Joseph, I have verified these “talking points” through a number of sources. I’m not going to start posting all of my “evidence” here because it would take me all night, but if you’re interested in the subject, here are some good places to start:
The United States of Wal-Mart (John Dicker)
The Wal-Mart Effect (Charles Fishman)
In Sam We Trust (Bob Ortega)
The Bully of Bentonville (Anthony Bianco)
Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers’ Rights at Wal-Mart (Liza Featherstone)
There is also an excellent documentary out called Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.
Squeak, “stores have the right to be anti-union” but this only refers to their ideological position. If a majority of employees vote for a union, the stores cannot do anything to prevent unionization. In this case, it does not “go both ways” since the decision whether or not to unionize legally lies with the employees and not the employers. I happen to be pro-union, but that is a separate issue. The point is that I am pro- allowing workers to exercise their rights, and unionization happens to be one of the many rights of which Wal-Mart has stripped its employees.
Shkoyach, the convenience comes at a price. You may have hakaras hatov to Wal-Mart, but do you think the workers do?