Winners and Losers

Kelly Gray, a mother of five, lost her job as a Raley’s supermarket clerk after Wal-Mart’s expansion into the grocery business in Las Vegas led Raley’s to shut 18 stores and lay off 1,400 workers.  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Glenn and Debbie Miraflor shop at a Wal-Mart in Las Vegas. Glenn, a member of Ironworkers Local 416, dislikes the retailer’s anti-union stance but asks, “Where else are you going to find a computer for $498?”  (Genaro Molina / LAT)

Rob Reed, seen on the sewing floor of his company “Stitches,” a sportswear company in the City of Commerce. After demands for lower prices squeezed his profit, he had to close down the factory.  (Carlos Chavez / LAT)

Isabel Reyes, 37, feeds her 2-year-old son at the home of a friend during her lunch break. Isabel works at a clothing factory in San Pedor Sula, Hondoras.  (Beatrice De Gea / LAT)

In San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Ariel Isaac Reyes, 2, sleeps in a hammock set up in the middle of the kitchen while his cousin, Joseph Reyes,12, watches him.  (Beatrice De Gea / LAT)

Mala, a Bangladesh apparel worker, shares a small room with 10 members of her cousin’s family. She used to work for a factory that produced garments for Wal-Mart, but she quit that job because the hours were too long.  (Rafiqur Rahman Raqu / For the Times)