Union, Wal-Mart dispute rages on

Adrienne Packer

Friday, March 17, 2000 | 11:29 a.m.

Residents who have checked their mailboxes lately have probably discovered evidence of Round II in the ongoing battle between Wal-Mart and local unions.

A four-page pamphlet distributed this week accuses Wal-Mart of failing to provide employee insurance, making false claims that all products are made in the United States and of violating consumer laws.

In the meantime, Wal-Mart, joined by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, has begun an aggressive petition drive to force the Clark County Commission to either repeal a recently passed ordinance that bans "big box" stores or place the issue on the November ballot.

The ordinance prevents Wal-Mart from opening its Supercenter -- a 200,000-square-foot store that houses a full-sized grocery market -- in unincorporated areas of the county.

"Every day we have consumers in Clark County telling us how much they want to have Supercenters in Las Vegas," said Amy Hill, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman in Reno.

"We appreciate all the support we've received."

If Wal-Mart hopes to force a revote, it must collect 27,760 signatures -- 10 percent of the amount of residents who voted in the last election -- by the end of June.

The war between Wal-Mart, a nonunion company, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union started last summer when the corporate giant announced plans to expand two existing stores into Supercenters.

The union contacted county commissioners and helped planners craft the ordinance that forbids construction of any store larger than 110,000 square feet, with more than 7,500 square feet dedicated to untaxable groceries.

A federal judge's ruling in December allowed Wal-Mart to go forward with its plans to expand the two stores, but that has not satisfied Wal-Mart officials.

Wal-Mart has questioned the constitutionality of the county ordinance, but Hill said executives have not yet decided whether to file another lawsuit. Wal-Mart hopes to build about four Supercenters in the Las Vegas Valley.

"We will not have a brand-new Supercenter until we resolve this ordinance," Hill said. "We're definitely looking at all our options from a legal perspective; we have not ruled out legal action."

The petition drive to overturn the ordinance was originally conducted by Citizens for Competition, but the group, led by political consultant Chuck Muth, turned the effort over to Wal-Mart last month.

Muth said Wal-Mart filed its appeal after the citizens filed theirs and therefore had more time to collect signatures. Muth's organization would have had to submit 27,760 signatures by April.

Adrienne Packer covers county government for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2310 or by e-mail at adrienne@lasvegassun.com