Wal-Mart is planning on building a new store in Joliet, Chicago. At a council meeting to approve a recording plat before construction can start, many people criticized Wal-Mart for its history with labor issues. Joliet, whose economy was dominated by industry and manufacturing until recently, is populated by many union workers. A union hoping to organize Wal-Mart workers would like to see the Joliet store be the first place where a union contract is achieved. Wal-Mart has stated that it is not anti-union and that it plans to bid the construction contracts fairly.
See "Union work key to Wal-Mart vote", Ken O'Brien, Chicago Tribune, July 16, 2003