In a surprise move today, the Wal-Mart board announced that CEO Lee Scott was stepping down and that Vice-Chairman Mike Duke, who runs Wal-Mart’s international division, would take his place. In 2005, I wrote an article for the Prospect that told the tale of Jim Bill Lynn, a true-blue Wal-Mart executive who, upon discovering appalling conditions for workers in Wal-Mart’s Central American factories, reported his findings to his superiors – all the way up the chain to Mike Duke. Lynn was then subjected to harassment and surveillance from the company, until he was compelled to resign. For the role that Wal-Mart’s new CEO played in this disgraceful tale, read Jim Bill Lynn’s sad story.
--Harold Meyerson
