Manhattan: NO to Wal-mart

[pnkpanther]

Wal-Mart May Never Enter Manhattan
Wednesday March 28, 4:55 pm ET
By Anne D'Innocenzio, AP Business Writer
Report: Wal-Mart's CEO Says Manhattan Location May Never Happen


NEW YORK (AP) -- Wal-Mart, embattled by failed attempts to open stores in Queens and Staten Island, may be giving up on New York, or at the very least Manhattan.
In an interview with The New York Times, published Wednesday, Lee Scott, Wal-Mart chief executive and chairman, said that trying to conduct business in New York was so expensive that "I don't think it is worth the effort. I don't care if we are ever here," he told The New York Times at a meeting with editors and reporters on Tuesday.

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But Wal-Mart officials quickly clarified that Scott, who in the interview made repeated references to "New York," was referring to Manhattan, and not the entire city.

"We have never tried to get into Manhattan and aren't sure we ever will unless the economics of the specific deal make sense for us. We would like to be in other boroughs if we can find the right arrangement, because we know we could serve those communities very well," said Kevin Thornton, in an e-mail response to The Associated Press Wednesday.

Still, Stuart Applebaum, president of The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is leading the charge against Wal-Mart in New York, said Scott's comments were good news for the union. The union represents 100,000 workers throughout the U.S. and Canada, including 45,000 workers in New York.

"They are going to find that no matter where they are in New York City, the response is going to be the same," Applebaum said. "New Yorkers will not tolerate their way of operating. Their promises of low prices come at too high of a cost."

Applebaum said that if Wal-Mart were able open in New York -- the nation's largest city -- it would mean that there "would be no place that would be off limits."

Patricia Edwards, a portfolio manager and retail analyst at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich in Seattle, which manages $9 billion in assets and holds about 42,845 Wal-Mart shares, noted that even if Wal-Mart writes off the New York area, she doesn't see it as a big financial blow.

"There are a lot of retailers that do quite well and they are not in New York," she said. While she said there's certainly a huge demographic base, stores face high property values and shipping costs.

Union-backed critics in New York and elsewhere have waged a fierce campaign against Wal-Mart, asserting that the retailer's wages and benefits are so modest they drive down pay and benefits for many of its competitors and force employees to go on state-funded health care plans. Wal-Mart has denied union claims, asserting that it creates jobs and raises the standard of living for many residents with its low prices.

The campaign by union-backed groups in New York clashed with Wal-Mart in its failed attempts by to open stores in Rego Park, Queens in 2004 and in Staten Island last year.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose sales growth has slowed in recent years, is looking to urban markets as the next frontier to fuel domestic growth. Those efforts have been met with resistance from labor and neighborhood groups.

Wal-Mart entered Chicago last year, it's biggest city, but only after the city's mayor vetoed an ordinance requiring higher wages.

In the interview with The New York Times, Scott said that the Wal-Mart store in Chicago has performed better than expected.

Shares of Wal-Mart fell 85 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $46.64 on the New York Stock Exchange.

[Vegas]

This is stupid. The politicians cave in to their union buddies and deprive the city of oodles of sales tax revenue.

[IBC]

They also said no to low wages and products made exclusively in China.

[Vegas]

They also said no to low wages and products made exclusively in China.

Low wages as in market wages? Let's take the example of Chicago where the (Democrat) mayor "caved in" to WalMart. WalMart was going to put stores in the suburbs if they didn't build them in the city. People shop at WalMart. As a matter of fact, more people shop at WalMart than vote in presidential elections. In Chicago, the city gets the sales tax revenue, the residents don't have to drive as far, and people got jobs. Everybody wins except for the overpaid unionized workers. And the jobs aren't so bad. Most WalMart workers get health care benefits and they had over 250 applicants per job opening. If it was so awful, nobody would even apply.

[pnkpanther]

wal-mart has a lot pull, too much pull, they run other companies into the ground...

i dont like wal-mart

i realize my lack of business doesnt hurt them, but i wont support a store/company i dont like

[Vegas]

wal-mart has a lot pull, too much pull, they run other companies into the ground...

i dont like wal-mart

i realize my lack of business doesnt hurt them, but i wont support a store/company i dont like

You do realize that Hillary was on their board of directors?

[pnkpanther]

You do realize that Hillary was on their board of directors?

i dont like Hillary.

there are few if any politicians i agree/like/on board with on every issue.

