Kudos to Wal-Mart

[Niteshift]

Ok, save the jokes, this is legit.

Not only has Wal-Mart had their Buy American program for years, now they're reinforcing their positions as patriots.

Pathetic as it is that members of our military are so poorly paid that they need second jobs, it it still a fact of life. Many however, stand to face financial more hardships because they are being deployed and can't make it to their part-time Wal-Mart jobs.

In response, Wal-Mart is making up the pay difference for employees that are being deployed. They will continue to do it until the employee returns to work.

Good job guys....makes me proud that I spend so much of my time and money there.

[Blonde Heat]

Sorry Nightshift, Our family is anti-Walmart. Both my husband and I work for local grocery stores. And what they are doing to thier workers is a joke.

First off they move in to hard working communities with many hometown businesses and put everyone out of work with thier low prices. Then when they manage to put all the grocery stores, Mom and Pop stores, furniture, fabric, and fix up your house stores out of business. Then pay thier workers peanuts and drive up the prices on the merchandise they carry because where else is anyone going to shop. They refuse to let thier employees join a union so that they can make decent wages and get better medical and dental benefits. They do nothing but keep poor towns poorer and try and kill all the competition in big cities.

For instance Walmart cashiers make between $6 and $8 dollars an Hour. Cashiers at Grocery stores make $10 to $15 dollars an hour. The workers at walmart are forced to spend most of thier wages in Walmart because they can't afford to shop anywhere else. After all many people do not have the skills to work anywhere else. Alot of employees are students, handicapped, and elderly. And also many do not even have anything higher than a highschool education. Thier chioces for jobs are very limited.

In Arizona, All cities voted to keep big box stores (Walmarts) out. So they do not destroy our communities with thier unfair practices. We as a city only have four. That way people have a choice to shop walmart. And its been proved not all thier products are American made.

What they did for the men and women deployed might seem great but in reality it was just a publicity stunt. After all they are the second highest money making company ever. Its the least they can do. Plus by them announcing what they did, they just ensured many more people will shop in thier stores.

If they really wanted to help, they would pay thier employees alot higher wages and many would not have to work two jobs. Then families would not be falling apart for lack of moms and dads not getting to spend quality time with thier kids because they are to busy trying to make ends meet working more than one job. Its disgusting what some people are forced to live on. And Walmart can afford to pay better wages.

(End of rant)

[Niteshift]

I still have to go with my original feeling....... they're not required to do what they are doing.

I've heard of situations like you are describing, but that's not the case here. No grocery stores pay anything near the $10-15 an hour you're talking about.

And as far as hiring the elderly, students and handicapped.....they need to work too.

There are 3 supercenters in my county, 1 in my neighborhood. We still have 3 full sized grocery stores in a 5 mile radius of it (one of them was built after Wal-Mart came in) and the couple of Mom and Pop stores not only have stayed in business, but one has remodeled and built a second store and the other is building a much larger store.

Since we're a right to work state, unions are few and far between here.

As for the Buy American program....Wal-Mart has never claimed all of their products are American made, so proving they're not wouldn't be too hard to do. Show me an American made VCR. The program says that if there is an American made product, it gets purchased by Wal-Mart over a foreign made one.

Like I said, I still give them a thumbs up......they don't have to make up the difference but they are.

[MadMax]

Sounds great, maybe other corparations will do the same. As for American made products, that is a joke. With the exception of ammo, I have a hard time finding products made in the USA at our Wal-Mart store.
DMC

[retired]

Wal-Mart hasn't hurt my community--in fact they are welcomed. They have good prices and no business here has quit because of them.

Retired

[goodgirl]

I have never heard of a cashier paid 10-15 dollars an hour. Where is this? I am thinking it may be time for a move

[ 10-12-2001: Message edited by: goodgirl ]

[Niteshift]

"I have a hard time finding products made in the USA at our Wal-Mart store."

At the moment the socks and underwear I have on are all american made and from wal-mart. So are the black t-shirts I wear with my uniform.

