Live from Bud Walton Arena: “You better be ready to be better.”

“The enthusiasm and energy of Wal-Mart associates is inspiring.  The bond shared between workers and managers from China to the U.S. is real, regardless if the stores operate under a different name like Asda in Great Britain.  It is obvious that Wal-Mart is a giant family and this event doubtless did much to strengthen their connection.”

This is exactly what it all boils down to: 99.99% of the people that complain about working conditions at Wal-Mart have never even worked for the company! But still, you people try to convince the world that Wal-Mart stores are equivalent to sweatshops and that walmartwatch (aka UFCW) can make Wal-Mart into a profitable welfare organization. Please, “wake up walmartwatch!”

um--not exactly. Whether or not Wal-Mart is a good place
to ‘work for’, they still pay underneath federal poverty level
wage levels. Check dept. of homeland security or just do a
search on it. As far as sweatshops go I haven’t yet equated
them with a sweatshop; however, the company has no prob-
lem going overseas to exploit sweatshop labor to the detri-
ment of manufacturers and manufacturing workers in the
good old USA.
As for the inspiring enthusiam and energy you don’t have to go very far in this country to find other examples such as
political or religious rallies or even sporting events. This
nation is just filled to bursting with cheerleaders. Actually now
that I think about it the President is a former cheerleader too.
Now I should say something bad about his predecessor. I
didn’t like him either.

OK larry, how much do they buy from American suppliers?  and how much do they spend on foreign suppliers?  I thought so.  It’s almost 10 times as much for American suppliers. 
And every company pays people under federal poverty levels.  Ever worked in a convenience store or gas station? 

I must say the propaganda on this site is laughable.  Every opinion of the few people who run this site is presented as fact, while every fact provided by the company is presented as fiction.

I need some help from the pundits at walmartwatch.  I hear the complaints about wages, benefits, products made in China, etc.  Please educate me.  What stores, that sell goods for resale, are you wanting walmart to emulate?  In any of the aforementioned categories? (which I will repeat—wages, product procurement, benefits, etc).  Any Retail category will do—department store, mass retailer, speciality store, etc.  Just curious about the solution for walmart, rather than the generalized complaints.

To:

“Edgar”, “q” & “Uneducated Redneck”

Did you make sure you clocked out before going to this site.  You know Wal Mart is not going to pay you for being here.

Thanks, Lee.  I was hoping for a worthwhile discussion on implementing positive change.  Obviously, not here.  I will jump over to the majorityreport and talk to them.

Larry,

I’m quoting…

“As for the inspiring enthusiam and energy you don’t have to go very far in this country to find other examples such as political or religious rallies or even sporting events. This nation is just filled to bursting with cheerleaders.”

Are you implying that Wal-Mart employees are a bunch of mindless idiots? Sounds like typical walmartwatch arrogance to me: “You want to be unionized, you’re just too stupid to realize it!” No wonder Wal-Mart workers voted against the UFCW scam.

Lee,
We’re just concerned citizens trying to protect the jobs of Wal-Mart workers from deceptive and money greedy union operatives.
Just because you’re a dying animal doesn’t give you the right to drag others down with you.

Also to Larry,

1.
“...they still pay underneath federal poverty level
wage levels. Check dept. of homeland security or just do a
search on it. “

Let me tell you something about “underneath federal poverty level
wage levels.” When I was in high school, I worked for a locally owned grocery store. They payed minimum wage and offered no insurance, no retirement, and no vacation. I guess you would interpret that as exploitation of child labor.
Moving on. During college I worked in a fast food place. Again, they payed minimum wage ($5.15), did not offer health incurance, no retirement, and certainly no payed time off.  Do you think any union even lifted a finger to help me out at that time? No! None of them gave a crap, because I couldn’t give them enough money to satisfy their greed.
Did you know that UFCW bosses earn up to half a million dollars per year? They should be ashamed of themselves for deceiving all their members. And now that union workers figured out that the whole thing turned into a scam, the unions are losing members fast. This is where Wal-Mart comes into the picture. 1.6 million employees, that are ready to bled. What a great organization you are!

2.
“As far as sweatshops go I haven’t yet equated
them with a sweatshop; however, the company has no prob-
lem going overseas to exploit sweatshop labor to the detri-
ment of manufacturers and manufacturing workers in the
good old USA. “

Name one manufacturing plant anywhere in the world that is operated by Wal-Mart! If you can give me an example, then your point may have validity.

All I have to say is, you go Edgar, “q” & uneducated redneck!!! I am proud to work a divison of Wal-mart, SAMS! I’m so sick of all the negative publicity. I’ve never worked for a “perfect” company, but I can say that I love working at Sams. Sure we have problems, but their quickly addressed and resolved. I look forward to retiring from this great company.

Valerie in:

If Wal-mart & SAMS is a “perfect” company why is it that Wal-Mart tries to keep health care subsidy a secret?  What do they have to hide?

