Democratic Advisers Take Posts in Group Opposing Wal-Mart

[Omaha Steve]

Source: New York Times

By MICHAEL BARBARO

WakeUpWalMart.com, a union-backed group that has waged an aggressive campaign against Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, will today name several Democratic political strategists as its new leaders and introduce a fresh round of ads.

The group, which has attacked the wages, health benefits and labor practices of the nonunionized Wal-Mart, is expected to appoint Meghan Scott, who worked on John Edwards’s presidential campaign, as its deputy campaign manager, giving her day-to-day control. Ms. Scott previously oversaw communications for the American Association for Justice, formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

She will be advised by Nick Baldick, Jeremy Van Ess and Richie Ross. Mr. Baldick was the national campaign manager for Mr. Edwards’s presidential campaign in 2003 and early 2004. Mr. Van Ess worked on the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Mr. Edwards and was chief speechwriter for Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader. Mr. Ross ran the 2005 California gubernatorial campaign of Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

WakeUpWalMart, started in 2005 by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, lost its founding leaders months ago when they left to work on Mr. Edwards’s latest presidential campaign. But Ms. Scott pledged that the group was “not backing off.”


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/business/16walmart.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fL%2fLabor&oref=login

[Virginia Dare]

1. That's an interesting reshuffling..

because WakeUpWalMart just recently lost their two top people to the Edwards campaign.