This month, in ads in more than 100 newspapers, Wal-Mart CEO F. Lee Scott said it was time for the public to hear the “unfiltered truth.” He claims the retail giant, the world’s largest corporate empire, is good for “consumers, communities and the economy.”

Interestingly, he omitted the words “good for its workers.”

“Always Low Prices” should be “Always Low Wages.”

Consider the class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart for labor and human rights abuses against 3,000 Chinese women who paid fees to be imported to Saipan with the promise of good-paying jobs. Upon arrival, their passports and visas were taken and they were forced to work in deplorable conditions, surrounded by armed guards, barbed wire fencing, working 12- to 24-hour shifts with supervised bathroom visits (one bathroom per 250 women). They were hoarded into crowded, rat- and bug-infested sleeping quarters for which they were forced to pay. What the company didn’t tell them was that they would not earn enough money to pay for the cost of food and housing. Any woman complaining, getting pregnant or going to church faced immediate deportation.

Saipan, seized from Japan in World War II, has commonwealth status with the U.S., which allowed Wal-Mart to stamp clothing as “Made in the U.S.A.,” misleading consumers to believe the items were made in compliance with American labor laws.

Want the “unfiltered truth”? Check out “Wal-Mart” on the Web. There the truth is documented.

Joan Stiehler, Wayne

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