More About that Delayed Wal-Mart Vote

By Kevin Robinson in News on Jul 30, 2009 3:45PM

Wal-Mart certainly raised the stakes this week in its bid to open a second store in the city. But the results of the push-poll notwithstanding, setting up shop in Chatham may not be the slam dunk the Arkansas-based mega-retailer thinks it will be. That's because, as the city council was passing the buck on the Wal-Mart vote by sending it from the Rules Committee to the Finance Committee, committee chair Alderman Ed Burke (of the 14th Ward) told the Sun-Times that Wal-Mart would have to step up to the plate to play ball in Chicago.

"Chicago is a strong union town. If every other organization can agree to card check neutrality [making it easier to unionize], why can't Wal-Mart? They can build 14 stores here. All they have to do is make a commitment to the rights of working men and women in Chicago to organize," Burke told the paper. Acknowledging the argument that any job is better than no job, he questioned the integrity of thousands of other jobs in Chicago if Wal-Mart develops a large presence in the city. "If Wal-Mart can come in to Chicago and operate on a non-union basis, then how can Jewel and Dominicks and the other food chains continue to have union men and women?" And while Wal-Mart claims that it pays its average Chicago employee around $12/hour (excluding managers) its labor abuses are well documented. Bagging groceries and stocking shelves may not be a glamorous career, but at least Jewel and Dominick's workers can count on health and safety protections, steady wages and health care benefits. Either way, Burke's reputation as a Daley ally may speak more to the mayor's thinking on the issue than any political maneuvering Wal-Mart supports or opponents can make.