In some communities the realization that certain manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back has lessened the backlash Wal-Mart often faces when it opens a new location.
Forbes reports that according to a recent survey:
“Of 1,000 adults who were interviewed nationwide in October and November, 56% said they would oppose a Wal-Mart in their community. That's down from 68% two years ago.”
That would be a major shift in attitudes over the past few years. In Cleveland Wal-Mart arrived at the former site of a steel mill and current shopping plaza with much trepidation. After years of wrangling with city officials, the
Superstore finally opened in 2007.
Even though this didn’t sit well with many people in this union-heavy town, the controversy didn’t deter more than 6,000 people from applying for jobs before the store opened.
While a job at Wal-Mart is better than no job (and believe me, there weren’t many other jobs to choose from in that part of town), I still wonder:
How can older industrial cities like Cleveland replace traditional manufacturing jobs with new ones instead of falling back on lower-paying retail and service industries?
Wal-Mart a Welcome Site?
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