[IBC]

Low wages as in market wages? Let's take the example of Chicago where the (Democrat) mayor "caved in" to WalMart. WalMart was going to put stores in the suburbs if they didn't build them in the city. People shop at WalMart. As a matter of fact, more people shop at WalMart than vote in presidential elections. In Chicago, the city gets the sales tax revenue, the residents don't have to drive as far, and people got jobs. Everybody wins except for the overpaid unionized workers. And the jobs aren't so bad. Most WalMart workers get health care benefits and they had over 250 applicants per job opening. If it was so awful, nobody would even apply.

It isn't market wages when you own the market.

[Vegas]

It isn't market wages when you own the market.

They own the labor market? You've got to be kidding. What percentage of US workers work for WalMart?

[IBC]

They own the labor market? You've got to be kidding. What percentage of US workers work for WalMart?
It is the biggest employer in the US.

[Vegas]

It is the biggest employer in the US.

But that's hardly "owning" the labor market. Not even close.

[IBC]

But that's hardly "owning" the labor market. Not even close.
Ok it is heavily influencing it. The average worker pay for the US's largest employer in 1970 (GM) was 32k/year. Today (Walmart) it is less than 20k. Sad, and we are the ones who are responsible for it. We allowed this to happen. We didn't stop The Walmart.

[Vegas]

Ok it is heavily influencing it. The average worker pay for the US's largest employer in 1970 (GM) was 32k/year. Today (Walmart) it is less than 20k. Sad, and we are the ones who are responsible for it. We allowed this to happen. We didn't stop The Walmart.

So are transitional jobs a bad thing? Many people who work at WalMart get promoted into management positions. They give their employees stock options. Many of their employees have become quite wealthy. Many others used WalMart as a starting point to move on to bigger and better things.

[pnkpanther]

But that's hardly "owning" the labor market. Not even close.


they dont own it, but they are probably one of the largest impacts on the Market, they influence suppliers by forcing them to cut their cost's...

See rubbermaid as an example, rubbermaid sold their machinery in their largest factory to china. rubbermaid moving their factory killed an entire town.

[Jiddy78]

I have a client that earns roughly 130k per year at Walmart....I'm not discounting their wages.

On the flip side, that client can only put roughly 5k into her 401k because of company policy...Meanwhile guys that make 35k can max higher than what this client can put in...

Crazy shiot.

[pnkpanther]

I have a client that earns roughly 130k per year at Walmart....I'm not discounting their wages.

On the flip side, that client can only put roughly 5k into her 401k because of company policy...Meanwhile guys that make 35k can max higher than what this client can put in...

Crazy shiot.

wal-mart set up a fund for one of their employee's...

employee's from all over spectrum contributed a total of half million, very heart warming, the waltons, contributed like 2 grand

[Vegas]

I have a client that earns roughly 130k per year at Walmart....I'm not discounting their wages.

On the flip side, that client can only put roughly 5k into her 401k because of company policy...Meanwhile guys that make 35k can max higher than what this client can put in...

Crazy shiot.

That's not a company policy. That's an IRS rule having to do with "fairness". If the higher compensated employees are contributing a higher percentage than the lower compensated, they cap the contributions of the higher compensated.

[pnkpanther]

That's not a company policy. That's an IRS rule having to do with "fairness". If the higher compensated employees are contributing a higher percentage than the lower compensated, they cap the contributions of the higher compensated.

i am unaware of that, but i'll admit it's retarded, regardless of what poltical agenda came up with that....

[Vegas]

i am unaware of that, but i'll admit it's retarded, regardless of what poltical agenda came up with that....

Outstanding, man. We finally found another point where we agree.

[Jiddy78]

That's not a company policy. That's an IRS rule having to do with "fairness". If the higher compensated employees are contributing a higher percentage than the lower compensated, they cap the contributions of the higher compensated.

Mmmmm....Ya got me...I'm going off of hearsay from said client....95% of my business is S-corps and small C-corps...thus I rarely encounter anything outside of a SIMPLE or SEP plan....That's a sh*tty rule IMO.

[Jiddy78]

That's not a company policy. That's an IRS rule having to do with "fairness". If the higher compensated employees are contributing a higher percentage than the lower compensated, they cap the contributions of the higher compensated.


Methinks somebody here has been nailed by this rule. :p

[Vegas]

Methinks somebody here has been nailed by this rule. :p

I don't kiss and tell.

[Jiddy78]

I don't kiss and tell.

Your body language gives it away.