[ 10-12-2001: Message edited by: Niteshift ]

[WHC166]

Christ, I don't even make $15 per hour ($11) time to quit police work and work at a retail store I guess!

[SpecOpsWarrior]

I have to agree with Nite, Wal-Mart doesnt have to do this, if they wanted great publicity they would donate a huge sum of money to the Red Cross and write it off in January.

They just gave me another reason to continue shopping at my area Wal-Mart.

[PartTimer]

Originally posted by Ksfuzz:
Christ, I don't even make $15 per hour ($11) time to quit police work and work at a retail store I guess!

I saw a sky line chile food chain offering $12!

[Don]

Hey ftrphx,

I really hate to do this to you, but I just can’t let this pass by.

First, on every city in Az voting to not have box stores, didn’t happen. Flagstaff is in the process of fighting over this right now! Not surprising though, Flagstaff fights over EVERYTHING.

Second, if I’m not mistaken you live in the Metro Phoenix area. I seriously doubt that you have any real idea of the kind of impact a Super WalMart has on a small town. I do, as I live in a small town with one here.

Before the Super WalMart, Salida had a Safeway, and one “mom and pop.” Guess what, after about three years, Salida STILL has a Safeway and one “mom and pop.” They also have loyal customers. They have stayed in business even though this “big box bully” is here and they have done it through something you just don’t see much of any more. It is called CUSTOMER SERVICE! Sort of a novel idea in this day and age.

“Wally World” has provided many jobs here, including jobs for folks that flatly would not have found ANY work before WalMart got here. Wally World has saved hundreds of thousands of miles of driving to “the big city” to do your shopping, because a lot of stuff just wasn’t available here before they came in.

I have never been a huge fan of WalMart. In fact, living in the St. George Utah area, and then the Flagstaff Arizona area, I would have about as soon taken a “whuppin” as go into WalMart. But now that I am here in Salida, with a Super WalMart it is almost??? a pleasure to go into.

The only folks that WalMart puts out of business are the ones who are too inefficient and not innovative enough to compete. Of course they can’t compete with the price, but all they have to do is offer true CUSTOMER SERVICE!

End of my rant!

PS yes, there ARE some union grocery stores that pay the high wages you are talking about! Mostly in Kaliphorina though.

[Niteshift]

"Christ, I don't even make $15 per hour ($11) time to quit police work and work at a retail store I guess!"

No kidding. One of our running jokes is that we'd make more money as the hello man at Wal-Mart.

I asked at the Winn-Dixie I shop at this morning. Cashiers start there at $7.50 an hr.

I remember when 60 minutes did the thing about Wal-Marts "unfair" practices. It's called capitalism..... free enterprise. Wal-Marts only responsibility is to their stockholders, not to the other stores in the area. Don't forget that the mega-chain started out as one store owned by one guy.

[ 10-12-2001: Message edited by: Niteshift ]

[Sparky]

I'm with Nite.

And as far as unions go, you got the right to vote with your feet. If you don't feel like you get paid enough at one job, then move on to another.

As far as putting the 'mom-and-pops' out of bidness, hey, I know alot of small businesses who buy their inventory at Wal-Mart and Sam's because they can get close to wholesale prices without expending a larger amount of money on bulk purchasing direct from the manufacturer.

Wal-Mart in no way had to pay the difference of these guys wages. Yeah, it looks good for them, and in the long run it won't hurt their bottom line; but no one was expecting them to do it. They're not desperate...they could do just fine without having done this, but they decided to anyway.

I say HOOAH! for Wal-Mart!

Time for me to go buy some stock!

[wonderwoman]

I remember years ago being opposed to Walmart because of the child labour issues.

However, I think this is a great thing that Walmart has done and hopefully other places of employment that can afford to will do something the same or similiar.

What is a "Super Walmart"? (the difference)

[Sig220Man]

Originally posted by wonderwoman:
What is a "Super Walmart"? (the difference)

These Wal-Marts have grocery stores attached to them. Think Canadian Superstore.