Sunday, July 26, 2009

Wal-Mart blog posts of interest

A recurring theme lately as this whole battle to bring in another Wal-Mart in Chicago and especially to our neighboring 21st Ward is heating up.

Clout City - The next big box war . . . and peace 
The irony is that if Brookins gets his wish, it will likely be the result of a successful union campaign. As one top labor leader tells me, unions have little interest in waging another Wal-Mart opposition battle. For one thing, lots of their members actually want Wal-Marts in the city. For another, they’re already fighting over the city and state budgets.

And since Democrats took over the White House and both chambers of Congress, organized labor across the country has its eyes on another prize: the federal Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it far easier for them to organize at places like big box retailers. Despite vehement opposition from business groups, a compromise version of EFCA appears to be moving forward in Washington.

“Wal-Mart can come into the city if they like,” the labor leader said to me. “And when we get EFCA, we’ll organize them.”
Also mentioned here was Ald. Beale (9th Ward) and his attempts to bring Wal-Mart to a former industrial site on 111th Street in the Pullman neighborhood.

The Provacateur - Fun With Numbers: The Chatham Walmart Proposal
I have a stimulus proposal. It's a 150,000 square foot superstore. The construction would require 500 UNION contractors, electricians, construction workers, etc. The construction project would keep these 500 employed for about a year. Once built, the superstore would employ another 400 employees to operate it. This project would be entirely privately financed and would require absolutely no public funds. In fact, this private entity has all the cash available. This is important because in the current commercial mortgage market trying to finance such a project is very difficult.
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Of course, I am describing the proposal by Walmart to build its second superstore in the city of Chicago. Chicago's latest unemployment rate is 10.3% and climbing. So, a project that would employ 500 UNION workers to build a superstore and then 400 more people would be hired to manage and operate the store is one that would have plenty of takers. There's more. This store would be placed on 83rd and Steward in the Chatham neighborhood. According to Walmart's records, which measured the receipts from credit cards and checks, the three zip codes that surround this proposed location spent $80 million at Walmart stores in the suburbs, In fact, according to the same records, Chicagoans spent $500 million last year in suburban Walmarts. (keep in mind the real receipts are much higher because cash payments can't be measured)
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If the Chicago economy had 4% unemployment that would be one thing. It doesn't. Chicago's unemployment crossed 10%. Here comes Walmart presenting a SHOVEL READY project that they're willing to finance all on their own. (the city can contribute up to $10 million to encourage business construction) They've even committed to hiring up to 500 UNION workers to build this store. Still, that's not enough.
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This is what happens when politics trumps policy. There's a plot of dirt there now, and Walmart wants to put a 150,000 square foot super store there. They want to pay each and every dime to build and maintain the store. They want to hire UNION workers to build it. They want to hire hundreds of people to operate the store. Finally, if it's not built, Chicagoans will simply spend $500 million in Walmarts in the suburbs.
The Provacateur - Some Perspective on Alderman Mell and the Walmart Proposal
 Now, I don't mean to suggest that the city of Chicago is anything like the third world, however, I will suggest that politicians with agendas besides the growth and prosperity of the areas they serve only hurt the economy as a whole. It is in that context that we should view the fight over the Walmart in Chatham on 83rd and Stewart. Walmart is willing to build 150 thousand square foot store. They are ready and willing to hire about 400 UNION employees all from the Chicagoland area. They can even finance the project all entirely with their own money. Then, they'll hire about 500 employees to operate the store. The citizens of the area want the store. A poll by McKeon & Associates in June, 2007 found that 82% of the residents the ward wanted a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Finally, the area where the store will be is a plot of dirt currently.

Yet, we are headed into the fourth year that Walmart has lobbied to get permission from the city to build the store. The man currently most responsible for holding this up is Alderman Richard Mell. Walmart's bid for approval is stuck in the rules committee he heads. Most have speculated that his motivation have to do with Walmart's refusal to unionize. Of course, this is strictly speculation. That's because all major media in Chicago, including both newspapers the Sun Times and Tribune, have attempted to reach out the Mell and he refuses to explain exactly why their bid is still not moving forward.
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What this battle clearly shows is that Chicago politicians have created an environment that is not business friendly. It may NOT be on the scale of pay offs to government officials. (though I bet some would argue) Still, when politicians make conducting business painful and expensive, it hurts business in their locality. All Richard Mell has done is told all businesses that the only ones welcome are those the politicians deem worthy. Just try and imagine an economy in which the only business done is that done by those with connections to local politicians. That's the message of the fiasco surrounding the Walmart. The politicians of the city of Chicago are telling businesses that the only businesses that will go up are their kind of business. That's corrupt and corruption breeds economic stagnation.
What do you think of the last paragraph of this excerpt? That Chicago isn't a business friendly environment?

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