So, my question is, do you think low prices and convenience out weigh ethics? Do you think most people are willing to spend a little more to ensure integrity?
Let's see.... low prices/convenience vs. ethics
I do NOT agree with the treatment or rather lack of it, of Wal-Mart’s employees, and it's maddening to see the extravagant lifestyle Wal-Mart owners live, at the expense of their workers.
As far as spending a little more.... a little here and there add up to quite a bit, sometimes making a big difference for many families.
People want and item for the least amount possible...
It seems that the majority of the USA want the best deal, not really thinking about the ‘real’ cost of it~
This is affecting our economy in a negative way... I KNOW! :(
Let's see... how could we force Wal-Mart to go UNION By getting a few workers to vote it in? That would ensure them some excellent health benefits and pay Can they have a written agreement with the employee to NOT vote in the Union?.... hmmmmm
may i give you may take on unions and why we wiil probable never see one at wally world?
when i retired from verizon in 1995 at age 45
i knew i was too young to retire completly so i followed a life long dream and became a certified excutive chef while working at a very major ski resort in maine
the pay sucked but i didn't care i had a nice pension check every month
but when i looked around and saw how hard everyone at the resort was working for peanuts i decided to orgainze a union
I did it right
I told management an informational would be held
I arrainged for a state senator and a state represenitive and a rep from a major union to be there
the 12,000 plus employess were also of course were notified of this meeting
on the nite of the meeting all of the above were there except the employees were there
only 2 employees
why?
i think that the employees who although hated thier peanut paying job were afraid to lose it
ya i know it's not leagle but it happens
i never did another meeting because if they didn't want to help themselves why should i risk a job that i was enjoying
The $4 prescription brings up a real interesting question for me. I belong to an HMO and I get my prescription drug through their pharmacy. I have to pay a $10 copay for *any* prescription. How is it that Walmart, a for-profit corporation can charge $4 and my non-profit HMO charges $10+ for those 300+ drugs on the Walmart program? I intend to write a letter and try to get some answers.
Now -- if there was an American company producing these jeans (on OUR soil, with OUR labor),
I wouldn't hesitate for a minute spending more money on them.
Since Wal-Mart is SO BIG, they are bullying companies into selling their products to THEM at an even deeper discount, because they buy SO MUCH!
Smaller companies buy the same, made overseas 'stuff', but can't sell it that cheap because:
1. They didn't buy as much as Wal-Mart and don't qualify for the deepest discount
2. They actually pay their employees MORE
3. They offer benefits to their employees
This cost's the employer more, and is reflected in their prices...
So, the higher price we'd pay at a different store will more than likely benefit THE EMPLOYEES~
It's time for Wal-Mart employees to demand better conditions
Put the bug in enough 'employee ears'... I think they'd agree. Wouldn't it be illegal for Wal-Mart to fire someone for wanting to be Union? This would draw national attention... and give some relief to our economy!
So, my question is, do you think low prices and convenience out weigh ethics? Do you think most people are willing to spend a little more to ensure integrity?
Keeping the subject on the topic of generic drugs.....these are the same generic drugs everybody else has. They are probably using their purchasing leverage to get extra low prices.
Not every drug cames in a Generic form. Once it's patent has expired, then a Generic form comes out. Thee are hundreds of Generic drugs, and one or more will treat most conditions, but not everything has a Generic counterpart.
Jim:
The $4 prescription brings up a real interesting question for me. I belong to an HMO and I get my prescription drug through their pharmacy. I have to pay a $10 copay for *any* prescription. How is it that Walmart, a for-profit corporation can charge $4 and my non-profit HMO charges $10+ for those 300+ drugs on the Walmart program? I intend to write a letter and try to get some answers.
If you pay $10 for every Rx, you may be paying $6 more on a generic drug, but you are paying $90 or more less on a good number of your other drugs. You come out way ahead with your HMO.
The way it works is, your HMO charges you $10 for everything and you get generic and non generic for the same money. What they lose in some cases they can make up in others and still make money. But Wilmar is only offering Generic drugs. They have probably negotiated with the suppliers and gotten really cheap prices because they intend to buy so much.
This has nothing to do with jeans being made in Mexico or anything else. A generic drug is as good in almost every case as the brand name. Generics have the same ingredients and must be approved by the FDA. You're not going to get an inferior product so I don't see an integrity issue.
In our home, we average $150 a month in prescription meds and that is WITH insurance. So yeah, I'd get them at Walmart if it will save me money. I also buy a number of other items there.
Ethics? How is it ethical for the drug companies to make billions of dollars off of someone else's misfortune? See, the ethical question cuts both ways. As D pointed out, if I buy the same item for more money from another store what differece does it make? The item was still made in another country, and the factory workers still made a lower wage than they would have here in the U.S. In the end, the only consequece of my paying more money for the item is that I would have less money for something else.
