Once indifferent to politics, Wal-Mart's founding family has learned the value of having - and supporting - friends in high places.One such friend is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California. Last year he vetoed a bill that would have forbidden employers to lock workers inside businesses, a practice Wal-Mart has used. Last month he vetoed a bill that would have required California to identify the employers of people who are paid so little that they qualify for government health services. Again, Wal-Mart is the No. 1 example.
While the governor was vetoing, heirs to Sam Walton were busy writing six-figure checks to his political causes. It began after Mr. Schwarzenegger vetoed the lock-in bill. John T. Walton, a Wal-Mart director who died four months ago, gave $200,000 to his political committee, the California Recovery Team, according to The Los Angeles Times and USA Today.
On the day Mr. Schwarzenegger vetoed the latest bill, Christy Walton, John's widow, wrote a $250,000 check to the governor's committee. Three weeks later, Wal-Mart's chairman, Rob Walton, gave $250,000 to the governor's campaign to limit the political activities of labor unions. (Wal-Mart itself, which is famously allergic to unions, chipped in $100,000 of its own.)
Because Arnold's sensibilities towards workers and Wal-Mart's dovetail so very nicely...
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