Alternet has the story…

From slashing employee healthcare, to stalling on wage increases, to investing in unsustainable energy and selling offensively labeled Halloween costumes, Walmart has stooped to new lows in October. Walmart workers have been fighting back, such as two weeks ago when hundreds of employees and their supporters ralliedin front of Walmart heiress Alice Walton’s luxury New York City condo. Twenty-six of them were arrested.

While Walmart workers are gaining attention and its CEO has implied the company will be raising wages, here is a list of five of Walmart’s newest lows.

1. Walmart cuts healthcare for 30,000 workers.

Earlier this month, Walmart announced it would be cutting healthcare for its 30,000 part-time workers—those working fewer than 30 hours per week on average. Walmart, one of the most profitable retailers in the country, said its healthcare costs were getting too high. Some rejoiced, claiming that workers could get better, more affordable insurance with Obamacare anyway. In reality, part-time workers in conservative states where GOP governors won’t expand Medicaid may not qualify for Obamacare.

The incident also incited a closer inspection of Walmart’s health insurance options for its full-time workers. Erik Sherman pointed out on Forbes that the plans it offers are inadequate and unaffordable to the workers who make such low wages.

2. Walmart heirs donate millions to groups that don’t support sustainable energy.

A new study from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) found that the Walton family’s $4 million plus donations to anti-solar groups are “impeding America’s transition to a clean energy future.” These groups include the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). In addition the report found that the Waltons are the largest stockholders of First Solar, a company that campaigns against rooftop solar panels. ILSR notes that since Walmart launched its environmental campaign in 2005, its self-reported greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 14 percent.

As Mother Jones observed, “there’s no direct evidence that the Waltons’ foundation donated to these groups because of their opposition to policies promoting renewables.” This is because, they continued, the groups “are involved in a host of conservative and free-market issues beyond energy.” So not only are the Walton Family Foundation’s donations having a detrimental impact on clean energy growth, they are surely also contributing to a multitude of other harmful operations.

3. Walmart launches hypocritical anti-hunger campaign.

Speaking of campaigns, Walmart recently launched a new feel-good campaign of its own, which is aimed at fighting hunger. This is despite the fact that Walmart workers use $300 million in federal taxpayer money for food stamps. Called “Fight Hunger, Spark Changes,” the campaign asked people to vote on a food bank they wanted to see win a big donation. When the contest closed at the beginning of the month, the top 50 food banks with the most votes were given $60,000. While donating money to fighting hunger isn’t exactly a “low,” the corporation’s silence on the fact that its workers struggle to feed themselves and their families is deafening.

Writing for Inside Philanthropy, David Callahan wrote:

“It’s been widely documented that Walmart workers routinely face food insecurity. Things are bad enough that one Walmart in Ohio held a food drive last Thanksgiving for its own employees. …We write often about the shameless contradictions of corporate philanthropy, with grant dollars cleaning up the messes created by parent companies (and distracting attention from those messes). But this one takes the cake.”

4. Walmart sells offensive Halloween costumes.

Walmart is tone-deaf in other ways as well, such as its latest line of Halloween costumes. Those searching for plus-size costumes on Walmart’s website this week were categorized with an awful label: “Fat Girl Costumes.” After one Twitter user tweeted the image, which went viral, Walmart issued an apology.