WAL-MART

With $290 billion in revenue during its last fiscal year, it is the world’s largest corporation. With over 5,500 stores and 7.5 billion shoppers every year, it is the largest retailer far and away. With over 1.3 million employees it is the largest private employer in the U.S. economy. To call it a goliath doesn’t do it justice; WAL-MART is the most powerful non-governmental entity the world has ever seen.

And it is not a benevolent giant. As the “Most Admired” company for two of the past three years (according to Fortune magazine), WAL-MART is leading the U.S. economy, and indeed the global market, in a petrifying direction. With a singular focus on the bottom line, it puts profits before people, or any other consideration for that matter. The stores low prices have been cited by some political pundits and corporate apologists to greatly benefit the poor; in truth the hidden costs to all of us has created an explosion of poverty in this country. It's associates are the definition of working poor, with WAL-MART dealing a massive blow to organized labor and the rights of all workers. And this doesn’t even take into account the legions of sweatshop workers that the company has spawned throughout the developing world. Or, for that matter, its role in suburban sprawl and environmental degradation. Indeed, as a retailing monopoly, WAL-MART sits at the crossroads of the difficult questions my generation faces about economic justice, reckless materialism, and socially-conscious consumerism.

For all of these reasons, and many more, I will infiltrate WAL-MART and become a low-wage retail worker. This will be an opportunity to learn firsthand about the struggles facing the working poor and to live in solidarity with them. In addition to this my experience should be a means to educate the public about the stores high costs. Ideally, both of these will translate into a way to spark change for the better by reforming WAL-MART.

Unfortunately, WAL-MART’s tendency to retaliate against dissident employees has forced me to take several precautions. First of all, the dates of these posts will not match since they are based on previous entries in a journal that I have been keeping the past few months while working at the store. However, the posts will be roughly chronological and the extra time has given me an opportunity to base my conclusions on a multitude of experiences. More importantly, I will have to keep the identities of my co-workers in the strictest of confidence and will only share anecdotes that will not betray who they are. While these steps will undoubtedly detract from the power of my experience, I believe that there is still a story worthy of being told.