I think the difference lies in the employees who sell the product. Wal-Mart does not pay for most of their employees health insurance, we do. The biggest recipients of BadgerCare in Wisconsin are Wal-Mart employees. Full time employees must wait 6 months until they are qualified for Wal-Mart's health insurance, and part-time must wait 2 years, and then cannot include spouses or children. Women and ethnic minorities are not given the same oppurtunity for advancement as white males.
As I understand it Sam Walton was a true Christian man of high character and love for people, both those who worked for him and those who shopped at his stores.
I have known people who worked at Walmart who couldn't find a job anywhere else (including one couple who cleaned the parking lots during the nite, praying all the while, and worked at the gospel mission during the day.
Lots of people have a livelihood because of that place.
It does seem to me that the 2nd generation of leadership there is not like Sam Walton.
I still pray for the place because so many of my friends work there still.
a very very large percentage of walmart employees are forced to use (the states medical coverage paid for by the tax payer)medicaid, and do qualify by working full time!
that is wrong. yet what is happening here. As walmart works its way up north more and more towns fight them they are considered big box and the towns have successfuly out zoned them from setting up shop, the issue they state is low wage and the fact they tend to drive out small business with the low prices, and the town lose their appeal and commerence.
the question is integrity, can anyone compete with a corporation that has such buying power it can dictate the prices on many items for many manufactorers? Yes if walmart aint happy the corporation LOSE the largest contract they have and will end up going under or in the least laying off jobs. We used to call that black mail , and it is a common occurance with walmart.
Walmart does set up shop in places other stores will not due to crime or poverty , and these folks can now work for a living. and work they do but Walmart says they do not know what a living wage is. they pay very little so little in fact the medicaid is given to their full time employees.
do i shop at walmart? very little but when I had a family I did yes money does win out when your priorities shift from political change to providing for your family. many do fight them coming in. but money is a winner and Walmart has alot it . We had a nice editorial in our paper about these small shops and prices they also over price stuff and have been using the consumer , the same hammer is ten compared to a 1.50 at walmart, Why? cause of the nice neighborhood store ? i do not know if it is worth the difference I rather think not. Some body is still getting rich off an item by the blood of the working man.
Sorry if this is off topic... but Wal-Mart's lack of ethics seem to be the flow here...
Our neighborhood WM has 30 some checkouts...
At the busiest times there MAY BE 8 open..
The return area usually has a LONG LINE with ONE worker
During any of my visits, there is ALWAYS an area that is in DIRE NEED of cleaning/attention
The employees look poor and depraved, needing clothes, good nutrition and dental work
I ALWAYS make it a point to SPEAK WITH THE EMPLOYEES… asking how they like their job?
The answer is ALWAYS THE SAME
They would rather work someplace else, but this is all they can find right now
The greeters KNOW the manager SHOULD hire on MORE WORKERS... and they are AWARE why there are so little workers and hours given...
The Bottle Return is at the front of the store, the greeter there seems EMBARRASED at the FILTHY condition of that area... I've even heard apologies made... blaming management for NOT DOING THEIR JOB… again, NOT GIVING ENOUGH HOURS to enough people...
This seems like a big ol' BOIL just about ready to POP!
I'm going to call the Local Union and see what can be done... wish me luck
Since I'm not the one who brought up the topic of labor unions.....
My dad was a member of Teamsters local #135 for over 30 years. Our health insurance was excellent. He worked for a good company and never had to strike when contract time came up. Before Gene Sansouci came down and organized, there was no health insurance, and my dad worked six days a week for very little pay and no benefits to speak of. Although he paid a day's pay every month in union dues, for most of the years he worked it was worth it.
So, for much of my life I believed labor unions were a good thing. However, many of them, not all have become bloated and in my opinion, bleed the management dry. Why do you think the American auto companies, whose fans give me such grief for driving a Honda (Honda is nonunion), are closing up shop? They have to pay such huge sums to the unions for perk after perk after perk, and full retirement benefits for life, they can't afford to operate in this country, so they move their factories out of country to try to survive.
My husband worked as a production supervisor for a company that made glass for televisions south of Columbus. For every 2 hours worked, the union dictated the workers got a 30 minute break. They did NOT shut down the lines when they went to watch their soap operas and smoke, so the glass on the lines just fell to the floor and smashed for 30 minutes, then was swept back down to go back to the furnaces and melted again. My husband was written up by the union steward in his area for picking up a tool that fell to the floor - he was taking work away from a union member, who had dropped it and strolled away.
So there are two sides to the union argument. I think if people who work at Wal-Mart feel they don't make enough money or have enough benefits, they could always get a job elsewhere. American is basically becoming a welfare state, where people feel they should not have to work too hard to have all the toys life has to offer. How different are our values from those of the founders of this great nation, and how easy it is to forget that most of the world's population would adore to have a job making what they make!
And if you feel it is just awful for some people to have more than others, go live where no one has anything! The Soviet Union was founded on the principal that every person should have exactly the same. The result of their philosophy was the destruction of their middle class, leaving only a few very wealthy and a lot of very poor.
Here at walmart the word union is NOT allowed to be spoken of, even in conversation in the break room or while having a smoke.
