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SANDY - They waved signs, shouted slogans and even staged a mock chain gang led by caricatures of Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott and China's President Hu Jintao to dissuade shoppers from visiting the new Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Yet despite their best efforts and the intermittent honking of horns by passers-by sounding their support, the nearly two dozen picketers representing Utah Jobs with Justice and the National Organization for Women failed to thin the number of shoppers looking for bargains.
Still, the protesters were as undaunted.
"We're here trying to let people know that Wal-Mart violates the rights of laborers both in this country and in China" where much of the merchandise it sells is manufactured, said Linda Parsons, spokeswoman for Utah Jobs with Justice.
Parsons argues Wal-Mart and its vendors in China, with the support of that country's government, make it a practice of exploiting indigenous laborers by paying low wages, offering few if any benefits and forcing their employees to work long hours in sub-standard conditions. "And they bust labor unions in China and here in the United States."
Such protests aren't new for the largest retailer, frequently attacked by activist organizations and labor union backers who describe the company as a corporate bully eager to bolster its profits at the expense of its workers.
The protest in Sandy, however, marked one of the first times activist organizations have attempted to link together what they contend is the poor treatment of workers in China with those in this country.
"I believe that is a new twist," Wal-Mart spokesman Bill Wertz said. "What they fail to mention is that the jobs we offer in China as well as those at our suppliers are considered among the best opportunities available in that country."
When jobs are available in China people line up hoping to get hired on by Wal-Mart, he said.
Wal-Mart routinely inspects the plants of its suppliers in China and other countries to ensure their employees are treated fairly, that wages are competitive and the working conditions safe, Wertz said. "And our suppliers who don't live up to our standards risk losing our business."
Rich Vedder, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., who has researched Wal-Mart's impact on the economy, said it is common for protesters to appear at the opening of new stores.
"A lot of it is sparked by labor union resentment," he said, noting that Wal-Mart isn't a union employer. "The China angle is somewhat novel, though. And I think it is probably a bogus issue."
Vedder said he is unaware of any scholarly research or study that suggests Wal-Mart or its suppliers offer wages in China that are substandard compared with other companies operating in that country.
"And I've never heard anyone claim that workers at the companies in China that supply Wal-Mart are treated any differently than those working at the thousands of suppliers who provide merchandise to Home Depot, Best Buy or any of the other big corporations," he said.
But Joey Caputo at NOW, who helped organize the protest, said Wal-Mart's treatment of its workers here and abroad has become a transnational issue. He said Wal-Mart contributes to the feminization of poverty by promoting a low-wage economy.
"Many women have a difficult time finding jobs that pay well here and in China," he said. "And Wal-Mart is right there exploiting weaknesses in U.S. trade policies, forcing good-paying American jobs overseas and then exploiting indigenous peoples."
Wal-Mart shopper Dan Oredson, of Sandy, said he thought the protesters were ridiculous. "If someone isn't happy with the wages Wal-Mart pays they can go get a job somewhere else," he said.