Wal-Mart workers plan strikes


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Wal-Mart Stores workers and union organizers say they will hold strikes in more than 20 cities Wednesday in their campaign to raise wages.

The job actions are timed in conjunction with Wal-Mart' (WMT)s annual shareholder meeting, which takes place Friday in Fayetteville, Ark., near the company's Bentonville headquarters.

 OUR Wal-mart, a group backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, helped orchestrate a candlelight vigil Monday night outside the Phoenix home of Rob Walton, Wal-Mart's board chairman.

"I am trying to tell Wal-Mart that they should not retaliate against workers, and that they need to raise wages and respect us," said Bene't Holmes, a 25 year old mother earning $8.75 an hour at a Chicago-area store who joined the vigil.

 

Protesters want Wal-Mart to pay associates at least $25,000 a year, and to not retaliate against workers who go on strike.

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Knowing WalMart they will be holding a massive Job Fair right next to the picket line...

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There are so many other people that deserve this job that don't have it. If it were possible, and I were in Wal-Mart's position, I'd fire every single person that didn't show up for work and hire someone that will.

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There are so many other people that deserve this job that don't have it. If it were possible, and I were in Wal-Mart's position, I'd fire every single person that didn't show up for work and hire someone that will.

The fact that there are people desperate enough to work for literally anything doesn't mean companies should be lining up to exploit these people...

 

The fact that the US government has publicly stated that WalMart pays its employees so little that the taxpayer has to foot the bill... I shouldn't be subsidizing WalMart's labor costs... I don't even shop there to get the false appearance of savings.

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The fact that there are people desperate enough to work for literally anything doesn't mean companies should be lining up to exploit these people...

 

The fact that the US government has publicly stated that WalMart pays its employees so little that the taxpayer has to foot the bill... I shouldn't be subsidizing WalMart's labor costs... I don't even shop there to get the false appearance of savings.

 

Back in 2000 I worked at walmart as a stockman. (I actually liked the physical labor. My record was pulling 49 carts at a time with the rope) I think I earned minimum wage which at the time was $5.15 or $41.20 after an 8 hour day or $206 a week. WOW.

 

Now I own my own computer repair business (11 years going strong) I earn $58.85 for a minimum 1 hour remote assistance (On my couch from my dual monitor couch computer). Heck I make $21.40 for phone support.

 

I worked for walmart for JUST about 1 year then went to go do phone support for a local ISP .. when I returned back walmart to go shopping 6 months later I met an employee I had worked with. He was sooooo excited that he was going to be making $7 an hour. Damn I wish I remembered his name so I could look him up on facebook. ( I think it was john something)

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The fact that there are people desperate enough to work for literally anything doesn't mean companies should be lining up to exploit these people...

 

Why not? Sounds like a win win to me. Raising the minimum wage doesn't give those people who will 'work for anything' a Job; it'd probably make it harder for them to get one, if anything.

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If your job is as a Walmart associate, you should be paid minimum wage. It's a high turnover job. The employees in these positions aren't exactly big fans of Walmart and don't do much to make customers love shopping there. Walmart knows this and they don't want to pay a lot to keep you around. They also spend the least they can on training. This is the kind of job you work as a teenager in the summer or temporarily if you're out of work.

 

If your career path peaks at Walmart associate, you deserve minimum wage. Go to school or something. Hopefully you can do better. And if you can't, then please don't reproduce.

 

If you really like working at Walmart, at least try to get a professional job as a manager or corporate office.

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There are so many other people that deserve this job that don't have it. If it were possible, and I were in Wal-Mart's position, I'd fire every single person that didn't show up for work and hire someone that will.

 

Amen!  They aren't exploiting their workers at all.  They are paid a reasonable fare for unskilled labor.  If they want more money, get some skills and get a better job!  Walmart isn't holding a gun to their heads forcing them to partake in menial labor.

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Amen!  They aren't exploiting their workers at all.  They are paid a reasonable fare for unskilled labor.  If they want more money, get some skills and get a better job!  Walmart isn't holding a gun to their heads forcing them to partake in menial labor.

And the Corporate Welfare has it's defenders.

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If your job is as a Walmart associate, you should be paid minimum wage. It's a high turnover job. The employees in these positions aren't exactly big fans of Walmart and don't do much to make customers love shopping there. Walmart knows this and they don't want to pay a lot to keep you around. They also spend the least they can on training. This is the kind of job you work as a teenager in the summer or temporarily if you're out of work.

