Walmart has recently come under pressure to do more for its employees, particularly by 2020 Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders. The thing is, Walmart has had a long history of these practices, and nothing is being done about it.
In 1995, Walmart was sued by a collection of pharmacist and small business owners claiming the business was practicing predatory pricing and driving competitors out of business. The Arkansas Supreme Court, however, decided in favor of the company.
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Fair distribution of justice? Or is this the classic case of big businesses always winning?
In 2003, Walmart was again challenged on its pricing, this time in Germany. This time, they lost. As the New York Times reported,
After months of investigation, Germany's federal cartel office accused Wal-Mart of inciting a price war in which it and two German supermarket chains illegally sold products below their wholesale costs. The regulators said they acted to prevent Wal-Mart and other big chains from using ''unfair'' tactics to devastate smaller stores.
Other countries have acted on Walmart's status as a monopoly, while the United States has done nothing. Obviously, this is a major issue but isn't the main point of why I think everyone should boycott Walmart:
Walmart is blatantly anti-worker. The upper executives make billions of dollars while the average worker barely breaks minimum wage. Walmart has a history of ignoring labor laws when it comes to breaks and meals. Furthermore, they've been caught firing workers for absolutely ridiculous reasons.
These issues pale in comparison to how Walmart treats unions, however. They give their managers anti-union training. Walmart has closed stores where unions were attempting to form. Instead of just dealing with the problems present at the stores, they just fire their workers, shut their doors, and leave (much like they did when challenged in 2003 in Germany for their pricing; they left).
Unions are crucial to protecting worker's rights. Walmart's adamant stance against unions shows how little they care about their workers. It's gotten so ridiculous, even the Walmart sub-Reddit is fighting against anti-union memes.
America is about the rights of its citizens. Walmart clearly does not care about its workers' rights and is, in fact, actively working to minimize them. It's time we held them accountable.
This is why I am boycotting Walmart, and think you should too.
