This document is a compilation of articles from Los Angeles Times and has been created for research purpose.
Articles:
1. An Empire Built on Bargains Remakes the Working World
2. Proud to be at the Top ? An interview with Lee Scott
3. Scouring the Globe to Give Shoppers an $8.63 Polo Shirt
4. Seams Start to Unravel
5. Audit Stance Generates Controversy
6. Grocery Unions Battle to Stop Invasion of the Giant Stores
7. Selling Eel and Chicken Feet -- Plus M&Ms and Sony TVs
An Empire Built on Bargains Remakes the Working World
Wal-Mart is so powerful that it moves the economies of entire countries, bringing profit and pain. The prices can't be beat, but the wages can.
By Abigail Goldman and Nancy Cleeland
Times staff writers
November 23, 2003
LAS VEGAS ? Chastity Ferguson kept watch over four sleepy children late one Friday as she flipped a pack of corn dogs into a cart at her new favorite grocery store: Wal-Mart.
The Wal-Mart Supercenter, a pink stucco box twice as big as a Home Depot, combines a full-scale supermarket with the usual discount mega-store. For the 26-year-old Ferguson, the draw is simple.
"You can't beat the prices," said the hotel cashier, who makes $400 a week. "I come here because it's cheap."
Across town, another mother also is familiar with the Supercenter's low prices. Kelly Gray, the chief breadwinner for five children, lost her job as a Raley's grocery clerk last December after Wal-Mart expanded into the supermarket business here. California-based Raley's closed all 18 of its stores in the area, laying off 1,400 workers.
Gr ...