The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an interesting story providing some good context around Walmart’s expansion in the area — including the store planned for South Milwaukee.
Read the story here. From it:
In recent years, Wal-Mart has opened supercenters in suburbs ringing the city, and it has converted two existing stores in Milwaukee County into supercenters by adding full grocery departments.
Now, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is planning to bring its newest generation of grocery and general merchandise stores to locations around the metro area. The company hasn’t announced a number, but a retail industry source estimated there could be eight or nine sites under consideration.
“We’re looking to serve our customers all over the state,” said Wisconsin-based Wal-Mart spokeswoman Lisa Nelson. “There’s plenty of opportunity in Milwaukee.”
Last week, South Milwaukee agreed to sell 3.5 acres of land to Gatlin Development Co., a Tennessee-based developer that is assembling what will be an 11-acre parcel on N. Chicago Ave. Gatlin hopes to build a nearly 120,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store that would sell both groceries and general merchandise. The size is a bit smaller than its typical 140,000-square-foot supercenter and is sized appropriately for the neighborhood, according to Nelson. …
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, faces more challenges entering the area than the Wisconsin-based supermarkets. When Wal-Mart tried in 2008 to build a store in Cudahy, for example, officials refused to approve the plan, hoping to get something better. News of Wal-Mart’s suburban plans posted on the JSOnline website last week brought dozens of negative responses from people who identified themselves as living in the communities, but also drew favorable comments.
Wal-Mart spokesmen cite new jobs and low prices as reasons that communities should welcome them.
Danielle Devlin, executive director of South Milwaukee’s Community Development Authority, agrees.
“Wal-Mart has a community giving program,” Devlin notes. “We have a tradition of our corporations being involved, but Bucyrus is pulling back from that. In terms of an economic impact, it will be significant.”
And not only that, Devlin notes: “Residents will be able to buy a pair of socks in their own community.”
South Milwaukee Blog 
“A recent study by researchers at UC Berkeley’s Labor Center has quantified what happened to retail wages when Wal-Mart set up shop, drawing on 15 years of data on actual store openings. The study found that Wal-Mart drives down wages in urban areas, with an annual loss of at least $3 billion dollars in earnings for retail workers.”
$7,000 ANTI-UNION CAMERA PACKAGE per store
$30,000 UNDERCOVER SPY VAN per store
$100,000 24 hour ANTI-UNION HOTLINE
$7,000,000 Rapid response team with CORPORATE JET
* Source: Data provided to the producers by Stan Fortune, former manager and 17-year employee of Wal-Mart
* According to a recent report issued by American Rights At Work (“Wal-Mart: Rolling Back Wages, Workers’ Rights, and the American Dream”), at least 59 complaints have been issued by the National Labor Relations Board on the basis that Wal-Mart uses illegal surveillance techniques to monitor union activity inside and outside their stores. These include the following claims:
o “Following a NLRB investigation of worker charges in Denver, Colorado; Paris, Texas; and Orlando, Florida, the government has charged Wal-Mart with illegal surveillance, threats and intimidation of its associates.”
o “Wal-Mart will face trial on February 10, 2003 for illegal surveillance of union supporters.”
o “Workers in Paris, Texas suffer similar injustices�The NLRB investigation of Wal-Mart’s actions resulted in a complaint charging that Wal-Mart managers carried out surveillance on their workers, restricted workers’ attire in an effort to retaliate against union supporters and also threatened and interrogated workers.”
o “In Orlando, Florida, Wal-Mart faces a NLRB trial on June 28, 2003 for illegal surveillance of workers, illegal threats and harassment of workers.”
o Source: UFCW, “Wal-Mart’s War on Workers,” PR Newswire, January 8, 2003, and the National Labor Relations Board.
Now tell me how Wal-Mart will help South Milwaukee!
Let Cudahy get stuck with Wal-Mart!
It is very simple. Walmart is not stupid enough to just throw money at property and a building only to have nobody apply to work there. If the working conditions are so bad, they wouldn’t get employees. This is another, often ignored, aspect of the right to work. It is the right to accept employment or go somewhere else and it doesn’t require government interference. Also, as said by others in other posts, South Milwaukee does not have any significant retail for Walmart to allegedly drive down the salaries. We let Kohl’s go elsewhere years ago and have not been successful (like Oak Creek has) in attracting anybody else.
The way the job market is some people will work anywhere they can find a job, After hearing what goes on in Wal-mart I would turn to crime before working at a Wal-mart!
Some people enjoy working with their hands.
Some people prefer sitting a a desk.
Some people like working with the sick.
Some people would like to keep away from the general public.
Some people enjoy working outdoors.
Some people want to work out of their homes.
Some people want to work in a union shop.
None of these people would be want to work at Walmart. However, some people would want to work there for a long time and others only until the economy picks up. Once the city considers revenue, traffic, and property values (neighborhood, crime, etc.) and informed decision can be made. Unionization is not a city concern.
All the greeters seem happy!!!
How many of the people that are opposed to Wal-Mart in their community still shop at Wal-Marts in adjacent towns?