A Message To Wal-Mart: Buy American

I remember from years back Wal-Mart having a marketing campaign "We Buy American, Whenever We Can".  However, we don't see that anymore.  With the recent main-page post by Trapper John about Wal-Mart dealing with Chinese Unions, and Wal-Mart's general hostility towards the worker, I started thinking: "Why doesn't Wal-Mart buy American anymore?"

The answer, of course, is money.  It is cheaper for Walmart to buy products made abroad, so they buy them over American-made products.

However, why shouldn't Wal-Mart buy American-made products?  Why can't WE tell Wal-Mart "We want you to sell American-made products.  We want you to stop sending manufacturing jobs overseas."?

If Americans (especially those in unions being hurt by outsourcing) would visibly stand up to Wal-Mart's tactics, we could reveal the consequences of the retail giant's actions.  Furthermore, isn't it grossly improper to be sending American jobs overseas how Wal-Mart does?

We need to let every American know that it is their patriotic DUTY to not shop at Wal-Mart, and instead go to another store.  It may or may not cost more, but it's a sacrifice we are willing to make for American workers and American ideals.

In my searching, I found some very interesting links about Wal-Mart and their business practices. Here are a few interesting quotes about Wal-Mart for you to think about:

The Wal-Mart You Don't Know - from Fast Company Magazine, December 2003

Wal-Mart wields its power for just one purpose: to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers. At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year. But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and its 21,000 suppliers knows is the high cost of those low prices. Wal-Mart has the power to squeeze profit-killing concessions from vendors. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bras to bicycles to blue jeans have had to lay off employees and close U.S. plants in favor of outsourcing products from overseas.

"Wal-Mart has a big pencil," says Garson. "They have such awesome purchasing power that they write their own ticket. If they don't like your prices, they'll go vertical and do it themselves--or they'll find someone that will meet their terms."

In the summer of 1995, Garson asserts, Wal-Mart did just that. "They had awarded us a contract, and in their wisdom, they changed the terms so dramatically that they really reneged." Garson, still worried about litigation, won't provide details. "But when you lose a customer that size, they are irreplaceable."

We're Screwed, New York Post, November 8, 2004

Wal-Mart has leveraged its power as the world's largest retailer to force so many American companies to move their manufacturing to China that it has helped place China in position to dominate the world's economy in our lifetime.

American drive to buy for less has a price, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, December 30, 2003

But Bob Schuemann, executive vice president of the Hartford manufacturer, has warned employees about shopping at Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

"What both of those companies are doing is putting so much pressure on American manufacturers that they're forcing them to go overseas," he said.

"The Chinese are not our friend, OK? We're in an economic war with them."