walmart One more reason to boycott Walmart

[Ice_Blue]

Wal-Mart Asks Workers To Donate Food To Its Needy Employees

 

Wal-Mart logic: instead of paying workers a living wage, we can encourage low-wage workers to donate to less well-off workers.

 

 

Wal-Mart doesn?t pay its employees enough of a wage so that they can afford to buy quality food for Thanksgiving.  So one store in Cleveland had a novel idea: launch a food drive for its own employees. It?s targeted at the low-wage workers who could afford to donate food to other, even more low-wage workers.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported on the story, and now it?s being picked up by a number of outlets, including Business Insider.  ?Please Donate Food Items Here, so Associates in Need Can Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner,? read a sign advertising the drive affixed to a tablecloth.

"That Wal-Mart would have the audacity to ask low-wage workers to donate food to other low-wage workers ? to me, it is a moral outrage,? Norma Mills, who lives near the Wal-Mart in Cleveland, told the Plain Dealer. Some workers at Ohio Wal-Marts went on strike today.

Wal-Mart has defended the food drive as way of helping their employees.  ?This is part of the company's culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships,? said a company spokesperson.

 

 

More

 

Despicable.

 

 

[webeagle12]

I really don't understand how this company still stays afloat? Oh wait.. it's all thanks to Food Stamps.

[The Evil Overlord]

Why would anyone 'need' a reason to boycott walmart?

 

And I don't buy the 'to keep prices lower' BS, as ASDA in the UK is owned by walmart, and their food isn't exactly the nicest tasting, And our weekly shopping bill with actual comparison of reciepts proves they're only marginally cheaper than the same items purchased from Sainsbury's or indeed Tesco, note I'm referring to receipt comparisons made at home, not their price checker BS

[AnotherITguy]

what webeagle said

[Atomic Wanderer Chicken]

I loved buying stuff at Wal-Mart back in the early to mid 2000s. Now Wal-Mart has gone down hill in about everything. I now prefer to go to Target to buy things.

[webeagle12]

Why would anyone 'need' a reason to boycott walmart?

 

And I don't buy the 'to keep prices lower' BS, as ASDA in the UK is owned by walmart, and their food isn't exactly the nicest tasting, And our weekly shopping bill with actual comparison of reciepts proves they're only marginally cheaper than the same items purchased from Sainsbury's or indeed Tesco, note I'm referring to receipt comparisons made at home, not their price checker BS

 

There is more to the story that than offering low prices to consumers compare to your local supermarkets. Behind the scenes that company is full of greed compare to your local supermarket. See just for example, Folders company selling 26oz coffee for $8.99 to your supermarket company, and your supermarket charges you the consumer $9.50. But yet Walmart somehow selling the same can for $8.50 a can. How this happens you might ask? Well because Walmart is so big, they pretty much dictates what prices they will be paying to Folgers ( lets say 7.99) and if Folgers will say no, they pretty much will pull all the product off the shelf. So now because Folgers are losing money to one company, they will overcharge another company.

[The Evil Overlord]

There is more to the story that than offering low prices to consumers compare to your local supermarkets. Behind the scenes that company is full of greed compare to your local supermarket. See just for example, Folders company selling 26oz coffee for $8.99 to your supermarket company, and your supermarket charges you the consumer $9.50. But yet Walmart somehow selling the same can for $8.50 a can. How this happens you might ask? Well because Walmart is so big, they pretty much dictates what prices they will be paying to Folgers ( lets say 7.99) and if Folgers will say no, they pretty much will pull all the product off the shelf. So now because Folgers are losing money to one company, they will overcharge another company.

