Wal-Mart film riles viewers in Stoughton
By Karyn Saemann
Correspondent for The Capital Times
November 15, 2005
STOUGHTON - Some dismissed it as propaganda. Others said it only cemented their determination to fight the proposed replacement of a small Wal-Mart here with a Supercenter. Nearly 200 people, with Wal-Mart opponents far outnumbering supporters, turned out for a free screening at Stoughton High School Monday night of "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." The unabashedly anti-Wal-Mart movie, produced by Brave New Films, is being screened in about 9,000 locations this week across the United States. On Monday night, attendees munched popcorn and cookies while they took in the 1-hour, 40-minute movie at Stoughton High School, and many stayed for a discussion afterward. Anti-Wal-Mart buttons, T-shirts and literature filled two tables near the door. The movie and discussion came at the same time Stoughton's Planning Commission voted unanimously to annex 185 acres near U.S. 51 and County B for a new neighborhood and Supercenter. The City Council is scheduled to take a final vote on the annexation on Dec. 13. Wal-Mart opponents are planning to hold a public forum on the proposal at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at River Bluff Middle School. The movie describes the heartache of several families who lost small businesses when a Supercenter came to their town. Former Wal-Mart employees and managers also talked about the high cost of the company's health care plan and their reliance on Medicaid and other government assistance programs. Former employees and managers alleged that they were harassed by company officials if they suggested unionizing, said they were often asked to work off the clock and detailed incidents in which they believed women and minorities were discriminated against. The movie also described a situation in which a stream was polluted by runoff from broken lawn chemical bags stacked on pallets in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It interviewed Wal-Mart factory workers in China, who shared how they work and live in crowded, hot conditions and are paid little money for their labor. It contrasted the lifestyle of the billionaire Walton family, who founded the company, with low-income workers. It questioned whether Wal-Mart parking lot security is lax, leading to crime. And it wrapped up with profiles of citizen groups around the nation that have successfully defeated Supercenter proposals. Myra Hajny of Stoughton said the movie reinforced her belief that a Supercenter is not in the city's best interest. She said the health insurance issues are of particular concern to her. "They're not really taking care of all of the people that they hire," Hajny said. Bob Komes of Stoughton also said the movie deepened his concerns about the company. "I already didn't want them here," he said. Town of Dunn resident Terry Parisi said she hopes the Supercenter is defeated here. "I do not want to see our Main Street boarded up. We cannot let that happen," Parisi said. But Robert Rowlands, a member of the local pro-Wal-Mart group Alliance 53589, said it was "nothing short of a propaganda film." Rowlands questioned whether he would have been allowed to show a movie that so blatantly supported Wal-Mart at a public high school. And he said the movie conveniently left out much of the story. In the China footage, "you didn't see the Old Navy sweatshop right next door," he said. "Wal-Mart has big problems but so do other companies," Rowlands said. "They're not presenting a fair and even picture." Kathy Henry, a long-time employee of Stoughton's existing Wal-Mart, also called the movie "propaganda." Henry said at company conventions in Arkansas, she has personally spoken to employees from China. She said they told her that jobs at Wal-Mart factories have greatly contributed to the economic rise there of the middle class. And Henry said she has always been treated respectfully by her management. "Do you think we are really that naive, or ignorant, that we would work at a store that treated us poorly?" Henry said. Henry sat down abruptly after a Wal-Mart opponent began shouting at her for her statements, but not before ending with: "We are proud of our town, we are proud of our store and it hurts us to see this fighting going on." Stoughton Ald. Denise Duranczyk, who was one of three City Council members who attended the screening, said she would have liked the movie to delve more into how support and opposition of a Supercenter proposal can rip small communities apart. She called the fissure in Stoughton over the last several years "very real" and "very disturbing." Buzz Davis, one of the evening's organizers, stressed that the current Wal-Mart has been a good local neighbor. Davis said it's not the local management, but the international corporation, that opponents are speaking out against. "It's a corporation that has as its purpose the bringing down of wages for workers," Davis said. "The more this happens throughout the country the poorer we all become. Wal-Mart as a corporation has no conscience when it comes to that." Davis also said he was encouraged by the turnout. "We were thinking that if we had 50 people, it would be a success," he said. "I think it went very nicely. I think people learned a lot."
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