WEBVTT FILE

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[cheering]

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-In every one of Walmart's
thousands of stores,

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they begin the day
with a Walmart cheer.

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[cheering]

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This is supposed to inspire employees

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and remind them
the customer comes first.

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-The customer always,
whoo, whoo, whoo.

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-These workers told us
they like working here,

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but others say they're victims,
that Walmart is exploiting them.

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[protesting]

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Some people just hate Walmart.

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Critics say Walmart
wrecks communities,

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discriminates against women,

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doesn't provide enough
health benefits,

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and underpays its workers.

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-Stop the monster in its tracks.

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‘The movie Walmart
doesn't want you to see.’

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-A new movie depicts Walmart
as a greedy beast

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that's grabbing
everything in its path.

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There's so much Walmart hatred,
some towns vote to keep Walmart out.

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[protestors cheering]

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Does it look like
the reporter even smiles?

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-The message is loud and clear.
'Walmart, you are not welcome.’

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[protesters cheering]

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-This big union-led campaign intends

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to force Walmart
to stop being greedy.

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They're greedy?

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-I just think greed
doesn't go far enough.

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‘Their most common classification…’

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-Paul Blank was hired by
the Food and Commercial Workers Union

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to convince people
not to shop at Walmart

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until Walmart pays workers more.

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-For one penny increase,
they could provide their workers

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with $2 more in wages and benefits.

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Look at what they make. The average
associate at Walmart

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makes $8.23 an hour.

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That's not a job
that can support a family.

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-Walmart says the average is about
a dollar an hour more than that,

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but it's still not a lot.

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-They've taken the values,
the morals, the ethics, the fairness

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that are the fabric of our society

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and put them aside, and put
their profits before their people.

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-Walmart now has 6,000 stores

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and they sell more goods
than any chain anywhere.

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-I'm actually saving a good $40.
And I like that.

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-Everything today I got
was at an incredibly low price.

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-Consumer savings in
the United States because of Walmart

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may be as high as
$100 billion a year.

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This translates really
into a wage increase

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that Walmart is offering
to all Americans that shop there.

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-The critics keep
talking about greed,

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greedy Walmart taking from people.

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-Greed is a smear for
profit seeking and for successful.

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Would it be nice if Walmart workers
all made $100,000 a year? Sure.

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It would also be nice if
the rivers were filled with lemonade

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and every kid had
a puppy dog and a lollipop.

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But in reality, we have tradeoffs.

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-Welcome to Walmart.
You want happy faces, kids?

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-Walmart keeps costs down

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by hiring retired workers
like Eugene Alberts.

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-Thank you.
-Have a good day now.

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-You too. Thank you.

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-Many other workers here
are part-time or students

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or people looking for a 2nd income.

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-None of them was drafted.

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None of them was forced
to work at Walmart.

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That means that if
they're working there, presumably,

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that was the best job they could get.

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If Walmart ceased to exist tomorrow,

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those people wouldn't be better off.

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They'd have to work somewhere
with even lower wages,

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even fewer benefits.

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[protesting]

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-But the protestors say
Walmart is evil.

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-Every single major advance
in mass retailing

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has produced firestorms of protest.

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The first department stores in
downtown were hated and vilified.

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When Sears and Roebuck,
and Montgomery Ward

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started the mail-order business,

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rural retailers went crazy
because of the unfair competition.

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When A&P and other chain stores
came into existence,

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they actually passed laws
to try to stop them.

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-The critics say
Walmart's greed is not good.

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-Ultimately, they have to answer
to the American people.

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-But they are answering
to their customers,

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because a hundred million people
go there to shop.

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-But we're only at the beginning
of this campaign.

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-It's easy for people who have plenty

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to say that, oh, I'd be willing
to pay a few cents more.

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But for people who are struggling
to make ends meet,

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Walmart is their best friend.

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-Even some of the political left
have begun to defend Walmart,

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like President Clinton's
labor secretary, Robert Reich.

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What's all the hatred about?
It's intense hatred?

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-It represents the dark side
of big business to a lot of people.

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They're fighting unions.

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They're doing everything they can
to get their costs down.

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And that looks unfair.
It looks awful. We don't like it.

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The citizen in us says,
that's not moral.

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But the other side of the coin
is that those same companies

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are providing rock-bottom
prices to consumers.

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And we as consumers say, hooray.