Since when is having low income an excuse for education or courtesy?...
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wow to some of the replies .. the way things are today people with college degrees cant find a job , when you have a family you take what you can get even if that means having 3 minimum wage jobs . to make such a blanket statement to say people who work at wal mart are low income is a little insulting and i dont work there . alot of people work there for a SECOND income to provide for thier families . i guess when you feel your better then others you can pass judgement and make insulting comments .
what i said was based on a few replies and not at anyone in paticular
what i said was based on a few replies and not at anyone in paticular
I'm confused, Kristakmj. Are you saying that it is insulting and incorrect for people to say that most folks who work at Wal-Mart have low incomes? The average full-time Wal-Mart employee makes around $15,000-18,000 a year. The average part-time Wal-Mart worker makes about $7,500-9,000. Even with a second income, this is not high wages for people with families, and I don't see how it is judgmental or insulting to say so.kristakmj said:
Am I missing something? I don't see where people here have insulted others simply to make themselves feel superior.
yes i do find it insulting we dont know what these peoples money situation is , like i said some have this job as a second income . so if they make 30 grand at thier first job and another 15 grand here are they considered low income still? some of the replies sounded insulting to me . we cant assume someones financial status based on a job at wal mart is what my point is
there was one reply saying that "most" people who work at wal mart have a GED if that, you wouldnt find someone with a BA working there seems pretty judgemental to me
there was one reply saying that "most" people who work at wal mart have a GED if that, you wouldnt find someone with a BA working there seems pretty judgemental to me
The 15 grand is for Wal-Mart employees who work full-time. If they had a second job, it most likely would be less time and thus less pay than their full-time Wal-Mart job, so less than 15 grand and probably much, much less.kristakmj said:
You are right that we can't assume to know the full extent of a Wal-Mart employee's financial status - that's true for any type of worker. But the average Wal-Mart pay isn't a secret. Using a bit of deduction, I think one can assume to understand part of a Wal-Mart worker's financial status - average annual salary, given their full- or part-time status - and do so without insult to the Wal-Mart worker. It is similar to looking at the average cardiothoracic surgeon's salary of $400,000+ and assuming that person is not low income. No negative judgment in either situation, IMO, just a general assumption based on available information.
One last point: I don't consider saying someone has a low income to be insulting. It is not not derogatory or contemptuous. It also is not a negative judgment. There is no connection between one's income and one's character. If it is a fact that person A has a higher income than person B, that doesn't make person A in anyway superior (with the exception of buying power) than person B. If person A does feel better just thinking about person B's lower salary, then person A needs a bit of therapy.kristakmj said:
"<I>Only seven percent of the company’s hourly “associates” try to support a family with children on a single Wal-Mart income. The company therefore seeks out school-age youth, retirees, people with two jobs, and those willing or forced to work part-time</I>."
"<I>A memo written by Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Executive Vice President for Benefits, for the Wal-Mart Board of Directors, said: “Specifically, our coverage is expensive for low-income families, and Wal-Mart has a significant percentage of associates and their children on public assistance.” “Five percent of our Associates are on Medicaid compared to an average for national employers of 4 percent. Twenty-seven percent of Associates’ children are on such programs, compared to a national average of 22 percent (Exhibit 5). In total, 46 percent of Associates’ children are either on Medicaid or are uninsured</I>."
"<I>The report uses concrete, geographically-specific figures to compare how much income a family of three needs to survive in different areas of the country. Across the 10 communities we studied, the cost for a single wage earner to support an infant and a preschooler ranged from $27,660 per year, or $13.10 per hour, in New Orleans, to $59,544 yearly, or $28.19 per hour, in Boston. On average, the federal minimum wage covered just 34 percent of the family's basic costs.</I>
<I>Nowhere in the country can a Wal-Mart worker earning $7.50 per hour make ends meet. In fact, our study finds that only when our sample parent earns an hourly wage of $12.00 and receives a whole range of public and employer-based work supports can her family achieve a level of economic security. These supports include subsidized child-care, food stamps, housing subsidies and health coverage for children through Medicaid</I>."
"<I>Thousands of low-wage Wal-Mart workers are on public assistance. Many state lawmakers say it's time the megastore was forced to provide affordable employee health insurance</I>"
"<I>Capture savings from current initiatives to improve labor productivity. These initiatives include reducing the number of labor hours per store, increasing the percentage of part-time Associates in stores, and increasing the number of hours per Associate."</I>
"<I>In 2002, Wal-Mart increased the waiting period for enrollment eligibility from 90 days to 6 months for full-time employees. Part-time employees must wait 2 years before they may enroll in the plan, and they may not purchase coverage for their spouses or children. The definition of part-time was changed from 28 hours or less per week to less than 34 hours per week." The change was not done to benefit more full-time employees, but to discourage more employees from being eligible for Wal-Mart's healthcare plan</I>."
"<I>a Middlesex court judge has put his imprimatur on a suit alleging the retail giant failed to pay employees for time worked and neglected to give them meal and rest breaks, the Herald has learned. The eight-page ruling by Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy cites an affidavit by a computer expert hired by the plaintiffs. The expert allegedly found 7,000 instances during a one-year period when Wal-Mart managers deleted large blocks of time from their employee payroll records</I>."
"<I>A memo written by Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Executive Vice President for Benefits, for the Wal-Mart Board of Directors, said: “Specifically, our coverage is expensive for low-income families, and Wal-Mart has a significant percentage of associates and their children on public assistance.” “Five percent of our Associates are on Medicaid compared to an average for national employers of 4 percent. Twenty-seven percent of Associates’ children are on such programs, compared to a national average of 22 percent (Exhibit 5). In total, 46 percent of Associates’ children are either on Medicaid or are uninsured</I>."