I understand that, My post was slightly a rant as It just happened to be something they advertise as something to be proud of, and in reality the difference is a ?10 plus or minus, also to add, I didn't realise they would be that petty as to pull an entire line but business to that level isn't something I'm educated in, I just drive the trucks :)

[webeagle12]

I understand that, My post was slightly a rant as It just happened to be something they advertise as something to be proud of, and in reality the difference is a ?10 plus or minus, also to add, I didn't realise they would be that petty as to pull an entire line but business to that level isn't something I'm educated in, I just drive the trucks :)

 

Yup I totally agree with you that their food pretty much sucks. I better buy quality food at higher price. :)

[+Red King Subscriber²]

Well if it is legal they will do it. Deal with it, wave your nation's flag proud, or vote to stop it.

[Anibal P]

NOOOOOOOOO

 

Go to people of Walmart, do you want those things infesting your local supermarket? I know I don't

 

As for the whole wage "controversy", remember iof not for Walmart those people would have NO JOB, it's their fault for not having the skill needed for a decent salary, there's a reason MOST people start at low or minimum wage and then go on to better paying jobs, skills and motivation, if you think Walmart, McD, or any other high turnout job is worthy of a career, then you deserve to make low pay, they are starter jobs or jobs for retirees looking to keep busy and make some extra money, they are not designed to support anything more that your average teenagers gaming habit

[COKid]

US Federal Minimum Wage: $7.25/hr.

Average Walmart Wage: $12.83/hr.

 

Also, did you know that, on average, Target pays their employees less than Walmart? My wife and I buy our groceries and many other items from Target. Otherwise we shop at King Soopers for groceries. I don't trust meat and produce from Walmart. I do appreciate that Target gives 5% back to the community. But please, if you think Target is some shining example of a great company compared to Walmart, you need to look past the headlines. Ask a Target cashier how much they get paid. It may surprise you how low it is.

 

Hey, we would all like to make more money, but I'd bet most Walmart employees are thankful to even have a job, given the lackluster economy and the fact that many of the positions are entry-level non-skilled ones. I've always considered them as "bottom rung" jobs anyway. Jobs for the young on their way up and for the older folks on their way down. They fill a niche, and unless a person wants to work toward a managerial position, they aren't really meant as a life-long career. Additionally, when I compare the parking lots of Target and Walmart in the Ft. Collins/Loveland area, Walmart's lots are always busier. So obviously, most people want the lower prices and couldn't care less about the workers. Sad, but true.

 

Anyway, whatever. I ramble. Here's part of a recent article by Ralph Nader about Target:

 

"Target -- The Emperor Has No Clothes!"

 

What's the difference between Target and Walmart? Many liberal-minded people bristle at the name Walmart and think of its well-documented history of low wages, poor employee treatment and its devastating effect on many small businesses and communities across America. Target, on the other hand, has managed to avoid much of the negativity associated with the Walmart brand. Target has instead tried to cultivate an image as the socially-conscious alternative to Walmart's evil big box retail empire -- it perpetuates the notion that it treats its workers better and provides higher quality goods and services, all without sinking to the same harsh lows as its Bentonville-based competitor. Many so-called "blue states" welcome Target with open arms while shunning Walmart for their anti-worker practices.

 

So this begs the question -- is Target really any better? Is this line of thinking justified?

 

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Target's record when it comes to workers is about the same. Look past the positive PR and one will find that Target pays many of its workers unconscionably low wages -- Target is the fourth largest low-wage employer in the country. Furthermore, the company is anti-union -- they require employees to watch anti-union propaganda and just last year Target was found to have intimidated workers and violated federal labor laws. Kind of reminds you of another corporate big box retail chain, doesn't it?

 

Target now employs over 340,000 workers in the United States. According to IBIS World, an independent market research company, the average wage for Target employees is in fact less than the average wage for workers at Walmart. And while many of these Target "team members" are paid a poverty-level wage, the compensation package of Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel amounted to over $28 million in 2012. That's almost $14,000 per hour! Shockingly, that's even more than Walmart's CEO, Mike Duke, who makes approximately $11,000 per hour. This type of inflated executive salary has become the troubling norm in greed-dominated Big Corporations, where CEOs have long taken advantage of cheap labor while achieving windfall profits.

 

Source and rest of article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-nader/target-walmart_b_4254981.html

 

And as to the original story, how is it "despicable" for people to help each other? I actually applaud Walmart for this particular program.