Wal-Mart has a secret it’s trying desperately to keep in Minnesota. The company is fighting efforts to reveal how many of its “associates” get publicly-supported health care. Lawmakers in Minnesota are considering a bill that would produce a public list of companies whose workers are enrolled in MinnesotaCare, and other government-funded health care programs. According to the Star Tribune newspaper, Wal-Mart recently flew in two company executives to St. Paul to lobby against the bill, which is scheduled to be voted on in special session this month. Wal-Mart also sent a two-page letter describing the company’s health care benefits to every legislator in the state. “This is not health care reform,” Wal-Mart told the newspaper. “This is a campaign against Wal-Mart.” Sen. Becky Lourey, a key sponsor of the bill, believes the public has a right to know which employers have become a drain on the state’s public health care system. They say the bill does not target Wal-Mart per se, but is meant to see how the state can work with companies to provide better health care programs. Last year, state taxpayers paid out $270.2 million for MinnesotaCare, which provides assistance for people who don’t have access to affordable insurance. “If it’s true what people say, that big multinational companies are outsourcing health care to taxpayers, then it would be good to have a handle on which ones,” said Rep. Sheldon Johnson. “It’s just information.” In many other states that have compiled such lists, Wal-Mart has come at or near the top among employers with workers enrolled in state medical assistance. In Wisconsin, the Department of Health and Family Services reported that Wal-Mart employees were at the top of BadgerCare recipients, a state health care program for low-income residents. Legislation has been introduced in Wisconsin that would force big-box retailers to pay the state back for providing the health care needs of their employees. The bill would place a graduated 1% to 2% tax on gross receipts on any store that exceeds $20 million in sales in a taxable year, and that allocates less than 10% of its payroll to health insurance for its employees. The bill applies only if the retailer fails to pay full-time, entry-level employees at least $22,000 a year, or about $10.58 per hour; or if more than 25 percent of the retailer’s workforce is part-time. The revenue would go to the state’s Medical Assistance trust fund. 24 state legislatures nationwide have bills pending that would create lists of employers with large numbers of workers enrolled in public health programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. The group “Wake-Up Wal-Mart” held a series of press conferences in eight states calling on Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to reimburse state taxpayers for “the tens of millions of dollars used to subsidize Wal-Mart health care.” Wal-Mart complains that because they are one of the largest companies in the state, they will be near the top of Medicaid users, but not all large companies have high numbers of Medicaid recipients. “We’ll be the largest on any list, just because of our size,” Wal-Mart said. In their letter to state legislators, Wal-Mart complained that the Minnesota bill “fails to provide health insurance to anyone and does not take people off America’s uninsured list. It is nothing more than a misguided, destructive assault on a business trying to create 100,000 new jobs this year.” Wal-Mart said in its letter that it actually helps lift employees off the public health care rolls by giving them jobs. 7% of its hourly store employees were on Medicaid three months before joining Wal-Mart, but that dropped to 5% once they joined, the company said in the letter. Wal-Mart estimates that 160,000 people have been taken off the list of public health care programs nationwide by accepting jobs at Wal-Mart. “Please be assured that we do not encourage the use of public assistance, and we do not structure our plans with the idea that there will be a governmental safety net,” Wal-Mart said in the letter.

Wal-Mart does not want the data open to inspection.

The fact remains, people who put on a Wal-Mart vest often have to take health insurance welfare from taxpayers at the same time.
This, in a company boasting 5 of the richest family members in the world.

Wal-Mart has been healthy for the Waltons, but the same can not be said for the hourly workers.

A family with two or three children and a parent working at Wal-Mart is going to be working below the poverty level, and able to get onto state health plans for the working poor.

For more examples of welfare health costs in other states due to Wal-Mart workers, go to www.sprawl-busters.com, click on Newsflash, and search by “health care.”

“A family with two or three children and a parent working at Wal-Mart is going to be working below the poverty level, and able to get onto state health plans for the working poor.”

My daughter works for one of the Wal-Mart stores in the area.  She isn’t paid any more than the other workers in the store for the same responsibility...she is a single mom and has raised 4 boys on Wal-Mart wages.

I am sorry I hurt so many feelings. A couple things. It’s
amazing to me that people don’t see the cynicism underlying
Wal-Mart and the way it goes about doing its business.
Apparently if I say that Wal-Mart should make an effort to
get wage levels up to federal guidelines, to make health care
more accesible to its employees instead of dumping them
back on to their communities with a wink and a nod I’m
offering nothing concrete on how they can improve them-
selves. There are other things but that’s enough for now.
Onto whether they do or do not own any manufacturing.
Whether or not-- they do have a large impact on it. There is
such a thing as a communist dictatorship in China (US trade
deficit 2004-162 billion--estimated Wal-Mart share 20 billion
out of thousand of companies) that certainly does have
sweatshops. we should also mention they’re all over Southeast
Asia and South America. Wal-Mart certainly has no problem
doing business with them and whether or not their competi-
tors are right there along side of them does not (I’m sorry),
does not make it right. Keep in mind that everyone here is
a spectator in all this--pretty much like at the event that just
took place up above. What is it you want to see? Jimmy Buffet? Do you want to hear about more and more staggering
sales and profit numbers? At the same time not seeing any
real relationship between those numbers and your own wages or the quality of your own life? What do they need
these lavish extravaganzas for? What good do they do you
after you walk out the door? They can find money to enter-
tain you one night every year from all the billions of profit.
As far as intelligence goes at Wal-Mart I think they cover
the spectrum from very bright to very dull--just like anywhere else. It’s easy to take those remarks about crowds
and rallies to heart. It’s extremely easy even for the very intelligent to get swept away by an event. Not just a Wal-Mart
event. It’s easy to set one’s objectivity aside. For instance I
know tons of people who thought the beginning of our present adventure in Iraq was going to be a cakewalk. We’d
just bomb the place and take over. They weren’t figuring at
all on more than 1600 of our soldiers dead and many many
more maimed. As the initial reason behind it has changed
they’ve changed along with it.

