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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., branded as Walmart , has been criticized by many groups and individuals, including labor unions and other groups. They have protested against Walmart and the company's policies and business practices, including charges of racial and gender discrimination.〔Kabel, Marcus. "(Walmart, Critics Slam Each Other on Web )." ''The Washington Post.'' July 18, 2006. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.〕〔Sellers, Jeff M. (April 22, 2005). "(Women Against Wal-Mart )." ''Christianity Today.'' Retrieved July 31, 2006.〕〔Sellers, Jeff M. (April 22, 2005). "(Deliver Us from Wal-Mart? )." ''Christianity Today.''. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.〕 Other criticisms include foreign product sourcing, treatment of product suppliers, environmental practices, the use of public subsidies, and the company's security policies.〔Norman, Al (2004). "The Case Against Wal-Mart". Raphel Marketing, p. 7. ISBN 0-9711542-3-6.〕 Wal-Mart denies any wrongdoing and says that low prices are the result of efficiency.〔Copeland, Larry. (March 13, 2006). "(Wal-Mart's hired advocate takes flak )." ''USA Today.'' Retrieved on July 31, 2006.〕〔Rodino Associates. (October 28, 2003). "(Final Report on Research for Big Box Retail/Superstore Ordinance )." ''Los Angeles City Council.'' Retrieved on July 31, 2006.〕〔Smith, Hedrick. "(Who Calls the Shots in the Global Economy? )" ''PBS.'' Retrieved on July 31, 2006.〕 In 2005, labor unions created new organizations and websites to criticize the company, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (United Food and Commercial Workers) and Walmart Watch (Service Employees International Union). By the end of 2005, Walmart had launched Working Families for Wal-Mart to counter those groups. Efforts to counter criticism include a public relations campaign in 2005,〔(walmartfacts.com (official public relations website) )〕 which included several television commercials. The company retained the public relations firm Edelman to interact with the press and respond to negative media reports,〔Barnaro, Michael. (November 1, 2005). "(A New Weapon for Wal-Mart: A War Room )." ''The New York Times.'' Retrieved on August 1, 2006.〕 and has started working with bloggers by sending them news, suggesting topics for postings, and inviting them to visit Walmart's corporate headquarters.〔Barbaro, Michael. (March 7, 2006). "(Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign )." ''The New York Times.'' Retrieved on August 1, 2006.〕 In November 2005, a documentary film critical of Walmart (''Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price'') was released on DVD. Economists at the Cato Institute say that Walmart is successful because it sells products that consumers want at low prices, satisfying customers' wants and needs. Walmart's critics say that Walmart's lower prices draw customers away from smaller Main Street businesses, hurting local small-town communities. Critics also say that Walmart is hurting the U.S. economy because of excessive reliance on Chinese products. Walmart is the largest importer in the U.S. in many categories such as electronics and fast-moving consumer goods.〔Boaz, David. (November 8, 1996). "(Chrysler, Microsoft, and Industrial Policy )." ''Cato Institute.'' Retrieved on August 17, 2006.〕〔Bandow, Doug. (March 26, 1997). "(Can 'Unbridled Capitalism' Be Tamed? )" ''Cato Institute.'' Retrieved on August 17, 2006.〕 The 2006 book ''The Wal-Mart Effect'' by business journalist Charles Fishman contains much of the criticism, though it also enumerates Walmart's positive impacts within society. == Local communities == When Walmart plans a new store location, activists often oppose the new store and attempt to block its construction. Opponents cite concerns such as traffic congestion, environmental problems, public safety, absentee landlordism, bad public relations, low wages and benefits, and predatory pricing.〔Washburn, Gary; Meyer, H. Gregory. (September 1, 2004). "(Walmart hasn't written off city )." ''Chicago Tribune.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕〔Baldacci, Leslie. (January 26, 2006). "(Thousands apply for jobs at new Walmart )." ''Chicago Sun-Times.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕〔"(Walmart Stores, Inc. vs. American Drugs, Inc.: Arkansas Supreme Court Decision )". (Case No. 94-235). ''Arkansas Supreme Court.'' January 9, 1995. Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕〔Mitchell, Stacy (October 1, 2001). "(Walmart Settles Predatory Pricing Charge )." ''Institute for Local Self-Reliance.'' Retrieved on September 26, 2015.〕 Opposition sometimes includes protest marches by competitors, informed citizens, activists, labor unions, and religious groups.〔Taylor, Peter Shawn. (February 20, 2006). "(Freedom to shop )". ''National Post.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher = http://how-to-become-an-entrepreneur.blogspot.com/ )〕 In some instances, activists demonstrated their opposition by causing property damage to store buildings or by creating bomb scares.〔Rosencrans, Willy. (August 31, 2004). "(Walmart Supercenter rammed )". ''Asheville Global Report.