Spring Break
Wal-Mart unfair to foreign workers, professor says
James Faughnan
Issue date: 11/22/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
11/22/05 - Professor David Boje of the Business Department at the New Mexico State University spoke yesterday to about 25 people at the University of Rhode Island regarding the controversy behind Wal-Mart's business practices overseas.
The speech was part of the College of Business Administration's Research Presentation Series. Boje specifically spoke about China, Honduras and Bangladesh.
The presentation began with an excerpt from the movie Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price by Robert Greenwald. The portion aired depicted the condition of Wal-Mart factory workers, focusing on the personal experiences of workers in China.
According to the film, the pay is barely enough to live on and workers are encouraged to lie to health inspectors.
"If you lie well you'll be rewarded, if you don't, you'll be punished," said a woman in the movie.
The factory workers are also provided dormitories, but rent and utilities are taken from their pay. Even if workers choose not to live in the dormitory, the rent is still subtracted from their pay, although they are exempt from utilities.
The film also showed workers in Bangladesh who used their own fingers to brush their teeth, suffering from the same working conditions of those in China.
Greenwald spoke with factory workers and Wal-Mart supervisors for his film. One man specifically described himself as a loyal Wal-Mart employee and said if someone cut him he would bleed Wal-Mart blood.
However, when he finally had to see the conditions of the factories, he returned to his hotel room and wept to his wife over the phone. This employee, while distressed, hoped once the conditions of the factories were brought to the attention of higher-ups the problems would start to be addressed.
Instead, he was fired, and explained that he had never felt so embarrassed in his life.
After the movie, Boje discussed Wal-Mart's counterattack to Greenwald's movie. He said there were two movies released contesting Greenwald's work by Wal-Mart publicists.
Boje said Wal-Mart has hired publicists from Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton's campaigns for retaliation against Greenwald's charges.
"That's their job, to make this look stupid," Boje said in response to a question concerning the responsibilities of the publicists.
One of the topics Boje touched on before accepting questions was the idea of the ghost of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. Boje said Wal-Mart generally characterized Walton as a grandfatherly old man, who was out to help the common man.
Boje disagreed with the portrayal, and said Walton was an economics major who used the same practice of underpaying workers. Boie described him as "a scrooge from the beginning."
Boje also answered questions from audience members. One of the most commonly asked questions by students and professors was why these people would speak up if they expected to be punished for what they did.
"How much torture can you endure?" Boje responded.
The speech was part of the College of Business Administration's Research Presentation Series. Boje specifically spoke about China, Honduras and Bangladesh.
The presentation began with an excerpt from the movie Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price by Robert Greenwald. The portion aired depicted the condition of Wal-Mart factory workers, focusing on the personal experiences of workers in China.
According to the film, the pay is barely enough to live on and workers are encouraged to lie to health inspectors.
"If you lie well you'll be rewarded, if you don't, you'll be punished," said a woman in the movie.
The factory workers are also provided dormitories, but rent and utilities are taken from their pay. Even if workers choose not to live in the dormitory, the rent is still subtracted from their pay, although they are exempt from utilities.
The film also showed workers in Bangladesh who used their own fingers to brush their teeth, suffering from the same working conditions of those in China.
Greenwald spoke with factory workers and Wal-Mart supervisors for his film. One man specifically described himself as a loyal Wal-Mart employee and said if someone cut him he would bleed Wal-Mart blood.
However, when he finally had to see the conditions of the factories, he returned to his hotel room and wept to his wife over the phone. This employee, while distressed, hoped once the conditions of the factories were brought to the attention of higher-ups the problems would start to be addressed.
Instead, he was fired, and explained that he had never felt so embarrassed in his life.
After the movie, Boje discussed Wal-Mart's counterattack to Greenwald's movie. He said there were two movies released contesting Greenwald's work by Wal-Mart publicists.
Boje said Wal-Mart has hired publicists from Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton's campaigns for retaliation against Greenwald's charges.
"That's their job, to make this look stupid," Boje said in response to a question concerning the responsibilities of the publicists.
One of the topics Boje touched on before accepting questions was the idea of the ghost of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. Boje said Wal-Mart generally characterized Walton as a grandfatherly old man, who was out to help the common man.
Boje disagreed with the portrayal, and said Walton was an economics major who used the same practice of underpaying workers. Boie described him as "a scrooge from the beginning."
Boje also answered questions from audience members. One of the most commonly asked questions by students and professors was why these people would speak up if they expected to be punished for what they did.
"How much torture can you endure?" Boje responded.
