BOYCOTT WAL-MART

WHEREAS, the AFT has a long history of support for all working people and is committed to equal opportunity and equal pay for working men and women; and

WHEREAS, Wal-Mart ranks last among retailers in terms of equality and fairness to women, routinely discriminating against women, paying them less than men for the same jobs and promoting men ahead of women; and

WHEREAS, Wal-Mart has received over $1 billion in subsidies from state and local governments, yet locally owned businesses spend three times more than Wal-Mart in the local and state economy; and

WHEREAS, Wal-Mart managers throughout the country encourage their underpaid employees to avail themselves of government social programs including Medicaid and food stamps; and

WHEREAS, Wal-Mart has fired pro-union workers, eliminated jobs when workers joined unions, and illegally discouraged workers from joining unions; and

WHEREAS, Wal-Mart refuses to pay its employees (associates) a living wage; and

WHEREAS, Wal-Mart destroys three jobs for every two that it creates:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers urge members to patronize union stores and to protest Wal-Mart's presence across the country; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT seek legislation similar to that of the Health Care Security Act of Suffolk County, New York (I.R. 1903-2005), which requires that all covered employers spend a minimum level of funding on healthcare for employees based on the number of hours worked in the year. Specifically:

Covered employers shall make minimum healthcare expenditures not less than $3.00 per hour per employee on behalf of their employees each year.

No covered employer shall deduct any payment made from an employee's wages, salaries or other compensation or reduce any employee's wages, salaries or other compensation in order to finance compliance with this law.