The walmarts here own the propertys surrounding the store No one is allowed to solicitate and if anyone is even thought of having a ear towards union they are fired or demonted or threatened .
In the training seminars this is a vital point ! It says if any one approaches a walmart employee and they do not imediately report it to management it will be cause for termination.
why?
to provide the best and most comfortable working environment for the employee and to provide good customer service.
If walmart would have EVER considered a union it would have been a LONG time ago , when sam died if ever and it aint going there.
Walmart has some very very serious policy towards any type of union in its stores.
it moves management around every year to avoid any type of these issues and they come in and clean out any one who would consider union.
Im sorry but look who works at the walmarts, teens and stay at home moms working part time , people with no education, thinking they will be invited into the corporate ladder, oh comeon I know people at walmart who will never move up any further than dept head and they have worked their butt off nights and weekends and holidays.
it is the retail way.
now walmart has their own school for the managers and guess what these guys and a few token girls are taken from a campus never once worked for the slave labor called walmart, and now they sit in the positions of saying how it goes for the working class. and the poor suckers who have worked thinking they are going somewhere are stuck really stuck at walmart.
but foks so used to working for walmart that didnt leave when they should have to get an education or a real job with a fair wage or union are loyal , very loyal.
I also agree with watered garden about unions in the retail here a employee pays for seven years before they can get one benefit of the union, and it is not a choice you must join the union to work!
how many folks get a job work for a few years while in school and the unions get alot of money every week from your pay. Do they realy really help the common worker when they need help?
I do not know but I have heard not so much and it takes a toll of your pay, I have seen them help one girl and she was the most filthy worker I ever saw in my life in food service at TOPS she must have started as a teen and twenty years in the union still got fired for not being safe with the food, I was a witness she was as gross as they come and the unions just helped her transfer to another branch of the same store. this is helping anyone?
I don't get it. A lot of companies pay low wages and provide no health benefits. McDonalds, Burger King, many chain grocery stores to name a few. Heck, I've worked for law firms that could not provide health benefits because they could not afford to pay the premiums. The last law firm I worked for provided health benefits for the employee only, if you wanted a family plan you had to pay the additional premium.
So yeah, on one hand, I get the ideal that everyone who works should be able to afford medical care. I believe that whole heartedly. But I am convinced that the problem is not simply one of greed on the part of corporations like Walmart and McDonalds, though I am sure that is a factor. However, there are a number of other factors as well, including the outrageous cost of health insurance, the outrageous cost of medical care and prescription medications, the cost of malpractice insurance and a legal defense if one is sued, etc.
Walmart is not any where near the issues you claim. Walmart DICTATES to corporation the prices of goods they have PLENTY of power and money to provide for the employees they just chose not to.
I know first hand BOTH sides of the Union... and it needs some adjustments for sure!
My Father was verbally assaulted and threatened while working as a Supervisor in a Pontiac Motors Plant. There were a group of black men that worked when they wanted, and took breaks far more than 'allowed'... For a hard working country boy, born in 1922, that was more than he could take... and considering his family with two small children, he didn't care to find out if their threats were REAL...
The Union has too many rules to protect the lazy employee, which is wrong...
One of the problems Unions face is deceitful employees... and this I know of first hand also... faking injury at work, and collecting money for the rest of their lives... probably many loop-holes that could be exposed... all of which RAISE the cost of operations and products.
The Burger King here offers health insurance, as does Pizza Hut and many other stores to their FULL TIME employees...
But for a company that is making as much as Wal-Mart/Sam's Club, who CAN afford to take care of their workers with a higher wage and full health benefits, AND DON'T... the law of freedom of speech should allow these employees some information...
My first concern is the true quality of the drugs that Wal-Mart will be selling. Call me paranoid, but I did see the show on Dateline about how there is a black market making counterfeit drugs and selling them to the US and Canada. People have DIED from taking these drugs. They filled their prescriptions at reputable pharmacies like CVS and died because the drugs were completely fake or destructively altered/watered down. Dateline: Inside the World of Counterfeit Drugs Given the ethical practices of Wal-Mart (NOT!), I'd be very wary of buying any prescription drugs from them.
Second: Having worked as an analyst for a company who had a close alliance with Wal-Mart, I can tell you that it took me and a another co-worker providing a cost analysis on what it was costing us to do business with Wal-Mart before they realized they were losing money in our partnership with Wal-Mart. This is the case with many other companies. They need the business but don't realize that they are really losing money by caving in to the outrageous price and service demands of Wal-Mart. Our employees who were working out of Wal-Mart's offices can tell some pretty wild stories about the manipulation, control and back room bargains that benefit Wal-Mart while leaving some vendors high & dry by the time it's all over.
They also have their own bank in AR and deposits from local stores are in local banks a minimum of 24 hours, so no local banks benefit from having Wal-Mart in their area.
They DO buy in much larger bulk than the Mom & Pop stores can which enable them to charge less than others. Their philosophy is that they'd rather make a dime profit on selling 1 million widgets than to make a dollar selling 100K widgets. Mom & Pop's have no way to compete with that.
