Where it All Started
• Sam Walton was the founder of Wal-Mart.
• He began with a small five and dime that was owned by a company
called Butler Brothers. The one major rule the company had was that all
business owners under their corporation had to buy from the Butler
Brothers’s warehouse. Walton decided to cut out the middle man in this
case and buy directly from the supplier which was the start of his
“everyday low prices.”
• He was known to lure costumers into
his stores by the use of popcorn
machines and ice cream vendors.
• His small five and dime became the
largest within a six state region.
The Problem Today
• Wal-Mart has about 1.4 million employees and 4, 258 stores across
America and serves approximately 105 million shoppers each week.
Wal-Mart made about 401 billion dollars in sales at the end of
January in 2009.
• Wal-Mart has been sued for forcing employees to work off the clock
in 32 states, and in 2004, the large corporation had nearly 7,000
lawsuit pending against it.
• There are approximately 325
vacated stores sitting in
empty towns.
• Wal-Mart has also admitted
to taking life insurance from
employees who had passed away.
Wal-Mart Remains Non-Union
•
Management use an “open door policy” which means that employees can feel free
to voice their opinions about almost anything without being judged. This makes
corporate seem as if they are on the associate’s side.
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•
•
This made employees more convinced that non-union was the way to go.
Wal-Mart has a hotline that managers can call if they feel any suspicious union
activity and management is alerted if a new hire has ever worked with a union.
If employees seem interested in a union, management can find insignificant
reasons to fire them.
• A valued associate in Ohio began to show an interest
in unions. She was immediately “coached” for her sick
days and reprimanded for slipping on a wet floor
where she spilled water. She was ridiculed in front of
other coworkers and received no remorse when she
asked off to visit a dying relative. Her boss replied that
her “sister would die without her just as well.” She was
later fired for an excessive amount of pink slips that
she was unaware had accumulated.
Health Care Hurts Employees and
Tax Payers
•
At Wal-Mart, employees can receive health care after six months if they work full-time and after
two years if they work part-time. Part-time associates do not get insurance to cover a spouse. If
an associate is eligible to cover a spouse, a hundred dollar fee is tacked on.
•
In its health care plan Wal-Mart does not cover contraceptives, childhood and flu vaccines,
dental checkups, and conditions that
existed before employment.
•
Wal-Mart’s poor health insurance
causes associates to look toward welfare
and state supported programs for their
families. This causes more names on the
welfare list and more taxes for the city.
•
In California, Proposition 72 was placed
on the ballot in 2004. This bill would
mandate businesses with over 200
associates to cover 80 percent of health
care costs. Many opposed, including
Wal-Mart. The large company put half a
million dollars in to help decline the
proposition. Propaganda made the offer
seem like it was pro-Wal-Mart and publicity of the bill began to decline.
Employees are Treated Unfairly
•
At Wal-Mart, there is a punitive point system when employees call in sick. This means that if
someone calls in, they receive a point which does not go away
until 6 months from the date which they called in. Associates are
allowed 6 points and upon receiving the 7th point, they are
terminated.
•
This makes employees come in sick for fear of being punished
with a point. Coming in sick dangers customers in the store and
creates more diseases being spread.
•
This also applies to calling in for aiding sick family members. An
employee received a call from their child's school in September
2009 because their child was running a high fever of 103 F. The
associate received a point for leaving despite the fact that she
had already worked four hours.
•
Employees have also been forced to work off the clock, skip
breaks, and miss meals for fear of being punished by
management.
Solution
•Educate the public:
•Let them know where their money is going
•Let them know about Wal-Mart’s unfair policies
•Let them know how it directly affect them, even if they
don’t shop at Wal-Mart