal-Mart did not respond to Wednesday inquiries.
In a Monday post on his Facebook page, Rowe offered the latest in a series of responses to critics who’ve cited recent Wal-Mart controversies. Rowe wrote that Wal-Mart’s “$250 billion investment in US manufacturing is worth talking about,” and “I’m happy to ‘shill’ for any company that gets this country back to work.” Rowe then turned to a CBS story on the controversy, taking issue with the reporter’s framing and word choice, emphasizing that he was not “empowered to speak on Walmart’s behalf in some sort of official capacity,” and then offering an open letter to Jobs With Justice press secretary Ori Korin, who was quoted in the CBS piece saying Rowe had “dismissed people’s concerns.”
Jobs With Justice, a labor-backed nonprofit, has helped organize protests in support of striking Wal-Mart workers over pay, hours and alleged retaliation. It urged its members (mostly not Wal-Mart employees) to send Rowe an email supporting Wal-Mart workers who’ve asked him for a meeting; the message drafted by JWJ says Wal-Mart workers “deserve more than their dirty jobs, and they deserve to be heard.”
Addressing Korin by name, Rowe said he was “sympathetic to your objectives and sensitive to the needs of your members,” but that having 5,048 people email his office “had the same effect as a flood of telemarketing calls during my dinner, or a bag of dog crap set ablaze on my front porch.” Rowe called it “ironic” that a group concerned about excessive workloads didn’t “think twice about flooding an unsuspecting non-profit foundation with an endless stream of form letters,” and warned that another 5,000 “just might inspire the nice woman who oversees my foundation to throw herself out the window.” Complete article
Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon’s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers 02/23/2014
Cult-like, corrupt and Christian conservative: Inside the campus group creating Wal-Mart managers 02/26/2014 XXX
Cult-like, corrupt and Christian conservative: Inside the campus group creating Wal-Mart managers 02/26/2014
For decades, the campus group Students in Free Enterprise has drawn major funding and leadership from Wal-Mart, and channeled scores of students into the retail giant’s management ranks. Renamed Enactus in 2012, the group calls itself “the world’s best-known and most successful program helping university students to create community empowerment projects …” But California State University, Chico, accounting professor and former SIFE insider Curtis DeBerg told Salon that the well-heeled group served as “really a marketing branch to support business leaders who supported SIFE,” and that his decade as one of SIFE’s Sam Walton fellows was marked by fraud, turf war and falsehood. “There’s something entirely inconsistent about servant leadership as Wal-Mart practices it,” said DeBerg, the founder of the now-rival spinoff Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship. DeBerg’s memoir, “How High Is Up?: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of a Sam M. Walton SIFE Fellow,” will be released next month.
Asked about DeBerg’s allegations, Enactus sent a statement from CEO Alvin Rohrs saying that DeBerg “has not been associated with our organization for more than a decade and we are puzzled as to why these complaints would resurface now.” Rohrs told Salon that “we take the integrity of our competitions extremely seriously” and that a three-month investigation by an “independent investigator” into the cheating alleged by DeBerg had “found no impropriety or indication of any unethical behavior.” Rohrs added, “Over the last 11 years we’ve used this incident to continue to improve and strengthen our processes to ensure the highest standards of transparency and accuracy.”
In contrast, University of California, Santa Barbara, labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein, the author of “The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business,” told Salon over email that DeBerg “offers an inside account of the cultlike character, institutional corruption and corporate conservative ideology of an organization that is a product of the founding generation of Walmart executives,” as well as “part of the cultural apparatus that sustains the entire evangelical capitalist world within which so many retail, hotel, and food processing companies make their way.” .....
Bethany Moreton, in her book “To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise,” described SIFE’s message to schoolchildren as “profits are beneficial; government is wasteful; unions are illegitimate; corporations are natural persons; free markets abhor environmental regulation but not cartels; monopsony contracts, or military-supported access to foreign raw materials.”
Was SIFE really a marketing branch to support business leaders who supported SIFE, to have faculty like me espouse these same values in our university system? Absolutely.
What SIFE didn’t count on is, when they started leaving the Bible Belt … that there might be some faculty advisers like me that didn’t subscribe to that particular value system. ....
The third thing that shocked me was in 2003, I discovered that there was cheating going on in the competitions … Four universities won prize money for a competition they hadn’t even entered. The irony there is in SIFE’s mission statement, they talk about all these business leaders, you know, wanting to inculcate corporate social responsibility into these university students. .....
Robert Rich sent me a one-page letter saying my services are no longer needed at SIFE … He said: You must take care not to defame SIFE in your future as you grow this new organization … Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship … An offshoot of SIFE that I [had] created, which SIFE now believed was a direct competitor with their university organization. Complete article
For decades, the campus group Students in Free Enterprise has drawn major funding and leadership from Wal-Mart, and channeled scores of students into the retail giant’s management ranks. Renamed Enactus in 2012, the group calls itself “the world’s best-known and most successful program helping university students to create community empowerment projects …” But California State University, Chico, accounting professor and former SIFE insider Curtis DeBerg told Salon that the well-heeled group served as “really a marketing branch to support business leaders who supported SIFE,” and that his decade as one of SIFE’s Sam Walton fellows was marked by fraud, turf war and falsehood. “There’s something entirely inconsistent about servant leadership as Wal-Mart practices it,” said DeBerg, the founder of the now-rival spinoff Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship. DeBerg’s memoir, “How High Is Up?: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of a Sam M. Walton SIFE Fellow,” will be released next month.
