Thanks to all of you, it has been an amazing year and we wanted to tell you about new ideas, plans, dreams and schemes for the year ahead to help us all be even more effective.
Wal-Mart. A stunning success. Between the 100,000 DVDs already out there and the 8,000 screenings worldwide, at least a million people have seen the film, and tens of millions more have been reached through all the media attention.
The response has been so intense, CEO Lee Scott felt he had to send a Christmas Cheer memo to all his employees downplaying the effect of the film, one of whom sent the confidential memo to us. You can read it and my response to Lee on the Huffington Post.
This is a long-term fight -- economic justice, greed, and the role of corporations are not issues that will disappear overnight, so please continue working with our good friends and allies around the country including Wal-Mart Watch, Wake-Up Wal-Mart, LAANE, Jobs with Justice, ACORN, Interfaith Worker Justice, and the United Church of Christ to keep the pressure on and use the film to change hearts and minds.
The Brave New Films team is not letting up either. We delivered nearly 400 of your articulate and heartfelt emails to Garth Brooks last week (we'll see what he does!). I will be at the Berlin Film Festival, and doing publicity for the film's release in many different countries. We're keeping the walmartmovie.com website up to date, so you can let us know about your latest screenings there and get additional promotional materials, posters, flyers, etc. Keep sharing your Wal-Mart stories, and whenever you can, get copies to employees at Wal-Mart. The response from employees has been tremendous.
Brave New Thursday. To further movement building, we've begun a very exciting collaboration in television working with LinkTV, the ACLU and the Sierra Club. The second Thursday of each month will premiere two new 30 minute shows at 8pm ET/PT on LinkTV (DirecTV 375 and Dish Network 9410), and on the Sierra Club & ACLU websites.
http://www.bravenewfilms.org/television.php
The ACLU Freedom Files is a 10-part series telling the stories of real Americans whose civil liberties have been threatened, and how they fought back. Jeremy Kagan has done a terrific job personalizing these issues, and very soon the shows will be airing on Court TV reaching 80 million homes.
Airing this Thursday is "Beyond the Patriot Act", a very timely look at how a misguided law and government overreactions to Sept. 11 have violated the constitutional freedoms of many ordinary people. Catch a preview clip.
The Sierra Club Chronicles is a 7-part series showing how pollution, corporate greed and short-sighted government policies affect all of us regardless of race, class, or economic standing. Molly O'Brien and Richard Perez are the amazing duo behind the Chronicles.
The absolute must-see first episode is about "The World Trade Center Cough" -- the respiratory problems of those involved in the search and rescue operation on 9/11. Catch a preview clip.
Do not miss these important shows this Thursday 8pm on LinkTV. And, as always, we count on you to spread the word and organizing for change using these shows.
Hiring & Fundraising. We are beginning serious fundraising so we can keep going. If you have any inspired ideas, be it with foundations, donors or the grassroots please let us know. We're also hiring two part-time positions:
- Development Director. A part-time job in Los Angeles with lousy pay. Right now we need someone with experience in grant writing, grant applications and first hand knowledge of the foundations and how they operate.
- Field Producer Coordinator. A part-time job in Los Angeles with no pay at all. A volunteer who can give 20 hours per week with at least a 6 month commitment to coordinate the nascent 1200-strong field producer network. This is straight up online organizing, and you'll get to work with some of the best.
Email jobs@bravenewfoundation.org if you or someone you know is interested. Please don't send Word documents or other attachments as we won't receive them. Resumes should be included in the body of the email.
Future projects. We are in the midst of some ongoing discussions about the subject matter for new stories and have been swamped with terrific smart ideas crying out to be told. Thank you for so many terrific suggestions and understand we don't have the resources to take on all of your ideas but feel free to keep sending them to us all. We love the stimulation and hearing from you.
There are two new projects we are especially excited about right now:
- Distribution revolution. We've been pioneers here, and every day new technologies and companies are springing up to further democratize the production and distribution of video and audio on the internet. We'll be producing and distributing more short videos and podcasts this year to take advantage of the great organizing potential of this new frontier.
