Neighborhood and Unions Team Up Against Wal-Mart : lvimc

Another Wal-Mart. That's the thought most folks have when they think about the proposed Wal-Mart on Eastern and Russell. Did we already forget about the Wal-Mart on Tropicana and Mcleod? Apparently, if Wal-Mart and various public officials had their way, there would be a Wal-Mart on every corner in Las Vegas. After all, convenience and comfort are the real monarchs of our society.

"Yes, You Can Take Back the Land," Ty Weinert's sign read. She was with a group of folks huddled together wearing purple SEIU T-shirts standing near the street holding signs. Ty said she's here "in solidarity with the neighbors that are going to be affected if this supercenter [Wal-mart] goes up." Even though she doesn't live in this neighborhood, she understands that a Wal-Mart anywhere affects people everywhere. "Their wages and benefit packet is non-existant, which is a drain on public services," she said.

A drain on public services is a polite way to put it. According to the UFCW Wal-Mart web site, "On a wage of about $8 an hour and 29-32 hours of work a week, many workers must rely on state programs or family members or simply live without health insurance." And since Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer with over 1.4 million workers worldwide, the lack of health benefits alone places a rather large medical bill on economies that might not be able to afford it. Add to that the many other ways Wal-Mart drains public resources and we're beginning to see a problem.

The president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Jerry Penn, said he's here because he works down the street on Sunset and Eastern. He sees how bad the traffic is currently and doesn't want to see the traffic get worse. He also feels that the folks involved with this project "misled the people ... they tore down the houses for airport related buildings and now they're building a commercial center instead." "Money," he said towards the end of our conversation, "it's all about money."

And that's what it really IS all about, on all sides. It's estimated that the Walton family is worth over $100 billion dollars, the county commission is concerned about revitalizing unused areas and increasing tax revenue, most of the mainstream media is concerned with getting new advertising dollars from the new Wal-Mart, and even the neighbors are worried about the extra costs due to increased traffic and subsequent decreased property values.

A shop steward from the UFCW local 711, held a blue umbrella with writing upon it that read, "Wal-Mart is Anti-Woman Don't Shop at Walmart." She says that Wal-Mart hires women but pays men more money for the same amount of work. "If they're gonna be fair, they should be equal. Whatever they pay the men, they should pay the women." She works at an Albertsons nearby and realizes that if the Wal-Mart opens, her union grocery store will lose business.

It's at this point I recognized one of the main neighborhood organizers, Mary Cooke, whom I remember from the county commission meetings back in May regarding this very same issue. "Wal-Mart and Marnell were told to negotiate with the neighbors to try and reach an agreement. Our biggest concern was the traffic and since they couldn't resolve this issue, they went ahead anyway," she explained. At Eastern and Serene, a similar situation exists where the traffic endangers young and old walkers, bicycle riders, and drivers alike. "They're trying to appease us by putting in two soccer fields, but this will just entice kids to run across the street [Russell] even more," she pointed out. She is representing many of the neighbors both here at the protest and at the county commission zoning meeting tomorrow, October 6, 2004 starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Clark County Government Center. She wants to remind everyone who's interested in stopping this Wal-Mart to attend and speak at this meeting.

As the protest dwindled down, around 3:17 p.m., two folks from a group known as Solidarity were still there. Solidarity is a nation-wide socialist organization pushing for socialism from below, Chris told me. Carlota said she's out here to show support for the neighborhood, "it does concern me, but Wal-Mart is not my main issue." "The community needs more say in their community," Chris said, "if the community wants something, I'm there to back it up." Solidarity is interested in this issue, they said, because "it's a way to give workers like us a voice."

Voices. What voices do you hear when you lay down to sleep for the day? What voices do the mainstream media give the most coverage to? What voices will Wal-Mart and Marnell, the developer who owns the land or is in charge of the project, listen to? It becomes a battle to get your voice heard, a battle that's raged throughout the centuries, a battle that injures and kills many people hourly. In Las Vegas, this battle is still in the early stages and through these early stages, corporations like Wal-Mart will try to take the upper hand, taking the power away from the people and giving it to the corporations. It's up to all of us, workers, the oppressed, and any allies, to stop this from happening ... period.

I was so late to the Walmart protest that I missed it alltogether. I called some locals to join the demonstration as I drove to the designated location.

I would like to apologize to the people that I called to participate, as I falsely assumed it would still be active at about 3:10PM when I called many.

The action was set to begin at 2:30PM. I arrived at the corner of Russel and Eastern at about 3:30PM, anticipating a crowd of vigilant neighborhood folk. I admit that I was slightly discouraged to find the corner vacant as I walked upon the scene.

I did notice a few local television crews wrapping up their day's work. I spoke with Atle Erlingsson, a reporter for Channel 8 Eyewitness News for a few minutes. He said he could not identify any individuals as neighbors of the affected area for the new Walmart Superstore. He did say that he spoke with an overwhelming percentage of union labourers. He reported that about 50 people were present.

We (the Las Vegas community) must continue this fight against Walmart in our day-to-day routines. I challenge everybody to do what they can: boycott, discuss, THINK, disrupt, and stir things up! Do something to be active NOW. Be creative and act alone or with others to tell the Walmart Corporation that they are not welcome to destroy another community.

I learned a few things from my personal experience (missing the event alltogether). First, it is vital to be on-time or early to organized/planned events. Second, do not rely on the I-15 as a quick travel method. And third, we must stay focused on our agenda(s) and motivate others to join the cause.

Just Do It! (and, by the way, do not buy Nike)