Community Slams Walmart, Gray for "Sham" Agreement

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Community activists with the Respect DC campaign called last week’s “community partnership” with Walmart “a failure of leadership” by DC Mayor Vincent Gray, noting that the agreement is not enforceable and included no significant concessions from Walmart. "As a Ward 7 resident, I am very disappointed,” said Rev. Kendrick Curry of the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church. “This has no teeth. This will allow Walmart to drain what is already in the community to nothing." Instead, the agreement “only provides a window dressing for the reality that Walmart will drive good jobs from the District and replace them with low wage jobs without benefits,” said Respect DC. Calling it a "sham agreement,” Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams said that the “backroom deal, signed without any real community input, contains nothing that will ensure the creation of good jobs for DC residents," adding that "Our Mayor had an opportunity to take a stand, instead he is accepting second-class jobs for the residents of DC." Respect DC vowed to continue to push for “a real, enforceable, Community Benefits Agreement” between the community and Walmart and will meet this Thursday to discuss strategy moving forward. - photo courtesy of UFCW Local 400