Asked about DeBerg’s allegations, Enactus sent a statement from CEO Alvin Rohrs saying that DeBerg “has not been associated with our organization for more than a decade and we are puzzled as to why these complaints would resurface now.” Rohrs told Salon that “we take the integrity of our competitions extremely seriously” and that a three-month investigation by an “independent investigator” into the cheating alleged by DeBerg had “found no impropriety or indication of any unethical behavior.” Rohrs added, “Over the last 11 years we’ve used this incident to continue to improve and strengthen our processes to ensure the highest standards of transparency and accuracy.”
In contrast, University of California, Santa Barbara, labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein, the author of “The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business,” told Salon over email that DeBerg “offers an inside account of the cultlike character, institutional corruption and corporate conservative ideology of an organization that is a product of the founding generation of Walmart executives,” as well as “part of the cultural apparatus that sustains the entire evangelical capitalist world within which so many retail, hotel, and food processing companies make their way.” .....
Bethany Moreton, in her book “To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise,” described SIFE’s message to schoolchildren as “profits are beneficial; government is wasteful; unions are illegitimate; corporations are natural persons; free markets abhor environmental regulation but not cartels; monopsony contracts, or military-supported access to foreign raw materials.”
Was SIFE really a marketing branch to support business leaders who supported SIFE, to have faculty like me espouse these same values in our university system? Absolutely.
What SIFE didn’t count on is, when they started leaving the Bible Belt … that there might be some faculty advisers like me that didn’t subscribe to that particular value system. ....
The third thing that shocked me was in 2003, I discovered that there was cheating going on in the competitions … Four universities won prize money for a competition they hadn’t even entered. The irony there is in SIFE’s mission statement, they talk about all these business leaders, you know, wanting to inculcate corporate social responsibility into these university students. .....
Robert Rich sent me a one-page letter saying my services are no longer needed at SIFE … He said: You must take care not to defame SIFE in your future as you grow this new organization … Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship … An offshoot of SIFE that I [had] created, which SIFE now believed was a direct competitor with their university organization. Complete article
Survey Says: Walmart Is Worst Discount Retailer & Worst Supermarket 02/26/2014
Walmart may be the nation’s largest retailer and its biggest supermarket chain, but the latest results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index once again show that Big W continues to lag far behind all of its competition.
For the seventh year in a row, Walmart received the lowest score on the ASCI rankings of department and discount retailers. With a score of only 71, Walmart was at least 10 points behind category leaders Nordstrom and Dillard’s.
Since those two retailers are significantly more “high-end” than Walmart, one might conclude that customer satisfaction is tied to the price of goods being sold. But stores like Kohl’s and Dollar General received top marks in the ACSI survey, demonstrating that you need not charge top-dollar to have happy customers. Meanwhile, Macy’s received a below-average score of 75, putting it only slightly above Walmart in the list.
“[This] suggests that discounting is not necessarily associated with weak customer satisfaction, nor is high-end retailing a guarantee of the opposite,” writes ACSI about its retail results.
THE NOT-SO-SUPER SUPERMARKET
Since ACSI began including Walmart in its supermarket rankings in 2004, the store has had the lowest score each year — and 2013 was no different.
That said, Walmart’s score of 72 in the latest survey is tied for its best-ever result, though it was still 14 points below industry leader Publix (which has had the highest score for 20 years running) and six points behind the industry average of 78.
“A decade of low customer satisfaction ratings demonstrates that low price does not does compensate for quality,” writes ACSI in its report, “neither in merchandise nor in service.” Complete article
Walmart may be the nation’s largest retailer and its biggest supermarket chain, but the latest results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index once again show that Big W continues to lag far behind all of its competition.
For the seventh year in a row, Walmart received the lowest score on the ASCI rankings of department and discount retailers. With a score of only 71, Walmart was at least 10 points behind category leaders Nordstrom and Dillard’s.
Since those two retailers are significantly more “high-end” than Walmart, one might conclude that customer satisfaction is tied to the price of goods being sold. But stores like Kohl’s and Dollar General received top marks in the ACSI survey, demonstrating that you need not charge top-dollar to have happy customers. Meanwhile, Macy’s received a below-average score of 75, putting it only slightly above Walmart in the list.
“[This] suggests that discounting is not necessarily associated with weak customer satisfaction, nor is high-end retailing a guarantee of the opposite,” writes ACSI about its retail results.
THE NOT-SO-SUPER SUPERMARKET
Since ACSI began including Walmart in its supermarket rankings in 2004, the store has had the lowest score each year — and 2013 was no different.
