Local Premier of Wal-Mart Documentary

Written by: Tom Burns on Nov 13, 2005 11:52 PM EST

Linked to groups: Democracy For East Tennessee

Democracy for East Tennessee (DFET) hosted the local premier of Robert Greenwald's documentary film, “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price� this past Sunday, Nov. 13, at Kern United Methodist Church. About 60 people attended the viewing and brief panel discussion following the film. The event was organized by DFET member Joan Cassens.

Thank you, Joan. You did great. Thanks to the fine folks at KUMC and thier minister, M. Flynn, for allowing us to use their facility.

The audience expressed concern about several issues not limited to Wal-Mart: the power and legal rights of corporations, which were once local, temporary entities governed by revocable charters bestowed on them by the people of the community; the decline of the Judeo-Christian ethic demanding just wages and the human right of workers to unionize; accepting charitable support from corporations and not abrogating our obligation to demand corporations respect their workers, communities, and the environment; and the need for and appropriate governmental role in the regulation of corporations and enforcement of existing labor and environmental laws.

To avoid a race to the bottom, we all need to support efforts to force large corporations to provide a living wage, affordable health insurance, and workplace free of discrimination and anti-union intimidation.

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Location: Oak Ridge, TN 37830