Journalist JohnDicker, 32, has worked on films and in labor unions since studying film at Ithaca College in New York. The Bedford, N.Y.-native's non-fiction work has appeared in The Nation, Salon and the Colorado Springs Independent, among other publications. His first book, "The United States of Wal-Mart"(Tarcher/Penguin Putnam, 2005, $12.95) is a funny, biting examination of the power and practices of Wal-Mart, including how the large corporation has shaped America.
He spoke with the Jackson Free Press from his home in Denver.
What made you want to write about Wal-Mart?
I've never really been a Wal-Mart shopper. I grew up in the Northeast, where Wal-Mart really never had a presence. It's a convoluted story, but I would never have proposed to write my first book about the world's largest corporation—with issues like labor unions, health care and globalization. I wrote a piece for The Nation in 2002 about Wal-Mart and union campaigns in Las Vegas.
I also worked at a K-Mart distribution center as an undercover union worker and wrote a piece for Salon in 1999, so the publisher approached me. They had the idea for the book and the title. They wanted to do a book on the Wal-Martization of America, but I had a lot of leeway in terms of what I wanted to cover.
What function does humor serve in "The United States of Wal-Mart?"
It is a serious issue, but a lot of times, it's written like a textbook. It usually falls into two camps—serious, crusading journalists or corporate hagiography.
The humor snaps people awake, hopefully. It keeps them engaged. There was a point in the book where I was trying to explain this shift in the way people understand discount stores, and I used the example of "Rain Man" where Tom Cruise says, "K-Mart sucks." But now there's this badge of honor, like in that Gretchen Wilson song about getting her stuff at Wal-Mart instead of fancy stores. I use that so that readers can relate to it more.
What are the key issues with Wal-Mart in terms of its labor practices?
Health care is the number one issue. If they had a better health-care plan that was affordable for their workers, their low wages wouldn't be so much in the public spotlight. The larger context is that all employer premiums are rising across the board. It's this huge issue, and Wal-Mart is the focus of this. The union issue is in the news a lot, but the labor movement is declining. It's not just a union issue.
What are the biggest issues in terms of U.S. competitiveness, overseas manufacturing and
outsourcing, etc.?
I hate to sound defeatist, but what China offers companies can't really be replicated here—the sheer overwhelming labor supply. Ted Fishman wrote in his book "China Inc." that the migration from China's rural communities to the cities is the largest human migration in history. China has over 100 cities with populations of over a million. It offers cheap labor, government financed infrastructure and political stability.
People are familiar with seeing small businesses close down as a result of Wal-Mart. But are there other hidden impacts that we don't always think of?
In terms of concentrated economic results, you have one family—the Walton family—that controls almost 40 percent of the stock. In terms of social costs, it's the amount of Wal-Mart workers who rely on public assistance. The memo that leaked out of Wal-Mart last week—from the Wal-Mart director of benefits to the board of directors—said 46 percent of Wal-Mart workers are using Medicaid or have no health insurance at all.
What could the U.S. government do to cause Wal-Mart to work better?
You're seeing that in places like Maryland and New York City that say that any retail store above a certain amount of square footage would require employers to pay the majority of their workers' health care. You also can have size-caps if you're just trying to keep Wal-Mart out of your city. It's still fairly untested right now. A lot of the reason Wal-Mart has failed in big cities (is because of) zoning costs and real estate costs.
You talk about Wal-Mart using solar panels in certain "green" Wal-Marts in more environmentally friendly places. Do you think Wal-Mart has a sincere interest in the environment, or are they adapting to fit customers?
In retail, you see the seeds of things that change, how we can shop for the better. I think to some degree they are being conscious. Lee Scott (the C.E.O. of Wal-Mart) often brags that he drives a Volkswagen Bug. It saves them money. I don't think they have anything invested in being wasteful, though. They have the largest truck fleet in the country. It smacks of a PR ploy.
Is Target any better?
Absolutely not. I get this question a lot because in some demographics, it seems like Target is as big as Wal-Mart, but it's nowhere close. Wal-Mart has about 2,000 Supercenters; Target has about 145. Target doesn't have a war room composed of political spin strategists. Wal-Mart provides a smokescreen for places like Target. When they were called out for hiring illegal immigrants to clean their stores—without holiday pay or benefit and less than minimum wage—Target was doing the same thing. But Target settled their lawsuit last summer, and it was only a little blip of a story in The New York Times.
Do you think the press will start attacking other big retailers like Target?
Not anytime soon. Wal-Mart is still the trend-setter. They'll be in the picture, but not prominently.
What would you like to see change about Wal-Mart?
I would like to see them quit spending so much money on PR and institute changes that make the lives of their workers better and more viable.
How would you like Americans to change their approach to Wal-Mart?
They really need to re-examine what the cost of low prices are. They're not free. They're not there by the grace of Wal-Mart. There are consequences to discount retailing. You can't see them all the time. I understand in a lot of areas, that for people on tight budgets, Wal-Mart is all you can do. How do you explain to a poor person that a $28 DVD player sucks? That's the complexity of the problem. Small business people have to find very creative niches, and it's very hard to compete. What Wal-Mart threatens is the prospect of entrepreneurship. Could Sam Walton—despite his folk-hero status now—start up in the Wal-Mart retail of America? I don't think he could do it in this environment.
Copies of John Dicker's "The United States of Wal-Mart" are available at Lemuria Bookstore.
Who's Smiling Now?
The official Wal-Mart Web site, http://www.walmart.com, has plenty of company on the Internet, but it's not friendly.
Walmart Watch, http://www.walmartwatch.com, recently uncovered an internal memo suggesting how Wal-Mart could slow its increase in benefit costs without giving more ammunition to critics.
Wake Up Walmart, at http://www.wake-up-walmart.com, estimates the cost of supporting Wal-Mart's workers at $2.3 billion in federal subsidies and rising.
Former Miss America Carloyn Sapp speaks out against Wal-Mart at http://www.walmartversuswomen.com
Information on the class action sex discrimination suit against Walmart is http://www.walmartclass.com/public_home.html
The new film by Robert Greenwald, "Wal-Mart: The high price of low cost" is featured at http://www.walmartmovie.com
There is even a Web site that documents Wal-Mart's abuse of goldfish at http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/walmart.htm
As for the site http://www.intellectualpoison.com/WalMartisPureEvil.html the name pretty much says it all.
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