Larry, you seem like you like a good discussion, so here goes --

Do you really believe that walmart forces suppliers to do business overseas?  That is giving walmart a lot of credit, and is very “conspiracy-theory” type thinking.  Is there any data that I can see that supports your claim?  I am not implying you are wrong, I just wanted to understand your viewpoint better.  And I figure that reading some factual data may help me.

Larry,

1.
“Apparently if I say that Wal-Mart should make an effort to
get wage levels up to federal guidelines, to make health care
more accesible to its employees instead of dumping them
back on to their communities with a wink and a nod I’m
offering nothing concrete on how they can improve them-
selves.”

Wal-Mart actually exceeds federal guide lines, which state that a worker has to get paid at least $5.15/hr. Wal-Mart pays close to $10/hr on average. If you think that federal guidlines are too low, then maybe you should address that to your representative. Once the government raises the minumum wage, then Wal-Mart will raise its wages. Also, Wal-Mart offers health insurance to ALL employees - full and part-time. That is in contrast to many other retailers who only offer health coverage to full time employees. If workers choose to take advantage of the welfare state instead of paying a $40 premium, then that’s an issue. Maybe people who have the opportunity to enroll in an employers insurance plan should be prevented from taking advantage of the state.

2.
“There is such a thing as a communist dictatorship in China (US trade
deficit 2004-162 billion--estimated Wal-Mart share 20 billion
out of thousand of companies) that certainly does have
sweatshops. we should also mention they’re all over Southeast
Asia and South America. Wal-Mart certainly has no problem
doing business with them and whether or not their competi-
tors are right there along side of them does not (I’m sorry),
does not make it right.”

Ok. Can you tell me why the unions (including this one) continue to fill the pockets of the Democratic party? They were the ones that boosted and encouraged trade with China and many other countries. I find it somewhat hypocritical to support the Democratic party, and then turn around and criticize the same politics they practice. What kind of game are the unions playing here? Also, you continue to blame Wal-Mart for the loss of manufacturing jobs. What about the auto/machinery industry, hight tech, and health care. All those sectors are being outsourced. Is this Wal-Mart’s fault as well, or is it infact the result of trade deals made during the 1990’s?

Again, Wal-Mart pays it’s employees more than the federal government asks it to, and Wal-Mart does not participate in the illegal importation of merchandize. If you don’t like the laws of this country, then get them changed. But for the meantime, American companies are going to ship jobs overseas, with or without Wal-Mart. Don’t you get it?!

what a presentation..

well its clear from that meeting that wal-mart is scared...way to go wakeupwalmart.com...and walmartwatch…

good job...I love what UFCW is doing with both of these sites...hitting them on all sides...i love it!!

Conspiracy theorist? I think I’ve went over trade deficit
with China already. Apart from that you might evidence in
your stores of it. I mean something you can put your hands
on as I bet you’ll find at least one chinese item in whatever
Wal-Mart you want to visit.
Unions haven’t been encouraging trade with China. I might
be misreading you here. As far as filling the coffers of the
democratic party they certainly are guilty. If it was up to me
we would really open up the election system and I have to
tell you we need a lot more than the two parties that control
everything now. I would not allow the lobbyists, big buisness
or the unions to contribute money in the way they do. It’s in
my opinion anti-democratic. If it meant alloting free radio
and television time to the parties I think it would be much
better. It costs millions of dollars just to run for congress
these days which puts it out of the reach of the average citi-
zen. Again anti-democratic. I get the idea that some think
that I like the democrats. Last 3 elections. Perot. Nader. Nader. Voted for the green party candidate against Hilary
here for senator. Many if not most of the elite of the party
have supported our very bad trade policy. The foot soldiers
of this trade policy has been your rank and file republican.
Not that I would expect anything less. I’m assuming here
that’s more or less where you’re at. I also wonder if there
aren’t some talk or radio show guru behind some of the
democrats are responsible for everything bad that happens.
one problem with the democrats is they are disorganized
and unlike the lock step republicans about as incoherent as
it’s possible to be. Any real resistence however has come
from the democrats in the house.
Anyway here’s a story from the famous Nafta agreement
that Clinton pushed through. 2 days before the vote it wasn’t
looking very good. The Florida delegation was something like
3 for and 16 against. Mr. Kantor (Clinton’s trade rep) wanted
to meet with them. Newsmen ask Mr. Goss (current head of
CIA--then a represenative) what was going on. Goss was
adamant this meeting wasn’t going to change anything--it was just a courtesy to the president. One hour later they all
came out and now it was like 15 for and 4 against. More or
less they were bribed with favors like many others in other
states. They went from losing by 35 votes two days before
to winning by 35. The ironic thing is Clinton reneged on most
of these promises.

