Creating a Better Environment for Workers at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart, the world's largest corporation, has been grabbing headlines with environmentally friendly initiatives, like increasing the fuel efficiency of their fleet and pushing compact fluorescent light bulbs. But Wal-Mart continues to abuse and neglect our world's most important natural resource: people.
Peoplepower
By virtue of its huge market size, Wal-Mart maintains control over supplier products, costs and behavior. The upside of "big" is that efforts the company makes to, say, decrease packaging of products by suppliers, can be deployed without significant resistance. Who's to say no? The downside of "big," of course, is that the company's depressed wages and benefits create a floor upon which the entire discount industry stands. Wal-Mart should use its economic power to pull its workers up instead of holding them down.
A 2005 UC Berkeley study revealed that Wal-Mart paid hourly workers an average wage of $9.68 per hour, with other retailers averaging $11.08. Wal-Mart offered its hourly workers benefits worth 73 percent of comparable companies. And cases and lawsuits alleging off-the-clock labor dwarf those of comparable companies. Annual reports for 2004-2005 reveal no instances at Target and CostCo. For Wal-Mart, reports list 44 cases in the previous 10 years.
A Woman's Place?
Wal-Mart also has a long way to go to create an environment that's friendly for women. The behemoth faces the largest class-action suit in history, exceeding 1.6 million workers. This contrasts sharply with the magnitude of gender discrimination reported for comparable discount retailers like Target and Costco. According to numbers compiled by the plaintiffs, female store managers earn an average of 86 percent the annual income of male counterparts. And while women comprised 79 percent of hourly paid department heads, a mere 15.5 percent are store managers.
Wal-Mart and Unions
Wal-Mart's notorious union bashing also sets the industry bar. The company's strategy includes personality tests that determine applicants' union sympathy, anti-union videos, and a 56-page managers' manual on how to remain union free. Any sign of union activity, and the company dispatches a strike force from Bentonville. The store eliminated all its meat-cutting departments after butchers in a Texas store voted to unionize. And the company shut down a store in Quebec that voted for a union.
Benefits Free Loaders
Of course, for Wal-Mart "associates," as Sam Walton proudly christened them, no one is "holding a gun to their head" to work there. But, is somewhere short of felony assault the place to set the bar for responsible conduct by the largest company in the history of the world? The company claims the U.S. government should step up to the plate and level the playing field with a universal health care system. Universal health care is long overdue, but let's not let Wal-Mart's PR machine hijack reality. It's their job to play on the field that exists and that field is desperately tilted, with mothers grabbing at the sidelines, children in tow. Wal-Mart has gained a reputation as a free loader, topping the list of employers that are major users of state-provided health insurance programs aimed at low-income families in 11 of 13 states that have reported. One in nine Wal-Mart family members is getting state-provided health care, according to WakeUp Wal-Mart.
Scott the CEO
Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott, who once called Wal-Mart critics "nibbling guppies" should recognize his power to lead the world in a better direction. CEOs are national and international leaders, and they can have reputations as corporate citizens or as cheats. Think Southwest Airlines, Patagonia, Body Shop, OR Enron and WorldCom. Increasingly CEOs survive or falter based on their stock performance as well as their public record. And Scott, the CEO, has made strides on environmental sustainability. Now he should take the lead in taking care of employees; there's lots of room for improvement.
There's evidence that paying better wages might not hurt Wal-Mart's bottom line at all. The company's staff turnover rate approaches 50 percent, indicating that workers tend to head for the door as soon as a more lucrative job opportunity appears. This revolving door has costs that are absorbed into Wal-Mart's operating budget. According to a Forbes article by James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler III, professors at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, offering "low wages paradoxically generate a variety of negative employee behaviors that add to the overall cost of doing business." They document that lower paying companies have significantly higher turnover rates than those at well-paying companies. Costco Wholesale pays its workers $17 an hour on average and 85 percent of Costco employees receive health insurance, compared to wages nearing $10 an hour with less than half of the workers receiving health insurance at Sam's Club, Wal-Mart's wholesale club.
Wal-Mart Overseas
Wal-Mart's labor troubles extend far beyond our borders to China, where the majority of the company's products are manufactured. According to a terrific PBS Frontline documentary, the loss of well-paying jobs in the United States has a direct correlation to Wal-Mart's push to create an endless supply of cheap consumer goods. Wal-Mart's own figures show it imports more than $15 billion of Chinese goods every year. China's low wages and lax regulatory environment are the perfect levers for Wal-Mart's bullying practices. It's a reminder that "everyday low prices" come at a cost, and that cost is paid by Chinese workers, who toil long hours for paltry wages.
As consumers, we have the right to demand that the world's largest corporation set a fair standard for labor -- at home and abroad. With continued pressure and a major change of heart, Wal-Mart could turn its company into a model for how it works with folks. In the meantime, Wal-Mart should be held accountable for following existing laws.
The next time we step into a Wal-Mart, let's look beyond the price tags to the people behind.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
And, also, some people whine, snivel, malinger, and slack, and can't well get out of their own way to begin with, and should probably be fired.
MOST businesses in America treat their employees like crap. It's not just Walmart. Low wages and health benefits that employees can not afford along with last minute "you have to work late" are the norm anymore. Try to unionize in any business in America and I assure you you will be fired.
A study of college students recently found Wal-Mart named #2 of the top 10 socially responsible companies. I'm guessing the PR push behind their support of some green technology (spiral lightbulbs) have overcome their horrible record on worker treatment.
http://zak
Sparxafire!