 

If your career path peaks at Walmart associate, you deserve minimum wage. Go to school or something. Hopefully you can do better. And if you can't, then please don't reproduce.

 

If you really like working at Walmart, at least try to get a professional job as a manager or corporate office.

 

Catch-22? You think, just maybe if Wal-Mart treated these people a little better they might not leave so easily? Hell I've done TERRIBLE jobs and stuck with it only because the money was good and I smiled every day when I went to work. Those years I needed the money so I did what I had to do. My first job was $12/hr so I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to work 40hrs and come home with $200! Hell, i'd probably quit too and i'm not the type to just quit a job (see previous sentence).

 

It comes down to value - if the employer places no value in it's employees then said employees wont be seeing the value they get for working there either. As a business owner myself, I know if my workers aren't happy then I don't make money. Simple as that. These are the people that give my company a good or bad reputation. If I get known for shoddy work and bad behaving employees then my business suffers even after those people are fired.

 

So while $200/week is better than $0/week, It may still not be worth it if you have to go to hell and back barefooted with a smile on your face. That's when people go home and cry and blow their brains out thinking they have to go there again the next day.

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As a business owner myself, I know if my workers aren't happy then I don't make money. Simple as that. 

 

Is your company worth over 450 Billion?

 

--

 

You think it's about the money. It's not. It's about entitlement. These are people with zero education, zero experience and zero value to anyone. Walmart knows this and pays accordingly.

 

It was never a Job designed to support a worker with a Kid. It was designed to give High School / College kids a bit of cash flow by doing a very simple, low responsibility Job so they can have some fun on the weekends with their friends.

 

A 25 year old Woman with a child working at Walmart should not expect more out of Walmart, she should expect more out of herself. This backwards thinking is ridiculous. All too often people are willing to blame other people and not themselves.

 

They don't deserve more Money. Period. Half the time the damn greeter never greets you, the Customer Service never helps you and the staff just ignore you. Do they really think that attitude convinces Walmart to pay them more? Like, "Oh obviously my staff are unhappy, I better pay them more". That's not how things work.

 

It's your Job, do it right. Not because of the Money, but because it's your Job! If you want more Money, get a better Job.

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Again, a lack of compassion on here.

Perhaps the delusion that the American Dream still exists clouds people's judgment on this issue.

 

A few years from now, all but a select few of us will be joining the ranks of the exploited, competing with hoi polloi for underpaid, insecure jobs for which we will be overqualified.

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The fact that people think that this terribly small minimum wage is enough, really is disgusting.  They have no skills, they have no education?  So what?  We should throw them to the dogs and not allow them to live their life? 

Clearly they have some skills, as they are currently working in an environment, completing tasks that require skill.  Customer Service is a skill, stocking shelves is a skill.  Just because some people are condescending ###### who think they are above the low wealth people in your country, doesn't make it right.  

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These are people with zero education, zero experience and zero value to anyone.

 

Wow, what an ignorant thing to say. I, for one, choose not to look down on other people, no matter what their lot in life. But if doing that makes you feel better about yourself, by all means continue. Says more about the kind of person you are more than it does about anyone working at WalMart.

 

By the way, The CEO of Walmart earns more in an hour than his employees will earn in a year. He made over $20 million in 2012. It's about time people started to wake up and protest. Things are way out of balance.

 

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2013/1212/CEO-vs.-worker-pay-Walmart-McDonald-s-and-eight-other-firms-with-biggest-gaps/Walmart

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Wow, what a ignorant thing to say. I, for one, choose not to look down on other people, no matter what their lot in life. But if doing that makes you feel better about yourself, by all means continue. Says a lot about the kind of person you are more than it does about anyone working at WalMart.

 

It's a condescending elitist attitude.  It's becoming more common, which is sad.

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By the way, The CEO of Walmart earns more in an hour than his employees will earn in a year. He made over $20 million in 2012. 

 

So? He's not superhuman. He very likely worked his ass off, networked extremely well and risked a lot to get there.

 

Any one is capable of this.

 

 

It's a condescending elitist attitude.

 

I'm fine with that. I work really hard to get what I have. I almost never see my Wife or my friends so my life is set up for later. Although it's condescending and elitist, it's also realistic.

 

I might not agree with the system, but I have learned that fighting it is not meant for me. There are other things far more concerning to me than the excellent minimum wage first world Countries get.

 

--

 

Anyways, this always ends up the same way, those for and those against. Which is why this is such a hot topic. I'm "against", you're "for". Coolio. The world keeps spinning.

