Walmart Letter Writing Campaign in Support of IVN Continues with NAEJA

Upland, CA– Several weeks ago the local Pomona Walmart removed the Inland Valley Newspapers from its store. Someone called the newspaper and delivered that message and said that it was a direct order from the regional manager. We have later learned that the person who called was not who he said he was but the decision was made by someone in the organization.

“Walmart had been a newspaper supporter and distribution point for the past five years as well as a sponsor of the newspaper’s annual gala for the same length of time, said Tommy Morrow, publisher of the paper.

Numerous calls have been made to the local manager, Javier Angulo, Walmart Corporate Affairs Unit, Los Angeles, CA with no return calls. Numerous people have called the office and written letters of support to have the Inland Valley Newspaper put back in the Walmart and there has been no resolve.

Royce Esters, President of the National Association for Equal Justice in America (NAEJA) led a community forum at the office of the Inland Valley News to address the issue with Walmart. One of the suggestions that came out of that meeting was to set a timeline for a response and begin a massive letter writing campaign to aid the executives in making a decision to place the Inland Valley News back in the Walmart.

Written below is the sample letter and addresses to send to Walmart Executives. If you are one of the 2000 people who were picking up the papers at the Pomona store or you are sensitive to the plight of the Inland Valley News please write a letter of support.

Listed below is a sample letter:

Dear _________________________

I am writing this support letter on behalf of the Inland Valley News. I am a Walmart shopper. As a shopper of your store and one who would get my copy of the Inland Valley News from the Pomona, CA, store I wanted to let you know how I felt about the newspapers being taken from the store.

It is an inconvenience for me to not be able to get the newspaper from where I shop and the circumstances upon which the papers were removed causes me some concern about your commitment to the African American community.

I am respectfully requesting that Walmart listen to the concerns of the community members who patron your Pomona Walmart and that the Inland Valley Newspapers are placed back in the Pomona store.

Respectfully,

Mail this letter and e-mail it to the executives as well. Please e-mail a courtesy copy to editor@inlandvalleynews.com. We truly appreciate your help and support in this matter. Our voices will be heard.

Corporate and E-mail addresses for WalMart Executives:

Michael Bender, EVP and President, Walmart West, 4127 E. Van Buren Ste. 250 Phoenix, AZ 85008
Michael.bender@wal-mart.com

Leslie Dach, EVP Corporate Affairs, 702 SW 8th Street, Bentonville, AR 72716
L1dach@wal-mart.com

Margaret Sans, VP Public Affairs, 702 SW 8th Street, Bentonville, AR 72716
Maggie.sans@wal-mart.com

Sivo Aisabonghi, Store Manager, Pomona Walmart, 80 Rio Rancho Road, Pomona, CA 91766

Jerry Spencer
Jerry.spencer@wal-mart.com

Kimberly Sentovich
Kimberly.sentovich@wal-mart.com