Falling Behind the Curve: Partnership Benefits, Non-Discrimination Policies, and Wal-Mart

This makes me “sick” --WM catering to the homosexual agenda in this county.  Why would AM cater to 1% of the population, and potentially antagonize the 99%?

Make my words sales will decrease further when all of this gets out.  Just look at Ford!!

This was a major disappointment, because it signaled that very little had actually changed at Wal-Mart.

I’ll tell you what’s changed. Several million evangelical Christians are questioning their Wal-Mart patronage. That’s what’s changed.

Sage

I agree 100%. Wal-Mart’s traditional customer base is conservative and potential customers see Wal-Mart as a conservative company. Why do so many people cater to homosexuals? I do not know. I think so many Americans are such wimps they are afraid of their own shadows. We have become a PC nation and I don’t mean Personal Computers. Why is it that you have to cater to deviant lifestyles, Muslims, minorities or women? I am so sick of this “diversity is important” lie. Why is it important? Isn’t it important that the most qualifed people with the best values work for your company? Or is it more important to have a “diverse” group of underperformers? Who will win in the marketplace?

I am so tired of the demand that we must be “tolerant”. Why should I be tolerant? Why is it that those who demand tolerance are only tolerant of beliefs that agree with their own point of view? Shouldn’t gays accept the fact that gay marriage is ridiculous and offensive and that same sex benefits are not a right (nor are ANY benefits a right).

I wish Wal-Mart would steer clear of gay issues........

Wow, I must say the Nick is treading into controversial waters.
I wonder just where this will lead? Should be interesting.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

Alex
Though I agree completely with Nick and his assertion and you are foolish to think this is “controversial waters” —it is only such when the majority in this country let such a few
“Lord” it over us. 

I am sick of it and I do voice out my opinions.  Why WM even
put a known homosexual into a top eschelon job I just can’t fathom.  Look for more sales to go down.  There has been a large boycott of Ford by Christians over the past year and look at their sales.  Yet Ford still pursues their avenue of
“diversity” and let the company, stockholders, dealers and workers “be damned”.  No one is going to tell Ford what to do.

Unfortunately for Ford and now Wal-Mart the pocket books will start speaking.

Alex for once why can’t you and SDV see the picture for what it is worth.  I don’t agree with Nick, and Bob on a lot of posts and have so stated, but with you and SDV it isn’t a matter of disagreement, you two are stupid in your remarks and when one reads them (I seldom do) the foolishness of your character is shown in great light.

“Wow, I must say the Nick is treading into controversial waters.
I wonder just where this will lead? Should be interesting.”

Why does the above statement upset you Sage?
I did not make a comment except that it was very controversial.
As far as reading my posts or not, I’m ok with that. I do the same thing with Bobs posts. I can get through the first line or two, then I skim.  They are not worth any more attention than that.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse.

Alex,

“I do the same thing with Bobs posts. I can get through the first line or two, then I skim.  They are not worth any more attention than that.”

That’s only because they are so far ‘over your head’, that you wouldn’t understand them even if you did read them!!

As for your posts, they contain very little substance and a lot of repetition.  BTW, you have complained about Lee Scott’s pay in almost 5 or 6 posts now, you are slipping!!

[Bob] “BTW, you have complained about Lee Scott’s pay in almost 5 or 6 posts now, you are slipping!!”

Don’t you mean <b>haven’t complained<b>

Sheesh! my html is rusty, it’s late, and ‘Fact Checker’ wasn’t meant to go out. <I>Anyway...<I>

[Bob] “BTW, you have complained about Lee Scott’s pay in almost 5 or 6 posts now, you are slipping!!”

Don’t you mean haven’t complained :)

Isn’t embracing this homo/diversity issue one of the decisions that Lee Scott gets paid the big bucks to make? (Sorry Alex, I beat you to it.)

I have no problem with someone being hired based on their abilities who happens to be a homo (or Jewish, or Muslim, or whatever,) but hiring someone or catering to a group based on some ‘diverse’ criteria is just plain stupid and irresponsible! To me, the whole ‘gender identity’ and same-sex benefits thing is outright creepy.

