The former Dominick's grocery store on the left employs no one. Just as the vacant lot at 83rd and Stewart on Chicago's South Side doesn't have anyone on its payroll.Wal-Mart, the world's largest corporation, wants to build a store at 83rd and Stewart, and help revitalize an area that has few if any large grocery stores--a "food desert."
And some people want to keep it that way.
The Chicago Tribune, free registration may be required for the link, has an editorial today that about that lot. It's part of the Chatham Market redevelopment plan, and a clause in that plan calls for Chicago City Council approval for any store selling groceries with over 100,000 square feet. Two years ago, the council passed an ordinance, which was vetoed by Mayor Richard Daley, that would've forced any store with over 100,000 square feet of retail space, a "Big Box," to pay its workers more than smaller retailers. If that bill had becoome law, it would've been a disaster for Chicagoans. Fewer jobs, higher prices for goods.
From the Tribune editorial:
Despite the size trigger in the Chatham Market development and the now-defunct Big Box ordinance, this controversy has always been more about what's on the shelves than how many shelves there are. Wal-Mart is the nation's largest retailer—and the nation's largest grocer. Organized labor is determined to protect its unionized ranks at area Jewel and Dominick's grocery stores. That means it's determined to keep Wal-Mart and its big grocery departments out of Chicago.
Like Wal-Mart's employees, Lowe's workers also are non-union. Lowe's opened its 117,000-square-foot store in Chatham Market in December. Nobody protested. Lowe's doesn't sell groceries.
The city's latest rejection may not be the last turn of this wheel. Wal-Mart hasn't given up and neither has Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), who represents this area and knows how eager his constituents are for the hundreds of jobs and shopping convenience Wal-Mart would bring. But making this happen requires political courage from the mayor and from aldermen not beholden to labor. And there isn't much evidence of that.
The original developers of Chatham Market, Monroe Investment Partners LLC, vowed four years ago that "Wal-Mart is not now, and will not be, a part of our development." They might have added: A vacant lot is so much better.
Meanwhile, the food desert problem persists in Chicago and other large cities. The City of Chicago is aware of the problem, and as I noted in the related post, they are working to recruit medium-sized grocers (that means not Wal-Mart or Target) into the deserts.
Some people just don't get it.
Related posts:
Food deserts continue to plague Chicago
Obama's Wal-Mart connection: Wife served on board of big Wal-Mart supplier
Chicago's "food deserts" well known to Obama
My book report: The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy
The good life of working for the UFCW
Union leaders don't share their members pain
Chicago food desert update: Hyde Park Co-op to close
Big-box shy Chicago facing "food desert"
Technorati tags:
Wal-Mart 
unions 
labor 
politics 
retail 
business 
Chicago 
Illinois 
food deserts 
big box 
Target 
Richard Daley 
Lowe's
4 comments:
I have some posts over at my other blog The Sixth Ward on that issue. Wal-Mart is a convenient boogie man. Especially from organized labor and those who think Wal-Mart will eliminate all smaller businesses. That Wal-Mart may be a competitor to some of the other grocers in the area, especially if this will be a Super Wal-Mart. I certainly sympathize with the idea that this store will bring jobs to an area that needs them.
All I would say is that who should determine whether the 21st Ward should or shouldn't get Wal-Mart except the people of the 21st Ward. I don't know why unions and other politicians want to take that choice away from them. As much as I understand the reluctance of some because they believe the propaganda I like to look at the benefits. Certainly jobs are benefits, but so are the sales, and those sales hopefully might want to check out other stores in the area. Some of them big box and some of them otherwise.
Not to worry. The king of Islam and his Racist Wright assistant are coming and will employ everyone in his hometown at government expense. He's already promised to spend almost a trillion and a half dollars so what's another trillion here and there. He'll even supply new Burqa's for the ladies, other than his fancy dressing wife. She goota have her due.
Firefighter
Levois...I'm heading to your site now.
FF: Now...you don't really believe that!
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