Wal-Mart Workers Plan Huge Protest on Black Friday

by talesin 31 Replies latest social current

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  talesin

  Wal-Mart, which pays a top wage of $12.00+ to its full-time employees, is under attack, once again, by its employees and those who would like to unionize them.

  I can't speak to the USA, but here in Canada, most Wal-Mart employees are not full time. It is mostly a part-time employer, so ZERO benefits. In my opinion, that makes the $12.00+ look a lot smaller when you envision the actual paycheque. We are talking a maximum of 30 hours/week, and here, they make $10.00/hour.

  Here's the article from Reuters, and a quote:

  http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/14/us-walmart-labor-idUSKCN0IY1RU20141114

  (and I have to shake my head in amazement at the quote, which is a blatant lie **)

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  Asked about the workers' complaints, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said the company does not retaliate against workers who strike or protest.

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  Thoughts? Wal-Mart is the biggest employer in America. So a lot of 'adults' (ie, not students, for example) live on a Wal-Mart wage.

  My own choice is to support the protesters and boycott ... which is what I've done since the stores opened here.

  tal

  ** Check out the well-documented case in Quebec. The employees *did* unionize, and guess what happened? There is a documentary about this case as well, which is either by the CBC or the NFB.

  Here's the story from the Bloomberg Press, in detail.

  http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-02-12/no-union-please-were-wal-mart
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  tootired2care

  Tal - it's pretty crappy what workers allow stingy corporations like Wall-Mart to exploit their time for. Granted, many of these are entry level positions, which is fine, but so many companies keep long time employees at such low wages. I've always avoided Wal-Mart like the plague, and i'm rooting for the protesters on this one. It's definitely time for wages to increase, I was reading this opinion piece on stagnant wages several weeks back which I found interesting.

  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stagnant-wages-now-our-biggest-economic-worry-2014-10-06
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  JeffT

  I went to Walmart once, I won't go back.

  That said,

  So a lot of 'adults' (ie, not students, for example) live on a Wal-Mart wage.

  So how many people survive by shopping at Walmart. Yes, a lot of what they sell is junk that wears out three times faster, but for people going paycheck to paycheck its all they can afford. And no, I don't think making the paychecks bigger by legislative fiat is the answer, because the price of everything will also go up.

  Let's see all the people belly aching about Walmart start their own department store so they can show us how easy it is.
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  Simon

  Corporations like Walmart are stealing from the tax payers through indirect subsidies. They pay their workers so little that they qualify for food stamps and assistance that the government pays. It would be better if the companies paid their workers a fair living wage.

  Prices don't have to rise - they can be competitive. Having a few people making billions seems less sustainable than millions of people making enough to live on.
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  Heartofaboy

  Well said Simon.
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  hoser

  Wal mart brainwashes their employees though their morning worship program. Some of them seriously believe that Walmart is a good employer and that they would fail if they tried to go elsewhere
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  Wal-Mart is the biggest employer in America. So a lot of 'adults' (ie, not students, for example) live on a Wal-Mart wage.

  Why not just work somewhere else? Problem solved.
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  hoser

  Why not just work somewhere else? Problem solved.

  Because every other retailer is out of business because of Wal Mart's predatory business model
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  Because every other retailer is out of business because of Wal Mart's predatory business model

  Wouldn't this make Walmart the only business in existence?

  I live in an area where their are a lot of Walmarts...and tens of thousands of other businesses (big and small) as well.

  Incidentally, Walmart is not unique in its business model. Many big corporations (especially retailers) do the same thing.

  .

  Just to be clear, I'm not a fan of any big corporation that exploits its employess while the fat cats make $billions in profits. But, I'm equally as annoyed by people who choose to work for these corporations for the low wages they pay, then piss and moan about how little they are paid. If you don't like your job, go work somewhere else. It's pretty simple. If you don't have the skills and education to merit a high-paying job, then either get those skills and education or quit complaining. It's pretty simple.
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  LisaRose

  I don't shop at Wal Mart, and this is one of many reasons why. The business model of selling cheap things at super cheap prices only works because the rest of us (tax payers) end up picking up the part of the bill through heath care costs, at least here in the US.

  But Wal Mart is not evil, they are simply doing what all businesses do, attempting to make a profit by whatever legal means possible, and they couldn't do it without the cooperation of their customers, employees and the government. If people stopped buying from Wal-Mart because they don't pay a living wage, War Mart would raise the wages. It wouldn't even add the much to their overhead, Costco manages to pay their employees a decent wage while still offering low prices, so it can be done.

  As far as employees, it's not as simple as just getting a job elsewhere, it's a tight economy and there aren't a lot of jobs out there for lesser qualified workers, but if every Wal Mart employee made the effort to make themselves more employable through education and training, many of them could probably get better jobs. If enough employees did that it would force Wal Mart to compete.

  And if the government required employees like Wal-Mart to cover health care costs for all employees it would level the playing field for businesses that do the right thing by offering it. They also need to do something about illegal immigration, which helps keep wages at a lower level.