A coalition of labor groups today announced a lawsuit seeking to block Wal-Mart from opening a neighborhood grocery store in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles.
The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and United Food Workers Local
770 jointly filed the suit, which alleges the Los Angeles Department of
The plaintiffs want a judge to halt construction on the 33,000-square-
foot grocery store on the northwest corner of Cesar E. Chavez and Grand
avenues, which began last week.
"It appears Wal-Mart received a special exemption from the city
releasing it from the requirements many other smaller businesses must comply
with. In accordance with California law, and in order to avoid the appearance
of backroom deals, the city is required to notify the public of these special
exemptions,'' said Jan Tokumaru with APALA. "The city failed to notify the
public."
A spokesperson from the Department of Building and Safety was not
immediately available for comment on Tokumaru's charge that department
officials declined the group's request for proof that public notice of the
exemption was made on time.
"The public deserves transparency regarding what is happening,'' said
King Cheung, a member of the Chinatown Community for Equitable Development. "Why is this city agency being so secretive?''
Wal-Mart Senior Director of Community Affairs Steven Restivo described
the suit's backers as special interest groups that are trying to block jobs and
are ignoring members of the Chinatown community who want the grocery store.
"As if ignoring the wishes of many in the community weren't enough, now
it seems the special interests want to take on the city, all in an effort to
block jobs, revitalization and affordable groceries from coming to a building
that's been dormant for two decades,'' Restivo said. "We are confident that
our building permits were validly issued and the Los Angeles Department of
Building and Safety agrees."
In March, the City Council tried to put the project on hold in the face
of opposition, but the chain received final approval for the store the day
before the council voted to block the project and others like it in Chinatown.
Labor unions argue that Wal-Mart, the world's largest private company
with 1.4 million employees in the U.S., abuses the rights of its workers to
unionize, pays low wages and provides inadequate health benefits. Some
opponents also contend the store will drive small Chinatown markets out of
business.
Wal-Mart officials dispute the claims, saying that the chain's wages and
benefits are competitive or better than comparable retailers.
