Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Michigan Federation of Teachers joins national Wal-Mart boycott

17. August 2005 • Murph
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The Michigan Federation of Teachers has joined the national “Send Wal-Mart Back to School” campaign, a boycott and education campaign to teach consumers why Wal-Mart is bad for communities.

From the Detroit News,

The Michigan Federation of Teachers is joining a growing national anti-Wal-Mart campaign urging shoppers to boycott the retailer for back-to-school supplies.

The federation is the latest Metro Detroit union to join the anti-Wal-Mart movement and plans to publish an article later this month in its newsletter reminding members to shop instead at union stores such as Grand Rapids-based Meijer Inc.

“This is a major issue for us,” said David Hecker, president of the Michigan Federation of Teachers, the state’s second-largest teaching union with 35,000 members. “Wal-Mart is viciously anti-union. They destroy small businesses and they have a record of discriminating against women and minorities.”

A Wal-Mart spokesperson could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but the company’s Web site called the national effort a “smear campaign.”

The Michigan Education Association, the largest Michigan teachers’ union, has expressed support for the campaign, but has not committed to any action.