It’ll be interesting to see how WM handles it though. According to the article above, it seems to be in limbo right now.

I don’t want to get into the issue of homosexuality at all, but just as a business decision you have to wonder what was Bentonville thinking?

First you have a company that was built by catering to rural southern conservatives of modest means, a large percentage of whom are evangelical Christians. Millions and millions of them.

Then you have the homosexual community. I have no numbers for them but I’ll bet it’s considerably lower than the above-mentioned group.

I’ve been reading about Wal-Mart for about five years now, and to the best of my memory I have never read a complaint where homosexual customers felt discriminated against. (There was one case I remember that involved a gay associate, but nothing about customers.)

So you alienate this huge group for what? To attract a much smaller group? 

My theory is this was part of the disasterous attempt to go “upscale”. Some marketing genius in Bentonville thought a way to out-Target their “cheap chic” was to offer a Queer Eye for the Straight Wal-Mart Shopper.

How’s that working out for you?

Ken

Though I disagree with Wal-Mart’s catering to gay Americans, it apparently hasn’t hurt their performance. It must be “working out” since Wal-Mart posted record sales and record profits in 2006.

I am opposed to the idea of “diversity”. It is racism and sexism at its worst because it assumes that A: White men are all racist, sexist pigs who can’t be trusted to do the right thing and B: All women and minorities are oppressed, underachieving individuals who cannot make it without government help. I know there is a whole cottage industry built around the idea of fostering “diversity” in the workplace. I will go out on a limb here and say that the reason we have had diversity forced on us is because certain groups haven’t measured up. When black children fail in school, we blame racism or the lack of money. In fact, we should be talking about family values, discipline, moral values and proper attitude. When a woman takes 10 years out of the workforce to be a Mom (which is a noble thing), she expects to re-enter the workforce as though she never left it. If you a man and a woman from the same school in the same job with the same experience and the same skills achieving the same results, their pay will not differ. Now, studies have shown that men are more aggressive when it comes to asking for raises so this may explain the slight difference in pay, but it is not proof of sexism.

Diversity is the word used by PC America to cover up the embarassing failures of certain groups. We are told not to judge someone by their sex or skin color and then we are told how wonderful it is to have X number of employees of a certain sex or skin color. People should not be discriminated against on this basis nor should they get any special advantage. Putting people into classes says that you are a complete moron. Skin color or sex is often of no consequence. People are individuals and not part of a group. They should be judged as individuals, by values, education, skills, achievement and potential. Race and sex should never be the basis for a decision.

The PC and Race pimps who push the gay agenda or the black agenda or the feminist agenda are doing more to undermine this nation’s moral values than anyone I can think of.

“..... you wouldn’t understand them even if you did read them!!

Bob in
Friday, May 11 at 01:41 AM

Your right about that Bob. However it would be more because they are over the top, not over my head.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse
We will never forget what you did Walmart.
Never.

It must be “working out” since Wal-Mart posted record sales and record profits in 2006

Glad you’re pleased, Nick. I just hope Bentonville continues to share your optimistic outlook. A few more promotions as successful as this one and perhaps we can slow Wal-Mart’s profit increase to ¼ of 1% for ‘07.  (It’ll still be a record, huh, Nick?)

Jason,

“Don’t you mean haven’t complained :)”

I stand corrected!!

“Isn’t embracing this homo/diversity issue one of the decisions that Lee Scott gets paid the big bucks to make?”

Yes it is, but he is only human and makes mistakes, like the rest of us!!

“I have no problem with someone being hired based on their abilities who happens to be a homo (or Jewish, or Muslim, or whatever,) but hiring someone or catering to a group based on some ‘diverse’ criteria is just plain stupid and irresponsible! To me, the whole ‘gender identity’ and same-sex benefits thing is outright creepy.”

I agree and that is why I feel the same way about paying people based on the ‘diverse’ criteria of their family situations!!

Alex,

“Your right about that Bob. However it would be more because they are over the top, not over my head.”

