To the editor:

Week after week, I’ve read negative comments about my company in your newspaper, and I cannot let this continue without setting the record straight.

Wal-Mart is a good company and a good employer. We operate with the highest ethical standards in everything we do, from our service to our customers to our relationships with our employees and suppliers.

A new Wal-Mart in a community means new jobs, commerce and tax revenues that help fund basic services like police and fire protection and schools. Last year, Wal-Mart generated $8.5 billion in sales tax revenues for our communities.

Our associates find competitive wages at our company. The nationwide average Wal-Mart associate makes $9.64 per hour and works approximately 36 hours per week. This amounts to an average annual compensation of approximately $18,046 for the three-fourths of our associates who work full-time. Our employees also find a full array of benefits, including health insurance, 401(k) contributions, profit-sharing, store discount cards, performance-based bonuses and unlimited opportunity. These are great jobs that people want. It’s why our turnover for hourly associates is nearly a third less than the national average for retailers.

Our relationships with our suppliers are mutually beneficial to our businesses. Many thousands have seen their business grow beyond their expectations thanks to Wal-Mart’s customers.

Those customers are why 300 of us in Lawrence come to work every day, and we want them to know the truth about our company.

Richard Chappelle,

store manager,

Lawrence Wal-Mart