New York Times (Sunday): Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart

[Jack Rabbit]

From the New York Times
Dated Sunday January 18

Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart
By Stephen Greenhouse

Looking back to that night, Michael Rodriguez still has trouble believing the situation he faced when he was stocking shelves on the overnight shift at the Sam's Club in Corpus Christi, Tex.
It was 3 a.m., Mr. Rodriguez recalled, some heavy machinery had just crushed his ankle, and he had no idea how he would get to the hospital.
The Sam's Club, a Wal-Mart subsidiary, had locked its overnight workers in, as it always did, to keep robbers out and, as some managers say, to prevent employee theft. As usual, there was no manager with a key to let Mr. Rodriguez out. The fire exit, he said, was hardly an option — management had drummed into the overnight workers that if they ever used that exit for anything but a fire, they would lose their jobs.
"My ankle was crushed," Mr. Rodriguez said, explaining he had been struck by an electronic cart driven by an employee moving merchandise. "I was yelling and running around like a hurt dog that had been hit by a car. Another worker made some phone calls to reach a manager, and it took an hour for someone to get there and unlock the door."
The reason for Mr. Rodriguez's delayed trip to the hospital was a little-known Wal-Mart policy: the lock-in. For more than 15 years, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has locked in overnight employees at some of its Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. It is a policy that many employees say has created disconcerting situations, such as when a worker in Indiana suffered a heart attack, when hurricanes hit in Florida and when workers' wives have gone into labor.

Read more.

[R3dD0g]

1. I worked for Walmart a few years ago.

We were locked in every night until the store was cleaned. We did have a manager present. But, we were still locked up. I finally began clocking out a few minutes early and sneaking out when the manager wasn't looking.

I didn't last but 6 months.

[brainshrub]

2. Whe are these people going to unionize?

I don't get it. Why aren't they union yet? Why don't they all get a clue!

[Jack Rabbit]

4. WalMart has a lot of rules for its employees

For instance, you can be fired for using certain four-letter words in the work place with which most of us are familiar and use every once in a while.

So, anybody who has ever used one of those four letter words may find himself out of a job whenever he uses a certain five-letter word.

Of course, it's against the law to fire an employee for using that five-letter word. At least, it still is.

[bluestateguy]

3. Simple solution for this

Don't shop there. And I don't. I'll pay more somewhere else.

[Lefty48197]

5. How many reasons do we need to BOYCOTT WALMART?

?

[MasonJar]

6. I refuse to shop at Walmart or join Sam's Club.

These people are ruthless. This is how American Corporations get to be wealthy...on the abuse of the employees who do the actual work in exchange for a miserable salary and no benefits; that is, the ones who haven't outsourced the jobs.

[alarimer]

7. hmmm

This particular store in located in the "barrio" and presumably many workers are Hispanic (as is the majority of the population here in Corpus Christi) so the fact that they only lock the stores in some areas at night seems to indicate a pattern of racism on the part of Walmart officials. Not that that would surprise me in the least. And this story got no airplay on local TV that I recall or was ever in the paper (The Caller-Times; or the Smaller Times as I call it).

What a stupid thing to do- lock the employees in without a manager with a key???