The flood of shoppers at the opening of Wal-Mart?s first St. Paul store Wednesday were met by protesters calling on the giant retailer to raise employee wages and benefits and be a ?good neighbor? in the community.

The day-long action, organized by the Midway Citizen Consumer Community Coalition, included a 6 p.m. rally that drew hundreds who carried signs and chanted, ?Wal-Mart ? share the wealth!?

Bernie Hesse, organizer for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789, said shoppers lined up an hour before the 8 a.m. store opening. He said the goal of demonstrators was to make people aware that Wal-Mart pays lower wages than many area businesses and takes much of the profit out of the community.

Throughout the day, union members, neighborhood residents and others carried signs extolling ?Living wages!? and ?Health care for all!? and talked with people as they entered the store. Many shoppers stopped to talk and a number said they, too, are concerned about the lack of good-paying jobs and accessibility to health care.

At the rally, neighborhood resident Claire Press expressed frustration with Wal-Mart?s unwillingness to talk with people in the community. She contrasted Wal-Mart?s behavior with that of Cub Foods, another recent entrant to the Midway area, that met with local groups and agreed to giving hiring priority to neighborhood residents.

?There is a history of after Wal-Mart moves into a community, many of the small local businesses that have been part of the community close . . .? Press said. She said Wal-Mart wages are so low that many employees qualify for public assistance.

?It?s disgusting,? she stated. ?You call this a good neighbor??

The Rev. Juli Thompson, a minister at Christ Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill, said she worries that ?Wal-Mart is stealing from the quality of life in our community.?

?Many of the people in our congregation ? if they work at places like Wal-Mart ? they have to work two and three jobs to make ends meet,? she said. That leaves little time for spiritual life in the church, for community activities and for their families, she said.

Community residents, members of unions and church groups and many others participated in the demonstration. Alan Carlson (below) brought his children, six-month old Solei and three-year-old Bridger. "St. Paul is my city and I don't want to see a massive corporation like Wal-Mart destroy the fabric of my city," he said.

Wal-Mart, which in 2002 became the world?s largest corporation, operates some 4,700 stores with annual sales of more than $250 billion. According to a Congressional study released in February, Wal-Mart clerks earned an average of $8.23 an hour -- $13,861 per year ? in 2001, well below the federal poverty level for a family of three.

Fewer than half ? between 41 and 46 percent ? of Wal-Mart?s employees are insured by the company?s health care plan, compared to 66 percent of employees at large firms comparable to Wal-Mart, according to the report.

The Congressional report estimated that one Wal-Mart store with 200 employees may result in a cost to federal taxpayers of $420,750 per year ? about $2,103 per worker ? in public assistance such as free and reduced school lunches, housing assistance and health care programs.

At Wednesday?s rally, state Senator Ellen Anderson, a DFLer who represents the Midway area, called on Wal-Mart to change its ways.

?(Wal-Mart founder) Sam Walton lived the American dream,? she said. ?Let?s ask him to share it with the people in his company and the people here in St. Paul.?

For more information
Read the Congressional report, "Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart."

After the rally, demonstrators chanting, "Share the wealth" marched into the store.