12/13/12

Boycott Menards



Another privately-held company is threatening Galtism.

Menards, whose policies include issuing anti-democratic propaganda, pays its employees subsistence wages while massaging its margins in under-served markets like Rapid City and Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

O'Fallon, Missouri has been passed over according to a local media outlet:
The company is blaming the Obama administration for the project’s failure. A Menards spokesperson says the company no longer plans on adding a store in O’Fallon, Missouri because of the President’s economic policies.
John Menard is one of the country's richest white men contributing to earth haters like John Thune and Michele Bachmann while joining with Koch Industries in forcing primaries against those resisting its advances.
Menards and CEO John Menard have been cited for dozens of environmental code violations; in 1997 Menard and his company were fined $1.7 million when Menard himself was found to have used “his own pickup truck to haul plastic bags filled with chromium and arsenic-laden wood ash to his own home for disposal along with his household trash,” according to Milwaukee.--Adele M. Stan at AlterNet.
Fuck 'em.

8 comments:

freegan said...

Organic Consumers Association Calls for Boycott of Organic Brand Parent Companies That Helped Defeat Prop 37. http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_26621.cfm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tom6_ceTu9s

Anonymous said...

I don't see how Menards agenda is different than Lowes or home depot. Do we boycott all of them? Can you name one large scale retailer that is pro Democrat? Do you live in the wilderness and live off the land to boycott all pro Republican businesses?...Will

larry kurtz said...

Yes, I live near Santa Fe off the grid surrounded by Democrats where organic farmers' markets are the norm. A local sawmill provides lumber, hardware comes from a mom and pop. Thrift stores are prolific and second-hand is a way of life.

Why do you ask, Two Dogs?

Michael Shay said...

Larry: Here in Cheyenne we have a brand new Menards retail store and a Menards regional warehouse opening out on I-80. Our city fathers sold the company a pierce of park land and the greenway had to be rerouted to accommodate the hulking monstrosity of a store. I plan on avoiding Menards due to its union-bashing policies. But Anonymous has a point. Are Lowe's and Home Depot as bad as Menards? The Menards' owner is openly right-wing and anti-union. What about the others? I'll do some research on my own.

larry kurtz said...

Hi, Michael, both Lowes and The Home Depot are publicly traded companies with shareholder equity: far more transparency in my view although Walmart exploits its workers anyway with temp status.

Union membership would give workers the preference of buying insurance without being subject to the wage slavery imposed upon them by a privately-held corporation.

larry kurtz said...

If we as consumers choose not to do business with local merchants, even if prices seem a little higher, will pay far more when those anchoring Main Street are long gone.

Anonymous said...

Menards dumps toxic waste in Wisconsin then the state rewards them with 42 million in expansion incentives. Menards is a dangerous store to shop in and their parking lots are just as bad. They dumped a load of material over an isle a almost killed a woman who was severely injured then hid behind lawyers and politicians to keep her from getting proper compensation. This is one of hundreds of examples. It is best to stay away from this weasel Menard they are no good for you and have inferior products. They illegally modified the Menard NASCAR causing a compromise in the integrity of the frame..........weasels with no respect for any

Anonymous said...

@ anonymous Nice Spin
when you say they hid behind lawyers & politicans do you really mean too say she filed suit and the courts decided how much to compensate her I'm sure Menards has lawyers to defend them just like any other company what do you do for a living that makes you so great