http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/091906/walmart.html
Wal-Mart strides into election fray By Alexander Bolton
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, is planning to launch a voter registration and education campaign this fall targeted at its 1.3 million employees in an effort to combat growing criticism from Democrats and labor unions.
By doing so, the world’s largest retailer is striding into the national political arena, which until this election cycle it has taken pains to avoid.
Wal-Mart’s voter registration and education programs could be among the biggest in the country, though not as big as those of its labor union opponents.
The AFL-CIO, for example, has nearly 13 million members.
The company’s decision appears to be a response to several high-profile Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and four 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls, who participated in a labor-organized anti-Wal-Mart campaign this summer.
Compensating for its lack of experience educating potential voters, Wal-Mart has worked with the League of Women Voters, one of the nation’s preeminent voter education groups, to craft materials to distribute to employees.
Wal-Mart had been scheduled to announce the program today but because of last-minute reviews by its lawyers it delayed the launch until next week. The Hill learned of Wal-Mart’s plans from a public relations official who circulated news of them before the company gave its go-ahead.
Lee Culpepper, head of the company’s government relations office in Washington, declined to comment on the plans because he was not yet authorized to do so.
Nancy Tate, executive director of the League of Women Voters, said her group had given Wal-Mart the template for an informational card telling voters how to make sure their vote counts on Election Day. She said Wal-Mart would distribute it to its 1.3 million “associates,” the title given to its rank-and-file staff.
Tate said Wal-Mart was the only organization her group has worked with in the 2006 election cycle, although it worked with others two years ago.
But providing the educational information would be the extent of its partnership with Wal-Mart, she added.
Wal-Mart for years had tried to stay out of politics. “They shunned politics for so long,” said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch, a labor-backed organization. “For the better part of two years they were claiming the debate [over its business practices] wasn’t political and shouldn’t be politicized. This is an enormous change from what they were saying.”
Wal-Mart’s new focus comes after labor unions have made it a primary political target. Union leaders say Wal-Mart has depressed wages and fiercely opposed employees’ efforts to organize.
Wal-Mart’s opponents escalated their attacks this summer with a “Wake Up Wal-Mart” tour. The tour, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, held anti-Wal-Mart rallies around the country.
Several Democratic presidential hopefuls such as former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.), New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack joined in. So did Democratic Senate candidates including Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.), Sen. Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Ned Lamont, Rep. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), and Rep. Ben Cardin (Md.).
“Wal-Mart is already one of the largest, most profitable companies in this country,” said Bayh at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last month. “The time has come for it to do what it takes to be one of the most respected, too. And it’s going to accomplish that by treating its workers with basic dignity and justice. That’s what we’re asking for here today.”
The chorus of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and liberal activists appears to have had an effect. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll published Friday showed that 52 percent of Americans said companies like Wal-Mart “should be reviewed and regulated more” over its health and pension benefits. In the poll, 45 percent of the respondents rated Wal-Mart positively while 31 percent did not.
Wal-Mart responded to criticism from Democratic presidential hopefuls by rebutting them in letters to 18,000 Iowa employees.
“We would never suggest to you how to vote, but we have an obligation to tell you when politicians are saying something about your company that isn’t true,” Wal-Mart stated in its August letter, according to a report by the Associated Press. “We urge you to talk with your friends, your family and your neighbors about the good Wal-Mart does.”
Wal-Mart also sent letters to staff in other presidential primary states such as New Hampshire and South Carolina, said Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com.
The company appears poised to expand its efforts to all its employees and to follow up by encouraging them to register to vote and giving the information they need to cast ballots on Election Day.
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