"<I>The report uses concrete, geographically-specific figures to compare how much income a family of three needs to survive in different areas of the country. Across the 10 communities we studied, the cost for a single wage earner to support an infant and a preschooler ranged from $27,660 per year, or $13.10 per hour, in New Orleans, to $59,544 yearly, or $28.19 per hour, in Boston. On average, the federal minimum wage covered just 34 percent of the family's basic costs.</I>
<I>Nowhere in the country can a Wal-Mart worker earning $7.50 per hour make ends meet. In fact, our study finds that only when our sample parent earns an hourly wage of $12.00 and receives a whole range of public and employer-based work supports can her family achieve a level of economic security. These supports include subsidized child-care, food stamps, housing subsidies and health coverage for children through Medicaid</I>."
"<I>Thousands of low-wage Wal-Mart workers are on public assistance. Many state lawmakers say it's time the megastore was forced to provide affordable employee health insurance</I>"
"<I>Capture savings from current initiatives to improve labor productivity. These initiatives include reducing the number of labor hours per store, increasing the percentage of part-time Associates in stores, and increasing the number of hours per Associate."</I>
"<I>In 2002, Wal-Mart increased the waiting period for enrollment eligibility from 90 days to 6 months for full-time employees. Part-time employees must wait 2 years before they may enroll in the plan, and they may not purchase coverage for their spouses or children. The definition of part-time was changed from 28 hours or less per week to less than 34 hours per week." The change was not done to benefit more full-time employees, but to discourage more employees from being eligible for Wal-Mart's healthcare plan</I>."
"<I>a Middlesex court judge has put his imprimatur on a suit alleging the retail giant failed to pay employees for time worked and neglected to give them meal and rest breaks, the Herald has learned. The eight-page ruling by Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy cites an affidavit by a computer expert hired by the plaintiffs. The expert allegedly found 7,000 instances during a one-year period when Wal-Mart managers deleted large blocks of time from their employee payroll records</I>."
These were just a few quotes that i've pulled from documents, newpapers, PDF files and the documentary made to shed light on walmart.
Walmart doesn't even hire someone UNLESS they have 2 other jobs, or if they are students or retired! Not to mention the peoploe who are their don't make enough money as is to sustain a family. Its unfortunate that people who work at wal-mart are not getting the proper treatment they should be getting
Walmart doesn't even hire someone UNLESS they have 2 other jobs, or if they are students or retired! Not to mention the peoploe who are their don't make enough money as is to sustain a family. Its unfortunate that people who work at wal-mart are not getting the proper treatment they should be getting
I just heard about this story on the radio this morning:
Health Blog : Wal-Mart Prevails in Case to Recover Health Costs
Health Blog : Wal-Mart Prevails in Case to Recover Health Costs
IMHO Walmart is an evil corporate empire... The way they treat their employees is dispicable... They hire students, immigrants, retirees etc and start them at minimum wage. When they get to the top of the scale, they often get rid of those employee so they can hire new ones at the minimum again.
I work for one of the biggest unions in the world and walmart is a 4 letter word here... No one I know would ever ever shop there because they have serious employee rights problems... Not to mention they kill family businesses... they don't care about their workers and they are just plain shaddy... Oh and they are not even that cheap!
Anyone ever heard of "Value Village"?
Oh and it's not true you have to have at least 2 other jobs to work at walmart (at least here in Canada)
I work for one of the biggest unions in the world and walmart is a 4 letter word here... No one I know would ever ever shop there because they have serious employee rights problems... Not to mention they kill family businesses... they don't care about their workers and they are just plain shaddy... Oh and they are not even that cheap!
Anyone ever heard of "Value Village"?
Oh and it's not true you have to have at least 2 other jobs to work at walmart (at least here in Canada)
The thing is..........how many people actually shop there? I konw i do because its the cheapest place to buy diapers and wipes. Grocery wise? Food basics or No frills is the cheapest. SO really no matter how bad we know walmart is, we tend to shop there anyway
At least those jobs aren't being farmed out to India.
Although, I may not neccessarily agree with all their company policies. I shop there as well, it's the cheapest as far as groceries and groceries are one of our bigger expenses in the household budget.
Although, I may not neccessarily agree with all their company policies. I shop there as well, it's the cheapest as far as groceries and groceries are one of our bigger expenses in the household budget.
I dislike Wal-Mart as well. IMO their labor practices stink. I know a woman whose husband work overnight at WM and was locked into the store each night. One of his co-workers had a family emergency, and no one could let them out until after the shift because the person with the key didn't return until then. Since then, I've read that WM has been sanctioned by OSHA for doing the same thing to other workers, including one employer who was hurt at work and couldn't be taken to get medical help until the doors were locked at the end of the shift.
I avoid WM as much as possible. It probably would be cheaper for a lot of things, but I don't want to give my money to them. But given how expensive stuff is these days I really can't blame others for shopping there.
I avoid WM as much as possible. It probably would be cheaper for a lot of things, but I don't want to give my money to them. But given how expensive stuff is these days I really can't blame others for shopping there.
They have essentially forced everyone with a tight budget to shop there but under cutting every other store.
I hate the fact that they have put thousands of ma and pa stores out of business but we simply can't afford to ship elsewhere when we can save money there.
I hate the fact that they have put thousands of ma and pa stores out of business but we simply can't afford to ship elsewhere when we can save money there.