Public Relations 101: Taking the Battle to D.C.

In a third-floor office suite in downtown Washington, Wal-Mart staff members are planning a public-opinion counteroffensive. The retailer, once focused only on keeping its shelves stocked and its prices low, is doubling the size of its Washington lobbying operation. It is touting its charitable deeds, backed by a national advertising campaign and a website called walmartfacts.com Why? Because across town, a group of twentysomething activists working for a union-backed organization called Wake-Up Wal-Mart is preparing attacks on the corporate giant's reputation. In the group's office, littered with handwritten signs like THEY PROFIT, YOU PAY, is a map tracking the enemy's movements: the counties where Wal-Mart wants to open new stores.

The battle between Wal-Mart and its antagonists has a new front: Washington. After years of Wal-Mart's getting bashed by labor and other corporate critics, CEO Lee Scott decided in January to launch an aggressive campaign to defend his empire. "We have let other people shape our reputation," says Ray Bracy, a Wal-Mart vice president in charge of government relations, who has led its expanded Washington footprint. Scott has met face to face with Senate Republican leader Bill Frist, Democratic leader Harry Reid and many other lawmakers. Wal-Mart, which gave 78% of its $1.7 million in campaign contributions to Republicans in the 2004 cycle, is now giving about half to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

To respond to attacks, the company will soon set up a campaign-style war room called Action Alley in its headquarters, staffed by close to a dozen people, including a campaign manager. Wal-Mart's critics have also changed tack. The United Food and Commercial Workers, after failing to organize workers at Wal-Mart stores, is hoping to build national resistance to the retailer. The union hired Paul Blank, 29, former political director of Howard Dean's campaign, to lead Wake-Up Wal-Mart; Jim Jordan, who was one of John Kerry's campaign managers, is advising Wal-Mart Watch, a group affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. Wake-Up Wal-Mart is calling on parents to boycott the retailer as they shop for school supplies. The battle will heat up again in November, when documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald releases Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. You can expect a quick rebuttal. --By Perry Bacon Jr./Washington