Larry,

1.
“Unions haven’t been encouraging trade with China. I might
be misreading you here. As far as filling the coffers of the
democratic party they certainly are guilty.”

True, unions didn’t directly support trade with foreign countries. But the fact that they financially support a party that is willing to cut trade deals with everybody in the world is outrageous. THEY USED UNION DUES TO SUPPORT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SAME JOBS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO PROCTECT! And then they publish websites (walmartwatch/wakeupwalmart) on which they point the finger at Wal-Mart and blame it for the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs. Just thinking about this makes me sick, and I’m not even a union member. You guys should be outraged.

I have to say that I completely understand and sympathise with your concerns on the issues discussed here. But the reform that needs to happen has to take place at a national level, not in Bentonville, Arkansas. Any reform must be applied to every business and institution, be it mom-and-pop or multi-national.

Walmartwatch is not going to solve any of these issues. It’s simply pointing out a symptom of a much larger illness.  Let’s all get our heads out of the sand and point the finger at the right folks...Washington D.C.

Of course we can lump all the unions together or not. By
the same token we can lump all the multi-nationals or the
banks together or not. The teamsters for example have a
very sordid history and even broke ranks once to endorse
Reagan. The air traffic controllers if I’m not mistaken also
endorsed Reagan in the election before he fired them all.
There are differences between them even if they share some
of the same goals. At the top of the Afl-cio is Sweeney who
I for one do not care for at all. When it comes to collecting
money for the democratic party they may help get some of
their chosen candidates elected on the other hand they cer-
tainly get betrayed by some of these people quite often. To
say however they shouldn’t raise money or endorse but at
the same time think it’s okay for religious or business enter-
prises to do the same is not fair. In any case it would be
better in my opinion if candidates were only allowed to take
money from individual contributions--were alloted free radio
and tv time in the public interest. We would cut off union,
lobby groups (which include foreign interests) of all kinds
including business, real estate, utilities and etc. etc. etc. We
should also encourage other parties to form in a real way.
In this regard instant runoff voting would be very helpful to
small parties and with open up our political system to new
ideas and make it accessible to to your average (non-mill-
ionaire) citizen.

In Maine and Arizona there is clean election funding. A sim-
ilar program is being tested in New Jersey. More or less the
idea is that if somebody wants to run for office in an un-
opposed election the state is required to fund he or she
to an amount enough to get their message out. So far the
results at least in Maine and Arizona have been pretty good.  I know there was a bill in the NYS legislature last year but am
not sure how it turned out--but I believe other states also are
considering it.

Larry, I am still waiting on your “facts” about walmart forcing companies to produce goods in China.  Giving us trade deficit data doesn’t prove that walmart is at fault.  One last thing, Larry, since you don’t shop at walmart, this exercise will be easy.  Take 15 minutes and walk around your house/apartment or whatever—look at the labels on your clothes, your appliances, your electronic equipment, etc.  Where were they made?  Since you did not buy them at walmart, then you have alot of other companies and retailers to start forcing change.  Let’s start with the bestbuywatch.com or the kohlswatch.com or the targetwatch.com or the dollartreewatch.com.

Howdy,
I was at the shareholders meeting this last week and it was an awesome experience.  I learned a lot of things over this past week some of which really surprised me.

Did you know that the International Teamsters, IBEW and one of the sheet metal unions have billions of shares of Wal-Mart stock in their retirement accounts?  I am impressed that some great unions are not afraid to own Wal-Mart stock and help the company grow.  No matter how you look at it, when a share returns over $2.00 per year in dividends it is great for that retirement account.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens with the returns this coming year.  Hopefully it will do better.

On a personal note; I have blogged here before and I get a kick out of some of the posts and comments.  Some of you have no idea what you are talking about and others have some valid comments.  What I have learned lately is Wal-Mart is a global company and much bigger than I thought.  We don’t do everything perfect; but for me, I try the best I can.  I am glad that the leadership in the company can admit mistakes and take actions to correct them. 
I love the job I have at the Mart, it is challenging, pays well and provides benefits I don’t get in the US Military.  (Wal-Mart is my second job) For instance, later in the year I am heading to the mid east, watch the news and you will have a good idea where I am going.  I will take a leave of absnece while I am gone; Wal-Mart will hold my job for up to four years and I maintain my same rate of pay, and still get my annual raise if I am gone on my anniversary.  Not too bad. 
There are good and bad things about ANY and EVERY job out there.  For those of you who have a job you love, you overlook the bad things and concentrate on the good.  For those of you who hate your job, you concentrate on the bad and overlook the good.  The choice is yours. 
If anyone would like to discuss this with me, I’d love to talk.  I am open to listen to your opinion, but I won’t listen to name calling, etc, etc.  Thanks for your time