Sorry, but they are not over the top, they are time tested and have been around for thousands of years!!  Show me where in the history of man, that people were paid based on NEED, rather than work performed!!  It is your concepts that are over the top!!  Like I said to Ken V, who will do the work, if everybody got their needs fulfilled for doing nothing!!  And, if nobody does the work, where will the things needed to live come from?

LGBT people only want the same rights that non LGBT people have.  Nothing more and nothing less.  This is not about being hired strictly on the basis of being part of a group, but rather it is to only enforce that people are hired on their ability to perform the work. 

Currently, people perfectly who are capable of doing the work are being dismissed strictly on the basis of factors that have no influence on how they perform in the workplace.  Health insurance and other benefits are being denied to people just because of the way they were born.  They only want the same rights that they have always been denied on inconsequential factors.

If you have a problem with somebody from the LGBT community, then ask yourself if you actually *know* somebody who is as a person.  Chances are you don’t and thus are not realizing they are still people.

Lifestyle?  Give me a break.  That is implying these people have a choice.  If that were so, then consequentially one could conclude that you also have a choice and would feel perfectly comfortable being in a relationship with somebody of the same sex.

Melissa

I never said that Gays & Lesbians should not be treated as people. I’m sure that most of them are great individuals and I would have no problem having them for friends or neighbors. I am secure in my sexuality. My point was that America must have moral values to have any sense of community, society, patriotism or common good. I don’t think people should be discriminated against because they are gay. But I also don’t think we should cater to gays/lesbians or any other group. This is something the gay community either doesn’t understand or refuses to acknowledge.

We have been hit over the head with the “tolerance” and “diversity”. Why is it that the huge majority of Americans are always expected to throw out their own moral values for the benefit of a tiny, but loud, minority? In othe words, why can’t gays be tolerant of our morals, our values and our viewpoints? Why is it that I have to tolerate gay and lesbian parades and lawsuits for non-required benefits? Perhaps most American people don’t WANT gay and lesbian marriage? Why is it that our views mean nothing and are not to be respected?

This is a tough subject, having very little to do with Wal-Mart.

Yes. The difference bat.
I agree; that’s what started all the trouble in the first place. We’re all people, no matter our race gender, sex or sexuality.
Gay people wish to be able to marry. Well; why not? They’re people, right? They have the same rights we, as heterosexuals, do. A negro wants a job they are capable of doing. Well; by all means. We’re all people, right?
So yes, I disagree about catering to a group of people, be it christians, muslims, jews, pagans, buddhists or what not. Be it germanic, celtic, african, creool, chinese, japanese or indian. We’re all people, so we should all have the same rights, the same opportunities, and the same rewards.

The problem was: In the past, things didn’t work like that. And face it; in many places, things still don’t work like that. So what do people do: They turn it the other way around. They want to show us that they’re not like that. So they cater to the needs of people who are neglected, or even punished, because of what they’re born to be.
What we, as people, should do, is neither. We should simply accept eachother; love eachother as we love ourselves. Because isn’t that the message of Jesus of Nazareth? To love? If we can’t even do that, what are we, then?

Because in the end, we are all people, and all want to be treated as such, respected as such, and, secretly, to be loved as such.

Again Wal-Mart PR back fired on them acted like they were in our the same sex health benefits and did not do it.

Why do all the blogs here never stay on the subject matter it all goes back to sales etc. how good wal-mart is you pro Wal-Mart bloggers would do better if you defended Wal-Mart on the subject matter and not how great Wally World is or is it because you can not find any thing good that they have done to repute the blog

guest,

“Why do all the blogs here never stay on the subject matter it all goes back to sales etc. how good wal-mart is you pro Wal-Mart bloggers would do better if you defended Wal-Mart on the subject matter”

If you look at the threads, you will find, that us so-called pro people DO keep on the subject matter, but one of the anti people, who has no logical responce, goes off in another direction.  Take this thread for example, it was Alex, that went off topic, talking about how others post and how he doesn’t read them.