I wish the employees would fight back, but I only know bad things about unions. I see how they ask for outrageous compensations and rules and would seemingly rather bankrupt a company than to come to a realistic agreement. At least that's the way it's been here in Florida. :unsure:
I don't shop at Wal-Mart except as a last resort and will continue to do so. There are plenty of other options, imo. Besides that, I'd much rather shop at a Dollar General, Target, Petsmart, PetSupermarket, Farmer's Market, Publix, Best Buy, outlet store..... ANYWHERE but Wal-Mart (and Winn Dixie), where the isles are cramped; the stores are filthy; the customer base looks like they crawled out of the trailer park after a three day bender; and where the employees don't want to be there any more than I do. Besides that, the prices at Wal-Mart for most things really aren't that much cheaper - not for the things I buy anyway. I've compared the prices and where Wal-Mart is cheaper, it's not cheap enough to justify shopping there, imo.
It's amazing to me the vehemence you see on the news when Wal-Mart wants to build in someone's town or neighborhood, yet those same people are the first ones in line at the cash registers of the Wal-Mart down the road. <_<
My Mom shops at Wal-Mart. Growing up (and most of MY growing up years) she was pretty poor. Enough money to make ends meet (most of the time, at least) but not much more. Recently, she, along with her sister, received an inheritance that pretty much set her up for the rest of her life, and I'm happy as hell for her. But she still shops at Wal-Mart. And saves coupons. Matter of fact, I was talking to her one night last week, and she was getting ready to go out shopping and I mentioned that she sounded so tired, why not wait till the next day. Her reply? "But the things that I need won't be on sale after tonight." God Bless her, even though she doesn't have to be anymore, she's still frugal as hell. :(
the customer base looks like they crawled out of the trailer park after a three day bender
Do you realize how isulting that is to probably MILLIONS of people, Belle?
My daughter-in-law is a lovely, clean, delightful young woman who happens to be in a severe financial crunch and if she couldnt shop at Wal-Mart, she wouldn't be able to feed my grandson and herself. The Super WalMart where she shops always looks fairly clean to me, though I'm sure it's hard to keep it that way with as much traffic as pours through it every day.
I live not too far from several huge complexes of American Honda. I occasionally run across an employee or former employee who bitches about no UAW there. Honda takes good care of their employees, runs a strict shop and expects workers to do just that - work. EGADS! What a concept! And before someone says, "yeah, but all the profits from American Honda go straight to Japan" I heard a from executive VP for Honda Motorcycle speak once, and 95% of the profits from Honda America stay right here.
Watered Garden, Abigail, GREAT POSTS... very honest, good insight too.
Want to "fix" wally world? Close the borders, evict the illegals. When you don't have people willing to work for nothing, the employers, every one of them, will HAVE to pay more. They will have to keep offering more $ till someone steps up and says YEAH I'll work for that. Will it "put companies out of business" .
Some... but someone will step up and take their place. Cause as long as people want to improve their situation they will work to do it. For someone else, or start their own business. But as long as there are people willing to work for $5.00 an hour, and live 10 to an apartment, AND THINK THE'VE "ARRIVED" you'll see no changes.
Close the borders, evict the illegals, there'll be no need for a federally mandated "minimum wage".
You'll see $10, $15 $20 an hour in no time. The owners will have to settle for making 500 k this year rather than 900k or 1M !!! But do you think they're gonna close???? NO WAY>
I have no idea if you are correct in your theory or not Al. It seems to me, there are plenty of people who are hear legally who will work for $5 an hour, simply because they are honest people with few skills, or they've fallen on hard times.
I very much believe that anyone working a 40 hour work week deserves to earn a living wage. But Walmart is not breaking any laws by paying low wages, nor are they the only corporation doing so. I don't think my paying a higher price (that I can't afford) is going to make or break Wally. If I can buy my son a pair of shorts for $3 instead of $13, I'd be a fool to pay $13. See, not only do I shop Walmart, but I rarely buy merchandise (excluding food items) from them or anyone if it is not on clearance sale - I simply plan ahead and buy next summers clothing at the end of this summer season.
I do think a "national strike", where our low wage earners refused to show up to work for a few days could improve things, but isn't likely to happen. Nor am I so convinced mandating living wages is the answer either, because then the prices will simply go up too. Perhaps the "national low wage earners strike" needs to occur in conjuction with a "national we refuse to pay outrageous prices" strike :D
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SafariVista
Let's see.... low prices/convenience vs. ethics
I do NOT agree with the treatment or rather lack of it, of Wal-Mart’s employees, and it's maddening to see the extravagant lifestyle Wal-Mart owners live, at the expense of their workers.
As far as spending a little more.... a little here and there add up to quite a bit, sometimes making a big difference for many families.
People want and item for the least amount possible...
