2 teachers' unions urge back-to-school boycott of Wal-Mart

The two largest U.S. teachers' unions joined a "back-to-school" boycott against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., targeting one of the year's busiest shopping seasons to protest the retailer's labor practices.

The 2.7 million-member National Education Association, the biggest U.S. union, and the 1.3 million-member American Federation of Teachers is teaming with the United Food and Commercial Workers in urging shoppers to buy school supplies elsewhere, the UFCW's "Wake-Up Wal-Mart" group said.

The back-to-school season is the biggest shopping time for Wal-Mart other than Christmas. The unions were holding rallies in 32 cities Wednesday, demanding the company boost its wages, expand health benefits and adhere to child-labor and discrimination laws. Such protests have intensified in the past year and threaten to hurt Wal-Mart's sales and profit, one investor said.

"Even a hit of just 1 to 2 percent could make a big difference in comparable store sales and earnings," said Patricia Edwards, a portfolio manager and analyst at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich in Seattle. Her firm manages $5.7 billion in assets including 69,000 Wal-Mart shares, down from about 1.2 million a year ago.

Wal-Mart's declining public image, which has also been hurt by recent lawsuits, played a part in the decision to sell shares, said Edwards, who doesn't own the stock personally.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world and the biggest private employer in the U.S. The company called Wednesday's protest a "publicity stunt," and stressed that its low prices, such as 25-cent crayons, help educators and students.

"The millions of parents and teachers who rely on Wal-Mart's low prices are able to see through this smear campaign," Wal-Mart said in a prepared statement.

Wal-Mart had sales of $285 billion in the year ended in January, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year. The company said last month that it expects August sales at stores open at least a year to rise 3 to 5 percent.

The teachers' unions may help bolster UFCW's efforts against Wal-Mart. UFCW, which represents about 1 million U.S. workers, has failed to make inroads in organizing the company. The union now says it will move away from organizing and instead focus on building support against Wal-Mart's practices.