Dryad

You make good points. I will have to disagree with you on something, though. You said that everyone should have the same rights, opportunities and rewards. I agree that everyone should have the same rights and I agree that everyone should have the same opportunities UNDER THE LAW. I do not agree that Child A should be given a taxpayer financed trust fund because Child B has one. If by opportunity you mean everyone should be judged on the basis of their education, skills, accomplishments, people skills and potential, then, yes, opportunities should be the same. Where I really have to take issue with your post is the idea that the rewards have to be the same. Why? If you hand out equal rewards regardless of effort or achievement, you take all value out of striving. If a public school tells all kids that they will all get ‘A’s just for showing up, what’s the motivation to work harder? If two companies would be limited to $1 million per year in profit by the government, why work beyond that? This is one of the many problems I have with a union. Worker A has 5 years on the job and is a great worker who busts his hump. Worker B also has 5 years on the job but does the bare minimum work. In a union shop, it is not the effort or production that matters; it is the time in service. So, what is Worker A’s motivation for working harder? He can sit around on his duff and get paid the same regardless.

When you take away the potential for unlimited rewards, you kill the human spirit. Humans then become robots, going through the motions without any sense of their true humanity.

I also disagree with gay marriage.

Beyond these points, on a philosophical level, I do agree with you......

[Bob] “If you look at the threads, you will find, that us so-called pro people DO keep on the subject matter, but one of the anti people, who has no logical responce, goes off in another direction.”

I’m not trying to belittle you or anything like that, but we ALL are guilty of deviating from the subject matter, including yourself.

Examples:
After the Pet Food Contamination:
Dealt with the need for more FDA oversight.
You, Nick, and Ken V talk about the UFCW and child molestors.

Paranoia At WalMart
Dealt with the ‘Big Brother’ issue of WalMart.
You, Ken V, and I argue about inflation and why cars are so expensive.

Jason,

Most of the time, the conversation just spins off into another area.  For example, wages, may spin off to inflation, which spins off to higher prices.  Also, as this is a union site (UFCW), the conversation can start on subject, but trace back to the UFCW, as they are the ones pushing the subject!!  And, lastly, many of these topics have been rehashed so many times, there’s not much more to say about them, so the debate drifts to something different!!

At the risk of getting off the subject about getting off the subject....

[Bob] “Also, as this is a union site (UFCW), the conversation can start on subject, but trace back to the UFCW, as they are the ones pushing the subject!!”

I know that wakeupwalmart.com is a UFCW site (which I don’t bother reading), but I see no direct connection to walmartwatch.com and the UFCW, although I’d imagine that they’re pretty chummy with each other. The only union guy reported on their 990 form is from the SEIU.

Jason,

You are right, I stand corrected, but, it is the UFCW that is trying to unionize Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart is the prime target here.  The point was, that this is a UNION backed site!!!

Jason,

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/results.jsp?domain=walmartwatch.com

Enough said.

JB

[JB] “http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/results.jsp?domain=walmartwatch.com
Enough said.”

Thanks for the URL. According to the The Center for Community and Corporate Ethics’ 990 form (2005), they reported an expenditure of $175,000 for walmartwatch.com though. They also reported a $175,000 donation to ‘Dreamcatchers Inc,’ a not-for-profit that has Robert Greenwald on it’s board. Hmmm, they say that politics makes for strange bedfellows; I guess the same applies to corporates and activists too :)

[Bob] “The point was, that this is a UNION backed site!!!”

Yes, and my point was that you too are guilty of straying from the subject matter of a topic as well :)

Jason,

“ and my point was that you too are guilty of straying from the subject matter of a topic as well :)”

This is true, as I usually respond to someone elses post.

“They also reported a $175,000 donation to ‘Dreamcatchers Inc,’ a not-for-profit that has Robert Greenwald on it’s board.”

Isn’t Robert Greenwald, that guy that made that film “Wal-Mart - The High Cost Of Low Prices”?  The one that Tom Boese (Screwedby) works for?

“The point was, that this is a UNION backed site!!!”