It seems that the majority of the USA want the best deal, not really thinking about the ‘real’ cost of it~
This is affecting our economy in a negative way... I KNOW! :(
Let's see... how could we force Wal-Mart to go UNION
By getting a few workers to vote it in? That would ensure them some excellent health benefits and pay 
Can they have a written agreement with the employee to NOT vote in the Union?.... hmmmmm
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coolchef
ok union
i am a life time member of I.B.E.W.
local 2327
as i have retired
may i give you may take on unions and why we wiil probable never see one at wally world?
when i retired from verizon in 1995 at age 45
i knew i was too young to retire completly so i followed a life long dream and became a certified excutive chef while working at a very major ski resort in maine
the pay sucked but i didn't care i had a nice pension check every month
but when i looked around and saw how hard everyone at the resort was working for peanuts i decided to orgainze a union
I did it right
I told management an informational would be held
I arrainged for a state senator and a state represenitive and a rep from a major union to be there
the 12,000 plus employess were also of course were notified of this meeting
on the nite of the meeting all of the above were there except the employees were there
only 2 employees
why?
i think that the employees who although hated thier peanut paying job were afraid to lose it
ya i know it's not leagle but it happens
i never did another meeting because if they didn't want to help themselves why should i risk a job that i was enjoying
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Jim
Back on-topic,
The $4 prescription brings up a real interesting question for me. I belong to an HMO and I get my prescription drug through their pharmacy. I have to pay a $10 copay for *any* prescription. How is it that Walmart, a for-profit corporation can charge $4 and my non-profit HMO charges $10+ for those 300+ drugs on the Walmart program? I intend to write a letter and try to get some answers.
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dmiller
I'm a tee-shirt and blue jeans type of guy.
My idea of *dress-up* is a shirt with buttons on it.
I get my tee-shirts at bluegrass festivals, and I get my jeans at Walmart.
I buy the Wrangler jeans -- for $14.94 per pair.
Down the street they are 6 to 10 dollars more.
Same jeans , same brand, still made in Mexico (out of US fabric), but higher priced.
Now -- if there was an American company producing these jeans (on OUR soil, with OUR labor),
I wouldn't hesitate for a minute spending more money on them.
But sadly -- that isn't being done.
Even Red Wing boots (Red Wing, Minney-soda), are now (mostly) made over-seas.
I don't know where the *generic drugs* that Walmart will be offering are made,
but the mentality of getting the *same thing* for cheaper is what needs to be dealt with.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't like the *stranglehold* Walmart has on the Mom and Pop business's, (sp?)
But if they can offer a product for less -- that's where folks will go.
and sadly -- it seems the employees (COUGH!) ASSOCIATES bear the brunt of this,
with smaller wages, no benefits, etc.
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SafariVista
QUOTE
Now -- if there was an American company producing these jeans (on OUR soil, with OUR labor),
I wouldn't hesitate for a minute spending more money on them.
Since Wal-Mart is SO BIG, they are bullying companies into selling their products to THEM at an even deeper discount, because they buy SO MUCH!
Smaller companies buy the same, made overseas 'stuff', but can't sell it that cheap because:
1. They didn't buy as much as Wal-Mart and don't qualify for the deepest discount
2. They actually pay their employees MORE
3. They offer benefits to their employees
This cost's the employer more, and is reflected in their prices...
So, the higher price we'd pay at a different store will more than likely benefit THE EMPLOYEES~
It's time for Wal-Mart employees to demand better conditions
Put the bug in enough 'employee ears'... I think they'd agree. Wouldn't it be illegal for Wal-Mart to fire someone for wanting to be Union? This would draw national attention... and give some relief to our economy!
I understand CoolChef... IBEW #357 here
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krys
Not every drug cames in a Generic form. Once it's patent has expired, then a Generic form comes out. Thee are hundreds of Generic drugs, and one or more will treat most conditions, but not everything has a Generic counterpart.
Jim:
If you pay $10 for every Rx, you may be paying $6 more on a generic drug, but you are paying $90 or more less on a good number of your other drugs. You come out way ahead with your HMO.
The way it works is, your HMO charges you $10 for everything and you get generic and non generic for the same money. What they lose in some cases they can make up in others and still make money. But Wilmar is only offering Generic drugs. They have probably negotiated with the suppliers and gotten really cheap prices because they intend to buy so much.
This has nothing to do with jeans being made in Mexico or anything else. A generic drug is as good in almost every case as the brand name. Generics have the same ingredients and must be approved by the FDA. You're not going to get an inferior product so I don't see an integrity issue.
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dmiller
Krys -- I realize that the *blue jean* discourse (sp?), has NOTHING to do with the drug question.
I was addressing the OTHER issue, about being ethical, and fair.
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Abigail
In our home, we average $150 a month in prescription meds and that is WITH insurance. So yeah, I'd get them at Walmart if it will save me money. I also buy a number of other items there.
Ethics? How is it ethical for the drug companies to make billions of dollars off of someone else's misfortune? See, the ethical question cuts both ways. As D pointed out, if I buy the same item for more money from another store what differece does it make? The item was still made in another country, and the factory workers still made a lower wage than they would have here in the U.S. In the end, the only consequece of my paying more money for the item is that I would have less money for something else.
