• Published reports say that a Massachusetts Superior Court judge has decertified a class action suit against Wal-Mart that charged the company didn’t give its employees required breaks. The judge in the case said that because each case was different, it did not meet the legal standard to be a class action.
• The American Family Association (AFA), which had called for a boycott of Wal-Mart Stores during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend to protest the retailer’s support of gay rights groups, has withdrawn its objections to the company’s policies.
AFA said that Wal-Mart had pledged to earmark its donations for specific causes, such as workplace equality, rather than just donating money that could be used by gay rights groups in any way they chose.
Joe Solmonese, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, told Bloomberg News, “I don't see it as backpedaling by Wal-Mart. I think the AFA failed, and thought to themselves, 'Let's declare victory and hope nobody notices’.”
• The American Family Association (AFA), which had called for a boycott of Wal-Mart Stores during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend to protest the retailer’s support of gay rights groups, has withdrawn its objections to the company’s policies.
AFA said that Wal-Mart had pledged to earmark its donations for specific causes, such as workplace equality, rather than just donating money that could be used by gay rights groups in any way they chose.
Joe Solmonese, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, told Bloomberg News, “I don't see it as backpedaling by Wal-Mart. I think the AFA failed, and thought to themselves, 'Let's declare victory and hope nobody notices’.”
- KC's View:
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This is an example of the kind of troubles Wal-Mart is going to run into as it tries to walk the tightrope between appealing to its traditional customer base and establishing connections to the new customers that it needs in order to continue to grow.
We believe that if Wal-Mart wants to expand its reach, it is going to have to show a lot more tolerance and compassion than groups like the AFA.
