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8 comments:
PROSECUTE!!!
Here's a Walmart fact to consider: Walmart was sued 4,851 times in 2000 - that is once every 2 hours everyday of the year!
There is a lot to think about and research when it comes to Walmart's business practices. I recommend everyone to review this site : http://www.ufcw.org/take_action/walmart_workers_campaign_info/facts_and_figures/index.cfm. It has some facinating statistics on Walmart.
Here is some food for thought on this topic: Walmart is America's largest company with $285 billion in sales and $10 billion in profits. The Walton family is worth over $100 Billion!
Moreover, Walmart is the largest employer - employing 1.3 million workers. The average Walmart worker earns $17,114/year (i.e., well below the poverty level) and many of Walmart's employees are on federally/state funded medical assistance because they can't afford to buy into Walmarts health plan.
Many critics of Walmart argue that Americans should not have to subsidize American's largest and biggest employeer's (ie., Walmart) health plan. I have to agree. Walmart has a lot of leverage and could easily negotiate a very affordable, competitve health plan policy!
Now - here is the devil's advocate. Taking all these facts into consideration, there are not many statistics on how many employees CHOOSE to work for these reduced hours (34 hours or less) and choose to work part-time for personal reasons. For instance, there is a demand for part-time positions (in any industry) for a variety of reasons - child care, medical reason's etc. So is it all Walmart's fault that many of the employees are part-time and earn below the poverty level and can't afford the medical plan? How many of these employees work this job as a supplement income? Also, there are many employees that resistrict their hours of employement to maintain certain pensions and state funded income supplements or becuase of disabilities cannot work full-time. How many of these are lumped into the Walmart employee mix? In other wards, if Walmart was to offer superior health insurance benefits and increased salaries - how many employees would join on and how many would want to continue to work part-time? I think these figures are important to consider. Employees have different reasons for working different schedules - these need to be recognized and considered.
On the flip side --- there is no denying that Walmart should set the standard on how business is done in America. As the largest company in America, they are (by default) a leader and they should take up all the ethical and professional responsbilities of such a position. And the facts clearly indicate they do not. They don't want employees orchestrating for union protection, they offer the lowest possible salaries, and they offer inferior health insurance.
So on this note - I think some more research is neeeded and as consumers we must continue to challenge Walmart to step-up their leadership.
I think you just went West Port!:)
I may be wrong in saying this, and if I am, please correct me, but I think that those people who choose to work less and earn less than poverty level choose to because that is they only way they will be able to still get free money from the government, food stamps, welfare, the access card for health care...they have to be below a certain level of income to qualify for government assisted programs. I think the government should make sure that these people that they are money to (the hard working tax payers) are doing their part to get a higher paying joy, work more hours, try to get benefits...not just give them their check every week...
I'll have to check out that link about wal-mart. I have such a dislike for anything walmart. I refuse to step foot in that store, I refuse to give that company any of my money. Now I need to do more reading to see the statisitcs. Thanks for posting the link!
As for Walmart, I did read where an employee was killed as people rushed into a store for early morning bargains. I did find it interesting that they asked people to leave the store and they wouldn’t, and that they didn’t close the store even though there was a dead guy on the floor. I could something like this happening in Darfur as people rush a aid truck loaded with rice or grain. But on Long Island, for TV’s and video games? Pretty sad…..
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,458744,00.html
Looks like they closed for a little bit - but re-opened at 1:00 p.m.
http://wakeupwalmart.com/
Okay -- sorry everyone for so many emails, but I saw this and thought it looked interesting. I'm all for being informed!
There is also a movie on Walmart that looked good --- Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices. Has anyone seen it?
As for walmart, I agree with the dissenting view. Many employers do not offer any type of health insurance. Walmart offers their employees more than one option. Also, if you look around at the employees, many of them are teenagers working to pay for a car, insurance, college, or spending money. They may work considerably less than 40 hours a week and would not be looking for any health insurance.
Bottom line, Walmart provides millions of jobs to Americans, they offer college assistance and career advancement if someone is so inclined. In Maryland, we passed a bill a few years ago requiring large corporations (Walmart was the only company that fit this category in Md) to either beef up the health insurance benefit to employees or pay an equal amount of money to the state of Maryland in taxes. The result was Walmart elected to abandon several expansion opportunities in our state, resulting in less economic growth and fewer jobs for Marylanders.
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