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VeganXTC
I think the difference lies in the employees who sell the product. Wal-Mart does not pay for most of their employees health insurance, we do. The biggest recipients of BadgerCare in Wisconsin are Wal-Mart employees. Full time employees must wait 6 months until they are qualified for Wal-Mart's health insurance, and part-time must wait 2 years, and then cannot include spouses or children. Women and ethnic minorities are not given the same oppurtunity for advancement as white males.
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Kit Sober
As I understand it Sam Walton was a true Christian man of high character and love for people, both those who worked for him and those who shopped at his stores.
I have known people who worked at Walmart who couldn't find a job anywhere else (including one couple who cleaned the parking lots during the nite, praying all the while, and worked at the gospel mission during the day.
Lots of people have a livelihood because of that place.
It does seem to me that the 2nd generation of leadership there is not like Sam Walton.
I still pray for the place because so many of my friends work there still.
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pond
a very very large percentage of walmart employees are forced to use (the states medical coverage paid for by the tax payer)medicaid, and do qualify by working full time!
that is wrong. yet what is happening here. As walmart works its way up north more and more towns fight them they are considered big box and the towns have successfuly out zoned them from setting up shop, the issue they state is low wage and the fact they tend to drive out small business with the low prices, and the town lose their appeal and commerence.
the question is integrity, can anyone compete with a corporation that has such buying power it can dictate the prices on many items for many manufactorers? Yes if walmart aint happy the corporation LOSE the largest contract they have and will end up going under or in the least laying off jobs. We used to call that black mail , and it is a common occurance with walmart.
Walmart does set up shop in places other stores will not due to crime or poverty , and these folks can now work for a living. and work they do but Walmart says they do not know what a living wage is. they pay very little so little in fact the medicaid is given to their full time employees.
do i shop at walmart? very little but when I had a family I did yes money does win out when your priorities shift from political change to providing for your family. many do fight them coming in. but money is a winner and Walmart has alot it . We had a nice editorial in our paper about these small shops and prices they also over price stuff and have been using the consumer , the same hammer is ten compared to a 1.50 at walmart, Why? cause of the nice neighborhood store ? i do not know if it is worth the difference I rather think not. Some body is still getting rich off an item by the blood of the working man.
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SafariVista
Sorry if this is off topic... but Wal-Mart's lack of ethics seem to be the flow here...
Our neighborhood WM has 30 some checkouts...
At the busiest times there MAY BE 8 open..
The return area usually has a LONG LINE with ONE worker
During any of my visits, there is ALWAYS an area that is in DIRE NEED of cleaning/attention
The employees look poor and depraved, needing clothes, good nutrition and dental work
I ALWAYS make it a point to SPEAK WITH THE EMPLOYEES… asking how they like their job?
The answer is ALWAYS THE SAME
They would rather work someplace else, but this is all they can find right now
The greeters KNOW the manager SHOULD hire on MORE WORKERS... and they are AWARE why there are so little workers and hours given...
The Bottle Return is at the front of the store, the greeter there seems EMBARRASED at the FILTHY condition of that area... I've even heard apologies made... blaming management for NOT DOING THEIR JOB… again, NOT GIVING ENOUGH HOURS to enough people...
This seems like a big ol' BOIL just about ready to POP!
I'm going to call the Local Union and see what can be done... wish me luck
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Watered Garden
Since I'm not the one who brought up the topic of labor unions.....
My dad was a member of Teamsters local #135 for over 30 years. Our health insurance was excellent. He worked for a good company and never had to strike when contract time came up. Before Gene Sansouci came down and organized, there was no health insurance, and my dad worked six days a week for very little pay and no benefits to speak of. Although he paid a day's pay every month in union dues, for most of the years he worked it was worth it.
So, for much of my life I believed labor unions were a good thing. However, many of them, not all have become bloated and in my opinion, bleed the management dry. Why do you think the American auto companies, whose fans give me such grief for driving a Honda (Honda is nonunion), are closing up shop? They have to pay such huge sums to the unions for perk after perk after perk, and full retirement benefits for life, they can't afford to operate in this country, so they move their factories out of country to try to survive.
My husband worked as a production supervisor for a company that made glass for televisions south of Columbus. For every 2 hours worked, the union dictated the workers got a 30 minute break. They did NOT shut down the lines when they went to watch their soap operas and smoke, so the glass on the lines just fell to the floor and smashed for 30 minutes, then was swept back down to go back to the furnaces and melted again. My husband was written up by the union steward in his area for picking up a tool that fell to the floor - he was taking work away from a union member, who had dropped it and strolled away.
So there are two sides to the union argument. I think if people who work at Wal-Mart feel they don't make enough money or have enough benefits, they could always get a job elsewhere. American is basically becoming a welfare state, where people feel they should not have to work too hard to have all the toys life has to offer. How different are our values from those of the founders of this great nation, and how easy it is to forget that most of the world's population would adore to have a job making what they make!
And if you feel it is just awful for some people to have more than others, go live where no one has anything! The Soviet Union was founded on the principal that every person should have exactly the same. The result of their philosophy was the destruction of their middle class, leaving only a few very wealthy and a lot of very poor.
