Marylanders stand up to Wal-Mart. Who's next?

Last night, the nation's eyes were on Maryland as Fair Share Health Care became that state's law and the first of its kind in the country.

A bill originally vetoed by Republican Governor Ehrlich in 2005, the Fair Share Health Care Act now requires Maryland's largest employers - those with over 10,000 employees - to live up to an employers' responsibility to make healthcare affordable to all employees.

The Fair Share Health Care bill didn't target Wal-Mart, as its opponents claimed. Instead, Wal-Mart's negligence forced it into the bull's-eye. Of Maryland's five largest employers, only Wal-Mart failed to meet the minimal standards set for healthcare expenditures for its more than 17,000 Maryland workers.

News of yesterday's victory in Annapolis is spreading to state houses across the country like wild fire. The message? -- That citizens everywhere are ready to fight! Wal-Mart's deep pockets, expensive New York PR firms, and high-powered Washington lobbyists have met their match.

Click here to help lay the groundwork for action in your state.

Over the past year, Wal-Mart Watch and our partners nationwide have been quietly building networks of activists, community leaders and elected officials who together represent an unstoppable force for change.

This is not just another political campaign. This is a call for reform that requires thoughtful dialogue and bipartisan state-and-community-specific partnerships. Above all, this fight requires you, your support, your willingness to stand up for what's right for your hometown.

Please join me in standing up today to say loudly and clearly that it is unacceptable that America's largest employer, a company with annual profits of $10 billion, has a health care plan that covers less than half of its employees. After all, Wal-Mart could make these changes for itself. But since it refuses to, we will continue to support local communities and states who believe the health care crisis must be solved now.

Click here to join the fight now.

This story is on the cover of major newspapers around the world today - The New York Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and The Guardian of London. Now it needs to spread in your hometown. Please take a few seconds to help stand for efforts in other states where similar bills are being considered, including:

* Colorado
* Connecticut
* New Hampshire
* Rhode Island
* Washington

Click here for a full list of states.

Help seize this moment by signing your name in support of reform measures in your state and telling your friends and family to do the same. Help build and strengthen the ties between your local lawmakers and your community to effectively wage this important battle.

http://walmartwatch.com/getlocal

The people of Maryland won a huge victory yesterday. There are many more to look forward to as we all work to improve the lives of working families everywhere.

Thank you for all you do,

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Andrew Grossman
Executive Director

Paid for by WalmartWatch.com, a campaign of Five Stones and The Center for Community and Corporate Ethics