Devin

First off Tom I think you should come clean instead of
all this intelligence gathering to reach a conclusion I think you’ve
already made. PBS did a documentary on Wal-Mart which
is easy to find on the internet. You won’t get numbers past
2003 though. It also has a great interview with a Jon Lehman
who managed a lot of their stores. If you’re wondering
whether there are chinese manufactured goods in my home I’m pretty sure they’re
in every house with the possible exception of the Walton
family. They can afford 35 million dollar paintings. They
don’t need their own cheap goods around. Even so I think
I would disappoint you with my own personal belongings. As
far as clothing I wear things into the ground. Shoes (ameri-
can) jeans (also american--I can give you brand names if
you need help) t-shirts (from all about but I don’t think I
have one from China) Jacket (Canadian). Other things I
spend money on. Books (I collect) Hockey equipment (tends
toward canadian/american). I have guitars and amps.
They’re old and american except for an 80’s strat which is
japanese. There’s really not much more that I’m interested
in. Kind of boring. A 93 subaru assembled in Indiana I be-
lieve and which like my clothes I intend to use until it won’t
go more. That’s enough personal stuff.
To go back to PBS. It might not satisfy you but there’s
plenty of other stuff out in cyberspace to satisfy anyone
who wants to look.
By the way there’s also questions I’ve asked above that
nobody seems to want to answer either. Maybe you’d like
to take a stab at the relationship between Wal-mart’s profits
and stinginess of Wal-mart’s wages and benefits?

Larry, you got me on the clothes.  If you are wearing clothing made 10 years ago or more, it has a chance being made in the U.S.  I have looked everywhere for all brands and see China, Mexico, Malaysia, etc.  It is not a walmart problem.  It is a US problem.

I will take a stab at walmarts profits.  Looking at their annual report—their profit is 3 cents of every dollar they sell.  How does that compare to other companies?  I don’t know.  You can educate me there.  And what should they be making, two cents, one cent?

As for your facts, I see now that you get them from TV.  Can’t say that I have ever watched a PBS special, so don’t know if it is neutral or not.  But it is very difficult to find any news source on TV that is neutral.  They all either slant to the right or left.  Another US problem, not walmart problem.

Amazing.

California has one of the best family success stories in fast food, In and Out Burger.  This family owned business that stretches into 3 states, offers their burger flippers more han CA min wage, AND part-timers get benefits.  Wal Mart can’t do the same?

Does Wal-Mart own the sweatshops in China?  Did Kathy Lee Gifford before she was hung out to dry?  She didn’t, but she was ONE Person whose name was on the clothing.  Wal-Mart is *pushing* for outsourcing AND they have the resources to make sure they get better manufacturing plants; as such they should be ESPECIALLY responsible for the working conditions of the companies they do business with.

And yes, pep rallies have been there from Day 1 to cover the shortfalls of people/organizations/religions & governments.  They is no different.  People fall for it all the time.  Yes, even the smart ones get suckers. Kind of a mob mentality takes over and the shock and awe value kicks in.

Union jean and apparel (union made) manufactures jeans
at a reasonable price. So does Pointer brand (non union).
They are american made. I could come up with a couple
more. There are some 300,000 textile jobs left in the country
so there are products out there. Carhart makes some of
theirs. New Balance if you go to their site and click on for
american made products have a nice selection-- that’s if you
can’t find what you want locally. There are several shoe
factories. Do a search on american made products and
you’ll find engines that’ll kick you into a variety of places.
You might also be surprised sometimes finding somebody
local who makes designs clothing who is reasonable and
the stuff is usually well made. Jackets aren’t hard to find
either over the internet. But people can be picky about
clothing. Basically most of what I wear is work related/casual.
Shirts not t-shirts can be tough.

Another question. This is tangentially related to Wal-Mart
but would just as easily apply to its competitors--so please
don’t take it to heart. Do you think there’s any relationship
between the rising levels of obesity in this country and the
idea of a consumer driven economy?

Tom,

Regarding the facts surrounding walmart’s pressure on vendors to go over seas, the following article sheds a lot of light on this:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

This article starting me on a path of seriously questioning the business ethics of walmart.  This issue is full of passion, but the above article is the closest I would cite as “required reading” for anyone who wants to understand the impact of globalization and the walmart ethic on our society.

That is a great article.  I read that well before WalMartWatch.com was created.  I did very little shopping at WM before, but once I found that article, I stripped all my shopping from Wal-Mart and have openly encouraged others to do so also.

My regular daytime job is as a Buyer for a business that exports their final product worldwide.  We apply pressure to our vendors to get us lower pricing, *but* I recognize American made quality, as well as keeping manufacturing jobs here at home when possible.  I *also* place a high value on keeping my suppliers in business, and in a relationship where they want to keep with us because we treat them fairly and with respect and dignity.

Why dont we just tear down downtown usa and build one huge super frigging center wal mart. We can all work there and they can pay us in tokens.

hey wayne, why don’t we just move to cuba?  Then we won’t have a free-market economy and everyone will get paid the same regardless of skill or education.  You can’t have economic winners without losers, and if your losing, maybe you need to better yourself instead of blaming others for your problems.

I have said this before and I will say it again:

If you are an employee and you don’t like what Wal-Mart has to offer-don’t work there!

