Spirit of America Bookstore

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
[est. 1962]

brief history primary divisions subsidiaries other services movies about Wal-Mart books about Wal-Mart family & execs links

"Despite the obvious damage now visible in the entropic desolation of every American home town, Wal-Mart managed to install itself
in the pantheon of American Dream icons, along with apple pie, motherhood, and Coca-Cola."
— social critic James Howard Kunstler

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union already has or is working to gain representation of workers at Wal-Mart in the U.S. Wal-Mart management kept tightening the screws – firing organizers, cutting hours per employee, holding mandatory meetings to tell employees who to vote for in local elections – so the kettle began to boil. Wildcat strikes and protests began at stores in October and November 2012, then union and non-union groups decided to stage demonstrations during the 'Black Friday' shopping frenzy on the day after Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart filed a legal complaint with the N.L.R.B. asserting illegal picketing, but the N.L.R.B.'s decision not to decide allowed the protests against Wal-Mart's vile labor practices to take place on November 23. Wal-Mart corporate downplayed the turnout, reporting that only fifty employees participated nationwide. Objective reports counted 1,000 protestors in Paramount, California - 17 identified as employees; 400 rallied at one Maryland store; 200 in bitter-cold St. Paul, Minnesota; large crowds protested in California, Oklahoma, DC Metro, and New Mexico, plus hundreds of other stores. (Broadcast media failed their essential duty and reported virtually nothing, most likely to protect Wal-Mart ad revenue.)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. [est. 1962] entry at Wikipedia
Sam Walton [1918-92] entry at Wikipedia
Walmart Stores, Inc. corporate website
Walmart {dot} com shopping website
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Common Stock Quote & Summary Data at NASDAQ

Working Minds Essay #94 [May 2011]: "Wal-Mart Bad, Local Businesses Good"

non-union 'OUR Walmart' group • union-based 'Making Change At Wal-Mart' group

Boycott Wal-Mart !!!
. . . or said another way: "Boycott WongMart!!"

Primary  Divisions
WalMart operating divisions section at Wikipedia
As-of June 2022, WalMart has 4,700 stores, 210 distribution centers, and 31 dedicated e-commerce fulfillment centers.

          
Wal-Mart launched their WalMart Plus subscription program (to compete with Amazon Prime) in September 2020; main benefits include free delivery on
160,000 items and 5-cent discount per gallon on gas at Walmart & Murphy USA gas stations; cost is $98 paid annually or $12.95 paid monthly.

Sam's  Club [est. 1983]
official website • entry at Wikipedia
Large-quantity warehouse store chain named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton [1918-92]; recent stats show 615 stores in the U.S.A. (46 states), and 25 or so
stores outside the U.S. Members pay an annual fee, non-members pay 10% surcharge, one-day passes are often included in newspaper ads. Sam's Club ranks
second on sales revenue - $56 billion for FY 2014 - behind Costco Wholesale [est. 1976] with $112.64 billion in FY 2014; BJ's Wholesale Club [est. 1984] is
a distant third, with $10.9 billion for FY 2011.

Subsidiaries

sold McLane Company, Inc. to Berkshire-Hathaway in May 2003

                                   
Wal-Mart purchased independent internet retailer Jet.com [est. 4/2014] in September 2016 for $3.3B. Took a while, but when women shoppers realized that Jet owned popular clothing site ModCloth.com [est. 2002] (and thus Wal-Mart owned ModCloth), they began a boycott at #byeModCloth over Wal-Mart's worldwide abuse of women (equal pay, hourly pay, family leave issues). Supporters can sign the petition at Action Network, sponsored by DailyKos. Other brands that are subsidiaries of Jet.com include Bonobos, Hayneedle, Moosejaw, and ShoeBuy.

Other  Services

Murphy USA [est. 1996] is based in El Dorado, Arkansas
Murphy USA operates the majority of gas stations at Walmart stores, at about 1,100 locations (out of 4,700 stores); as-of 2016, Murphy will continue to
oversee those stations and proceed with plans to open an additional 60, but after that, all future gas stations will be built out by Walmart.

Movies  About  Wal-Mart, Inc.
search on keyword 'wal-mart' on the Internet Movie Database

	"Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes To Town" [2001] Directed by Micha X. Peled Teddy Bear Films color DVD [6/2002] for $22.99 Teddy Bear Films color VHS [6/2002] for $19.90 full credits from IMDb • P.B.S.-ITVS official movie site
	"P.B.S. Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good For America?" [WGBH/PBS Nov 2004] Co-produced, co-written & directed by Rick Young; co-produced & co-written by Hedrick Smith PBS Home Video color DVD [10/2005] for $24.28 full credits at IMDb • PBS official movie pages

"Why Wal*Mart Works: and Why That Drives Some People C-r-a-z-y" video release
[Hannover House Nov 2005]

