"After waging an aggressive public relations campaign against Wal-Mart [3] for three years, the company’s full-time, union-backed critics, who once vowed never to let up, are putting down their cudgels," writes Michael Barbaro. The critics are Wal-Mart Watch, sponsored by Andy Stern [4] and his Service Employees International Union [5], and WakeUpWalmart, which is financed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union. According to Barbaro, the friendlier relationship between the unions and Wal-Mart led the company to disband its controversial front group [6], Working Families for Wal-Mart [7]. "Shrill condemnations and embarrassing leaked documents are giving way to acknowledgments of progress -- and, in the case of Wal-Mart Watch, free advice." Through targeted labor and environmental initiatives, Wal-Mart has left its critics "navigating a complex situation in which they have to decide, issue by issue, whether to shake hands with the company or to slap it."