Preaching justice for Wal-Mart workers
(from www.sojo.net)
Last week we announced the premiere of Robert Greenwald's new film, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices, which will be released during "Higher Expectations Week," Nov. 13 to 19. As part of the effort, Sojourners will be working with a broad range of organizations to educate our communities about the negative effects Wal-Mart has had on rural and urban America.
Recent news that Wal-Mart is introducing new employee health plans shows that grassroots pressure is encouraging changes. However, a recently surfaced memo by Wal-Mart executives discouraging the hiring of "unhealthy" employees raises serious questions about its commitment to its workers. It included this candid admission: "Wal-Mart's critics can easily exploit some aspects of our benefits offering to make their case; in other words, our critics are correct in some of their observations. Specifically, our coverage is expensive for low-income families, and Wal-Mart has a significant percentage of associates and their children on public assistance."
In addition to hosting or attending a screening of the movie, we are encouraging churches around the country to offer a sermon or message on corporate greed, civil responsibility, or civic justice on Nov. 13. The Wal-Mart Watch campaign has developed sample sermons, bulletin inserts, and other materials at www.walmartwatch.com that are available as a valuable resource.
