CNN interviewed a WalMart exec...

[Hiricine]

12$ an hour is spectacular for the level of training needed to apply for the job there. They could probably get away with paying a lot less than that and have even lower prices.

[Remilia]

12$ an hour is spectacular for the level of training needed to apply for the job there. They could probably get away with paying a lot less than that and have even lower prices.

According to this they do.
http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Walm...aries-E715.htm
http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/...y-Pay-E715.htm

[Wells]

Yeah Wal Mart has always been really quiet about how much they pay and how many full time workers they have so when an exec comes out in the middle of a high profile strike and says look at all the nice things we give out I'm pretty skeptical.

[Twotonsteak]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...n_2167213.html

So... apparently WalMart has a large majority of employees full-time. Didn't know that.

Apparently WalMart is one of the better places to work in retail. Didn't know that.

This is ludicrous and, at least in my area, is DEFINITELY not the case, here's a quote:



He also said that employees can get health insurance for roughly $17/week. Anyone know if that's true?

Quarterly bonuses? 82% of eligible employees got the bonus, according to him.

I especially loved this one:

I worked at a Wal-Mart Supercenter, in MD, a few years ago. I never worked less than 35 hours a week. I was paid $10.25/hr and I did have access, if I wanted, to health insurance. I was also given a discount card that granted me a discount price on EVERYTHING in the store.

By contrast virtually every other "retail" employer gives less hours, less pay, and no benefits of any kind.

That's why the idea of a mass strike or work-stoppage over "pay and conditions" is laughable. They're already getting better conditions then they would working for any other retailer. And that's the sticking point. That's why they won't just look for another job. They know they have it better at Wal-Mart, but better isn't good enough.

In the end it's retail work. No one works in retail, unless your management, and expects stellar pay and benefits. Further more Wal-Mart is a "right to work" company.

All this is, is a ploy by the Unions to make money. And I hope Wal-Mart fires every single person that participates in the work-stoppage. If they don't want to work there are plenty of other people more than happy to take their jobs. Maybe then, when they're piss-poor broke, that $10/hr won't seem so bad.

EDIT:
And if you really think unions actually care about the people they supposedly represent, here are a few points.

1. The unions for utilities workers in ravaged NJ refused help from some states, because the workers weren't unionized. The result left NJ residents in the dark and cold longer than necessary.

2. Hostess is going out of business because the Bakers Union refused to accept any form of pay-cut. As a result around 18,000 people will lose their job. Most of them aren't part of the union.
(Fun fact: Did you know that while Hostess made both Wonder Bread and Twinkies, Teamster union rules said that they couldn't load both products on the same truck.)

3. A union proceeded with a strike at LAX, blocking the two main entrances, adding about 90 minutes travel time on to anyone that had to get by them. Why? Because the union was voted out. So this strike, and the thousands of people they screwed, was just a bit of revenge.

And those are what's happened in just the last couple of weeks.

[raechuul]

I work for a 24 hour Walmart in MA. I only make over $10/hr because I work overnights, and have been there for three years. I do NOT have health insurance through Walmart because their "insurance" is just a HSA. In order to get any kind of real coverage you have to pay upwards of $80 per check ($160+, as pay is bi-weekly) and that's for a non-smoker.
And for the record, last quarter, our store manager got a bonus greater than the combined annual salary of everyone else working in the store (600+) Everyone else didn't get one because the store was "understaffed during peak hours" and because "the shelves were understocked". This is because he decided everyone needed to work 8 hours per week less, and get the same amount of work done. Yeah. Figure that one out.

Fred Meyer (Kroger store) does the same shit. I only could stand working there a few months as a high schooler because they treated us like crap. My boyfriend is at his second location in the past four years, and they treat him slightly better but pull the same thing with hours. "Oh, if I understaff, I get more money..."

[Masark]

1. The unions for utilities workers in ravaged NJ refused help from some states, because the workers weren't unionized. The result left NJ residents in the dark and cold longer than necessary.

2. Hostess is going out of business because the Bakers Union refused to accept any form of pay-cut. As a result around 18,000 people will lose their job. Most of them aren't part of the union.