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Is your company worth over 450 Billion?

 

--

 

You think it's about the money. It's not. It's about entitlement. These are people with zero education, zero experience and zero value to anyone. Walmart knows this and pays accordingly.

 

It was never a Job designed to support a worker with a Kid. It was designed to give High School / College kids a bit of cash flow by doing a very simple, low responsibility Job so they can have some fun on the weekends with their friends.

 

A 25 year old Woman with a child working at Walmart should not expect more out of Walmart, she should expect more out of herself. This backwards thinking is ridiculous. All too often people are willing to blame other people and not themselves.

 

They don't deserve more Money. Period. Half the time the damn greeter never greets you, the Customer Service never helps you and the staff just ignore you. Do they really think that attitude convinces Walmart to pay them more? Like, "Oh obviously my staff are unhappy, I better pay them more". That's not how things work.

 

It's your Job, do it right. Not because of the Money, but because it's your Job! If you want more Money, get a better Job.

Why so much hate for the worker, but no hate for the mega corporation? As I said earlier, I don't see any reason for me, the taxpayer, to be subsidizing WalMart's labor costs. WalMart should pay its employees a fair wage or go out of business...

 

Additionally, no, WalMart didn't create the job "to give High School/College kids a bit of cash...". WalMart created the job for the same reason any corporation creates jobs; to generate more revenue.

 

People aren't compensated based on their skills (or lack thereof). People are compensated based on scarcity of employees who can fill a specific role. If a college degree and "skills" were a ticket to the mega earnings club you should go start yelling at the underemployed people working at your local WalMart and McDonalds with PhDs. Go tell them that they have "zero education"...

 

Sadly, you're attacking the worker to dodge the real issue here. Corporations shouldn't be getting government subsidies for their ongoing labor costs... But I guess you are showing me that there are some people who truly support Corporate Welfare at the expense of actual Welfare.

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Wow, what an ignorant thing to say. I, for one, choose not to look down on other people, no matter what their lot in life. But if doing that makes you feel better about yourself, by all means continue. Says more about the kind of person you are more than it does about anyone working at WalMart.

 

By the way, The CEO of Walmart earns more in an hour than his employees will earn in a year. He made over $20 million in 2012. It's about time people started to wake up and protest. Things are way out of balance.

 

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2013/1212/CEO-vs.-worker-pay-Walmart-McDonald-s-and-eight-other-firms-with-biggest-gaps/Walmart

 

The CEO of Walmart is generating tens, hundreds of millions in wealth for shareholders. It's a multi billion dollar company. I think they can compensate him with $20 million.

 

What's the ROI on a Walmart greeter? They're lucky Walmart even has a greeter position available. A waving robot or puppet would probably be a better choice.

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Sadly, you're attacking the worker to dodge the real issue here. Corporations shouldn't be getting government subsidies for their ongoing labor costs... But I guess you are showing me that there are some people who truly support Corporate Welfare at the expense of actual Welfare.

 

Perhaps. I'm open to being wrong. I haven't been swayed that I am. Nor do I really care that people with PhD's work at McDonalds. Education isn't the end all be all. For example, I didn't go to Uni and I make far more than minimum wage but my Sister has a Uni degree and is unemployed.

 

Although I will admit that it's bizarre someone capable enough to have a PhD is working at McDonalds. That tells me Job availability is low not that the pay is. I can understand the argument that because the Job availability is low that somehow Pay should compensate for it, but I don't think that's a genuine argument. I think that's a band-aid.

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What is excellent about it?  It's damned right disgusting.

 

It's relative. It's disgusting to you, it's sensational to some people. I think it's pretty damn good bordering on excellent.

 

Also, keep in mind minimum wage in America is different than minimum wage in Australia. I should hope you're not using Australia as a reference point. As a Canadian living in Australia (going on 4 years now) I can tell you that it's a bad point of reference.

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Although I will admit that it's bizarre someone capable enough to have a PhD is working at McDonalds.

 

Could be that they got a PhD in something useless (purely academic) in the corporate world, like Womens Studies.

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It's relative. It's disgusting to you, it's sensational to some people. I think it's pretty damn good bordering on excellent.

 

Also, keep in mind minimum wage in America is different than minimum wage in Australia. I should hope you're not using Australia as a reference point. As a Canadian living in Australia (going on 4 years now) I can tell you that it's a bad point of reference.

 

I'm not.The minimum wage here is just over $16.00.  Which is far better.

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