MADISON — Wal-Mart was on the defensive Wednesday after Gov. Jim Doyle warned the mega retail chain to stop relying on state aid to pay its employees' health-care costs.
In his annual State of the State address Tuesday night, Doyle targeted the largest private employer in America when he said, "I want to make this very clear to Wal-Mart and any other company that might be thinking of shifting its health-care responsibility to taxpayers: BadgerCare is intended to help working families, not multibillion dollar corporations."
Wal-Mart fired back in a statement released Wednesday, saying, "If the governor's proposal becomes law, he will be sending a clear message to employers, investors and companies everywhere: Wisconsin is closed for business."
Meanwhile, at the state Capitol on Wednesday, the Assembly Labor Committee held a hearing on Assembly Bill 860, which would require major companies — with more than 10,000 full- and part-time employees — to reimburse the state for health-care costs incurred by their employees enrolled in programs such as BadgerCare and Medical Assistance.
Supporters of the measure say that in a time when Wisconsin families are struggling to pay their heating bills and make ends meet, Wal-Mart reported $10.3 billion in profits in fiscal year 2005.
"It's a real desperate time for these (Wal-Mart) employees, and for a lot of people," said Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, a co-sponsor of the bill. "Maybe providing affordable health care is cutting a little into their (Wal-Mart's) profit margin. But if there's that kind of profit to be had, maybe they should share that with their workers and treat them well."
Hansen, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the health-care problem goes beyond Wal-Mart and said the corporation cannot be blamed for increasing health-care costs nationwide. But they should do their part, he said.
"We're not trying to push them out of the state," said Hansen. "But should the state be in the business of rewarding a company in providing corporate welfare for their employees when the company can afford to do better?"
At Wednesday's labor hearing, the committee heard mixed views on the bill — which is considered to have little chance of passing the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The measure drew support at the hearing from labor unions, small-business owners and the Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund, an organization that released a study last fall that estimated 3,673 of Wisconsin Wal-Mart employees had no health coverage at all. The report also said 4,722 Wal-Mart employees in Wisconsin and their 1,906 dependents are enrolled in public health programs at an estimated cost of $14 million annually.
Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, said he is concerned about singling out Wal-Mart and fears that the Democrats might also target ShopKo, which is based in his district.
"Who is he going to go after next?" Montgomery said of Doyle.
Jennifer Ross, a working mother in Green Bay who qualifies for BadgerCare, said she sees the merits in the bill, but says the health-care crisis is so widespread she doubts whether the measure will bring meaningful change.
"Jim Doyle can say all he wants and he can make all these promises, but I don't see a lot of things changing or happening," she said.
As for Wal-Mart, which said in November that it would offer lower health-insurance premiums to its employees this month, the company says it's "exploring ideas and working hard to find solutions to America's health-care challenge."
Wal-Mart, Wisconsin's largest employer with more than 26,000 workers, says AB 860 will cause more harm than good.
"This bill will effectively impose a new tax on doing business in Wisconsin, which will cost jobs, slow economic growth and hurt the competitiveness of the state's business climate," the company said in its news release.
