In the fall of 2004, just after Central Oregon Jobs with Justice formed, members wanted to do something about Wal-Mart. They distributed educational leaflets at two Wal-Marts in Bend and Redmond to inform shoppers about Wal-Mart's low-wage policies and anti-union and predatory business practices. Next they planned a showing on February 15 of the PBS movie "Is Wal-Mart Good for America" On February 1, Wal-Mart announced their plan to build a new Supercenter in Bend, and coincidentally, also planned a neighborhood meeting for the day after the movie showing. Surprisingly, 150 people attended the movie, many whom left their names as interested in joining the fight against Wal-Mart. An even more surprising 200+ attended the Wal-Mart informational meeting, which had been advertised as an informational Q&A session. Wal-Mart representatives declined to answer any of the submitted written questions. Many of those attending, including affected neighbors, wore frowny face buttons, did not support Wal-Mart and left when they found out their questions would not be answered.
The "Our Community First" task force was formed after those meetings. The group has a broad based membership, including union members, business owners affected by Wal-Mart, land use and traffic activists, neighborhood associations, and members of the general public concerned about the impact of a third Wal-Mart in Central Oregon. What brought this group together, and keeps it together, is the common belief that Wal-Mart is a predatory company that cares more about increasing corporate profits than it does about the health and well-being of the community.
Our Community First hired a land use attorney who has helped successfully defeat Wal-Mart in several Oregon communities and had a traffic specialist on board who has completed Wal-Mart traffic studies throughout Oregon and Washington. Coalition members wrote letters to the editor and op-ed articles, appeared on TV and radio, put bumper stickers on their cars and yard signs on their lawns, held rallies, picketed in front of Wal-Mart, and held a petition drive which to date has collected almost 6,000 signatures from community residents against Wal-Mart -- that's more than 10% of Bend's population!
In September, the coalition testified at the National Workers' Rights Board Hearing on Wal-Mart during JwJ's National Conference. In November, they hosted two screenings of Robert Greenwald's movie "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" with more than 550 people in attendance and followed up with a creative action of more than 75 people at the nearby proposed site for the Supercenter, getting positive press coverage in the local media.
Along with neighborhood associations and business owners, members of the coalition testified before the Oregon Transportation Commission, who, partially based on the testimony, decided to withhold funds for a highway interchange construction that Wal-Mart was counting on to help with the increased traffic generated by their store.
Finally, after months of organizing, the land use hearing officer denied Wal-Mart's application to build a Supercenter. While the impact on traffic and the surrounding neighborhoods was the basis for denying the application, the massive community opposition to Wal-Mart stems from broader corporate
policies – predatory business practices that kill local businesses, low wages, unaffordable health insurance, and an arrogant response to community concerns. The community has said – loud and clear – that a Wal-Mart supercenter is not welcome. At present, Wal-Mart has appealed the ruling, and the coalition is continuing to build support for their campaign to keep another Wal-Mart out of the community.