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕〔Roselle, Jody; Kerrie Frisinger. (May 26, 2005). "(Walmart receives bomb scare )". ''The Ithaca Journal.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006. 〕 Some city councils have denied permits to developers planning to include a Walmart in their project. Those who defend Walmart cite consumer choice and overall benefits to the economy, and object to bringing the issue into the political arena.〔Sobel, Russell S.; Andrea M. Dean. "(Has Walmart Buried Mom and Pop?: The Impact of Walmart on Self Employment and Small Establishments in the United States )." ''West Virginia University.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕 A Walmart Superstore opened in 2004 in Mexico, 1.9 miles from the historic Teotihuacan archaeological site and Pyramid of the Moon.〔McKinley, Jr., James C. (September 28, 2004). "(No, the Conquistadors Are Not Back. It's Just Walmart )". ''The New York Times.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕 Although the location was supported by Mexico's National Anthropology Institute, the United Nations, and the Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites,〔Staff Writer. (November 5, 2004). "(Shoppers rush to pyramid Walmart )". ''BBC News.'' Retrieved on September 5, 2006〕 there had been protests organized by local merchants, as well as environmental groups and anti-globalization groups who opposed the construction. Poet Homero Aridjis called the opening as "supremely symbolic" and "...like planting the staff of globalization in the heart of ancient Mexico."〔Staff Writer. (November 8, 2004). "(Mexicans Protest Walmart Opening Near Ancient Pyramids )". ''(Democracy Now! )'' Retrieved on August 4, 2006.〕 Archaeologists oversaw construction and discovered a small clay and stone altar along with some other artifacts where the store's parking lot is now located.〔 In 1998, Walmart proposed construction of a store west of the intersection of Charlotte Pike (U.S. Route 70) and Interstate 40 outside Nashville, Tennessee. The building site was home to both Native American burial grounds and a Civil War battlefield. Protests were mounted by Native Americans and Civil War interest groups, but the Walmart store was eventually constructed after moving graves and some modifications of the site so as not to interfere with the battlefield.〔(February 13, 2007). "(Walmart / Lowe's Shopping Center Destroys Native American Cemetery )". ''Alliance for Native American Indian Rights''. Retrieved on September 30, 2007. 〕 Civil War relics were discovered at the site. The project developers donated land to permit access to the Civil War historic site.〔East, Jim. (May 7, 2001. "(Builder's transfer of land for park expected in fall )". ''The Tennesseean''. Retrieved on September 30, 2007. 〕 The Native sites were removed and re-buried elsewhere.〔 In 2005, developers demolished the long-closed Dixmont State Hospital in Kilbuck Township, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, with plans to build a shopping complex anchored by a Walmart. While there were initially no general objections to the Walmart store itself, many residents did not want to see Dixmont demolished, despite the fact that the Dixmont complex, having been abandoned in 1984, was beyond maintainable condition and teenagers were dangerously trespassing onto the property on a regular basis.〔http://www.ohiotrespassers.com/dixmont.html〕 However, while the land was being excavated (after the hospital complex was torn down) in order to create a plateau for the store to be built upon, a landslide occurred covering Pennsylvania Route 65 and the Fort Wayne Line railroad tracks between PA 65 and the Ohio River. Both routes were shut down for weeks. While Walmart did "stabilize" the landslide, many residents said that Walmart merely stabilized the hillside so that it could continue with work to build the store. Ultimately, in 2007 Walmart decided against developing the site, allowing the land to return to nature,〔(kdka.com – Walmart Won't Develop Kilbuck Twp. Site )〕 with a Walmart location to be constructed in nearby Economy, Pennsylvania instead next door to the Northern Lights Shopping Center and scheduled for a 2013 opening. For some time, PA 65 remained restricted to one lane northbound near the former Dixmont site for safety concerns, though the entire roadway had been cleared of debris. Despite this, Walmart is the largest retail chain in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and is the second-largest grocery store to locally based Giant Eagle. In addition, researchers at the University of South Carolina and Sam Houston State University carried out a study to determine if Wal-Mart affects local crime rates. The results of the study found that the crime rate in US counties that have Wal-Mart stores declined at a much lower rate than the rest of the country since the 1990s.〔Christian Nordqvist. (February 7, 2014). "(Wal-Mart affects crime rates negatively )". ''(Market Business News )'' Retrieved on February 11, 2014.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Criticism of Walmart」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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