Young faces criticism in position on Wal-Mart

WASHINGTON — The Rev. Joseph Lowery and dozens of other civil rights and religious leaders are signing a letter that condemns former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young for his work defending Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The letter, which could still undergo some minor changes before being released Tuesday, said Wal-Mart has a "history of breaking child labor laws" and engages in "unethical" business practices. The company now is using Young "to try to turn our eyes from the truth," it says.

Young, in his own letter to church officials released Monday, praised Wal-Mart for allowing poor people to be able to buy "low-cost fruits, vegetables, vitamins, medicines and clothing."

Since February, Young has been serving as chairman of the steering committee for Working Families for Wal-Mart, a group that defends Wal-Mart's business practices.

The letter invokes the name of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the revered civil rights leader who worked closely with Young during the height of the movement in the 1960s.

"Dr. King would have disagreed with Mr. Young on this issue - King sided with the poor," says a passage from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. "Young is taking a stand against the poor and is siding with the filthy rich who are oppressing the poor."

Young himself is a minister with the United Church of Christ, whose officials initiated the letter, according to Ron Stief, who heads the church's Justice and Witness Ministries.

Stief said Monday the final version of the letter would be sent to Young on Tuesday morning. It will be released to the media later in the day.

John Thomas, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, has already sent a private letter to Young, Stief said.

The church cannot order Young to change his position on Wal-Mart. Stief said the purpose of both the private and public letters is ask Young: "What are you doing defending a company that has done more to hurt working people than any other company?"

Among those who signed the letter were Lowery, another Atlanta-based minister and civil rights era leader. Stief said the final version of the letter will have about 50 names attached, including a number of clergy members from the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church, Jewish groups and others.

The letter quotes Lowery, former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, saying he is "disappointed" that Young "has chosen to defend the wayward ways of Wal-Mart."

Working Families for Wal-Mart was launched with Wal-Mart's funding in December. Last week in Rogers, Ark., just a few miles from Wal-Mart's headquarters, Young chaired the first meeting of 10 members of the group's steering committee, made up of business and community leaders who support Wal-Mart.

Young's consulting firm has a contract for an undisclosed sum with the group. His responsibilities include writing opinion articles and speaking with reporters about Wal-Mart's positive impacts on low-income people.

On Monday, committee spokesman Kevin Sheridan released a letter that Young already had composed and is planning to send to officials of the United Church of Christ to explain his position. Quoting from the gospel of Matthew, Young points out the Jesus Christ admonished his followers to feed the hungry. Young said that has always been his goal as well.

He said that while Wal-Mart may be "far from perfect," it has provided low-priced goods and foods for poor people. He said Wal-Mart critics are misguided. "After failing to get the government to address a social safety net, they are criticizing Wal-Mart for failing to provide it," he wrote.

Besides being an ordained minister, Young is a civil rights leader and former Democratic member of Congress, United Nations ambassador and mayor of Atlanta.

After last week's steering committee meeting, Young released a statement noting that Wal-Mart plans "to build more than 50 stores in struggling urban areas, expecting to create up to 25,000 jobs in areas desperately needing employment."

"Even as a lifelong Democrat and union supporter, I have to say it's time for Washington, D.C. union leaders to let working families decide where to shop and work," he said in his statement.

A copy of the letter to Young was provided by Wal-Mart Watch, a union-supported group that pushes Wal-Mart to change its business practices. Spokesman Nu Wexler said that William Jarvis Johnson, Wal-Mart Watch's director of Faith Based Outreach, is among those signing the letter.

Marilyn Geewax is a Washington correspondent for Cox Newspapers.