April 5, 1999 Mr. David Glass, CEO Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 702 SW 8th Street Bentonville, Arkansas 72716 Dear Mr. Glass, We, the undersigned, are shareholders of Wal-Mart, concerned citizens and consumers who believe that the globalization of the economy places new obligations in justice on all corporations. This new context requires Wal-Mart to promote positive corporate social responsibility consistent with the responsibility to sustain the human community and all creation. The unparalleled growth of Wal-Mart as an aggressive and competitive global retailer raises serious concerns that the company’s strategic vision to achieve success in the marketplace comes without an ethical standard of measurement on which to base decisions about the company’s support of human rights, a living wage for employees world-wide, a diverse work force with attainable upward mobility in management, respect for Indigenous rights, environmental improvement and transparency, and a commitment to sustainable communities in its service areas. The globalization of the economy has heightened already fierce competition, both here in the U.S. and especially in developing countries, to produce for less and sell for less, at the expense of meeting the basic needs of peoples and communities. We believe that the community rather than the economy is the starting point of economic life. For the community to be sustainable, all members must be recognized--consumers, employees, shareholders, the community-at-large and corporations. We evaluate Wal-Mart’s performance not only on its financial return but also on how it contributes to sustainable community and the dignity of the human person. We are, therefore, deeply concerned about the company’s role in the global marketplace in the following ways. As the largest retail company in the world with more than 3,400 stores worldwide and reported sales in 1997 of $118 billion, employing more that 910,000 people, Wal-Mart must act responsibly in every community where it operates. The company has created centers of commerce in many communities in the U.S., Latin America, Asia and Europe, but it has failed to operate out of a strategic plan which respects the role of small businesses in maintaining jobs and respects the cultural heritage of communities. We are very disturbed by the company’s insensitivity to the American Indian community by building stores over sacred burial grounds, as in the case of Charlotte Pike, Nashville, Tennessee. We call on the company to make a commitment to work constructively with local and regional communities in assessing Wal-Mart’s economic and social impact and to support structures which enable persons to participate in decisions that affect their lives. We call on the company to stop building stores on American Indian sacred burial grounds. Socially responsible shareholders have challenged Wal-Mart to become a company that cares about diversity, affirmative action and the creation of well-paying jobs for people of color and women. While the company has implemented some diversity programs, it has not taken certain critical good faith steps. It has declined to join hundreds of other companies in disclosing pertinent information about diversity to the public. We call on Wal-Mart to report to the public its EEO information, its steps to implement the U.S. Department of Labor Glass Ceiling Report’s recommendations and to end the use of negative images of American Indian peoples on the products it sells. We further believe that as Wal-Mart aggressively moves into new arenas globally, the company faces the challenge of ensuring that its manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors are in compliance with Wal-Mart’s Standards for Vendor Partners. Wal-Mart’s record in meeting this challenge is disappointing. The company requires its manufacturers to adhere to Wal-Mart’s standards but Wal-Mart has refused to monitor its subcontractors. That is not enough. This leaves the door open for potential abuses by thousands of Wal-Mart subcontractors of worker rights, the use of illegal child labor, firing workers who attempt to form a union or paying poverty-level wages. We are concerned that Wal-Mart is one of eighteen companies named in a law suit (January 13, 1999) alleging labor violations in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. Commonwealth where the Department of Labor has documented labor abuses. We call on Wal-Mart to work with its contractors to pay a sustainable living wage so workers can