I was talking to a cashier from the local supermarket the other night, and she told me a super-Walmart is opening around the corner from my house.
“My boss was telling us he’ll have to cut overtime,” she said.
The supermarket clerks are unionized and it’s a strong union neighborhood. I told her they should start a campaign, asking people to support their local union workers. She looked doubtful. “Times are tough. It’s hard to ask somebody who’s out of work not to buy the cheapest food they can,” she said.
She’s right. It’s a tough moral call to make. I’ve always gone out of my way to support local business (I paid $20 more for the new air conditioner than I would have at a chain store), and union companies. But I know I’m in the minority.
I hope Walmart doesn’t kill my neighborhood.
that’s as big of waste of hope as obama was.
it will be interesting to see how many thousands compete for those shitty jobs though.
I’m afraid that this will be the beginning of the end for small businesses in the surrounding area. Unfortunately it’s happening everywhere.
We tried to keep them out of my old neighborhood but the city just ignored us and let them come in anyway.
I work in a store that is part of the largest chains in the US. Our stores are holding their own against that big blue store, mostly because of better quality perishables and customer service. We also get plenty of food stamps (or, as they call it now, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC.
I may be wrong, but I have gotten the impression that the tidal wave of Wal-Mart is beginning to recede as people catch on to the marketing tricks (notice that they don’t say “Always the Low Prices” any more), the poor service, and the weariness that comes over me when I go in the door and see all those miles of floor space I have to cover to get a pair of socks.