What Do Wal-Mart's Employees Have to be Thankful For?
What do Wal-Mart's employees have to be thankful for this season? Perhaps not as much as they would like. The company's health care plan is still far short of the beneficial panacea the company would have us believe, and store employees are working harder than ever as the retailer continues to understaff stores. 1.6 million current and former Wal-Mart employees still await the outcome of the landmark class action Dukes v. Wal-Mart, and workers in Wal-Mart's supplier factories are working overtime in inhumane conditions to meet the company's holiday demands.
Wal-Mart executives can't be happy, either. The company's "green" report -- a thinly veiled marketing ploy - recieved a critical response from environmentalists and didn't win over critics as the company hoped it would. Wal-Mart's stock continues to decline, and shareholders are becoming increasingly impatient with the company's superficial attempts to solve its reputational issues.
So what can we be thankful for this year? We can still come together to try to change these things about Wal-Mart, and improve its behavior as the largest corporation in the world. Join our mailing list at the top of this page, and become one of the thousands of people working to make Wal-Mart a better corporate citizen.
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(Didn't see the post, so I'm resending my opinion)
I hear a lot of people on Huffington Post bash Wal-Mart as some kind of evil mega corporartion. I don't remember which democrat it was (might have been Bill Richardson) who was interviewed in a news segment I watched regarding Wal Mart earlier this year.
He made the point that Wal-Mart helps approx. 10 million of the poorest people in this country afford food and merchandise that would cost much more elsewhere. A family can typically buy 25% more food at Super Wal-Mart than at the local grocery.
His point was that if Wal Mart increases the health coverage for ten thousand employees, the 10 million poorest Americans who shop there will foot the bill for it (the Wal Mart executive interviewed confirmed that prices on a goods would increase to cover cost). I wish I had recorded the segment. It was excellent...and democrats rarely make excellent points.
I'm not surprised that democrats are ready to punish 10 million poor Americans to help just a small fraction of that.
I hear a lot of people on Huffington Post bash Wal-Mart as some kind of evil mega corporartion. I don't remember which democrat it was (might have been Bill Richardson) who was interviewed in a news segment I watched regarding Wal Mart earlier this year.
He made the point that Wal-Mart helps approx. 10 million of the poorest people in this country afford food and merchandise that would cost much more elsewhere. A family can typically buy 25% more food at Super Wal-Mart than at the local grocery.
His point was that if Wal Mart increases the health coverage for ten thousand employees, the 10 million poorest Americans who shop there will foot the bill for it (the Wal Mart executive interviewed confirmed that prices on a goods would increase to cover cost). I wish I had recorded the segment. It was excellent...and democrats rarely make excellent points.
I'm not surprised that democrats are ready to punish 10 million poor Americans to help just a small fraction of that.
You don't have to shop at WalMart to enrich them even more. It works like this. WalMart meets with the city council of the towns they want to "invade". They then agree to getting a tax abatement, have the roads going into their stores paid for by the taxpayers, traffic signs, , free waterlines,and and whatever else is needed until the store has been established for x amount of time. The town or small city assumes the debt and right before WalMart reaches the stage where they start paying into the local tax base, they move down the road under a new jurisdiction. closing the current store. Free ride all the way.
The mom and pop stores in these towns and small cities as a whole have never received one penny of tax abatement or help with anything in establishing their shops and stores. Within a short time, the competition from WalMart closes them down and the employees lose their job. The debts and unemployment are left behind for the taxpayers and the Walton family has increased their profits.
You never have to step foot into their store for them to reach into your pocket.
Wow...a lot of antagonism..and testosterone pumping up there between the 2 "political sciencers/sciencing/sciencamabobs..."
The point was...Wal Mart underpays and overworks its employees. The blams falls on communities who welcomed this mega store into their homes....wanting cheap...everything..
Why not buy 2 American Made toys for your kids..instead of 15?