meet their basic needs, to eliminate illegal child labor, to affirm the internationally recognized worker rights to associate freely and bargain collectively in order to obtain a measure of justice and improvement of their work environment and to utilize independent monitors made up of respected local religious and human rights organizations. Wal-Mart has been commended for its donations to charitable organizations and has been named by Fortune Magazine as the best discount retail employer in the United States. While we believe companies should give back to their communities and design employee-friendly work environments, we are troubled by Wal-Mart’s lack of internal guidelines for global sustainable economic development and a strategic vision. When religious and socially responsible shareholders have raised these concerns through dialogue and filing shareholder resolutions, the company has not been responsive. We call upon Wal-Mart to develop a strategic vision that includes objectives committing the company to 1) exert leadership in community relations in all locales where it has stores; 2) participate in diversity programs and public disclosure regarding these objectives; 3) establish policies on Indigenous issues along with Indigenous leaders; 4) environmental improvement and transparency in accordance with the CERES Principles; 5) pay wages that enable their employees and employees of their vendors to meet their basic needs and provide some discretionary income; and 6) effectively monitor and implement an independent monitoring process for its supplier plants to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The company has been successful in building stores but not building community; in providing low prices to consumers but not in assuring them that the products are made under fair labor standards; in charity but not justice for the thousands of workers who contribute to Wal-Mart products but have few benefits and low wages. We challenge Wal-Mart to place its vast human and financial resources at the service of sustainable development and support for the human rights of workers of all races who have played a major role in Wal-Mart’s success. We believe programs built around a strategic sustainable economic development vision will help to establish Wal-Mart as a socially responsible company--a company that cares about the dignity of every human being and the development of sustainable communities worldwide. We call upon Wal-Mart to work constructively with socially responsible shareholders and other concerned groups in developing this strategic vision. We believe it will benefit Wal-Mart, its employees and the communities it seeks to serve. Signed, Mr. Stephen J. Dillenburg Scudder Kemper Investment* Cincinnati, OH Ms. Nikki Bas, Program Coordinator Sweatshop Watch Oakland, CA Mr. Stuart Appelbaum, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, AFL-CIO, CLC New York, NY Ms. Medea Benjamin, Executive Director Global Exchange San Francisco, CA Ms. Maude Barlow, National Chairperson The Council of Canadians Ottawa, ON Mr. Brent Blackwelder, President Friends of the Earth Washington, DC Ms. Kim Bobo, Executive Director National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice Chicago, IL Ms. Alisa Gravitz, President Co-op America Washington, DC Sr. Dolores Brooks Illinois Coalition for Responsible Investments Chicago, IL Rev. Pharis Harvey, Executive Director International Labor Rights Fund Washington, DC Mr. Gary Brouse, Board Member American Indian Council New York, NY Mr. James Silk, Director Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights Washington, DC Mr. Garrett D. Brown, Coordinator Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network Berkeley, CA Ms. Cheryl Hammond Hopewell American Friends Service Committee Philadelphia, PA Ms. Sammy Toinetta, Director National Council of Churches of Christ Racial Justice Working Group New York, NY Mr. Daniel Hennefeld Harvard Progressive Student Labor Movement Cambridge, MA Sr. Patricia Daly Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investments Newton, NJ Msgr. John Egan De Paul University* Chicago, IL Mr. Jay Mazur, President Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) New York, NY Mr. James E. Hug, Executive Director Center of Concern Washington, DC Mr. Timothy Smith, Executive Director Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility New York, NY Rev. B. R. Mitchell, Jr. National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Savannah, GA Mr. Stephen