US pastors tell Wal-Mart to pay a 'decent wage' this Christmas
by Katherine T Phan, Christian Today US Correspondent
Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007, 13:58 (GMT)
A national television ad campaign in the US featuring two prominent Baptist ministers who call on Wal-Mart to give the gift of economic justice this Christmas was launched Monday.
"The Bible says, 'To whom much is given, much is required,'" says the Rev Charles Foster Johnson, interim pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church of Nashville, in the television ad which is being aired across the country.
"Wal-Mart rakes in over $21,000 in profit every single minute. This Christmas, let's make Wal-Mart be a better neighbour to us all."
The ad is part of the third annual "Hope for the Holidays" campaign by WakeUpWalMart.com, which spent over $1.5 million in radio and TV ads to draw attention to the retail giant's unique responsibility toward the communities it represents.
The Rev Markel Hutchins, a Baptist minister who heads Markel Hutchins Ministries, also joins Johnson in the ad to call on the multi-billion-dollar corporation to be a better "neighbour" to its communities this Christmas by paying fair wages, providing affordable healthcare, and ensuring the safety of the goods it sells.
"A corporation that big has the moral responsibility to do right by its customers and employees and all humanity," says Hutchins in the television spot.
Although Wal-Mart is America's largest private employer, the company pays its employees low wages for long work hours, contends WakeUpWalMart.com, and fails to provide affordable healthcare to its fleet of part-time workers.
The website also reports that Wal-Mart, which made $12 billion in profits last year, imports most of its merchandise from China, where product quality and work conditions have often been called into question.
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Added: Tuesday, December 18, 2007, 20:48 (GMT)
I smell a rat. I've been a Baptist for 56 years & I have been in Church leadership for more than 30 years & I have never heard of either these so-called well-known Pastors that you are quoting.
I suggest that these vigils are more union driven than Baptist driven. Walmart may not provide the highest pay, but they spread their money over millions. Their stores are full of people spending $ on discount merchandise that is affordable to low & middle income people all across the U.S.
I doubt seriously that anyone twisted anyone's arm to make them take a job or held a gun on them to keep it. Walmart is an equal opportunity employer & we all have start somewhere. Holding a job & building self-esteem is not all bad!
Wesley May, Bakersfield, USA
Added: Tuesday, December 18, 2007, 15:31 (GMT)
When most in the world, including the United States, do not know Jesus Christ, why do we destract from our true work by giving aide to a labor union who is only upset that Wal-mart is not unionized. Jesus spoke a lot about money, and in that we are told to be fair employers. This standard, however, can not be held to the secular world. Now, if the $1.5 Mil. raised for anti-walmart ads where given to Wal-mart employees, then you are acting as Christ, in a non-confrontational way. The truth is, these two ministers are more interested in their following than the gospel they follow. Remember the gift we have been given this Christmas, and if we don't share that, all the rest is pointless.
God Bless
Rev. Aaron, Mansfield, GA. USA
