Letters to the Editor

Editor,

In response to Jason Jensen’s Sept. 26th letter, I say that Wal-Mart has the majority of people in America hoodwinked. If they really cared about America they wouldn’t be the single largest contributor to our trade deficit with China, or drop accounts with American manufacturers trying to defend international patents, or fire any worker who accepts literature from union organizers. The least they could do if they cared is pay their workers reasonable wages (Wal-Mart employees have a disproportionately high usage of federal and state welfare in every state it has been investigated).

Wal-Mart reminds me of the old joke: “Where does an 800-pound gorilla sit when it goes to a movie? Anywhere it wants.” From 1998 to 2003 I worked for a manufacturer in Utah that employed about 2000 people. My employers felt they needed to do business with Wal-Mart. After negotiating a bulk discount (they agreed to buy a half million units of one product for a six dollar discount) my division alone hired another six workers per shift to meet demand. Then when the product reached the shelves, Wal-Mart increased the price by an additional thirteen dollars over the negotiated “suggested retail price” so that they could do their trademark “rollbacks” and dupe people into thinking they were getting a deal. But when the marked-up product didn’t sell as expected they refused to honor the agreement. Guess how many we laid-off because Wal-Mart had to “sit where it wanted”.

Proponents say that the new building will decrease traffic through Logan, and I agree. It will reduce traffic to every retail store (including the Logan down town historical district and the mall) between the two Wal-Mart super centers. Since Wal-Mart refuses to move into existing shopping districts they create a slums of empty stores in every city they enter. Don’t believe me? Drive through down town Brigham City or Ogden, then check the dates when the Wal-Marts were opened and the malls closed.

Any reason for boycotting Wal-Mart is valid, but I prefer “I don’t have to do what the 800-pound gorilla wants”.

Jared Hardman