If you are a vendor and you don’t like Wal-Mart’s practices-don’t deal with them!

If you are competitor and you just can’t make it-either change the way you do business or quit!

If you are a customer and you don’t like Wal-Mart-why do you shop there!

Was that so hard?

In 2004 Wal-Mart earned about 3.6 cents on every dollar of revenue. Compare that with Target (over 6 cents per dollar), K-Mart (roughly 6 cents per dollar) and Home Depot (nearly 8 cents on the dollar). Wal-Mart’s annual return to investors was below Target, K-Mart, JC Penney and Home Depot.

Why is this UFCW site attacking Wal-Mart, you say? Good question. The answer has nothing to do with making life better for Wal-Mart’s 1.6 million employees. Rather, the UFCW, like all unions, is dying, and is looking for a quick buck. See, the unions need money to fund left-wing political causes with which their membership has nothing in common. They need money to build luxury golf courses and union headquarters and to pay their officers huge salaries. In the case of the UFCW, there are more than 30 union executives who earned at least $200,000 each last year? Do you know who makes that kind of money? Pro athletes, some lawyers and doctors, CEO’s and investment bankers. UFCW officials need to keep their money rolling in. They took a look at Wal-Mart and said “1.6 million workers times $100 in initiation fees comes to $160 million in cash plus 1.6 million workers times $50 per month equals $80 million per month in union dues coming to a first year grand total of $1.12 billion in cash. Can you imagine the kind of left wing political causes and luxury homes for union officials that would be financed with such a score? Not to mention the unions “silent” partners in the scam. The losers: Wal-Mart and its workers. Both groups lose so the union can gain. Where is the benefit in this?

Someone explain economics to me. Apparently, I haven’t studied enough Marx.

I’ve been a long-term shareholder, almost 20 years now. I keenly remember when this corporation had quite a number of stock splits, but when was the LAST one? If anything, I’m losing money right now.  Wal-Mart has some excellent stores such as Dubuque, IA (which I was told were among the first to try out the U-Scan) then you have the opposite end of the spectrum at Auburn, AL. I’m told by a trusted friend that their management apparently believes the U-Scan is more important than sufficient staff at the checkouts. Keep in mind that U-Scan closes at night, causing major queues at the few checkout lines that are open. Waiting 15 minutes - sometimes longer, is now the norm, and that absolutely wears on the patience, and wastes the customer’s most precious commodity; TIME. Any customer issue that requires a price check or management intervention further holds up the line. Furthermore, there are specific items which by law cannot be automatically checked via U-Scan, so there must always be someone manning it while those lanes are open to ensure compliance with laws (such as any wine or beer that some stores sell, and in the case of Arkansas where I live, specific quantities of OTC drugs that can be used in making “meth”, a major problem here.)
It’s possible the Auburn management could counter the other rather pathetic major chain stores in their city. I’ve heard quite a bit already, but why MY investment? Why must this particular store stagnate to reflect the remainder of the town? If anything, Wal-Mart should be THE difference, and remain so. Maybe in reflection, management should ask “What would Sam do?” and take time to reflect their answers. Customer Service was amongst Sam’s priorities when he ran it. It should NEVER be second-fiddle.
Due to both a 20% decrease in share value over last year, and ongoing issues at stores such as Auburn, AL, I’ve already withheld my votes for their directors. Even though in the percentage of things, it’s insignificant, it nevertheless should get their attention. If this webpage magnifies it further, and more shareholders join in next year, it will gain attention that the Walton’s wouldn’t want. They should insist on increasing customer service. Talk around Auburn is ripe with gleeful anticipation of the new Target across the street. No doubt the eastern Alabama summertime will bring on much heat, and I’m NOT talking about what shows on the thermometer. If Wal-Mart improves their service to something more acceptable, it should be a consistent change. This will be a great start to repair at least part of Wal-Mart’s image.
Bentonville, I suspect you’re reading this. This native Arkie who lives under a 3 hour drive has 3 pieces of advice in closing:

1) Bring back sufficient customer service to ALL your stores, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Clubs included. Of credit to the corporation; Sam’s is crowded, but they appear to staff their checkouts quite well.

2) Bring back the better share price! Even with the dividend, I’d had made more money SHORTING you. Considering your stores are profitable enough that new Supercenters are being constructed in both Russellville and Dardanelle, just miles apart (and I’ve seen no mention of any threatened building moratoriums being enacted by either town) this should also be reflected in the stock price, but hasn’t. I don’t buy the “poor sentiment” statement at face value yet. I’ve been to Missouri quite often, so Show Me!

3) Expand your explanation on walmartfacts dot com as the site is too vague on many things you state. If you’re going to spend greater resources on public relations, don’t be a wuss about it. Be direct and be prepared to expand on figures you cite.

P.S., I don’t believe that unionization of any Wal-Mart store will help overall matters for long-term. I agree with most anti-unionists that unions will demand too much from employees, and are rather unflexible in most aspects toward corporations. Having any part of Wal-Mart as unionized will hurt both the company and employees in the long run. I expect GM to face bankruptcy shortly due to the inflexibility of the UAW, in particular toward spiraling double-digit annual percentage increases in health care premiums, and am preparing to short their shares when the present dollar rally fizzles despite any sweetheart shareholder or golden prince deals. Under the status quo, I can’t see where GM’s situation is even self-sustaining, much less for Wal-Mart in the long run under a union.

