Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to open several dozen Chicago stores in food desert communities over the next four years including five on the South Side, the Benton-Ark. Retailer announced March 16.
The nation’s
largest retailer also plans to open more stores on the West Side where food
deserts also exist. Currently it has one West Side store at 4650 W. North Ave.,
which opened in 2006.
In the
West Englewood community a Walmart Express is set to open fall 2012 at 71st
Street and Western Avenue, and a Walmart Market store will open spring 2012 at
76th Street and Ashland Avenue. In the Chatham community a Walmart Express will
open this summer at 83rd Street and Stewart Avenue followed by a Super Walmart
in spring 2012 and another one spring 2013 in the Pullman community at 111th
Street and Bishop Ford Expressway. The retailer is also going downtown with a
Walmart Market this fall in the West Loop at the corner of Monroe and South
Jefferson Streets.
“Walmart
Express are smaller and serve mainly as a convenience store where customers can
pick up a few items without having to walk around a bigger store searching for
items. Our Market and Supercenter stores offer not only groceries but many
other retail items for those customers who want to pick up more than a few
items,” said Julie Murphy, a senior vice president of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The goal
of these stores, said Walmart officials is to provide food and shopping choices
as well as jobs for residents.
The fight
to bring Walmart stores to Chicago has taken more than six years, stymied in
City Council by a proposed big-box ordinance that would have put financial
restrictions on large retailers locating in the city. Mayor Richard M. Daley
vetoed the measure and several aldermen up for re-election at the time who
opposed the ordinance were targeted for defeat by unions opposing Walmart
working conditions and wages.
Last
year, however, Walmart and the unions came to an agreement when the company
agreed to starting wages at Chicago stores of $8.75 an hour, 50 cents higher
than minimum wage, and a 40 percent raise after a year. That opened the door
for rapid expansion.
“We hope
that these stores provide quality employment opportunities, low prices for
fresh produce, meat and vegetables and that it serves as a magnet for more
economic development,” Murphy said during the Wednesday news conference
announcing its expansion plans.
According
to Steve Restivo, a Walmart spokesman, after these six stores open it would
then continue its expansion.
“From
there we will continue to identify other Chicago locations but expect to open
two-dozen stores by 2015,” he told the Defender.
The
Chicago Urban League is working with Walmart officials and local aldermen to
ensure minority contractors and residents are part of the 10,000 jobs and 2,000
construction jobs the expansion is expected to create.
“We are
working with them to bring jobs to the community and to ensure that (small)
businesses have access to economic opportunities,” Andrea Zopp, president and
CEO of the Chicago Urban League told the Defender. “A Walmart store stabilizes the
community and there is a need for greater stabilization in many minority
communities.”
Minority
employment is a priority for Daley.
“When
construction starts I want to see men and women of color working here,” Daley
said.
But labor
organizations still express reservations about the expansion.
“We have
never been anti-Walmart but pro-worker,” said Jorge Ramirez, president of the
Chicago Federation of Labor. “We do not have a problem with Walmart expanding a
long as they provide a livable employment package. As the nation’s biggest
retailer Walmart should be leading others to the top and not the bottom.”
Ramirez
complains that Walmart does not allow workers to work 40 hours a week
consistently because that makes the employee full-time and entitled to certain
benefits such as medical insurance.
“They are
a preserver of poverty. They should be embarrassed by what they give back to the
community when you look at what that take away,” he added.
Restivo
disputed Ramirez’s claims and said Walmart pays livable wages and offers a
competitive benefits package to employees.
Daley was
joined at last week’s news conference by Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), whose
ward includes part of the Chatham community, Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), whose
ward includes the Pullman community, and Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), whose ward
includes the city’s only Walmart on the West Side.
Alderman
Latasha Thomas (17th), whose ward includes West Englewood, said she is thrilled
about the possibilities two stores offer.
Copyright
2011 Chicago Defender