- Corruption and the role of corporations. Recently, we all read a great book, The People's Business, that clearly explains the evolution of the corporation in American life (and how it didn't have to happen that way). It's a great follow-up to the Wal-Mart movie, and I highly recommend it.
We are brimming with energy filled with ideas busting out of the gate as '06 is upon us. Looking forward to continued collaborations and a vital and progressive new year.
Seen the documentary on Wal-Mart and read some of the comments. I don't know about the stores being put out of business or not but I do know that they do not treat their employees very well especially if you are a female or if you question any of the work ethics or wages. If you are hurt on the job that is the worst. I am an employee on workmans comp. It is a constant fight to be able to not work if it will make your injury worse. The workmans comp doctors will not go against the adjusters or walmart, it doesn't matter if you get futher injury or not. They push for you to work doing anything so you don't get workmans comp pay. If you have to take off because of your injury and you are working injured than you get paid less for less work and you don't get paid by workmans comp because you are working even if it is 2 hrs. a day. They don't care if you are not making enough money to pay for you gas to go to work or if it injures you more. They just say if you work you heal faster. They like to pass the buck a lot to. I have nothing to do with it it's up to the workmens comp doctor, the workmen's comp doctor says it's up to the specialist and the adjuster or walmart and the circle just keeps going around. There is so many walmart associates working with injuries and on workmens comp. I could not beleave what some of them have went through because the can't afford to quit and they are still injured.
Dear Mister Greenwald,
I worked for wal-mart for 6 1/2 yrs.(boy was I stupid)I started out as a cashier at 7.50 an hr i then went to unloading semi's for the same pay.I had my store mgr. of store 786 dekalb IL.State to us in a morning meeting that wal-mart need more female assistant mgrs and if and female was interested to come and talk to him, i did and he proceded to tell me that i would never be an assistant mgr. cause of the way i dressed ,and that the only way to be an assistant mgr was i had to run a department for 6 months,but he wasn't going to put me as a department mgr.He than told a guy who was with the company for 90 days that he was going to be an assistant mgr. that guy is now in the home office(Eric Hall). I came home on my lunch hr called my old D.M.(Ronny Hays)told him what just happened I yelled discramition he procedded to take me out of that store and ttransfer me to store1898(st. charles,Il)promised me that i would be an assistant mgr. in 6 months put it in writing and after my 6 months was up told me that I wasn't going in to management.cause the store mgr. said cause i was female that i had no place in management.the females in that store were expected to unload the semi's, run register,stock the shelves,push carts.While the men department mgr's did nothing but walk around and laugh, as soon as i started bringing it to management's attation that i thought it was wrong that the men did nothing while the women did it all they started writing me up for stupid stuff,(like cause me price changes weren't done on time,my department wasn't zoned,.)then when that didn't shut me up they proceeded to tell me that i had to run 2 more department's with no more money.the bottom line is that if you are female and u work for wal-mart you better keep your mouth shut and kiss ass cause if you don't you will be fired or harrased so much that you end up quitting.
Dear Mr. Greenwald:
I just saw the Walmart film.
I was a regular customer but that has changed now.
Please let me know if you happen to get any information on a Walmart closing.
I don't care what state or country it would be in, I wil go to personally thank the town.
Thank you,
Nelson Arucas
8231 NW 171 Street
Hialeah, FL. 33015
kangrolukofof2@yahoo.com
Here's a funny story you all might get a kick out of. I was a Wal-Mart pharmacist for almost 8 & 1/2 years. I had finally had enough. So, a few weeks ago I emailed my district manager informing him of my resignation and set a date of May 31, 2007. Over the past year or so I became more and more disillusioned with management, especially at the store level. I would send out emails replying to "all" with what I thought was funny quips about various new standard operating procedures, etc. My district manager called me finally and asked me if I was aware that I had "replied to all" in those emails. I told him "yes." This past Easter weekend I was so fed up, I ordered and had sent as a gift to the store manager a copy of the GREAT documentary "The Corporation". It was received by him according to UPS tracking on Saturday, April 7, 2007. Get this! The next Tuesday our new district manager calls me about 6 times, finally getting in touch with me late that night. He informs me that he is going to go ahead and make my resignation effective the next day!!! It was classic! Whatever you do, don't go making people who work at WalMart THINK! It scares the management too much.
