It’s not just the prices that are low at Wal-Mart. Journalist Liza Featherstone has written extensively about the world’s largest retailer, exposing its many abuses of its employees and the effect its labor practices have had on the culture of work in the United States. Her new book, Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers’ Rights at Wal-Mart, chronicles the injustices faced by female employees at Wallyworld and the overseas factories that keep the big box chock full of cheap junk. In the tradition of Upton Sinclair, Featherstone’s work doesn’t just record labor history, it inspires a cry for change.
THE RAKE: What inspired you to make Wal-Mart the center of your work?
FEATHERSTONE: I write a lot about labor issues and women’s issues. When the Duke v. Wal-Mart sex discrimination lawsuit was filed in 2001, I was very curious about the women who would stand up to such a powerful retailer. I also got interested in what it means for our society to have so many people working in these low-wage jobs.
You’ve reported on labor violations that are almost beyond belief.
Some of the things really are like the Shirtwaist Triangle factory days. Locking workers into the stores, not letting them leave. The extreme disregard for worker safety, child labor. A lot of the stories in the sex discrimination lawsuit really evoke the 1950s or pre-feminist America.
What do you make of the fact that so many people so passionately defend Wal-Mart?
Wal-Mart markets itself as a friend to the common person. There are a lot of parallels to the Republican Party, but one difference is that Wal-Mart actually does deliver something to its low-income constituents–low prices. This enables Wal-Mart to say, “Hey, we’re helping poor people.” People don’t see a connection between the working conditions of others and their own work. But the fact is, if you’re letting the world’s largest private employer get away with these abuses, then you’re opening the door for other employers to behave the same way.
Do you think Wal-Mart is too powerful to feel any repercussions?
They do get away with things, and people continue to shop there despite their abuses. But recently, they’ve become very concerned about their public image. They’ve hired Hill & Knowlton, a famous public relations firm that companies go to when they’re in trouble. Why? The stock price has been rather lackluster for a number of years; the way people feel about a company affects the price. Also, sales have not been as impressive as they have been in the past. And they are encountering an enormous amount of opposition as they expand into new areas, especially cities. They need to expand in urban areas because they are running out of space in the rest of the country–their stores are beginning to cannibalize each other. Which I always find quite funny.
People of color seem especially opposed to Wal-Mart. Why?
In some places, they’ve welcomed it because they want the low prices; and they’ve taken the pessimistic attitude that Wal-Mart jobs are better than no jobs. But in many places, people of color have rejected that. They want economic development that will provide decent jobs that people can support families on. They find it very racist that they’ve been asked to accept this kind of lowest-common-denominator development. Also, Wal-Mart is the biggest gun dealer in the country, and black communities often feel under threat by gun violence. And the fact that Wal-Mart tries to circumvent local laws in many places and build a store regardless of how the community feels–this strikes people as tremendously arrogant, and violates their basic need for respect.
What do you mean when you describe Wal-Mart as having a “plantation mentality”?
African-Americans are suspicious about Wal-Mart because it’s a Southern company. They see people accepting extreme violations from bosses who claim to be working in their best interests. It’s not accidental that a company like that originated in the South, because that kind of thinking goes back to slavery: “We’re going to commit these outrageous abuses against you, but we’re all family. We’re looking out for you.” That kind of paternalistic and abusive attitude goes back a very long way in those regions. I went to the Wal-Mart Visitor’s Center in Bentonville, Arkansas, which is the site of the first Wal-Mart store, and there’s a Confederate memorial right across the street.
Have you ever experienced any threatening or retaliatory behavior from Wal-Mart?
Never. When I was working on the book, sometimes workers would ask me, “Aren’t you scared? Wal-Mart’s really powerful.” And I’d think, yeah, it makes me a little nervous. But the provisions for journalists and free speech in this country are actually quite good. They haven’t taken any legal action against me. I haven’t gotten any anonymous calls in the middle of the night.
Liza Featherstone will appear May 5 as part of the Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library’s Untold Stories series about labor history; Weyerhaeuser Chapel at Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul; 651-222-3242; www.thefriends.org.
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