Local opposition to retailing giant Wal-Mart resurged on Wednesday with Mayor Vincent Gray’s announcement of two new proposed stores in the District, bringing the likely total to six stores.
The stores would be located at Skyland Town Center in Ward 7, and near the Fort Totten Metro station in Ward 4. They would join four Walmarts already planned for Wards 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Much of the disgust centered around the lack of an official “community benefits agreement” — a contract between the incoming business and local organizations to ensure certain community needs are addressed, such as job creation or environmental stewardship.
Dyana Forester, a community organizer with the Living Wages, Healthy Communities Coalition that has been resisting Wal-Mart’s entree into D.C., said she was “furious” when she heard news of the two new locations. Her group has been working with residents of neighboring communities and Gray’s office to identify major concerns with the box store, such as low wages and high employee health care costs.
“The challenge has been to get Wal-Mart to put anything in writing,” Forester said. To get the go-ahead from city officials before signing a community benefits agreement is like “trying to negotiate over a house after signing the closing papers,” she said.
Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo said that his company has held more than 100 community meetings to assess residents’ concerns.
“From day one, we’ve said we want to come to D.C. the right way,” Restivo said.