Coats, Executive Director US/Labor Education in the Americas Project Chicago, IL Mr. Ralph Estes, Director The Stakeholder Alliance Washington, DC Mr. Jonathan Cohen United Nations Association-USA New York, NY Sr. Ruth Kuhn, SC Region VI, Committee for Responsible Investing Cincinnati, OH Ms. Amy Domini Domini Social Investments LLC Boston, MA Ms. Donna Katzin, Executive Director Shared Interest* New York, NY Ms. Christine Doyle, Research Coordinator Amnesty International USA New York, NY Ms. Cynthia Ann Kent, Board Member American Indian Council on Corporate and Institutional Accountability New York, NY Ms. Linda Golodner, President National Consumers League Washington, DC *for identification purposes only Mr. Charles Kernaghan, Executive Director National Labor Committee New York, NY (Partial list) Ms. Anne Marshall United Methodist Church,Ecumenical Office New York, NY Rev. Douglas B. Hunt, UN Representative United Church of Christ Network for Environmental and Economic Responsibility Wheaton, MD Dr. Kellie A. McElhaney University of Michigan Business School Ann Arbor, MI Sr. Susan Mika, President Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras San Antonio, TX Mr. Samuel Pierce Citizens Funds Portsmouth, NH Ms. Kate Pfordresher, Executive Director People of Faith Network Brooklyn, NY Ms. Debra B. Ryker Foundation For Deep Ecology San Francisco, CA Mr. Jace Weaver, Associate Professor Yale University* New Haven, CT Rev. George W. Webber, President Emeritus New York Theological Seminary* New York, NY Ms. Heather White, Executive Director Verité Amherst, MA Rev. Seamus Finn Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Washington, DC Mr. Wayne Alt Western New York Peace Center Buffalo, NY Sr. Vicki Bergkamp Adorers of the Blood of Christ Wichita, KS Peter Beaton Congregation of St. Basil Toronto, Canada Sr. Shirley Bell Ancilla Domini Sisters* Donaldson, IN Mr. Steven J. Schueth Socially Aware Investing Boulder, CO Ms. Melissa Bernardin Campbell, CA Mr. Stephen J. Siegel Responsible Planning and Investing Pikesville, MD Sr. Barbara Bowers School Sisters of Notre Dame Berwyn, IL Dr. Mark Taylor Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton, NJ Ms. Shanna Branciforte LeRoy, NY Sr. Kathy Thornton, RSM Network Washington, DC Mr. Stephen Viederman, President Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation* New York, NY 10016 Dr. James P. Walsh University of Michigan Business School Ann Arbor, MI Mr. Jack A Brill Natural Investment Services Inc San Diego, CA Ms. Deborah Brown New York, NY Mr. Hunter Brownlie Progressive Asset Management, Inc. Newmarket, NH Sr. Patricia Burkard, OSF Sisters of St. Francis Williamsville, NY Ms. Trudy Brubaker Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Pittsburgh, PA 15237 Mr. Daniel P. Driscoll-Shaw Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America Chicago, IL Mr. Charles Carney 8th Day Center for Justice* Chicago, IL Mr. Xav Dubois Kenwood Solutions Group San Francisco, CA Sr. Genevieve Cassani, SSND Mission Effectiveness* St. Louis, MO Catherine Eairbairn GSIC* Ottawa, Canada Mr. John Chevedden Redondo Beach, CA Mr. Thomas A. Choquette Office of Social Action Cincinnati, OH Mr. Matthew Eddy, Seminarians for Social Change, Princeton Seminary Princeton, NJ Sr. Sylvia Egan SSM* Omro, WI 54963 Ms. Cynthia Chovan Brooklyn, NY Eighth Day Center for Justice Chicago, IL Sr. Mary Martin Colbert 8th Day Center for Justice* Chicago, IL Mr. James Facette Marianists Province of St. Louis San Antonio, TX Sr. Rosemary Connell, CSJ Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province St. Louis, MO Sr. Nancy Finneran Sisters of Loretto New York, NY Ms. Joy Crissey Colorado State University* Ft. Collins, CO Guy Cyr Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Sainte-Foy, Quebec Mr. Patrick De Freitas Laird Norton Endowment Fund Seattle, WA Sr. Kathleen Desautels Sisters of Providence* Chicago, IL Fr. John Dister, SJ Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus Detroit, MI Sr. Kathleen Donnelly, SU Sisters of Ursula* Rhinebeck, NY Ms. Mary Ann Gaido St. Joseph Health System Orange, CA Ms. Kathryn ‘Kage’ Garramone FAFN Newton, NJ Ms. Jeanne Gauna South West Organizing Project Albuquerque, NM Sr. Margaret Gillis Sisters of Saint Martha, Antigonish Antigonish, Canada Sr. Mary Ellen Gondeck, SSJ Sisters of St. Joseph, Nazareth, MI* Madison Heights, MI Sr. Doris Gormley, OSF Srs. of St. Francis of Philadelphia Aston, PA A. Groleau Missionary Oblates-Grandin Province Edmonton, Canada Mr. Paul E. Hansen