To Steve who wrote on June 6....You say, “You can’t have economic winners without losers......” Have you considered what that says about capitalism?  How do you have a true democracy with a system that has losers built into it?  And I’m not a communist or any other ist.  I just think that’s an oxymoron....sorta like fighting a war to create peace.

Well, Cecile,
I guess my point is two-fold.  Life is not fair, and if someone wins at anything(sports included) someone else loses and that’s just the way it is.If there weren’t losers, there wouldn’t be winners either right?  It’s not an oxymoron.  It’s a foundamental principle in our universe.  The Red Sox won the World series, right? well gues what, there are 31 other teams that lost.  Are you really suggesting that because the Red Sox won and the Yankees didn’t that baseball is flawed?  You don’t hear the 31 other teams complaining that everyone should have won.  And if you don’t like capitalism, move to Cuba, I hear everyone is a real economic winner there, nobody loses.

Cecile and Steve,
I think you both have some misconceptions.  Cecile about capitalism, and Steve about our constitution. 

Now, Cecile you may be recieving some misinformation from Steve when he says things like:
“… if someone wins at anything(sports included) someone else loses and that’s just the way it is...”
Sports metaphors are usually not very good at depicting economics Steve.  Read your Adam Smith.  Sure capitalism rewards competition, but it also rewards innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness.  On average we’re all living about twice as long as our great great grandparents, we have better food, shelter and education.  When innovation is harnessed everyone can win.  When we moved from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing economy peoples lives (over time) improved.  Everyone was a winner. 
When Edison gave us the lightbulb and phonograph, everyones lives were enriched.  And at least part of the reason he did that was to make money (capitalism).  He could get labor and tools easily because of the free market for both.  He acted in enlightend self interest.  He could, and did in this free market purchase the means of production (private property is the second of the two legs that capitalism stands on). 

Private property is mentioned a few times in the constitution.  I am unaware of free markets being mentioned at all. 
Private property is mentioned in the fourth,fifth and fourteenth amendments:
4:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
5:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
14:
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

moreover, the preamble states:
We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

This suggests to me that promoting of the general welfare is within the scope of governments duties.  So far in the history of our country, capitalism has generally (perhaps baring the great depression) promoted the general welfare.  Advocating for win-win situations (via innovation, via ephemeralization of goods, via automation) is all within the scope of capitalism and our constitution, it’s what we want to encourage.

Now, so far things look pretty good for capitalism and not so good for socialism(see Cuba and the ex-Soviet block countries for references).  Having said that, the motivation provided by capitalism can lead to companies/people trying to externalize costs (walmart employees not having health services and using the state health services is an externalization of costs) which may DEmote the general welfare and should be avoided.

Jeff,

You had me up until your last couple of sentences.  I don’t agree that Walmart’s employees don’t have health services.  I think that you’re suggesting that they can’t afford their health coverage.  Even assuming that to be the case (and if you believe Walmartfacts.com, that isn’t the case) I guess that these employees would be better off if they didn’t have their jobs?  Wouldn’t that be a drain on the general welfare?  Also, Walmart has what, 1 million workers in the US?  Their statistics show that 140 million people frequent their stores on a weekly basis.  Their low costs have done more to keep inflation in check in this country than any other company I can think of.  Can you think of another?  On balance, I would suggest that their relentless efficiency and thus, low costs, aids the general welfare.

Current economic reality dictates that companies are pushing more and more of their health care costs onto their employees.  Remember the CA grocery worker strike?  I’ve read that it was the longest grocery strike in history.  One of the main motivations for that strike was that the unionized grocery stores wanted to make their employees pick up more of the costs of health care.  While that strike was going on, the UFCW did the exact same thing to its employees.

From The Week magazine:

Investing wizard Warren Buffet estimates that Wal-Mart probably saves U.S. consumers $10 billion a year—and has almost single-handedly prevented the return of inflation.

“They have done more than Alan Greenspan to lower prices,” said Burt Flickinger III of Reaching Marketing, a Connecticut consulting firm.

This site alleges that Walmart costs taxpayers $1.5B a year in health benefits.  Assuming that to be the case (unlikely, but I’ll use it for the sake of this argument) that means that taxpayers receive a net benefit of $8.5 billion a year thanks to Walmart.

Mitchell, IF walmart has done more to hold lower prices than Greenspan ( not that that is his job) that is a miracle considering they do about 5% of retail sales according to their own CEO.

The cost of healthcare is the tip of the iceberg as to the total tax breaks, grants and subsidies so it is a negatibe. Might try getting a copy of the University study called “The Hometown Advatage” to see the results over a 20+ year period. I found a copy on Amazon.

I do admit that the more I read here the more I see how powerful wally washing is

Jeff, I think you are misunderstanding my point.  Not every single person will “win” economically.  It is fundamentally impossible.  There can be lots of winners, but not everyone.

