Post by cruda on Mar 11, 2006 17:02:01 GMT -5
Marg Wants to Go Slow
By David Chircop
DCHIRCOP@MERCEDSUN-STAR.COM
Last Updated: February 18, 2006, 09:24:02 AM PST
Meet MARG: An activist answer for Merced County's unprecedented building boom.
The newly formed Merced Alliance for Responsible Growth is already bothering some civic leaders who say its ambition would kill sorely needed jobs.
The "smart growth" group's first target: A 1.1 million-square-foot Wal-Mart distribution warehouse planned for southeast Merced.
If built, the world's largest retailer says the facility would create 900 jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy every year.
City officials have worked closely with a Wal-Mart land consultant to secure the distribution center for four years. The company hopes to break ground on the project next year.
The windfall of jobs it would bring could help ease the county's unemployment rate, which consistently ranks twice the state average. In December, Merced County's unemployment rate was 9.5 percent while the state's average was 4.7 percent.
But those jobs and Wal-Mart's low prices come at a high cost, critics say.
"Corporations like Wal-Mart's ruthless wage suppressing policies have not only brought down their own wages but have brought down wages throughout the community," said Kenny Mostern, a University of California, Berkeley-educated ethnic studies Ph.D. and a founding member of MARG.
The group claims trucks filing into the center will snarl traffic and worsen air pollution.
City officials say the warehouse offers a relatively clean business, which wouldn't overwhelm the city's sewer and water systems.
The first details of Wal-Mart's 275-acre plan were made public last week. It calls for a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week operation that would generate 50 big rig truck trips per hour.
This morning, opponents of the distribution center will show a scorching documentary that levels numerous complaints against Wal-Mart and its practices.
The film -- "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" -- was released last year and widely screened in churches and universities. Wal-Mart has gone on the counter-offensive, distributing articles which dispute the film's accuracy.
Mostern, a Merced resident who has served as a paid political advocate in the past, is the treasurer of the California Green Party.
He is married to Ruth Mostern, an assistant history professor at UC Merced.
While he is paid to administer union elections, he said he is not being paid for his anti-Wal-Mart activities.
Wal-Mart has come under fire from grocery unions and chains that oppose its entrance into the supermarket business with Wal-Mart Supercenters.
The Bentonville, Ark., company is also facing opposition from cities that fear the chain drives out small businesses and empties main streets.
Turlock blocked the placement of a supercenter in early July 2004. Wal-Mart is waging a legal battle to overturn that city's supercenter ban.
A 210,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter is proposed in Ripon. Opponents there say they've collected 4,200 signatures supporting their position.
In Merced, the Wal-Mart distribution center has served as a catalyst to bring the alliance together.
"There's no question it's easier to organize against a company that has a reputation for being nasty," Mostern said. "Wal-Mart is not by any means the only issue."
The group also opposes Riverside Motorsports Park, a proposed 1,200-acre, eight-track raceway just north of Castle Airport Aviation and Development Center.
Kyle Stockard, who leads MARG's anti-Wal-Mart team, said the proposed center worked to bring like-minded groups together.
The alliance includes political, environmental, organized labor and farm organizations.
Joel Knox, chairman of the Golden Valley Neighborhood Association, said he is concerned about the traffic the site will generate.
The association hasn't taken an official stance on the distribution center, but will discuss it at its meeting next month, he said.
To connect with Highway 99, Wal-Mart's truck fleet would use the Mission Avenue Interchange, which is currently under construction.
Wal-Mart announced plans to move here last summer, less than a month after the state agreed to fund the $68 million portion of the future Campus Parkway.
"When we finally have a solution in sight, we're all of a sudden proposing to have a thousand more trucks on the road," said Knox.
Tentative plans call for about 1,200 truck trips per day. Because the project is so large, a full environmental impact report will have to be completed. That document will include detailed traffic analysis.
Properties near the planned center have been designated for industrial use since the 1960s, according to the city.
The specific site Wal-Mart wants to build on was zoned for industrial use in 1999.
It is located in an enterprise zone which could give the company state tax incentives, including a hiring and sales tax credit.
A $250,000 business study funded by local communities three years ago concluded economic development officials should solicit warehouse operations to move here, said Scott Galbraith, executive director of the Merced County Economic Development Corp.
He said Merced's central location makes it well-positioned for such operations.
"Logistics is a growing sector of the California economy, particularly in the Central Valley," he said.
Mayor Ellie Wooten said she would have trouble turning down the center.
"We have high unemployment here and we need jobs that people can qualify for," she said. "They won't force anyone to work for them."
Councilman Bill Spriggs agreed.
"The last time I checked, I didn't see Wal-Mart employees chained to cash registers," he said. "I didn't see managers walking around with whips."
Wal-Mart would pay for millions of dollars of improvements on Childs and Gerard avenues, he said.
He acknowledged the center would increase truck traffic, but said the trucks would already be passing through Merced on Highway 99.
While he said he "hates" Wal-Mart and its corporate culture, he said its jobs are needed.
The company indicated starting wages in Merced would range between $12 to $15 per hour.
"You can debate Wal-Mart all day long, but in this case we have to separate our feelings about Wal-Mart and big box retail and look at 800 to 900 jobs," said Spriggs.
