Labor Council Condemns Repeal of Anti-Wal-Mart Ordinance – UPDATED

UPDATE: Here’s Wal-Mart’s statement on the repeal of the union-backed ordinance that would have impeded them from opening super centers in San Diego::

Statement from Walmart on the San Diego City Council’s Decision To Repeal the Big Box Ordinance

SAN DIEGO, Calif., February 1, 2011 – Walmart today issued the following statement from Maggie Sans, Walmart vice president of public affairs, on the San Diego City Council’s decision to repeal the big-box ordinance:

“Walmart applauds the Council for voting to end the de-facto big-box ban and for promoting consumer choice. Today was a win for San Diego families. Thanks to this vote, we will be able to provide the people of San Diego with improved access to affordable and fresh food, particularly for those living in underserved neighborhoods.

“As we move forward, we will work closely with the city to ensure that our San Diego plan is implemented quickly and effectively. That five-year plan includes developing one dozen projects across the city of varying size and format, generating approximately 1,400 local jobs and paying competitive wages at all levels for Walmart associates across San Diego.

“We appreciate Mayor Jerry Sanders’ continued leadership as well as Council President Tony Young and the other members of the San Diego City Council who put the best interests of their constituents first today.”

And here’s the Labor Council’s statement:

Labor Council Statement on San Diego City Council’s Repeal of Ordinance to Protect Small and Neighborhood Businesses

SAN DIEGO – (Tuesday, February 1, 2011) – San Diego Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer and CEO Lorena Gonzalez made the following statement in response to the San Diego City Council’s repeal of the Ordinance to Protect Small and Neighborhood Businesses following Wal-Mart’s qualification of a referendum on the ordinance:

“Small and neighborhood business owners, community activists, environmentalists and workers came together to support an ordinance that simply would require Wal-Mart and any other corporation to note the economic and community impacts of a superstore on our neighborhoods before developing a site. We saw today how much power developers and mega-corporations have over our political process. It is a shame that even this type of common-sense, local, land use planning can be held hostage by the world’s largest corporation at the expense of San Diego’s neighborhoods.”