A committee of 16 people, partially financed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has organized Working Families for Wal-Mart, whose job will be to talk about what they see as Wal-Mart’s positive contributions.

The group formed at a time when Wal-Mart has stepped up its responses to attacks from two political-campaign style groups backed by unions, who claim Wal-Mart is bad for its workers, their communities and the U.S. economy.

Steering committee members include Florida state Rep. Jennifer Carroll of Jacksonville; singer Pat Boone; and independent film maker Ron Galloway, who released “Why Wal-Mart Works & Why That Makes Some People C-R-A-Z-Y.”