Does N.Y.C. need Wal-Mart? YES

From the NY Daily News


By MARGARET DANIEL

New York shoppers love bargains. And today, with gas prices closing in on $4 a gallon, New Yorkers are more price conscious than ever.

At the same time, New Yorkers - like all Americans - cherish their freedom and treasure their right to choose. They don't like being told what they can and cannot do. They want to decide for themselves where to shop.

That's why it is sad that special interest groups are trying to prevent local shoppers from saving money by opposing the establishment of Wal-Mart stores in New York City.

Narrow-minded obstructionists wish they could deny Wal-Mart the opportunity to open in the city. But there's something they can't deny: New Yorkers do want Wal-Mart here. New Yorkers repeatedly demonstrate their desire to enjoy Wal-Mart's "every day" low prices.

Thousands of city residents are already regular Wal-Mart customers. Last year, they spent more than $98 million at Wal-Marts outside city limits. This is not only inconvenient, it also costs the city jobs and millions in tax revenues.

According to a recent survey, 56% of New Yorkers shop outside the city, with Wal-Mart their No. 1 destination. Nearly seven of 10 shoppers patronizing Nassau County's Valley Stream Wal-Mart, for example, live in the city.

And 62% of New Yorkers support opening Wal-Marts "throughout the five boroughs."

But New Yorkers don't only want to shop at Wal-Mart. They want to work at Wal-Mart, too. Sixty-eight percent of Wal-Mart's Valley Stream workforce are city residents.

Indeed, demand for Wal-Mart jobs is high nationwide. At a recent store opening in Oakland, Calif., some 11,000 job-seekers applied for 400 positions. Store openings in the Big Apple are certain to attract large numbers, too.

These throngs of applicants know Wal-Mart offers good jobs at good wages and tremendous career opportunities. In metropolitan areas like New York, this average hourly wage equals $10.38. That's twice the federal minimum and 73% above the state minimum. It's no wonder that 75% of city residents say that Wal-Mart pays a "fair and decent wage."

Like other major retailers who've opened unopposed in the Big Apple, Wal-Mart offers competitive benefits, including health care with affordable employee contributions.

Historically, Wal-Mart has covered about two-thirds of the cost of employee medical coverage, insuring more than 568,000 associates and more than 948,000 people in total. Unlike many plans, after the first year, Wal-Mart coverage has no lifetime maximum for most expenses, protecting personnel against catastrophic losses.

And with 76% of store management having risen from the ranks of hourly employment, Wal-Mart offers real opportunities for upward economic mobility. In fact, Wal-Mart is already in the city. Last year Wal-Mart purchased $11 billion of goods and services from New York State-based companies, including hundreds in the Big Apple.

Enough is enough.

Special interest groups should step aside and respect the rights of New Yorkers to shop where they want to shop - to reduce their cost of living through low prices - and to respect New Yorkers' proven desire to shop at a Wal-Mart right here in town.

Daniel is Wal-Mart's regional vice president for the New York-metropolitan region.