[IBC]

So are transitional jobs a bad thing? Many people who work at WalMart get promoted into management positions. They give their employees stock options. Many of their employees have become quite wealthy. Many others used WalMart as a starting point to move on to bigger and better things.
The problem comes when all jobs are "transitional jobs." We are working towards that and Walmart is a large part. I am generally against the consolidation of capital into the hands of a few. The more ownership of capital the better. I am not advocating socialism, just advocating against oligarchy.

[Vegas]

The problem comes when all jobs are "transitional jobs." We are working towards that and Walmart is a large part. I am generally against the consolidation of capital into the hands of a few. The more ownership of capital the better. I am not advocating socialism, just advocating against oligarchy.

You should love WalMart if you believe in more ownership. They give a lot of stock options to their employees. It's a truly wonderful thing.

[ryr8828]

The same people who vilify a WalMart and stand up against them, well I believe them to be the same people who would stand up FOR a strip club or porn shop moving in against city objections or ordinances.

It's all about union influence. I've been ordered to picket WalMart before on a Saturday, even though we've done work at several WalMarts.

Kind of the same way I can't drive a Mitsubishi to a union meeting and park it in the parking lot, even though we did work in their plant and my Chevrolet is made in Mexico, (and UAW workers are grossly overpaid for simple tasks.)

[Jiddy78]

The same people who vilify a WalMart and stand up against them, well I believe them to be the same people who would stand up FOR a strip club or porn shop moving in against city objections or ordinances.

It's all about union influence. I've been ordered to picket WalMart before on a Saturday, even though we've done work at several WalMarts.

Kind of the same way I can't drive a Mitsubishi to a union meeting and park it in the parking lot, even though we did work in their plant and my Chevrolet is made in Mexico, (and UAW workers are grossly overpaid for simple tasks.)

I parked the Prius towards the immediate exit FAR from the entrance to Daytona...The 'stang??? I'm driving inside that mother f*cker and hopping out Dukes of Hazzard style and calling all the broads in there sugar with a big sh*t-eatin' grin on my grill.

Oh yeah baby.

[ryr8828]

I parked the Prius towards the immediate exit FAR from the entrance to Daytona...The 'stang??? I'm driving inside that mother f*cker and hopping out Dukes of Hazzard style and calling all the broads in there sugar with a big sh*t-eatin' grin on my grill.

Oh yeah baby.

Burn a cd of the sounds of a 351 or a 390 with headers, turn up the volume on your stereo and they might not even notice the difference.

[Vegas]

Burn a cd of the sounds of a 351 or a 390 with headers, turn up the volume on your stereo and they might not even notice the difference.

That's hysterical.

[Jiddy78]

Burn a cd of the sounds of a 351 or a 390 with headers, turn up the volume on your stereo and they might not even notice the difference.

It's only 300 on the 2007's.

I picked my avatar for you.

[swordfish]

Main reasons I do not shop in Wal-Mart.

1. Most of the sales are items that wal-mart has companies make only for them. Usually you cannot find the products at wal-mart in other stores. They remove features and use cheaper parts to reduce the price. Sure some things like soap, shampoo, oil is the same.

2. They build a huge building, stay in it for 10 years then leave. Every time a wal-mart moves it leaves a pile of shit behind. The building is lucky to house a hobby lobby or rural king. The area falls apart or stays vacant.

3. I pay a premium for unique/personalized items. I would much rather spend the money on a superior product than buy some crap from wal-mart that is going to break down in 6 months.

4. They pay the employees too much. These dumbfucks can barely make change with the computer telling them how much to give. You want 10 bucks an hour to stand around and say Hi til your throat is sore. Give me a break. Learn a skill, do something others cannot, strive to be better, or stagnate and die.

[Vegas]

Main reasons I do not shop in Wal-Mart.

1. Most of the sales are items that wal-mart has companies make only for them. Usually you cannot find the products at wal-mart in other stores. They remove features and use cheaper parts to reduce the price. Sure some things like soap, shampoo, oil is the same.

2. They build a huge building, stay in it for 10 years then leave. Every time a wal-mart moves it leaves a pile of shit behind. The building is lucky to house a hobby lobby or rural king. The area falls apart or stays vacant.

3. I pay a premium for unique/personalized items. I would much rather spend the money on a superior product than buy some crap from wal-mart that is going to break down in 6 months.

4. They pay the employees too much. These dumbfucks can barely make change with the computer telling them how much to give. You want 10 bucks an hour to stand around and say Hi til your throat is sore. Give me a break. Learn a skill, do something others cannot, strive to be better, or stagnate and die.

So how do you feel about the unionized workers at supermarkets that make over $20 an hour?