Redmptorists Edmonton-Toronto Toronto, Canada Sr. Barbara Jean Head St. Joseph Female Ursuline Maple Mount, KY Ms. Marrianne Holec Westmoreland, NH Ms. Michele Holt-Shannon Coordinator of Educational Outreach University of New Hampshire Dover, NH Mr. Troy Horton Walnut Street Securities Inc. Birkenfeld, Oregon Sr. Joetta Huelsmann Ancilla Domini Sisters Donaldson, IN Ms. Debie Barker International Forum on Globalization San Francisco, CA Sr. Rose Jochmann Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross Green Bay, WI Sisters of Mary Reparatrix Riverview, MI Mr. Robert J. Knueven Glenmary Home Missioners Cincinnati, OH Mr. John Kornet Brockhouse & Cooper International Boston, MA Ms. Kristen Lacijan Somerville, MA Rev. Joseph P. La Mar, MM Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers Maryknoll, NY Ms. Deborah S. Lavine NorthStar Asset Management Boston, MA Ms. Geraldine Lawrence Sedona, AZ Fr. Claude Lenehan Franciscans HNP Paterson, NJ Mr. Conrad MacKerron As You Sow Foundation San Francisco, CA Mr. Jim Madden Progressive Investment Management Portland, OR Ms. Suzanne Madden San Francisco, CA Sr. Susan Jordan Social Responsibility Representative, School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment Fund St. Louis, MO Rev. Jeff Malpiede, CM Congregation of the Mission Southern Province San Antonio, TX Mr. Thomas Joyce CLARETIAN—Justice & Peace Committee Chicago, IL Sr. Grace Martin, CND Congregation of Notre Dame Toronto, Canada Rev. Gordon Judd, CSB Sisters of Mercy Regional, Community of Detroit Farmington Hills, MI Ms. Mary Ellen McDonagh 8th Day Center for Justice* Chicago, IL Dr. and Mrs. John Kamerick Sarasota, FL Mrs. Deanne and Mr. Byron McKeown Sedona, AZ Ms. Lesley McKeown Sedona, AZ Sr. Ann Kasparek Mr. Sean and Mrs. Wendy McKeown Phoenix, AZ Sr. Anna McNally Sisters of Service Toronto, Canada Mr. James McRitchie Corporate Governance Sacramento, CA Stephanie Merters, ASC ASC Peace and Justice Office Red Bud, IL Center for Reflection, Education and Action Hartford, CT Ms. Cathy Rowan Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful Maryknoll, NY Sr. Regina Rowan, MM Medical Mission Sisters Hyde Park, MA Mr. Charles Sandmel Brookline, MA Ms. Alicia Nebot United Church Board for World Ministries New York, NY Ms. Nicole Santistevan, UNFP New York, NY Sr. Joellen Sbrissa, CSJ Sisters of St. Joseph of LaGrange LaGrange, IL Ms. Nora Ng Piper Jaffray San Francisco, CA Ms. Amy Scott The Exploratorium* San Francisco, CA Mr. Henri E. Norris New Millennia Films San Francisco, CA Ms. JoAnn Schoonmaker Allen San Antonio, TX Mr. Lincoln Pain Berkeley, CA Sr. Cecile Paulik Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother* Brown Deer, WI Sr. Jean Phelan, SSND School Sisters of Notre Dame, Chicago Berwyn, IL Mr. Jak Plihal Springboard Consulting Group San Francisco, CA Sr. Lucy Regalado Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters Huntington, IN Sr. Eileen Reilly, SSND School Sisters of Notre Dame Wilton, CT Ms. Suzan Revah San Francisco, CA Sr. Ruth Rosenbaum Mr. Larry & Mrs. Pati Garcia Semander San Antonio, TX Ms. Catherine Seymor Clarks Summit, PA Mr. Eric A. Smith Seattle, WA Neal Smith Sisters of St. Benedict Madison, WI Ms. Margaret Stallmeyer Congregation of Divine Providence Melbourne, KY William Steiner Put Investor* Great Neck, NY Sr. Nancy Sylvester, IHM Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary Monroe, MI Ms. Anne Taylor Ottawa, Canada Ms. Tamsin Taylor Laird Norton Trust Seattle, WA Sr. C. Turcotte Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception* Pembroke, Canada Rev. John H. Vaughn The Riverside Church* New York, NY Mr. Nathan Walker Campbell, CA Adrian, MI Sr. Vicki Dalesandro, OP Henderson, NV Sr. Catherine DeClereq, OP Southfield, MI Sr. Joan Delaplane, OP University City, MO Sr. Carol DiMarcello Adrian, MI Sr. Magdalena Ezoc, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Ann Walters, OP Grand Rapids Dominicans Grand Rapids, MI Mr. Leonard J. Weber Ethics Institute University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI Ms. Marianne Weil Equality Project Orient, NY Larry Weiss Resource Center of the Americas Minneapolis, MN Adrian Dominicans Sr. Rosemary Asaro, OP Detroit, MI Sr. Judith Benkert, OP, CNM, FNP San Francisco, CA Sr. Mary-beth Beres, OP Atlanta, GA Sr. Rosalie Bulanda, OP Jackson, MS Sr. Anita Chiappetta, OP Ann Arbor, MI Sr. Joan Christie, OP Trenton, MI Sr. Mary Jane Clark, OP Marina, CA Sr. Maureen Comer, OP Sr. Durstyne