So now you have someone to chew on. Enjoy!
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pond
Here at walmart the word union is NOT allowed to be spoken of, even in conversation in the break room or while having a smoke.
The walmarts here own the propertys surrounding the store No one is allowed to solicitate and if anyone is even thought of having a ear towards union they are fired or demonted or threatened .
In the training seminars this is a vital point ! It says if any one approaches a walmart employee and they do not imediately report it to management it will be cause for termination.
why?
to provide the best and most comfortable working environment for the employee and to provide good customer service.
If walmart would have EVER considered a union it would have been a LONG time ago , when sam died if ever and it aint going there.
Walmart has some very very serious policy towards any type of union in its stores.
it moves management around every year to avoid any type of these issues and they come in and clean out any one who would consider union.
Im sorry but look who works at the walmarts, teens and stay at home moms working part time , people with no education, thinking they will be invited into the corporate ladder, oh comeon I know people at walmart who will never move up any further than dept head and they have worked their butt off nights and weekends and holidays.
it is the retail way.
now walmart has their own school for the managers and guess what these guys and a few token girls are taken from a campus never once worked for the slave labor called walmart, and now they sit in the positions of saying how it goes for the working class. and the poor suckers who have worked thinking they are going somewhere are stuck really stuck at walmart.
but foks so used to working for walmart that didnt leave when they should have to get an education or a real job with a fair wage or union are loyal , very loyal.
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pond
I also agree with watered garden about unions in the retail here a employee pays for seven years before they can get one benefit of the union, and it is not a choice you must join the union to work!
how many folks get a job work for a few years while in school and the unions get alot of money every week from your pay. Do they realy really help the common worker when they need help?
I do not know but I have heard not so much and it takes a toll of your pay, I have seen them help one girl and she was the most filthy worker I ever saw in my life in food service at TOPS she must have started as a teen and twenty years in the union still got fired for not being safe with the food, I was a witness she was as gross as they come and the unions just helped her transfer to another branch of the same store. this is helping anyone?
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Abigail
I don't get it. A lot of companies pay low wages and provide no health benefits. McDonalds, Burger King, many chain grocery stores to name a few. Heck, I've worked for law firms that could not provide health benefits because they could not afford to pay the premiums. The last law firm I worked for provided health benefits for the employee only, if you wanted a family plan you had to pay the additional premium.
So yeah, on one hand, I get the ideal that everyone who works should be able to afford medical care. I believe that whole heartedly. But I am convinced that the problem is not simply one of greed on the part of corporations like Walmart and McDonalds, though I am sure that is a factor. However, there are a number of other factors as well, including the outrageous cost of health insurance, the outrageous cost of medical care and prescription medications, the cost of malpractice insurance and a legal defense if one is sued, etc.
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pond
Abigal
Walmart is not any where near the issues you claim. Walmart DICTATES to corporation the prices of goods they have PLENTY of power and money to provide for the employees they just chose not to.
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SafariVista
I know first hand BOTH sides of the Union... and it needs some adjustments for sure!
My Father was verbally assaulted and threatened while working as a Supervisor in a Pontiac Motors Plant. There were a group of black men that worked when they wanted, and took breaks far more than 'allowed'... For a hard working country boy, born in 1922, that was more than he could take... and considering his family with two small children, he didn't care to find out if their threats were REAL...
The Union has too many rules to protect the lazy employee, which is wrong...
One of the problems Unions face is deceitful employees... and this I know of first hand also... faking injury at work, and collecting money for the rest of their lives... probably many loop-holes that could be exposed... all of which RAISE the cost of operations and products.
The Burger King here offers health insurance, as does Pizza Hut and many other stores to their FULL TIME employees...
But for a company that is making as much as Wal-Mart/Sam's Club, who CAN afford to take care of their workers with a higher wage and full health benefits, AND DON'T... the law of freedom of speech should allow these employees some information...
Nothing new under the sun?... Wal-Mart = Mafia?
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Belle
Intensely impassioned topic, eh?
My first concern is the true quality of the drugs that Wal-Mart will be selling. Call me paranoid, but I did see the show on Dateline about how there is a black market making counterfeit drugs and selling them to the US and Canada. People have DIED from taking these drugs. They filled their prescriptions at reputable pharmacies like CVS and died because the drugs were completely fake or destructively altered/watered down. Dateline: Inside the World of Counterfeit Drugs Given the ethical practices of Wal-Mart (NOT!), I'd be very wary of buying any prescription drugs from them.
Second: Having worked as an analyst for a company who had a close alliance with Wal-Mart, I can tell you that it took me and a another co-worker providing a cost analysis on what it was costing us to do business with Wal-Mart before they realized they were losing money in our partnership with Wal-Mart. This is the case with many other companies. They need the business but don't realize that they are really losing money by caving in to the outrageous price and service demands of Wal-Mart. Our employees who were working out of Wal-Mart's offices can tell some pretty wild stories about the manipulation, control and back room bargains that benefit Wal-Mart while leaving some vendors high & dry by the time it's all over.