[ryr8828]

So how do you feel about the unionized workers at supermarkets that make over $20 an hour?

Or drug addicted drunken pipe insulators without driver's licenses who make $30 an hour?

[swordfish]

Or drug addicted drunken pipe insulators without driver's licenses who make $30 an hour?

I don't like Billy Mason, but Smitty is cool... sometimes.

Everyone knows the labor unions drive the prices up and the quality down. I never did agree with legal strong arm practices. Union workers are almost as bad as govt workers. Once anyone gets locked in to a position that they know they cannot lose its a bad deal. Same goes for tenured professors. Removing competition from any system is bad business.

It's all about the cheddar.

[Jiddy78]

Or drug addicted drunken pipe insulators without driver's licenses who make $30 an hour?

That argument is going to hold you NO ground considering even though these f*cks down here in right-to-work florida get paid half, they can't finish the job in double the time.....(I think you can put that math together)

Sad, but true....Hell, yer lucky as an employer if your guys show up...and when they do, if you send them in the field, be lucky if half the time out there isn't spent in a bar.

[Jiddy78]

That argument is going to hold you NO ground considering even though these f*cks down here in right-to-work florida get paid half, they can't finish the job in double the time.....(I think you can put that math together)

Sad, but true....Hell, yer lucky as an employer if your guys show up...and when they do, if you send them in the field, be lucky if half the time out there isn't spent in a bar.


Oh...The best part of this "arrangement"??? Bossy doesn't care because he charges 20x cost per hour...so it nets to 10...

Gotta love the construction industry...Buncha thieves. Then they rock your ass for juice on the backside, having some pimple-faced 20-something ( or some just quit her job as an "office manager" broad) shove 200 pieces of paper in your face for the privilege...

If this isn't hell, I don't know what is.

[Jiddy78]

Oh yeah...The old man cut and ran...*flexes muscles and kisses them* Eat that baby.

I shall call you teamsteryr from now on.

[LSU]

I shop at Wal-Mart. The main reason is because the aftershave gel at the local Target is $5 or more...all that metrosexual nivea sensitive skin shit.


I get the $2 Gilette ruralsexual sensitive skin shit.

[ryr8828]

Oh yeah...The old man cut and ran...*flexes muscles and kisses them* Eat that baby.

I shall call you teamsteryr from now on.

I'm back. Teamsters suck. They've told me I have to get out and let them drive my pickup into jobsites before. I've convinced them otherwise.

[ryr8828]

Oh...The best part of this "arrangement"??? Bossy doesn't care because he charges 20x cost per hour...so it nets to 10...

Gotta love the construction industry...Buncha thieves. Then they rock your ass for juice on the backside, having some pimple-faced 20-something ( or some just quit her job as an "office manager" broad) shove 200 pieces of paper in your face for the privilege...

If this isn't hell, I don't know what is.

I don't know who you're dealing with, but our industry is a lot like gambling.

[swordfish]

I shop at Wal-Mart. The main reason is because the aftershave gel at the local Target is $5 or more...all that metrosexual nivea sensitive skin shit.


I get the $2 Gilette ruralsexual sensitive skin shit.


Ruralsexuals shave with a straight razor and bar soap.

[ryr8828]

I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again anyway. Had to picket a WalMart in Mt. Vernon, IL on a saturday. They were building a new store outside of town using Mexicans, and we picketed the one that was still open.

The guy in front of me tells a woman that's going in the store
"Ma'am you don't want to go in there"
She says "I've got to go in there, they've got things I need!"
He says "Well ok, if you see my wife in there would you tell her to come outside for a minute, I need to talk to her."

[ryr8828]

Ruralsexuals shave with a straight razor and bar soap.

What's the soap for?

[LSU]

What's the soap for?


to clean up the blood from your carotid.

[swordfish]

to clean up the blood from your carotid.

Shaving in Iran?

[LSU]

Shaving in Iran?



Hey, those suckers are sharp.

The blades, not the Iranians.

[ryr8828]

I'm a Norelco tripleheader guy. I may be a hick but I love technology.

[LSU]

I'm a Norelco tripleheader guy. I may be a hick but I love technology.



Me, too. Speed XL with 33% more cutting area. Whoopy. The replacement blades also cost about 33% more. Bastards.

Nice and smooth, though.

[Jiddy78]

I don't know who you're dealing with, but our industry is a lot like gambling.

Not in Florida...Florida you always roll snake-eyes...Always...I don't know if that is related to unions or not...but without fail, you, the consumer, lose.