Friday, Aug. 08, 2008
Merced Sun Star, CA
Editor: When unemployment and home foreclosures are up, and consumer confidence is down, it comes as no surprise that a recently released survey showed that Mercedians strongly support the construction of the proposed Wal-Mart distribution center.
In May, the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce released a public opinion survey that revealed that 81 percent of those polled supported the proposed Wal-Mart project, and that 74 percent had a favorable view of the company. Fueling this support is the uncertainty about the economy and the need for quality jobs in our community.
In the coming months, the Merced City Council will consider whether to approve the construction of a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center that promises more than 1,000 new jobs, 900 of which will be full-time positions. Both full- and part-time employees will be eligible for a host of employee benefits that include health-care plans for as little as $8 a month and profit sharing.
In addition to the long term benefits of providing hundreds of job seekers a paycheck, the project will have an immediate economic benefit to the local economy with the creation of more than 600 construction jobs needed to build a $60 million Wal-Mart distribution center that is environmentally friendly and energy efficient.
In the past three years alone, Wal-Mart has purchased more than $168 million from Merced County suppliers, which supports almost 11,000 jobs. Just recently, Wal-Mart announced that the number of farmers it works with nationally has increased by 50 percent over the past two years, a number expected to grow at a double-digit rate.
BRUCE LOGUE
Chairman of the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce
Merced
Eduardo Castro-Wright wants it known that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has not exhausted opportunities in the U.S...