Intended as antidote to Greenwald's documentary, advertised as "A look at the pathology behind the attacks on retail giant Wal-Mart". Really? 'Pathology'? Filmmakers Robert & Ron Galloway conclude that the primary source of Wal-Mart's success is the happy Wal-Mart Family of 1.3M employees (who then served nearly 138-million shoppers every week). Well, except for the wage-slaves in Communist China, and the part-time workers in America forced to work overtime for free and without health benefits, and if they even say the word 'union' they just might get fired. Legitimate concerns are not covered within this low-budget propaganda piece. DVD is out of production & official website disappeared • bare credits from IMDb

"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price"
[Brave New Films Nov 2005]

Co-produced & directed by Robert Greenwald Disinformation Co. color DVD [11/2005] for $12.95 full credits from IMDb • official movie site companion book [2005] by Greg Spotts Disinformation Co. 8x5 movie tie-in pb [11/2005] for $9.95

Books  About  Wal-Mart, Inc.
browse books at Amazon on keyword 'Wal-Mart' {returns 7,600+ titles}
browse books at Amazon on keyword 'WalMart' {returns 2,100+ titles}

	"Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart!: How You Can Stop Superstore Sprawl In Your Hometown" [1999] by Al Norman Raphel Marketing 8¾x5¾ pb [11/2003] for $19.95 Raphel Marketing 9¼x6¼ hardcover [7/99] out of print/used Al's 'Sprawl Busters' website
	"How Wal*Mart is Destroying America (and The World) & What You Can Do About It" [2000] by Bill Quinn Ten Speed Press 8x5 pb [4/2005] for $8.76
	"The Case Against Wal-Mart" [2004] by Al Norman Raphel Marketing 6x9 pb [4/2004] for $19.95 Al's 'Sprawl Busters' website
	"Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle For Worker's Rights At Wal-Mart" [2004] by Liza Featherstone Basic Books 8x5¼ pb [9/2005] for $10.17 bargain price hardcover for $4.99 Basic Books 8½x5½ hardcover [11/2004] for $16.50
	"The United States of Wal-Mart" [2005] by John Dicker Tarcher 8¼x5½ pb [6/2005] for $9.97
	"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" [2005] by Greg Spotts, Introduction by Robert Greenwald Disinformation Co. 8x5 movie tie-in pb [11/2005] for $9.95
	"The Wal-Mart Effect: How The World's Most Powerful Company Really Works – and How It's Transforming The American Economy" [2006] by Charles Fishman "... his carefully balanced approach only makes the downside of Wal-Mart's market dominance more vivid." Penguin hardcover[1/2006] for $17.13 Tantor Media audio CD [2/2006] for $22.04
	"Wal-Mart: The Face of 21st Century Capitalism" [2006] Edited by Nelson Lichtenstein New Press 8x8 pb [1/2006] for $13.57
	"The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating The Global Competition" [2006] by Michael H. Shuman, Foreword by Bill McKibben Berrett-Koehler hardcover [6/2006] for $16.32
	"Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers & The Fight For America's Independent Businesses" [2006] by Stacy Mitchell Beacon Press 9x6¼ pb [11/2006] for $16.47 Beacon Press hardcover [11/2006] for $25.95
	"The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers & The Economy" [2007] by Richard Vedder & Wendell Cox A white-wash of the dire effects when Wal-Mart lays seige to markets big & small; the authors reject Wal-Mart being the bad guy and then use spurious data to prove their premise — do not buy this book!
	"To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise"[2009] by Bethany Moreton Harvard Univ Press hardcover [5/2009] for $18.45
	"The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created A Brave New World of Business" [2009] by Nelson Lichtenstein Kindle Edition from Macmillan [6/2010] for $9.99 Picador 8¼x5½ pb [6/2010] for $10.95 Metropolitan Books 9½x6½ hardcover [7/2009] for $25.00

Walton Family  &  Wal-Mart Executives

Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton
Co-produced 2012 film version of Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima"

John Furner, C.E.O. of Walmart U.S. (2021)
Wal-Mart C.E.O. Doug McMillon (2017)
former Wal-Mart C.E.O. Lee Scott (2005)
Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer (9/2020)

L i n k s
Wal-Mart Watch website
Wake Up Wal-Mart: America's Campaign to Change Wal-Mart
Tell Wal-Mart Enough Is Enough
free report "Wal-Mart: Rolling Back Workers' Wages, Rights & the American Dream [2005]"
Sprawl Busters
AdBusters' Wal-Mart Takedown Action Center
"Walmartopia: The Musical" (off-Broadway NYC & touring company)
'Wake Up Wal-Mart' protest website
'Demand WalMart Sell Responsibly' anti-assault weapons campaign

non-union 'OUR Walmart' group • union-based 'Making Change At Wal-Mart' group

Sure. You don't need to join a union. Really. And besides, your low pay at Wal-Mart is all that you deserve and your less-than-forty-hour
work week provides ample off-time to apply for welfare (food stamps) and-or work a second job.

here on the Wal-Mart, Inc. Page at Spirit of America Bookstore

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