Chicago Mayor Richard Daley was in rare form yesterday in announcing the opening of more Walmarts in the city. His speech felt more like a camapign rally or even church sermon than a ribbon-cutting ceremony. He told a gathering in the South Side neighborhood of Englewood that two more stores would create 1,000 jobs. Recalling the fierce six-year battle over Walmarts with organized labor in Chicago, Daley said, "When it comes to people who need a job, don't wait for six years anymore."

If only it were that simple. The mayor is correct, in theory, that building Walmarts on the South Side will bring jobs, though the net gain or loss needs to be tracked carefully; a study last year found Walmart's presence on the West Side caused other outlets to shutter and lay off their employees. But the Walmart fight wasn't about blocking jobs (an argument Daley made yesterday while invoking race) -- it was about livable wages and decent working conditions. It was about demanding more from a massive multinational that hasn't treated its employees well. The fight was about avoiding what community organizers called a "race to the bottom" and demanding city government stand with everyday working people. "It's the role of government to ensure its citizens that you should not have to work a 40-hour week and still be living in poverty and then have to rely on the government for food stamps and Medicaid," St. Sabina's Rev. Michael Pfleger said of the fight back in 2009.

It was about creating good jobs. But Daley doesn't remember any of that.