They also have their own bank in AR and deposits from local stores are in local banks a minimum of 24 hours, so no local banks benefit from having Wal-Mart in their area.
They DO buy in much larger bulk than the Mom & Pop stores can which enable them to charge less than others. Their philosophy is that they'd rather make a dime profit on selling 1 million widgets than to make a dollar selling 100K widgets. Mom & Pop's have no way to compete with that.
I wish the employees would fight back, but I only know bad things about unions. I see how they ask for outrageous compensations and rules and would seemingly rather bankrupt a company than to come to a realistic agreement. At least that's the way it's been here in Florida. :unsure:
I don't shop at Wal-Mart except as a last resort and will continue to do so. There are plenty of other options, imo. Besides that, I'd much rather shop at a Dollar General, Target, Petsmart, PetSupermarket, Farmer's Market, Publix, Best Buy, outlet store..... ANYWHERE but Wal-Mart (and Winn Dixie), where the isles are cramped; the stores are filthy; the customer base looks like they crawled out of the trailer park after a three day bender; and where the employees don't want to be there any more than I do. Besides that, the prices at Wal-Mart for most things really aren't that much cheaper - not for the things I buy anyway. I've compared the prices and where Wal-Mart is cheaper, it's not cheap enough to justify shopping there, imo.
It's amazing to me the vehemence you see on the news when Wal-Mart wants to build in someone's town or neighborhood, yet those same people are the first ones in line at the cash registers of the Wal-Mart down the road. <_<
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Bluzeman
My Mom shops at Wal-Mart. Growing up (and most of MY growing up years) she was pretty poor. Enough money to make ends meet (most of the time, at least) but not much more. Recently, she, along with her sister, received an inheritance that pretty much set her up for the rest of her life, and I'm happy as hell for her. But she still shops at Wal-Mart. And saves coupons. Matter of fact, I was talking to her one night last week, and she was getting ready to go out shopping and I mentioned that she sounded so tired, why not wait till the next day. Her reply? "But the things that I need won't be on sale after tonight." God Bless her, even though she doesn't have to be anymore, she's still frugal as hell. :(
Do you realize how isulting that is to probably MILLIONS of people, Belle?
Rick
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Watered Garden
My daughter-in-law is a lovely, clean, delightful young woman who happens to be in a severe financial crunch and if she couldnt shop at Wal-Mart, she wouldn't be able to feed my grandson and herself. The Super WalMart where she shops always looks fairly clean to me, though I'm sure it's hard to keep it that way with as much traffic as pours through it every day.
I live not too far from several huge complexes of American Honda. I occasionally run across an employee or former employee who bitches about no UAW there. Honda takes good care of their employees, runs a strict shop and expects workers to do just that - work. EGADS! What a concept! And before someone says, "yeah, but all the profits from American Honda go straight to Japan" I heard a from executive VP for Honda Motorcycle speak once, and 95% of the profits from Honda America stay right here.
WG
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Al Poole
Watered Garden, Abigail, GREAT POSTS... very honest, good insight too.
Want to "fix" wally world? Close the borders, evict the illegals. When you don't have people willing to work for nothing, the employers, every one of them, will HAVE to pay more. They will have to keep offering more $ till someone steps up and says YEAH I'll work for that. Will it "put companies out of business" .
Some... but someone will step up and take their place. Cause as long as people want to improve their situation they will work to do it. For someone else, or start their own business. But as long as there are people willing to work for $5.00 an hour, and live 10 to an apartment, AND THINK THE'VE "ARRIVED" you'll see no changes.
Close the borders, evict the illegals, there'll be no need for a federally mandated "minimum wage".
You'll see $10, $15 $20 an hour in no time. The owners will have to settle for making 500 k this year rather than 900k or 1M !!! But do you think they're gonna close???? NO WAY>
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coolchef
i hate going into wally world but sometimes i have to
in our little river valley pop less than ten thiusand we have NO other choice unless you drive an hour away
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Abigail
I have no idea if you are correct in your theory or not Al. It seems to me, there are plenty of people who are hear legally who will work for $5 an hour, simply because they are honest people with few skills, or they've fallen on hard times.
I very much believe that anyone working a 40 hour work week deserves to earn a living wage. But Walmart is not breaking any laws by paying low wages, nor are they the only corporation doing so. I don't think my paying a higher price (that I can't afford) is going to make or break Wally. If I can buy my son a pair of shorts for $3 instead of $13, I'd be a fool to pay $13. See, not only do I shop Walmart, but I rarely buy merchandise (excluding food items) from them or anyone if it is not on clearance sale - I simply plan ahead and buy next summers clothing at the end of this summer season.
I do think a "national strike", where our low wage earners refused to show up to work for a few days could improve things, but isn't likely to happen. Nor am I so convinced mandating living wages is the answer either, because then the prices will simply go up too. Perhaps the "national low wage earners strike" needs to occur in conjuction with a "national we refuse to pay outrageous prices" strike :D
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