Posted on 12-8-2004
LA
City Council Anti-Wal-Mart
11.08.2004
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary
approval to a proposed ordinance that could hamper plans by
Wal-Mart
Stores Inc to build super-centres within city limits.
The council overwhelmingly endorsed a proposal that would require
Wal-Mart
and other retailers to show that their non-union discount stores
would not
hurt jobs, wages or businesses in the surrounding area, as union
leaders
and competitors claim.
The vote comes after a nearly five-month strike by unionised
grocery
workers in Southern California who said the looming threat of
Wal-Mart's
superstores forced down wages and gutted health benefits at
supermarkets.
Wal-Mart did prevail in its efforts to stop an outright ban
on
super-centres.
The measure applies to retailers larger than 9290sq m that sell
general
merchandise and groceries, but exempts warehouse clubs such
as Costco or
Sam's Club.
Final approval is expected by next Wednesday, said a spokesman
for Council
Member Eric Garcetti, the measure's sponsor.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart has prospered by locating
its
non-union stores near small towns and suburbs. But plans to
expand into
urban US markets have met resistance from lawmakers and labour
activists
who accuse the world's largest retailer of paying poverty-level
wages and
encouraging its workers to apply for welfare and state health
services.
State Controller Steve Westly and other Democrat leaders had
urged the Los
Angeles council to pass the measure, citing a University of
California
study that concluded that low-wage Wal-Mart jobs cost the state
US$86
million ($133.5 million) a year in social services.
In a letter to the council, Westly said he was concerned about
"a race to
the bottom" as Wal-Mart jobs displace better paying positions
at retailers
that are forced to cut wages to compete or are put out of business
by the
superstores.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Lin called the vote "a huge
victory" for
consumers and the retailer, which she said had been battling
union-backed
efforts by to pass an outright ban on super-centres in the city
of Los
Angeles. "This ordinance ... in no way restricts the sale
of groceries at
super centres," she said. "In our opinion, this ordinance,
in reality, is
redundant."
If the measure becomes law, Wal-Mart plans to ensure that it
"is applied
consistently across the board since it applies to all the superstore
formats," Lin said.
Lin disputed claims that the superstores would drain the state's
stretched
finances, saying Wal-Mart annual wages are "almost identical
to unionised
labour workers" and adding that the retail giant paid US$650
million in
sales taxes last year.
In April, residents of the blue-collar city of Inglewood rejected
a bid by
Wal-Mart to locate a sprawling shopping centre in the heart
of their town
without conducting planning studies or public hearings.
The Inglewood City Council had opposed the superstore plan on
the grounds
that it would put local mom-and-pop stores out of business and
pay lower
wages to its employees.
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