Omaha Steve's Labor Group

Teamster Jeff

(1,598 posts) Fri Mar 1, 2013, 09:42 PM Mar 2013

Why is Michelle Obama praising Wal-Mart in Springfield, Mo.?

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Of all the Wal-Marts, in all the towns, in all the world, first lady Michelle Obama on Thursday walked into the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in this southwest Missouri college town where a battle has raged over whether to allow the chain to build a store in the historic downtown.

She was in Springfield on the final stop of a two-day, three-city tour to mark the third anniversary of her Let’s Move! campaign to help fight the rising epidemic of childhood obesity.
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Maybe that’s why the event felt too much like a commercial for Wal-Mart, which has come under fire nationally for its treatment of workers and locally in Springfield for its plans to build a Neighborhood Market in an historic downtown neighborhood. (No one could answer the question why Springfield got the nod as the Wal-Mart for Obama’s visit.)

Opponents in Springfield say a downtown Neighborhood Market will kill local businesses and destroy the flavor of the area, but Monday the City Council voted 5 to 4 in favor of the project.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/03/01/why-is-michelle-obama-praising-walmart-in-springfield-mo/

Pretty clueless IMO

5 replies

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Highlight:

Why is Michelle Obama praising Wal-Mart in Springfield, Mo.? (Original Post) Teamster Jeff Mar 2013 OP

Maybe Bill & Hillary turned them onto their WalMart stock LiberalArkie Mar 2013 #1

K&R nt demosocialist Mar 2013 #2

Yeah Pat Riot Mar 2013 #3

And they sell vitamins! hay rick Mar 2013 #4

It's a PR bonanza for Walmart Teamster Jeff Mar 2013 #5

LiberalArkie

(15,715 posts)

1. Maybe Bill & Hillary turned them onto their WalMart stock

Reply to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Mar 1, 2013, 09:46 PM

Mar 2013

demosocialist

(184 posts)

2. K&R nt

Reply to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Fri Mar 1, 2013, 09:47 PM

Mar 2013

Pat Riot

(446 posts)

3. Yeah

Reply to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Sat Mar 2, 2013, 04:06 AM

Mar 2013

That ain't right.

hay rick

(7,608 posts)

4. And they sell vitamins!

Reply to Teamster Jeff (Original post)

Sat Mar 2, 2013, 11:13 AM

Mar 2013

Excerpt:

The first lady spoke to an invitation-only audience of less than a hundred people. (The members of the press, corralled in the back, almost outnumbered the rest of the audience.)

She praised Wal-Mart’s commitment to affordable healthy food: “You didn’t just dip your toe in the water, you went all in.” As part of that commitment, Wal-Mart has opened 86 new stores in “food deserts,” areas where accessibility to affordable healthy foods is limited.

The company also announced Thursday its “Great for You” icon, which will appear on more than 1,300 of its house brands of foods and beverages in U.S. stores, making it easier to identify nutritionally sound choices.

Obama cited statistics that claim 82 percent of consumers want “healthy products that fit their budget.” And sales of fresh produce, the foundation of a healthy diet, increased by 6 percent last year.

The fact that Wal-Mart sees a profit opportunity in selling healthy foods evidently excuses their abusive labor and pay practices. We're seeing some real Wal-Mart/first lady synergy here...

Teamster Jeff

(1,598 posts)

5. It's a PR bonanza for Walmart

Reply to hay rick (Reply #4)

Sat Mar 2, 2013, 12:25 PM

Mar 2013

From the Walmart site:

"We are proud of the work we have done in the last two years to make it easier and more affordable for our customers to buy healthier food, and we know there is more work to do,” said Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Walmart. “We applaud First Lady Michelle Obama’s continued leadership. Her passion is encouraging companies and organizations, like Walmart, to make continued progress that positively affects the health and wellness of the communities we serve.”

http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2013/02/28/first-lady-michelle-obama-celebrates-walmarts-progress-on-making-food-healthier-more-affordable

Most people don't believe that Walmart "positively affects the health and wellness of the community". Seeing that Walmart/ first lady synergy is demoralizing to workers who are trying to force changes at Walmart.

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