3. A union proceeded with a strike at LAX, blocking the two main entrances, adding about 90 minutes travel time on to anyone that had to get by them. Why? Because the union was voted out. So this strike, and the thousands of people they screwed, was just a bit of revenge.

And those are what's happened in just the last couple of weeks.

1. Bullshit.

2. The deal was rejected by an overwhelming vote of the bakers themselves. Whether that was a dumb move on their part is a different matter unrelated to unions.

3. The demonstration (not a strike) is unrelated to the company's claims that the union was voted out (Which is disputed and the company appears to be oddly reluctant to produce evidence of that vote), nor is at any LAX entrances. It's a march down Century Boulevard by anyone off-shift who wants to come in protest of LAX violating the city's living wage ordinance with respect to some contractors they hire.

[bergmann620]

Raising the minimum wage doesn't do anything but cause inflation. Do we really need to go over this again? Do I have to find the inflation history that shows inflation spikes like clockwork after every increase in the minimum wage? Do I have to point out how the minimum wage, even after keeping up with inflation for 60 years fails to provide livable conditions for the people who earn it? I'm really tired of arguing this point all the time... providing charts, research and facts that continue to fall on deaf ears. I'm just as tired of pointing out the Nobel Laureate sponsored effort to replace it and, indeed, all welfare with a simple system that benefits everyone without creating a welfare trap.

Why can't the left just see that the minimum wage is a failed experiment and move on to solutions that, I dunno, work?

The thing people fail to see when discussing minimum wage is that it essentially says, "If you can't produce more than $X dollars, you are unemployable." Raising the minimum wage simply raises the bar as to which people are employable.

A funny thought experiment about Wal-Mart or other places that employ primarily part-timers:

Say a store has 500 hourly employees- 150 full-time and 350 part-time. They get tired of the negative pres and decide to convert to mainly full-time, and raise wages a bit. They extend full-time employment to the 150 best full-timers and give everyone a dollar-an-hour raise.

Now, if you multiply that out across the 3,000-odd Wal-Marts in the U.S., that would result in about 60,000 part-timers losing their jobs- and in many states, they wouldn't be eligible for unemployment. Tell me again how this helps?

Lastly, a NIT is a terrible idea. It encourages the free ride, and does nothing to encourage the steps one takes to escape poverty.

[Wells]

The thing people fail to see when discussing minimum wage is that it essentially says, "If you can't produce more than $X dollars, you are unemployable." Raising the minimum wage simply raises the bar as to which people are employable.

Demographics are more complicated than that, but so long as minimum wage isn't too high this doesn't really become a problem.

[Pendulous]

The people you are referring to who have been with the company forever and show less productivity than snails are referred to as the Day shift.
They earned their full time status at one time however due to aging most of them have been put in non physically demanding positions like Cashiers.

Then again being someone who works the night shift and actually has to stock frieght/clean and generally make everything look good for the customer I envy the full time people on the day shift who get to walk around all day with a thumb up their ass and a smile on their face.

Sorry, couldn't let this go. Don't get mad because the day shift at the job you worked at sucked. Our ICS leader was a old lady and she worked her ass off, along with all the rest of them. Our department managers didn't have other people to work for them, they were literally the only people in their departments. Third shift would come in at our store and bitch all night because us unloaders didn't get done in time, when we had half our supposed staff. Plus other personal things, but I'm not expecting all night shifts to be like that.

[PizzaSHARK]

$25k, wow that's low. Never worked in retail though, so I don't know if that's normal.

Depends on where you live. $25k is pretty decent for what amounts to unskilled labor, though.

[Barnabas]

I work for a 24 hour Walmart in MA. I only make over $10/hr because I work overnights, and have been there for three years. I do NOT have health insurance through Walmart because their "insurance" is just a HSA. In order to get any kind of real coverage you have to pay upwards of $80 per check ($160+, as pay is bi-weekly) and that's for a non-smoker.
And for the record, last quarter, our store manager got a bonus greater than the combined annual salary of everyone else working in the store (600+) Everyone else didn't get one because the store was "understaffed during peak hours" and because "the shelves were understocked". This is because he decided everyone needed to work 8 hours per week less, and get the same amount of work done. Yeah. Figure that one out.