Nick…
“IF walmart has done more to hold lower prices than Greenspan ( not that that is his job) that is a miracle considering they do about 5% of retail sales according to their own CEO. “

Well, if one store drops their prices(WM), the other ones do too(other stores), that’s how they can influence more than their 5% share.  It’s not a miracle, its the power of competition, and the consumer wins.

Nick,

You seem to be operating under the assumption that Walmart and only Walmart gets tax breaks and subsidies.  That just isn’t the case.  What is true, and one of the things that I truly admire about Walmart, is that they pass any cost savings that they achieve on to their customers.  We know this is true because their margin over the last several years has remained a consistent 3 cents on every dollar spent in their stores. 

Call it Wally Washing if you want, but I’m upfront about the fact that I think it is a great company.  This site, however, is a bunch of unions hiding behind a “Reform Walmart” banner.  You don’t really believe that their motives are altruistic, do you?

I have been an employee for Wal-Mart for 4 years now, and the scandals and controversy which have plagued the company have been the topic of many breakroom conversations. I work the night shift, so gossip and company bashing are pretty much all there is to do at 2 am in the middle of nowhere in Arkansas. I have seen many people who have been passionately for AND against the company and its practices, but I must admit I am on neither side 100%.

I shall address the “poverty wages” issue first. I do not recall, if stated, what state currently has a Wal-Mart where its average pay is $10/hr, but it is NOT it’s home state. You are considered lucky if you start out a dollar above minimum wage here. However, since this area is only small retailers and factory work, starting pay is fair considering I could be working for minimun wage at Fred’s or Dollar General, so I won’t complain.

I WILL complain, however, about the spending of the apparent declining profit they can’t afford to waste. We can’t get a minute of overtime or a break from any deductions, yet they can afford to spend millions on a painting 99% of us will never see, or “selflessly donate” hundreds of millions to a college we won’t attend? There’s some grattitude for you. Give the money away, but not to the people who keep this company going! I need groceries and electricity, screw the painters and their educators...ha!

As far as the insurance problem goes, I am grateful insurance is offered, regardless of the expense. However, there are those who can’t afford the yearly increases due to “associates actually using the insurance,” so they must go to alternatives, whether it be state or private.

The non-domestic manufacturer issue is another story. Wal-Mart is NOT the only one who buys from over-seas, but taking company size into prospective, I can see how it is blamed. Prices must be considered though. For example, if an American manufacturer demands $7 for a product, and a Chinese manufacturer demands $3 for their version of the SAME product, who do you think they are going to buy from? The competition aspect of retailing will tell them “if we buy it for $7, resell it at $8, we won’t sell as much as if we buy it for $3 and resell it at $4.” Patriotic or not, better business tells you to go for the cheaper one if you want to save money. It may not be right to take jobs from the Americans by doing so, but that’s not any one retailer’s fault, blame the greed in all companies and all manufacturers.

I have a relative who works in management for a large competing grocery chain, who refuses to let his wife shop at a Wal-Mart because “all they’re trying to do is run <company’s name withheld> out of business.” I understand his reasoning behind that, because then he would be out of a job. On the other side of that, however, his mother worked for Wal-Mart for 20 years, retired, and got rich off of profit-sharing and stock holdings. Her salary paid their bills when he was child, and still supports his family yet he seems entirely against them because of their “intentions.” True, they’re attempting to monopolize everything, but when they can offer services cheaper, that seems inevitable.

Now I’ll address this whole Stakeholder’s Meeting shananagun. Frankly, the event doesn’t mean crap to the million of us that WEREN’T invited, that WEREN’T entertained by celebrities, and that DIDN’T get to do the stupid squiggly cheer, so I’m tired of hearing about how THAT chunk of change was spent. But let me tell you something that you DON’T hear. Yes, Wal-Mart has its corporate issues, and practices that none of us like, but when you get down to the grit, the heart and soul of the company, you DO find a family. There isn’t a company out there that IS perfect, that DOESN’T have problems. However, the workers themselves get to know and help each other. I work with some of the most awesome, interesting people you would ever meet. Humble, hard-working people that would literally give you the shirt off their back or their last crumb of food if you asked for it. They keep an atmosphere that is pleasant to work in, despite all the b.s. going on at a corporate level. They have deemed us “barely employable” and, insulting as that is, we still stick together if for nothing else than to pay the bills.

Whether or not you choose to shop at a Wal-Mart or a Sam’s is your own personal choice. If your conviction keeps you from walking through those giant white letters, then that’s OK, you cannot be blamed for your beliefs. But just remember that every bottle of shampoo, package of toilet paper, or every banana you buy, regardless of origin or country MADE IN, you are helping to pay those “barely employable” associates’ paychecks. In closing, I would like to thank you for shopping your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart Supercenter, have a nice day!

I work overnight at Wal-Mart.  Those cut throught bastards difinately wouldn’t pee on me if I was on fire.  The gossip is so thick I swear, i’ts ridiculous.  People have no lives.  The managers are to scared to do anything about it, unless the gossip involves them.  I know that every job has gossip, but when people say that you’re giving lap dances to management in recieving, that’s extreme.  Oh well..what can you do?