CEO touts values of Wal-Mart

Grace Leong

Tuesday, May 21, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

The chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, says the Enron scandal is reinforcing the validity of old-fashioned business practices practiced by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

"After what happened at Enron (Corp.), Walton's beliefs in building a business on trust and integrity are more relevant than ever," Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott told a retail industry conference in Las Vegas Monday.

"It's not the doing of the deal that's of paramount importance. It's about creating a business that's sustainable in the long term," Scott said at the International Council of Shopping Centers conference. "And the same principle applies to our treatment of our associates and suppliers. We have an open-door policy that enables associates who are unhappy to contact anyone in the company. We've expanded this policy to include our suppliers. If they're not getting what they want, they can contact anyone in the company."

"Sam Walton had a tremendous capacity for self-criticism, but he never created a negative environment for his workers," he said.

But in Las Vegas, Wal-Mart is locked in battle with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the National Labor Relations Board over UFCW efforts to organize at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club in Las Vegas -- the launch city for the union's national Wal-Mart organizing campaign.

A two-month trial on unfair labor practice charges filed by the NLRB against Wal-Mart -- charges based on union allegations -- ended Feb. 28. An NLRB judge who heard the case has not yet issued a decision.

The NLRB accused management at two Las Vegas Wal-Mart stores of disparaging workers who showed union support, telling them they weren't worthy of working at Wal-Mart, inviting them to quit and other anti-union activity.

Wal-Mart has disputed the union's and the NLRB's claims. Wal-Mart officials said Scott was unavailable for comment after his speech.

But Robert McAdam, Wal-Mart's spokesman, said: "Across the country, Wal-Mart believes its associates don't need third-party representation. 65 percent of our hourly associates have grown in their careers to be managers."

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart opened 62 stores nationwide and 19 internationally in the first quarter this year.

It said it plans to open two more Supercenters -- which combine general merchandise Wal-Mart stores with grocery stores -- in Nevada by next spring. One will be in Las Vegas at Fort Apache Road and Tropicana Avenue; and one will be in Pahrump. Wal-Mart now operates 21 general stores, Supercenters and Sam's Club stores in Nevada and has about 8,000 employees in the Las Vegas area.