Farnan, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Maureen Fenlon, OP Petaluma, CA Sr. Corinne Florck, Op Oakland, CA Sr. Juliann Flynn, OP Homewood, IL Sr. Margaret Foley, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Marilyn Foster, OP Port Huron, MI Sr. Judy Fridel, OP Rocky River, OH Sr. Molly Giller, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Therese Grouln, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Therese M. Haggerty, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Maribeth Howell Lyndburst, OH Sr. Jeanette Jabour, OP Cincinnati, OH Sr. Myra Jackson, OP Miami, FL Sr. Maureen Keeler, OP San Diego, CA Sr. Geraldine McNamara, OP Santa Cruz, CA Deborah Keller St. Joseph Academy Montessori Children’s House Sr. Aneesah McNamee, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Donna Kathleen Kustusch, OP El Paso, TX Sr. Joella Miller, OP Oak Lawn, IL Sr. Thomas Josephine Lawler, OP Los Angeles, CA Bettina Mollica, OP Columbus, OH Sr. Anne R. Lawrence Ann Arbor, MI Sr. Evelyn I. Montez, OP Oakland, CA Anne R. Laurance Ann Arbor, MI Sr. Elaine Lederer, OP Chicago, IL Sr. Mary Catheine Nolan, OP University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN Sr. Pat Leonard, OP Oak Park, IL Sr. Rose C. O’Connell, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Frances Lombar, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Patricia O’Reilly Adrian, MI Sr. Mary Ann Lubinski, OP Atlanta, GA Sr. Jane Payette, OP Southfield, MI Sr. Mary Ann Luby, OP Washington, DC Sr. Mary Ann Phillip, OP North Olmsted, OH Sr. Carleen Maly, OP West Palm Beach, FL Sr. Patricia Reno, OP Louisville, KY Sr. Kathleen Manning, OP Clayton, MI Sr. Judy Rimbey, OP Hayward, CA Sr. Brigid McDonald, OP Santa Cruz, CA Sr. Terese M. Roberts, OP Fort Lauderdale, FL Sr. Patricia McDonald, OP Saint Clair Shores, MI Sr. Mary L. Russell, OP Riviera Beach, FL Sr. Sharon McGuire, OP, MSN University of San Diego School of Nursing and Health Science San Diego, CA Sr. Ann Ryan, OP Reynoldsburg, OH Sr. Kathleen McGrail, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Noreen McKeorgh, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Corinne Sanders, OP St. Louis, MO Sr. Patricia A. Siemen, OP Redford, MI Sr. Annette Sinagra, OP Adrian, MI Dallas, TX Sr. Dolores Smolke, OP Wilmette, IL Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother Sr. Dorothy Ann Dirlex, Provincial Superior Broken Arrow, OK Ms. Beverly Stark Beaufort, SC Sr. Eleanor Therese Stech, OP El Paso, TX Sr. Patricia Stellmah, OP Adrian, MI Sr. Jane Robert Stuckel, OP Capitola, CA Sr. Mary Bertila, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Melina Christ, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Lela Mae Fenton, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Shirley Thick, OP Santa Cruz, CA Sr. M. Sylvina Gleisner, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. M. Bona Ney, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Patricia Tomich Chicago, IL Sr. M. Gordiana Ney, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Ms. Mary Trzask Beaufort, SC Sr. Paula Jacobs, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Ms. Margaret Weber Detroit, MI Sr. Ruth Bernadette Janning, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Mary Jena Williams, OP Santa Cruz, CA Sr. Helen La Bresh, SSM Broken Arrow, OK School Sisters of Notre Dame, Dallas Province Sr. Leah Couvillion, SSND Dallas, TX Sr. Clementine Lipke, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Juliette Daigle, SSND Dallas, TX Sr. M. Celine Deiterich, SSND Dallas, TX Sr. Dana Marie Heffner, SSND Dallas, TX Sr. Ruth Hinderer, SSND Dallas, TX Sr. Margit Kayser, SSND Dallas, TX Sr. Barbara Kraus, SSND Dallas, TX Sr. Elizabeth Newman, SSND Sr. Angelica May, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Johanna Remm, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Agnes Marie Spexarth, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Mathilla Spielmann, SSN Broken Arrow, OK Sr. Clotilde Schumann, SSM Broken Arrow, OK Sr. M. Sigismunda Voegeles, SSM Broke Arrow, OK Sisters of St. Francis Sr. Mary A. Brenna Tacoma, WA Sr. Judith M Connelly Tacoma, WA Sr. Annette Finlayson, OSF Tacoma, WA Sr. Donna Fread Tacoma, WA Sr. Nora Howard Tacoma, WA Sr. Bonniew Pellowx Tacoma, WA Sr. Francis O’Connor Tacoma, WA * for identification purposes only Sr. Agnes McLoughlin Tacoma, WA Sr. Elizabeth Mulvey Tacoma, WA Chaplain Joan Roddy, FHS Tacoma, WA Sr. Esther Stewart Tacoma, WA Sr. Marietta Wallaert Tacoma, WA Sr. Margaret Whelan Tacoma, WA