A huge percentage of wal mart employees are only able to afford to work there when they are subsidized by a parent or spouse. Most parents and spouses work at small businesses. Thus, it is these smaller businesses that pay the salaries that make the house payment, and the car payment, etc. for the wal marter who cannot afford to.
That's obscene.
Did you know that some Walmarts actually hand out food stamp and welfare applications to new hires? Even Walmart knows most people can't live on what they pay.
As true as it is that Wal-mart employees are treated unfairly in almost every sense of the word, I always have to let people know that there is this little company called "Target" that follows the same practices--little pay for employees (After working 40 hours a week for a year for them, I got a 35 cent raise--woohoo!). Healthcare plans are pitiful too. So those of you who spend your time criticizing Wal-mart for the way they treat their employees, you may want to consider diversifying! Target deserves your attention, too.
This is a great quick round up of the many issues that Wal-Mart negatively impacts. Just recently 23 organizations together produced "Wal-Mart's Sustainability Initiative: A Civil Society Critique" which talks about everything from global warming to healthcare to organics to sweatshops. You can view the report at http://www
I stopped in a produce market in town FIRST to shop the local groweres BEFORE i go get groceries. I was happy to hear them say they that more and more people are doing that. The prices are better...i
Many are not so lucky. Single parent families can't speak up; they are afraid of losing their jobs. They have to buy groceries in a period of rising food costs; they have to pay for energy in a period of rising energy costs; they have to save for medical costs and rising education costs. Speaking out in WalMart is a risky affair. WalMart has closed stores completely to avoid unikons. I do not shop in Walmart. They are not good employers though they can afford to be and they are the beneficiaries of the blow living wages that make it possible to produce cheap goods for WalMart. So you have virtual slavery in Asia and exploited employees in America. Plus, though they say they are going green they aren't. To sell to WalMart, manufacturers cannot afford to stop polluting. The companies who left to manufacture in Asia and sell back to the States dumped labour problems and pollution controls.
"They are not good employers though they can afford to be". That is what really rubs me. I will NEVER shop there no matter what.
It's more than a bit ironic to see "progressives" complaining about WalMart's labor practices, when their leaders have supported WalMart's attempts to keep prices just as low as they can go.
Namely, after the 2003 raid where employees of "subcontractors" were found to be earning just dollars a day, Nancy Pelosi accused her own government of terrorizing workers: http://lon
No matter how you want to spin it, that has the effect of discouraging immigration raids, which has the effect of encouraging illegal immigration and thus lower wages for legal workers.
.
Progressivism arose as a response to the vast changes brought by industrialization. Progressivism historically advocates the advancement of workers' rights, and social justice. The progressives were early proponents of anti-trust laws, the regulation of large corporations, monopolies, as well as government-funded, environmentalism, the creation of National parks, and Wildlife Refuges.
How I see it, beeing labeled a progressive seems fiting to us humans. I learned in medicine the disadvantages of labeling. You miss so much of the picture when doing so. I'm just a cool guy who thinks of more than just myself. A much, much more exciting way to live.
Latina Lista has some great views concerning immigration.
.
I don't shop at a Wal Mart. I discourage my friends from shopping at a Wal Mart. I think Sam Walton, a proud American, would be ashamed of his billionaire heirs who have turned his dream of neighborhood service with quality goods, at low prices into a US nightmare and irresponsible Corporate Citizen of the world.
I don't shop at Walmart either... but I used to be a good customer. I then became an educated customer. I read the Memo, I read about the 400 employees who walked out (and were not unionized), I read of their shameful manipulations of employees, etc. Guess what - I'd rather pay more and/or live with less. I will NEVER shop or frequent any business where my fellow Americans are not treated decently. NEVER.
There use to be a day when i went to see my grandparents in this small town. The town would close early, and on week ends; so people would have time with the ones they love. The shops were very friendly, and knew thier stuff. I miss my grandparents small town. Most the town folk now work part time for walmart. Later, i learned my parents owned stock in walmart. After reading more about how these small towns are losing thier trades, no longer able to pass thier skills / business to thier sons: it makes me sad. At the same time; one could notice a similar faith to our farmers.
To see how large companies affect our lively hood, one may wonder what is the real cost ; what exactly did we save while shopping at walmart.
Lately, I have heard alot about people speaking out at town meetings. Asking thier representives to not permit places like walmart in thier cities. This is great; and we all need to do more of it. When people get together, wonderful things can happen. So, lets get all these small towns back opened; and learn a skill from our elders. It is all about community; civics. .
To meet the real Wal-Mart go here
http://www
I've got an idea: If you don't like working at WalMart, don't work at Walmart.
Nice idea but what if they've wiped out your downtown and there aren't many other places like so many areas.
Of course with a turnover of 50% /year there are lots of ex Walmart employees.
I am a long term Wal-Mart employee ( I refuse to use the condescending "associate" title. I and my fellow employees would share in pro-rated company profits if that were true! ).
I have often used management fear of unions to more of what we deserve.
Example: two years ago we were told that we would not receive a bonus because our RATE of increase was not as good as the previous year.
I spoke up at the meeting, "What are we supposed to do? Start talking union?".
The other employees thought they had seen the last of me, but I am still there AND we mysteriously got a bonus.
The company plays on peoples fears to not speak up. I have money in the bank, and have talents and income ability way beyond this employer. I let them know that I will give 100% every day, but that I am unafraid of not working for them.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