[Dot Matrix]

No different from the retailer I use to work at. They used to ask us to donate year round.

Every company does similar drives.

[Hum]

I really don't understand how this company still stays afloat? Oh wait.. it's all thanks to Food Stamps.

Don't forget about the fat women. :p

[+Raze Subscriber²]

This is not uncommon.  Companies have these drives to help their workers who may have a spouse and/or partner that is ill, unemployed, etc. 

[Caleo Global Moderator]

That's pretty rough, but the article is heavily biased.

[Mr. Gibs]

US Federal Minimum Wage: $7.25/hr.

Average Walmart Wage: $12.83/hr.

I used to know someone who worked at WalMart and they would increase her pay $0.60-$0.80 a year just for working there. Granted it's not the best job but how many other fast food / supermarkets places do that? Most are happy to just pay minimum wage and say too bad.

Hell if you stay long enough, and/or get better skills, and make it to a team manager at the store (ie shipping manager, grocery manager etc), and most of these places promote from within, you can make some pretty nice pay. Her boss made something like 96k a year and had his own boat, no university education either.

Yes WalMart isn't the best place in the world to work at and it's not some sort of giant angelic light. But it's not as bad as people make it out to be.

---

Random comparison between WalMart and Cost Plus world market. My wife worked at cost plus for 3 months while she was at school and it was horrible. Their pay was $9.80 an hour (oregon minimum wage is $8.90) and you're forced to get people to sign up for their rewards program. I think she said if you couldn't get at least 10 people in a day to give out their email, phone number, sign up for a credit card you could be fired for not working hard enough.

Most people aren't going to just give out their email and phone number or sign up for a rewards program they don't care about, even if you force them to. Hell constantly bugging them is just going to **** them off and then you've potentially lost a customer. But still that was the company policy and everyone was held to it.

[bradsday]

Whatever.  I freakin' love Walmart.  Besides, many companies ask for charitable contributions during the holidays.  This has nothing to do with the average employee salary (which as already stated, is considerably higher than national minimum wage) but rather the good will of the company.  I personally commend Walmart for helping the less fortunate during the holiday season.  We usually donate new coats for underprivileged children (Operation Warmth) and new toys to local orphanages (Toys for Tots) along with supporting can and clothing drives throughout the holidays.  All of these are either endorsed or directly supported by my company.  I genuinely don't see the issue - or the rally cry to boycott Walmart.

[zhangm Supervisor]

I guess I can't see this as a great evil. If it's a donation-based system, then isn't the company simply facilitating what its employees are willing to do anyway? At the same time, Walmart doesn't have a monopoly on paying a set of its employees less than they need to live on - are the businesses that do so, and don't hold food drives, more evil? Less evil?

I just can't rationalize this as an _additional_ reason to boycott Walmart. Optimally, it casts them in a better light. Under the harshest judgment, they break even on the great scale of anthropomorphic corporate evil laughs.

[Shiranui]

How much does the average Walmart worker get an hour?

[zhangm Supervisor]

How much does the average Walmart worker get an hour?

See reply 11 in this thread by COKid.

However, I'm not sure that the average is a great indicator of the value that we're interested in, since the wage distribution is probably not Gaussian.

[webeagle12]

Don't forget about the fat women. :p

 People of Walmart...

[PGHammer]

No different from the retailer I use to work at. They used to ask us to donate year round.

Every company does similar drives.

Including union-majority grocers, such as Safeway, Giant Food (which is still majority-union), even Food Lion.  In the case of Giant Food, it started prior to their acquisition by Royal Ahold (similar drives were, in fact, commonplace through ALL the regional grocery chains that RA acquired in the US.  In fact, I can't think of a grocer (except single-store grocers) that doesn't do something similar for their staff - either holiday-driven or year-round.

[compl3x]

Wow. I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing.

[Sandor]

(American) Capitalism at it's absolute finest.

[Dot Matrix]

Perfect example of the 1/99%