Bob in
Sunday, May 13 at 09:17 AM

What’s important is that any description of Working Families for Wal-Mart should acknowledge that it is ultimately a product of Wal-Mart itself, run through intermediaries employed by the company…

A PR firm-funded and directed group that prominently declares itself as such is one thing;
but of course, a group like that would have no credibility.
And while the agency will tell a reporter, upon questioning,
that it runs Working Families for Wal-Mart, how about the casual visitor to their website?

This is the group’s self-description:

“Working Families for Wal-Mart is a group of leaders from a variety of backgrounds and communities all across America. Working Families for Wal-Mart are customers, business leaders, activists, civic leaders, educators, and many others with first-hand knowledge of Wal-Mart’s positive contributions to communities.”

This is the type of description that any competent public affairs veteran could whip up in five minutes, and then laugh about later that night at happy hour with colleagues.
Maybe Edelman should have declined to speak. Or maybe Edelman and Wal-Mart should reconsider how they communicate.

Working Familes for Wal-Mart is a “real group” in the same way that “Jim” and “Laura” were real people.
They may have been real in the narrowest sense of the word, but they and their ill-fated RV trip weren’t in the least bit authentic. If Richard Edelman truly doesn’t understand that difference, the whole PR profession seriously needs to reconsider its high opinion of his intelligence and if he does it needs to reconsider its high opinion of his integrity.

http://thewritingonthewal.net/?p=2267

When I asked Richard Edelman, the company’s chairman, about this rather blatant example of Astroturfing, he said, of Working Families for Wal-Mart,
“I do believe that it is a real group of real people, as far as I know.”
Working Families for Wal-Mart is housed in Edelman’s Washington office; its steering-committee members, some of whom have business ties to the company, were recruited by Edelman.

New Yorker’s Jeffrey Goldberg

“I am proud of our blogging work on behalf of Wal-Mart and Microsoft.”
Richard Edelman
http://www.prblognews.com/2007/04/02/edelman-revolution-at-the-crossroads/

Enough said.

[Bob} “Isn’t Robert Greenwald, that guy that made that film “Wal-Mart - The High Cost Of Low Prices”?  The one that Tom Boese (Screwedby) works for?”

I believe Robert is the movie guy. I’ve heard about the movie but never watched it. I don’t know about Tom.

I have never understood this preoccupation with personalities, backgrounds, motives, etc. What difference does it make?

When I post:

Wal-Mart’s company-wide shrink rate for FY ‘06 was 1.19%.

does it matter if I’m male or female? Young or old? Pro or anti? Not to me, it doesn’t. I only care if it’s true.

Union involvement in this site or wakeupwalmart? Gee, ya think? I have yet to read an article that doesn’t refer to this entities as “union-backed”.  Big secret.

I say, thanks for providing the forum, now stand back while I use it.

I’m male to female transgendered.  I can’t speak for the GLBT community or any other organization, only for myself.  I won’t shop at Wal-mart until they treat the GLBT community as equals and have a policy in place to protect transgendered individuals.  I refuse to reward a company who through their policies or lack of policies discriminate against anyone.

We fall in love just like str8 people.  We set up a household just like everyone else. Why shouldn’t we get the same benefits as everyone else?  I don’t see how same sex benefits or a non-discrimination policy is hurting anyone or catering to anyone.  Seems to me its simply ensuring everyone is equal.  All I want is to be equal and work in a place free from harassment.  If you take the time to listen I think you’ll find that’s what most of the GLBT community wants.  Too bad they have to shout so loud to be heard.

“I am so sick of this “diversity is important” lie. Why is it important? Isn’t it important that the most qualifed people with the best values work for your company? Or is it more important to have a “diverse” group of underperformers?”
You *completely* missed the goal of diversity. The *idea* of diversity is to have a workforce of qualified individuals that represent the customer base. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity#Business_context

Perdita,

“I’m male to female transgendered.  I can’t speak for the GLBT community or any other organization, only for myself.  I won’t shop at Wal-mart until they treat the GLBT community as equals and have a policy in place to protect transgendered individuals”

How do they know your sexual preferences, unless you TELL them?  The military uses the ‘don’t tell’ system.  You won’t be treated any different if they DON’T KNOW.