I want someone to tell me how this does a city any good, especially if neighboring cities just go an open a Walmart and take your tax dollars. Practically, economically, socially...this is plain stupid policy but none of this ever surprises coming out of California anymore.
What is next, will mayor Brown and his council tell residents what restaurants and food people can eat for dinner???
Oakland Bans Wal-Mart Style Superstores
By Andrea Orr
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The city of Oakland, just across the bay from San Francisco, has banned mega-stores like Wal-Mart super centers from opening there, saying they would threaten smaller stores and depress wages.
The move comes as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, plans an aggressive roll-out of super centers in California, with 40 such centers set to open throughout the state over the next four years.
Wal-Mart had no specific plan to open a super center in Oakland and a company spokeswoman said the ordinance was a blow to consumer choice.
The Oakland city council on Tuesday banned the opening of any "big box" retailer with more than 10,000 square feet of nontaxable sales, which typically means floor space devoted to selling groceries. Officials said the action was directed specifically at Wal-Mart.
In recent years, Wal-Mart has stepped up growth of its super centers. Those stores include grocery items and are more than twice as large as its regular discount stores.
Critics are increasingly charging these ultra-large stores that offer rock-bottom prices are making it difficult for mom-and-pop stores and even some fairly large retail chains to compete.
"Oakland has a lot of neighborhood stores," said Oakland city council member Jane Brunner, who said the move banning the super centers was designed to protect those smaller outlets and their employees.
The dispute over Wal-Mart's expansion comes amid a strike by U.S. supermarket workers in southern California and other parts of the country. Representatives for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union say Wal-Mart's expansion has put pressure on other grocery chains to keep wages low.
She cited data showing the average Wal-Mart sales clerk earned between $7 and $8 per hour, while the average wage for a check-out clerk at the Albertsons Inc. chain was $18 an hour.
"We are clearly disappointed," said Amy Hills, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores, which has also objected to a similar ban passed by Contra Costa County near Oakland. Wal-Mart may also soon have to contend with a third ban being considered in Los Angeles.
"We feel the actions taken are anti-consumer and anti-competitive. Oakland is trying to create a false marketplace by not allowing all retailers to compete," Hill said.
Hill said that Wal-Mart wages are competitive with other retailers in all the markets in which it operates.
But Barbara Maynard, a representative for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union in southern California, said there was "no question" that Wal-Mart had depressed wages industry wide.
What is next, will mayor Brown and his council tell residents what restaurants and food people can eat for dinner???
Oakland Bans Wal-Mart Style Superstores
By Andrea Orr
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The city of Oakland, just across the bay from San Francisco, has banned mega-stores like Wal-Mart super centers from opening there, saying they would threaten smaller stores and depress wages.
The move comes as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, plans an aggressive roll-out of super centers in California, with 40 such centers set to open throughout the state over the next four years.
Wal-Mart had no specific plan to open a super center in Oakland and a company spokeswoman said the ordinance was a blow to consumer choice.
The Oakland city council on Tuesday banned the opening of any "big box" retailer with more than 10,000 square feet of nontaxable sales, which typically means floor space devoted to selling groceries. Officials said the action was directed specifically at Wal-Mart.
In recent years, Wal-Mart has stepped up growth of its super centers. Those stores include grocery items and are more than twice as large as its regular discount stores.
Critics are increasingly charging these ultra-large stores that offer rock-bottom prices are making it difficult for mom-and-pop stores and even some fairly large retail chains to compete.
"Oakland has a lot of neighborhood stores," said Oakland city council member Jane Brunner, who said the move banning the super centers was designed to protect those smaller outlets and their employees.
The dispute over Wal-Mart's expansion comes amid a strike by U.S. supermarket workers in southern California and other parts of the country. Representatives for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union say Wal-Mart's expansion has put pressure on other grocery chains to keep wages low.
She cited data showing the average Wal-Mart sales clerk earned between $7 and $8 per hour, while the average wage for a check-out clerk at the Albertsons Inc. chain was $18 an hour.
"We are clearly disappointed," said Amy Hills, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores, which has also objected to a similar ban passed by Contra Costa County near Oakland. Wal-Mart may also soon have to contend with a third ban being considered in Los Angeles.
"We feel the actions taken are anti-consumer and anti-competitive. Oakland is trying to create a false marketplace by not allowing all retailers to compete," Hill said.
Hill said that Wal-Mart wages are competitive with other retailers in all the markets in which it operates.
But Barbara Maynard, a representative for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union in southern California, said there was "no question" that Wal-Mart had depressed wages industry wide.
