With employees protesting Wal-Mart's anti-union stance, Obama is scheduled to announce today a suite of plans to promote energy efficiency and solar power use.
"One of the big success stories is that the solar industry is booming," Dan Utech, special assistant to the president for energy and climate change, told reporters yesterday. "In the last six years, solar installations in this country have increased around elevenfold, from 1.2 gigawatts to an estimated 13 gigawatts today, enough to power more than 2 million American homes."
Obama is seeking to make addressing climate change part of his legacy in office. This week the administration released a National Climate Assessment that supporters and critics say lays the groundwork for new efforts to curb emissions blamed for global warming.
Recommended For You
His strategy includes promoting greater use of renewable energy and making buildings and vehicles more efficient. Solar panels were recently installed on the roof of the White House and Obama routinely mentions home appliance energy-use improvements and stronger fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks on his list of accomplishments.
Solar Industry
As the solar industry in the U.S. has faltered, jobs have moved to China. Part of today's announcement includes training U.S. workers for skills needed in the solar industry. It comes three years after the bankruptcy of solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC, which received a $535 million U.S. loan guarantee.
Obama will make the announcement today at a Wal-Mart store in Mountain View, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Wal-Mart is committing to double the number of onsite solar energy projects at its U.S. stores, Sam's Clubs and distribution centers by 2020, according to a White House fact sheet. That pledge is part of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company's previously announced goal to produce or procure 7 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy by end of decade, according to fact sheet.
By choosing to make the announcement at Wal-Mart, Obama will speak at a company that is under criticism from unions and has said it's neutral on his push to raise the minimum-wage. The company's political action committee and executives direct the majority of their campaign contributions to Republicans.
Wal-Mart PAC
Wal-Mart's PAC has donated $576,000 to federal candidates in the 2014 election, of which 53 percent went to Republicans and 47 percent went to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that tracks campaign giving.
Jim Walton, the youngest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, is a major Republican donor, contributing $200,000 to a super-political action committee that aided Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign for president.
Alice Walton, Sam Walton's youngest child, also gave $200,000 to a pro-Romney super-PAC, while also giving $25,000 in November to a super-PAC that's urging Democrat Hillary Clinton to run for president.
Christy Walton, the world's richest woman and the widow of Sam Walton's other son, donated $50,000 in 2011 to a super-PAC that promoted Republican Jon Huntsman's White House bid. While her donations skew Republican, she's donated to some Democrats including Obama in September 2008 and U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey in 2013.
Labor Critics
Groups supporting organized labor are criticizing Obama's choice of Wal-Mart, saying it sends a mixed message about his commitment to raising wages for the lowest-paid U.S. workers. Obama is pushing Congress to increase the U.S. minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and has praised companies including Costco Wholesale Corp. and the Gap Inc. for increasing their minimum pay absent the government requiring them to do so.
A fundraiser Obama attended last night for the Democratic National Committee was co-hosted by Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, who is on Wal-Mart's board.
Clinton, a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2016, used to serve on Wal-Mart's board. Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, lived in Arkansas when he was the state's governor.
A Wal-Mart worker named Charmaine Givens-Thomas planned to attend last night's fundraiser and give Obama a petition signed by about 200,000 people asking him to meet with Wal-Mart workers to hear about their working conditions and pay.
–With assistance from Lisa Lerer and Greg Giroux in Washington.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
