Tough New York provides mean streets for Wal-Mart: The retailer struggles to convince the city and hostile trade unions to let it set up in Queens. Christopher Grimes andLauren Foster report LONDON 1ST EDITION

The city council had invited Wal-Mart to speak at a hearing on the effect of "big box" or superstore retailers on the local economy. But Wal-Mart pulled out, citing a scheduling conflict. Some on the council say they are keeping an open mind but other powerful forces are determined to keep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Financial times (London ed.)
Main Author LAUREN FOSTER and CHRISTOPHER GRIMES
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London (UK) The Financial Times Limited 28.01.2005
Subjects
Cities
Councils
Discount department stores
Labor unions
Local economy
Retail stores
Tax revenues
Urban areas
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Summary:The city council had invited Wal-Mart to speak at a hearing on the effect of "big box" or superstore retailers on the local economy. But Wal-Mart pulled out, citing a scheduling conflict. Some on the council say they are keeping an open mind but other powerful forces are determined to keep Wal-Mart out. The city's trades unions oppose Wal-Mart's plan on the grounds that the company is unfair to workers. They hope a well-publicised fight will set a precedent for other cities trying to keep the company at bay. "I think if we stop Wal-Mart dead in its tracks, maybe they will change their practices," Ms [Randi Weingarten] says. "A lot of people want to make this a debate about big box stores, but Wal-Mart is a whole different kind of big box store."
ISSN:0307-1766