A group of Granite City residents are screening a documentary on the effects of Wal-Mart this week.
Granite City First, a group of business leaders, labor leaders and church congregations concerned about the expansion of the current Wal-Mart into a Wal-Mart Super Center, which will include a grocery store, will present documentarian Robert Greenwald's film "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price."
It will show at the United Steelworkers Local 1063 hall, located at 1414 20th St. in Granite City, on Thursday at 6 p.m.According to Greenwald's Web site, the film "dives into the deeply personal stories and everyday lives of families and communities struggling to fight a Goliath." It presents testimonies of small business people and an employee of Wal-Mart.
"Our concern that the Super Center will bring in underpaid workers with limited benefits," said Granite City First member Ken Aud said.
Aud said the workers at the new Super Center will be in competition with employees of companies like Shop-N-Save and Schnucks, who provide their workers with more generous benefits. He also said Wal-Mart drives small business away from downtown.