June 29, 2010
It's not really news when America's retail giant Wal-Mart announces that it will be constructing a new store in the Chicago area. But, IT IS BIG NEWS when that same company - which happens to be the world's largest public corporation, and one with a reputation for value and cost-conscious management - announces that it will construct that store under a Project Labor Agreement (PLA).
The decision, announced June 24, calls for a Wal-Mart to be erected at Pullman Plaza. That's in the South Side community, now predominantly African American working poor, that became world-famous for oppression of workers in the 1890s.
Not only that, but the agrerement that was reached with the Chicago Building and Construction Trades Council will include the use of a PLA for the Pullman Wal-Mart, but at any other store it wants to erect in Chicago or the 20 Northern Illinois counties.
Wal-Mart is seeking new markets, after saturating the suburban and rural ones. The under-served urban markets are its next frontier. Chicago is seen now as setting the standard for its nationwide campaign to break into cities.
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