Editorial: A warm greeting to Wal-Mart

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Updated: February 27, 2012 9:48AM

Elsewhere in the nation, the news about Wal-Mart is the company’s decision to do without its famous greeters during overnight hours, which bums us out. Even at 2 a.m., we like a nice greeting.

Here in Chicago the Wal-Mart news is more welcome: On Wednesday the chain opened its second supercenter in town. A third will open later this year in Pullman, and several dozen more are to open in 2015.

The newly opened store, at 83rd and Stewart, was the center of an eight-year political battle with labor unions, who sought to block it partly because Wal-Mart pays its employees too little. Eventually, the retailer agreed to pay its workers here at least $8.75 an hour, 50 cents more than the state’s minimum wage. It was a win-win for Wal-Mart and Chicago.

The store will provide jobs for local residents, fresh fruit and vegetables for the neighborhood and tax revenue for the city.

The store deserves a heartfelt greeting of its own.