Go here for your answers:
http://www.walmartmovie.com/jon_hunter.php
Our group is showing the film Dec 4th 2006, belatedly. Walmart is attempting to open a second store here, after a couple of years wrestling with city council. Ontario has the "Ontario Muncipal Board' to adjudicate disputes.
I need you to respond to this 1/2 hour of fact checking of the WalMart Movie on google.
During the first 15 minutes of this film a family owned and operated hardware store (H&H Hardware in Middlefield, Ohio) is featured and is reported to have been put out of business by the oncoming of a new WalMart. The film reveals that the owner (Don Hunter) started the business in 1962 and has turned over the business to his son (Jon) in 1996. The film shows one of the store employees proudly raising the American flag each morning...and then the screen cuts to black and the words "WalMart Descends on Middlefield" appear on the screen immediately followed by a shot of a bulldozer dumping loads of dirt to show the start of the WalMart building. The next thing on screen is a shot of the H&H Hardware 'Liquidation Sale' sign. Employees and the owner are interviewed and they talk about how bad WalMart coming will be for the community...how the gov't should break up this monopoly called WalMart. The last shot is at night showing H&H Hardware's lights going out for the last time.
Very touching, but the truth is (according to many articles I found when I googled this film and from an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and National Review)...H&H Hardware closed down three months before WalMart even opened!!! When asked about the closure and WalMart coming to town Don Hunter said, "Really, there was no connection." In fact, Hunter told the newspaper that the store was sold to a new owner and it has reopened again as a hardware store!!!!!!
The film also features a man named John Bruening (owner of an optical shop not far from H&H Hardware). He told National Review that he believed that the filmmaker had an anti WalMart storyline in mind from the beginning. Breuning is quoted in the film as questioning some of Wal-Mart's business practices. "I told them, 'You're probably hoping that you can get a shot of all these people in my store and then come back eight months later and we're out of business,'" Breuning said
That's not how things turned out for John Breuning's store. WalMart came and his business increased. His business was up by 38%!!! Apparently the film director (Robert Greenwald) didn't want to use the 'business up by 38%' angle in his film!
Robert, what would you say to this?
Ian G in Burlington ON
He might say that you received money from Tom DeLay - and you could say that Tom would probably pay you not to show this documentary, but that you won't accept any bribes from him or anyone else and that is what all elected officials should pledge to the American people - because at least when he questions the congress people, he always asks how much money they took from Abramoff.
Hi Robert
Some good advice here...seems like humor is the ticket..
If asks why you hate america...Jerry Quigly on KPFK asks his guests stuff like that all the time or oh so you're a communist huh? And we the listeners laugh because we know how ridiculous it is and we know he's kidding..so you take it like that ...laugh back and give a quip like yeah like Paul Revere warned us the British are coming I'm warning Americans about the dangers brought on by a neocon behind every bush..only something actually funny or disarming. Apparently this guy is a tongue in cheek sorta guy so you'll want humor along with a few facts but like others say; not sanctimonius. If anything comes up on immigrants...Bush promised another Amnesty before he got elected first time and reneged by using 9/11 as an excuse to turn onything foreign as a negative.
When in Battle, always retreat to gain your strength and your truth. Slow go, and let him incriminate himself. People will know the truth. Only focus on Three issues.
and keep going back to those, talk slow slow slow.
strategic planning is not reactive planning.
You will be great!
DR
Great concept and geat work. I tell people daily not to bitch when that store they never shopped at is gone when the finally decide to shop there.
Wal Mart sucks because they do not pay a living wage. Cheap is NOT better because nothing is or free and this means somebody ends up paying the bill.
As I said, good work!!!
I would give you an email address but then you would send stuff to it and I would not like you then. It is better we stay away from that :-)
I am the Ferguson in Ferguson v Friendfinder and my information is online if oyu wish to talk.
Mark Ferguson