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Co-op America calls on Wal-Mart to pay its fair share for employee health care.

According to a 2004 study by the Democratic Staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, federal taxpayers spend an average of $420,750 for each Wal-Mart store, because of the high level of public assistance needed by Wal-Mart workers.

By 2005, three states (Georgia, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) had studied the Wal-Mart effect on state health care programs, with each finding a significant Wal-Mart-created burden for taxpayers – as high as $6.6 million a year in Georgia.

In early 2006, the nonprofit organization Wake-Up Wal-Mart found that public health care for Wal-Mart employees cost American taxpayers $1.37 billion in 2005, with 57 percent of the company's workforce not covered by insurance.

With mounting evidence of Wal-Mart's taxpayer burden, the Maryland state legislature passed the Fair Share Health Care Act in 2005, requiring that large employers like Wal-Mart spend at least 8 percent of worker payroll on health care or support the state's Medicaid fund with the difference. The bipartisan legislature was so united on this bill that they overrode the governor's veto, only to see a Maryland judge strike it down in July.

The judge's ruling came as a response to a lawsuit by the Retail Industry Leaders Association – of which Wal-Mart is a member.

Take a stand today with Co-op America against Wal-Mart's non-stop efforts to increase profits and keep down costs – at the expense of people and the planet.

Here's what you can do.

1. Tell Wal-Mart You Expect Better. Write a letter to Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott demanding better, more complete health care for Wal-Mart employees. Tell him that as a taxpayer, you expect your tax dollars to support those who are truly in need, not those whose employers refuse to provide adequate health care. Tell him you want to see Wal-Mart's profits supporting its employees, not supporting legal challenges to state laws designed to protect taxpayers. Write to:

Mr. H Lee Scott
Wal-Mart Stores
702 SW Eighth St
Bentonville, AR 72716-6209

2. Get the Guide. Download a copy of our guide, Beyond the Wal-Mart Economy – a popular resource for educating consumers, communities, and businesses how they can work together to stop Wal-Mart's harmful effects on workers and the environment.

3. Learn More about Wal-Mart’s History of Abuse and educate others. Check out their profile on Responsible Shopper and email it to friends, family, and co-workers.

4. Tell Wal-Mart You are Shopping Green . Let Wal-Mart know that you want all of your purchases year round to help, not harm, workers, communities and the environment and that's why you are choosing to Buy Green. Help Wal-Mart see that consumers support businesses that respect people and the planet.

5. Go Green. If you want to shop with your values, support green and Fair Trade businesses that are on the cutting edge of social and environmental sustainability. Search the National Green Pages™ for businesses that can meet all of your needs.