I can't fault the people..yes under free will...apply for jobs at Wal Mart..hell...in many communities..it's the ONLY place to apply if one has a GED and no hope of higher education..The "mom and pop" stores, are gone..
pride in service..is gone... All the recent news stores about people camping out on Black Friday...never...ever...did one story talk about the poor retail workers..who had to get up a 2 a.m...to face a feeding frenzy of insane, bargain seeking shoppers (W's true patiots..as long as they shop)...for me..
I'd rather buy less...and TRY to find anything not made in China...than save a few bucks.
(and I'm lower middle class...)..
I just recently saw the documentary on Walmart, I thought it had some good stories to tell (lots of ex-employees, including some high up managers). What really got me, was how little the Walmart family actually contributes (less than $10,000) to "forcing" the employees to donate over 30 million dollars. Not every rich corporate owner can be a charitable as Bill Gates, but these cheapos are really phony when it comes to their charity. I have never shopped in Walmart because I have too much class and would rather buy quality, that will last a couple of years, then the cheap crap they sell.
By demanding lower and lower prices from the suppliers Wal-Mart forces is suppliers to move to other countries that can keep the cost down. I would like to see a return to the small Mom and Pop type stores and see if some of the people would return. They would be ideal if the little stores could open back in the central areas of small towns where people could walk instead of driving. Have a nice little general store and I bet you could get a return of the group that is mad.
The Walton family members are each worth 16 BILLION. Do the Christian thing and treat your employees fair.
I know this much, WalMart is doing more to provide prescription medications for seniors than the entire United States Government.
I was able to purchase my prescriptions this month for the first time in three months because of Medicare? No. Because of Part D prescription coverage? No. Because of WalMart offering hundreds of generic medications at a reasonable price.
What do Walmart employees have to be thankful for?
Answer: Having a job for which they applied .
It is reasonable to assume that no-one forced any employee to apply at Walmart.
It is reasonable to assume that each Walmart employee applied to Walmart for work and filled out an application. It is also reasonable to assume that each Walmart employee was either thankful for being accepted for employment or was being hypocritical in applying in the first place and then accepting.
To complain after asking for the job and then being granted employment is akin to biting the hand that you asked to please feed you. Of course, that does not bother many people who are not thankful for much.
As far for the author of this article, I wonder if he works for Walmart, and as such is a hypocrite, or if he simply sits on the outside giving a bad name to some Walmart employees who may actually be thankful for having a job for which they applied.
Personally, I have found Walmart employees helpful and friendly, and I appreciate the service which Walmart provides the communities where it is located.
Further, I wonder at the motivations of those who keep slamming it.
Enough.
Wal-Mart used to be all about "Made In America". What ever happened to that?
There is an employer in the northern 1/2 of my state that has 92 stores with over 600 employeesand pays $7.15 -7.30 an hour (state minimum is $7.15) and does not offer any healthcare except for vision and dental plans where the employee pays the same price as if they had purchased it directly.
The UFCW organized a store with a strong and supportive employee base and was voted in through an NLRB election.
The UFCW got bored, wuit trying to organize other stores and walked out on the bargaining unit. They kept whining that actually representing employees in contract negotiations took away time from their Walmart project.
They didn't even have the courtesy to tell the employees they wanted out. They stopped returning phone calls and sent them a letter by certified mail.
SO screw the UFCW and the cohorts with the Walmart Watch.
They don't even represent the employees who voted them in.
Incompetent jerks.
(And I'm a retired National Labor Relations Board field attorney.)
More exploitation!!
I don't do lead and neither do my children.
We can't trust our markets so go take a hike Wall Street.
Poison my children with botulismic meats, e-coli, and salmonella.
Come play with my lead filled toys, little girl how about a nice hoochy looking doll.
What about you son, says Santa, how about a bright shiney Tommy the Train with lead paint to gum your first teeth through.
Nope, you won't get another dime.
Ta Ta Walmart, either buy American, with the American customers or take a hike in our neighborhoods.
You know, we can K-Mart your asses and you wouldn't even know it till the doors closed.
Buy some more lead and watch what happens.
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