Students and activists screen Wal-Mart Movie

Pitt students and community members watched a screening of “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low… Pitt students and community members watched a screening of “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price” in the William Pitt Union Sunday. Audience members awaited the film with curiosity.

“We want low prices, but we don’t really know what is going on behind the scenes, if it is jeopardizing people’s standards of living,” Roxanne Hu, a graduate student at Pitt, said before the screening.

Earl McCabe, a North Side resident, read about the movie in the paper.

“I’ve had my doubts about Wal-Mart for a long time,” he said.

The film juxtaposed parts of a speech by Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott with interviews and footage from various groups who have been affected by the company.

It covered a large number of problems, including small-town business closings, employee dependence on government aid programs, labor lawsuits and anti-union action, environmental issues and global workers rights, and ended with information on communities that are fighting against Wal-Mart stores and succeeding.

The movie provoked some strong responses.

“Prior to seeing this, I never really thought of it as a big deal,” said Alyssa Capozzoli, a high school student from Upper St. Clair, Pa. “But seriously, I will never step inside that building again, ever.”

A press release from Wal-Mart in response to the film argued that anti-Wal-Mart advocacy groups do nothing to help working families

“Working families haven’t heard a single idea from these groups – no solutions, no vision, just criticism,” the statement read.

“We’ve announced environmental initiatives that will reduce greenhouse gases at our current facilities by 20 percent within seven years,” it continued. “And early indications are that our new health benefits will cover an additional 100,000 Wal-Mart associates and family members.”

Additional screenings of the movie are being held all week in the Pittsburgh area, and locations can be found at www.walmartmovie.com.

A grassroots effort led to the movie’s screening at thousands of locations across the country this week as part of a campaign called “Higher Expectations Week.”