That said, Walmart’s score of 72 in the latest survey is tied for its best-ever result, though it was still 14 points below industry leader Publix (which has had the highest score for 20 years running) and six points behind the industry average of 78.
“A decade of low customer satisfaction ratings demonstrates that low price does not does compensate for quality,” writes ACSI in its report, “neither in merchandise nor in service.” Complete article
Police: 14-year-old opens fire outside Upstate SC Walmart 02/24/2014
EASLEY, S.C. —A 14-year-old boy was arrested late Sunday night after police say he ran from an Easley Walmart security officer, then opened fire on bystanders.
Easley police officers were called to the store at 115 Rolling Hills Circle just after 10:30 p.m., according to Lt. Jeremy Miller.
Officers were responding to assist another officer with a traffic stop, Miller said. While on that case, they observed a shoplifting suspect running out of the store and away from a loss prevention officer, Miller said.
The loss prevention officer had suspected the teen was shoplifting and approached him inside the store, Miller said.
"They were going to question him and call us, so we could take him into custody, but then he pulled out a gun," said Miller.
As the teen ran out of the store, officers heard two gunshots, and people shouting, “He has a gun,” according to Miller.
The teen fired at two innocent bystanders, who tried to help security catch the teen said Miller. Once outside the store in the parking lot, investigators said the teen turned and fire two shots at those men. Complete article
EASLEY, S.C. —A 14-year-old boy was arrested late Sunday night after police say he ran from an Easley Walmart security officer, then opened fire on bystanders.
Easley police officers were called to the store at 115 Rolling Hills Circle just after 10:30 p.m., according to Lt. Jeremy Miller.
Officers were responding to assist another officer with a traffic stop, Miller said. While on that case, they observed a shoplifting suspect running out of the store and away from a loss prevention officer, Miller said.
The loss prevention officer had suspected the teen was shoplifting and approached him inside the store, Miller said.
"They were going to question him and call us, so we could take him into custody, but then he pulled out a gun," said Miller.
As the teen ran out of the store, officers heard two gunshots, and people shouting, “He has a gun,” according to Miller.
The teen fired at two innocent bystanders, who tried to help security catch the teen said Miller. Once outside the store in the parking lot, investigators said the teen turned and fire two shots at those men. Complete article
Up against the Walmart behemoth 02/25/2014
Four arrested in 'knock-out game' punching of boy at Brunswick Fla. Walmart 02/27/2014
BRUNSWICK | Four men in their teens have been arrested in an unprovoked attack on a 16-year-old boy at a Walmart that appeared similar to the knock-out game, Glynn County police said.
In the knock-out game, offenders randomly select strangers, usually those who cannot defend themselves, and try to knock them unconscious with a single blow. Someone records the attack on a cellphone.
One of the young men punched Alex L. Thomas inside the Walmart on Altama Connector about 1 a.m. Monday, then he and three others fled the store on foot, Scott Trautz, assistant Glynn County police chief, said in a news release. Complete article
BRUNSWICK | Four men in their teens have been arrested in an unprovoked attack on a 16-year-old boy at a Walmart that appeared similar to the knock-out game, Glynn County police said.
In the knock-out game, offenders randomly select strangers, usually those who cannot defend themselves, and try to knock them unconscious with a single blow. Someone records the attack on a cellphone.
One of the young men punched Alex L. Thomas inside the Walmart on Altama Connector about 1 a.m. Monday, then he and three others fled the store on foot, Scott Trautz, assistant Glynn County police chief, said in a news release. Complete article
Suspect in Lindale Tx. Walmart robbery indicted 02/2/2014
Two charged with stealing cosmetics from Route 11 NY Walmart 02/28/2014
Massena duo accused of stealing from NY Walmart 02/28/2014
Police: 'Walmart 5' arrested, charged with theft after looting Winona Minn. store 02/28/2014
Woman attempts to shoplift 330 Pizza Rolls at Ark. Wal-Mart 02/26/2014
Men accused of carrying laptops out of Sterling Ill. Walmart 02/27/2014
Very interesting and it sort of makes sense. I only read the important points, but I clearly understand the reason why there were lesser crimes when Wal-Mart wasn't as big as now. According to Johnson Law Group, criminal minds are provoked by seeing what they usually dream of having, but can't possibly have because of the lack of resources. This is a good example why theft happens a lot in or near Shopping Malls.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they're right since part of what I've seen also indicates that advertising also encourages people without resources to try to steal them although the reason why is more complicated than that. I would be interested in knowing how they came to their conclusions.
ReplyDeleteIn other posts I have indicated that one of the leading causes of crime, especially violent crime is early childhood upbringing including child abuse which leads to more violence later in life. This doesn't mean it is the sole contributing cause; actually I think it is related though since child abuse escalates to bullying and hazing and the way Wal-Mart trains their employees continues this escalation, including their union busting tactics. Also their deceptive marketing and political tactics are more successful against those that have been raised in an authoritative manner.