New group opposed to Wal-Mart distribution center
Meeting info
WHAT: Community forum against the Wal-Mart distribution center
WHO: MARG (Merced Alliance for Responsible Growth)
WHERE: Golden Valley High School Theater, 2121 E. Childs Ave., Merced
WHEN: Today; 10 a.m. to noon
By David Chircop
DCHIRCOP@MERCEDSUN-STAR.COM
Last Updated: February 18, 2006, 09:24:02 AM PST
Meet MARG: An activist answer for Merced County's unprecedented building boom.
The newly formed Merced Alliance for Responsible Growth is already bothering some civic leaders who say its ambition would kill sorely needed jobs.
The "smart growth" group's first target: A 1.1 million-square-foot Wal-Mart distribution warehouse planned for southeast Merced.
If built, the world's largest retailer says the facility would create 900 jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy every year.
City officials have worked closely with a Wal-Mart land consultant to secure the distribution center for four years. The company hopes to break ground on the project next year.
The windfall of jobs it would bring could help ease the county's unemployment rate, which consistently ranks twice the state average. In December, Merced County's unemployment rate was 9.5 percent while the state's average was 4.7 percent.
But those jobs and Wal-Mart's low prices come at a high cost, critics say.
"Corporations like Wal-Mart's ruthless wage suppressing policies have not only brought down their own wages but have brought down wages throughout the community," said Kenny Mostern, a University of California, Berkeley-educated ethnic studies Ph.D. and a founding member of MARG.
The group claims trucks filing into the center will snarl traffic and worsen air pollution.
City officials say the warehouse offers a relatively clean business, which wouldn't overwhelm the city's sewer and water systems.
The first details of Wal-Mart's 275-acre plan were made public last week. It calls for a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week operation that would generate 50 big rig truck trips per hour.
This morning, opponents of the distribution center will show a scorching documentary that levels numerous complaints against Wal-Mart and its practices.
The film -- "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" -- was released last year and widely screened in churches and universities. Wal-Mart has gone on the counter-offensive, distributing articles which dispute the film's accuracy.
Mostern, a Merced resident who has served as a paid political advocate in the past, is the treasurer of the California Green Party.
He is married to Ruth Mostern, an assistant history professor at UC Merced.
While he is paid to administer union elections, he said he is not being paid for his anti-Wal-Mart activities.
Wal-Mart has come under fire from grocery unions and chains that oppose its entrance into the supermarket business with Wal-Mart Supercenters.
The Bentonville, Ark., company is also facing opposition from cities that fear the chain drives out small businesses and empties main streets.
Turlock blocked the placement of a supercenter in early July 2004. Wal-Mart is waging a legal battle to overturn that city's supercenter ban.
A 210,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter is proposed in Ripon. Opponents there say they've collected 4,200 signatures supporting their position.
In Merced, the Wal-Mart distribution center has served as a catalyst to bring the alliance together.
"There's no question it's easier to organize against a company that has a reputation for being nasty," Mostern said. "Wal-Mart is not by any means the only issue."
The group also opposes Riverside Motorsports Park, a proposed 1,200-acre, eight-track raceway just north of Castle Airport Aviation and Development Center.
Kyle Stockard, who leads MARG's anti-Wal-Mart team, said the proposed center worked to bring like-minded groups together.
The alliance includes political, environmental, organized labor and farm organizations.
Joel Knox, chairman of the Golden Valley Neighborhood Association, said he is concerned about the traffic the site will generate.
The association hasn't taken an official stance on the distribution center, but will discuss it at its meeting next month, he said.
To connect with Highway 99, Wal-Mart's truck fleet would use the Mission Avenue Interchange, which is currently under construction.
Wal-Mart announced plans to move here last summer, less than a month after the state agreed to fund the $68 million portion of the future Campus Parkway.
"When we finally have a solution in sight, we're all of a sudden proposing to have a thousand more trucks on the road," said Knox.
Tentative plans call for about 1,200 truck trips per day. Because the project is so large, a full environmental impact report will have to be completed. That document will include detailed traffic analysis.
Properties near the planned center have been designated for industrial use since the 1960s, according to the city.
The specific site Wal-Mart wants to build on was zoned for industrial use in 1999.
It is located in an enterprise zone which could give the company state tax incentives, including a hiring and sales tax credit.
A $250,000 business study funded by local communities three years ago concluded economic development officials should solicit warehouse operations to move here, said Scott Galbraith, executive director of the Merced County Economic Development Corp.
He said Merced's central location makes it well-positioned for such operations.
"Logistics is a growing sector of the California economy, particularly in the Central Valley," he said.
Mayor Ellie Wooten said she would have trouble turning down the center.
"We have high unemployment here and we need jobs that people can qualify for," she said. "They won't force anyone to work for them."
Councilman Bill Spriggs agreed.
"The last time I checked, I didn't see Wal-Mart employees chained to cash registers," he said. "I didn't see managers walking around with whips."
Wal-Mart would pay for millions of dollars of improvements on Childs and Gerard avenues, he said.
He acknowledged the center would increase truck traffic, but said the trucks would already be passing through Merced on Highway 99.
While he said he "hates" Wal-Mart and its corporate culture, he said its jobs are needed.
The company indicated starting wages in Merced would range between $12 to $15 per hour.
"You can debate Wal-Mart all day long, but in this case we have to separate our feelings about Wal-Mart and big box retail and look at 800 to 900 jobs," said Spriggs.
New group opposed to Wal-Mart distribution center
Meeting info
WHAT: Community forum against the Wal-Mart distribution center
WHO: MARG (Merced Alliance for Responsible Growth)
WHERE: Golden Valley High School Theater, 2121 E. Childs Ave., Merced
WHEN: Today; 10 a.m. to noon