Union leaders, activists go on offensive against Wal-Mart

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Dec. 10, 1999 | 11:14 a.m.

If Clark County residents had any doubt that a union-driven zoning ordinance didn't specifically target Wal-Mart, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union tried to eliminate it Thursday.

With anti-Wal-Mart posters as a backdrop, union leaders and activists told horror stories, showed a video and read statistics to prove that the corporate giant destroys communities.

And, they emphasized, the only way to prevent Wal-Mart from converging on the Las Vegas Valley is by changing zoning laws.

"This company can be beaten and must be beaten if we want to protect hometown America," said Al Norman, a nationally recognized opponent of large retail or "big-box" stores. "Zoning is the most effective way to keep it out."

On Oct. 6 the Clark County Commission approved an ordinance banning retail stores that are larger than 110,000 square feet and dedicate more than 7.5 percent to groceries.

The three board members who voted in favor of the law have argued the measure was strictly to control traffic problems related to large stores such as Wal-Mart's 250,000-square-foot supercenters and Costco's warehouse stores.

But union members reiterated Wednesday that traffic is only a fraction of the problem.

Norman, who was joined by the union's Washington, D.C.-based Communications Director Greg Denier, appeared in Las Vegas to encourage the community to support the county's ordinance.

Norman said "Citizens for Competition," a grassroots group trying to collect enough signatures to force the commission to reconsider the measure, should call itself "Citizens for Predation."

Wal-Mart, he said, is known for its predatory method of undercutting its competition's prices and putting smaller stores out of business. Norman said the company can -- and does -- offer low prices because it pays its employees low wages and doesn't offer health benefits to many in its work force.

"These stores are taking advantage of someone to give me cheap underwear," Norman said.

Norman, author of the book "Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart!," said he recognizes the makeup of Las Vegas is vastly different from communities where residents have claimed Wal-Mart destroyed downtown areas.

But the company wipes out strip malls and, if Wal-Mart can't expand a store, it moves into a larger building leaving the old store vacant, he said. There are 333 vacated Wal-Mart stores across the country -- a total of 20 million square feet, according to Norman.

Daphne Davis, Wal-Mart's community affairs director, didn't dispute Norman's numbers, but said the figures were "conveniently misconstrued."

Davis said like other grocery stores, Wal-Mart moves into bigger buildings. But unlike its competitors, Wal-Mart has a team of real estate agents that work on selling or leasing the abandoned building, she said.

"The numbers are fluid because they're selling and leasing all the time," Davis said. "We have a following with other retail businesses because we offer ready-made stores."

Norman wasn't the only guest at the union hall Thursday who questioned Wal-Mart's tactics. Peter Walker, executive director of the Nevada Small Businesses Association, said when Wal-Mart eliminates its competition, it drives up its prices.

Statistics provided by the Nevada Council of Senior Citizens showed that once Wal-Mart dominates the market, its food prices rise as much as three times faster than the cost of living.

"I'm not an enemy of Wal-Mart," said Walker, who admitted he is a member of Wal-Mart's warehouse store Sam's Club. "I'm an enemy of what Wal-Mart does to small businesses."

Wal-Mart already defeated Clark County's new zoning ordinance once when U.S. District Judge Philip Pro ruled Dec. 1 that the county could not apply the measure to two Supercenters planned in the valley. Pro said Wal-Mart submitted its application for the two stores before the measure was approved, and the county was prepared to issue final permits.

A Wal-Mart lawsuit filed in October not only asked the judge to rule on whether the store can build its two Supercenters, but it also asked for an opinion on the constitutionality of the ordinance.

Clark County Assistant District Attorney Michael Davidson said if Wal-Mart wants the judge to rule on the constitutionality, it must file another lawsuit when it submits plans for additional Supercenters.

Davidson said if Pro made a ruling now, it would be speculative because Wal-Mart has not submitted plans for a Supercenter since the ordinance went into effect Oct. 21.

"We do not render advisory opinions until someone is actually being affected by the statute," Davidson said.

Davis said the company has plans for additional Supercenters in Clark County, but she said it has not announced how many.

While Norman and Denier are in Las Vegas to meet with residents and business people, Davis is in town to address the International Association of Business Communicators, which is sponsoring a workshop called "Dealing with the Angry Public."

Davis said today Wal-Mart is familiar with Norman's presentation and warned that he has made a business out of bashing successful retail centers.

"I've seen his performance before," she said. "Once you've seen it, you're familiar with it. He just changes the names of the town. It's a business for him.

"The fact of the matter is Wal-Mart is part of thousands of communities across America," Davis said. "As you've seen here in Las Vegas, people choose to shop at Wal-Mart and work at Wal-Mart. They want a choice."

Citizens for Competition has until April to collect 27,760 signatures from residents who want the county commission to reconsider the ordinance. The committee is no longer releasing updates on its signature campaign.