Lame store managers can bend rules to benefit themselves like that. Not surprised if there aren't labor disputes if that happens at every store when the manager decides to be a dick.

[Khoranth]

This entire issue really is about union teamsters looking for money. I have worked at a union grocery store, the union teamsters who want to take over wallmart. At the union grocery store i made alot less then someone at wallmart, no one was allowed to work full time, so no benefits.

The only reason for all this fuss is the union teamsters want to come in and take away "union dues" aka their cut from wallmart employees. The employees will lose benefits and lose full time work and lose pay , for what? To give the union teamsters and lawyers a bunch of money for making the employees lives worse.

[Masark]

This entire issue really is about union teamsters looking for money. I have worked at a union grocery store, the union teamsters who want to take over wallmart. At the union grocery store i made alot less then someone at wallmart, no one was allowed to work full time, so no benefits.

What union?

[Zigzagzoom]

Yea, Walmart treats their employees great and pays them tons of money and doesn't force work on holidays. Walmart is caring American company, because that is how American companies work - they make sure their employees are happy before they worry about profits. And the big boss can put his need for a fourth porsche aside for the welfare of their employees...

Welcome to retail. Like nurses, police accept the fact you spend holidays partially at work. Deal with or live with mommy. It's part of being a grown up.

[Tribunal]

*snip*

I'll agree with you on the Black Friday type stuff, but as for shopping at discounters: Why are people forced to care about price above all down to the point that a single dollar really does make all the difference? Couldn't possibly be because they're somewhat forced into a system where the majority of them make 8-10 dollars an hour, could it?

It's a self-replicating system and as soon as someone breaks out of it (a.k.a. strikes it remotely well off) the rules go out the window. If someone is more comfortable in their wages they may actually avoid Wal-mart et all and they frequently do buy more luxurious and choice-driven options.

[Vanyali]

Welcome to retail. Like nurses, police accept the fact you spend holidays partially at work.

Or just about any job, actually.

Only government employees really get holidays off. And I think even then there are some that don't.

[Nightspear]

Denmark has some of he highest work ethics in the world. 75% would still work, even if they had enough money. We have higher minimum wages, we have higher unemployment benefits. Having social security doesnt make you lazy!

[poser765]

Or just about any job, actually.

Only government employees really get holidays off. And I think even then there are some that don't.

Plenty of people get holidays off. This bullshit with all the black friday crap is...well bullshit. There are reasonable expectations.If you work in retail you should expect/count on working on the single busiest shopping day of the year. That's just the fact. If you are a doctor you are expected to see blood. If you are an airline pilot you are expected to fly in bad weather. This shit is all part of the job. Like working 14 hours on black friday. Or even working 8 hours on Thanksgiving if you are a retail employee.

[Laize]

I ony hate it insofar as it is taken to extremes. My ideal is for 90% of the wealth to be health by about a third to 40% of the population, rather than 10%. But, probably a pipe dream.

As I said, I really don't see a need for negative income tax. The current system can be adjusted quite easily to be less...reprehensible.

I see nothing "reprehensible" about the NIT.

As for the wealth distribution, 20% hold 89% of the net worth.

If everyone were better educated on money matters, the wealth distribution would take care of itself... which is certainly a better option than forcing it. The fact is the super-rich don't get that way by force. They get that way by people willingly giving them money. An astoundingly small portion of Americans know how to properly save money and make it work for them. Our national savings rate reflects that.

---------- Post added 2012-11-22 at 04:56 PM ----------

Lastly, a NIT is a terrible idea. It encourages the free ride, and does nothing to encourage the steps one takes to escape poverty.

Free ride my ass.

The NIT would serve to provide a safety net. Not support people indefinitely. It also, by its very nature, can't create a welfare trap as ANY income results in a net increase in household income.

[SirRobin]

Again, a free market does not a fair market make. Walmart is not evil because its Walmart. It is merely a symptom, or even just a side-effect, of other issues. Sam Walton just won the race to the bottom, so to speak.