Pride at Work to LGBT community: Don't be fooled by Wal-Mart

[kweerwolf]

In an effort to reach out to the large lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender market, Wal-Mart will be hosting a seminar tomorrow entitled “Why Market to Gay America?” As Wal-Mart begins efforts to woo the LGBT community, Pride At Work, AFL-CIO, urges members of our community to not be fooled by Wal-Mart’s new marketing ploy. Regardless of Wal-Mart’s marketing strategy, their low prices come at a huge price, and their support of the LGBT community is tepid, at best.

The seminar, which will be hosted by Wal-Mart’s Office of Diversity, is in fact merely an effort to buy into the estimated $610 billion of purchasing power the LGBT community is believed to hold.

The seminar comes nearly a year after Wal-Mart announced the expansion of its definition of ‘immediate family’ to include domestic partners, although they do NOT offer domestic partners health benefits. While Wal-Mart does include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policy, their corporate history is riddled with cases of employment discrimination, including the largest class action gender discrimination lawsuit in United States history. “Knowing Wal-Mart’s deplorable history of employment discrimination, it’s obvious to me that Wal-Mart’s nondiscrimination policies are not worth the price of the paper they are printed on,” said Josh Cazares, Pride At Work Co-President. Wal-Mart still does not protect workers from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.

“Pride At Work stands in solidarity with workers who are being denied the right to unionize, being deprived of fair wages, being deprived of affordable health care, and being discriminated against based on their gender and ethnic identities,” said Nancy Wohlforth, Pride At Work Co-President. “Wal-Mart imposes each of these injustices on its workers. The LGBT community has a long history of being on the forefront of battles for economic and social justice. We firmly believe that the LGBT community will not be enticed by a company whose corporate values are so diametrically opposed to the values which so many LGBT people hold dear: values of fairness, justice, and equality.”

http://prideatwork.org/page.php?id=284

FYI - Pride At Work is an LGBT-supportive affiliate of the AFL-CIO

[TriMetFan]

1. Well this is one lesbian that doesn't shop there.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. I refuse to shop there, period

Their business model is half a goose step away from economic fascism. I dare say that WalMart is responsible for the failure of more small businesses and entrepeneurial initiatives than any other single source ever in American history. And why the {very long stream of invective and epithets deleted} should I give one penny to any company that is as anti-union, anti-American business, pro-child and wage slavery and pro-Republican as WalMart? I wouldn't shop there if they decorated every store in the country with rainbow flags every June.

Added Atheist though I may be, I find it delightfully appropriate that my 666th posting -- the Message of the Beast? -- would be one where I froth about WalMart. :evilgrin:

[Ian David]

4. Same here. No Wal-Mart since November 3rd. n/t

[Ian David]

3. You left out the "Call to action" link

You can take the “Say No To Wal-Mart pledge” by visiting:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/walmartnov

Did you know that Wal-Mart is the World’s largest employer with over $10 billion in profits?

Wal-Mart’s profits don’t make it to its workers. Most workers make wages below the poverty line. Wal-Mart’s health benefits are so poor, employees are forced to seek public assistance. In addition, Wal-Mart does not offer domestic partner benefits. Finally, Wal-Mart faces the largest gender discrimination case in U.S. history, involving 1.6 million women.

What can you do? Take The Wal-Mart Pride At Work Pledge!
We, the undersigned, pledge not to shop at Wal-Mart during the month of December because Wal-Mart:

-pays its employees wages UNDER the poverty line,

-DOES NOT offer affordable and comprehensive health benefits, including domestic partner benefits,

-DOES NOT protect workers from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression

-and because Wal-Mart is facing a class action gender discrimination lawsuit.

So tell Wal-Mart, for the all-critical month of December, you're taking your business elswhere. You have the power to affect change. Spend your money elswhere- its the one thing Wal-Mart understands. Take the pledge today.

You can take the “Say No To Wal-Mart pledge” by visiting:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/walmartnov