Does Wal-Mart Get A Bad Rap?

[THUNDER HANDS]

Now, I know what you're thinking...

"HELL NO."

But before you type that, hear me out. I've never set foot inside a Wal-Mart before yesterday. Prior to that, I had read 'Nickeled and Dimed' and had a general idea of what Wal-Mart does to their employees and how they treat them and the harm they do to the neighborhoods they set up shop in.

Now, I can only speak for myself and my short experience yesterday, so let me get right to the point.

I went in looking for a job. I had filled out an application a few weeks ago and got called back for an interview.

I came in, had a first interview, then went and filled out a survey, came back and had two more interviews, one of which just basically reviewed what I had written on the survey.

At the end of the third interview I was told that they liked me and that I was hired. They wanted me to be a cashier.

Now, since I read that the lady in 'Nickeled and Dimed' got paid some ridiculously low amount, I was expecting like $6.00 an hour.

Instead, the offered me $9.50, which I'm pretty sure is a good wage for a cashier. The last time I worked retail the most I ever got was $7. That was in 1998 or so, maybe they adjusted for inflation - but I don't think the minimum wage has increased since then.

So, I'm wondering, if Wal-Mart pays better than advertised, is it possible that other things said about Wal-Mart are untrue as well?

BTW, this Wal-Mart is in Long Island, NY - not some podunk town in the mid-west. I don't know if that makes a difference at all, but maybe some DUers who live out there and know someone who works at those Wal-Marts could post how much people out there get paid.

I don't know if I'll take the job, either. I got another offer from Office Max, which pays a dollar less an hour. But, at least its not Wal-Mart.

Also, its just a part-time job while I'm in school - not something I'm doing for the rest of my life.

[Sanity Claws]

1. No benefits

That's something to throw in the pot in deciding which offer is better.
As for your going to school, be careful. You need a steady shift if you are planning to take classes. Are you sure Wal-mart is willing to give you a regular shift? I understand that they retain the right to give you whatever shifts they want.

[THUNDER HANDS]

4. 9-hour shifts

they want me on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

I told them I wasn't available Mon-Thursday from 9-4 because I had school. Plus I told them 25-hours max a week.

[SammyWinstonJack]

29. I worked for Wal Mart part time while taking classes

and before I was hired, they promised that I would not be scheduled during class hours. That lasted all of two weeks. I finally quit, school was more important to me.

[ohioliberal]

2. First off you have to do what you have

to do to make money, especially with so many people out of work. Second your in school and every little bit of money helps. Thirdly, the wage you are getting is because it's in Long Island, NY and I know for a fact that here in Columbus, OH they only pay about $7 something an hour.

[hoosierblue]

3. Aside from the glaring fact...

that it's in New York (trust me, Hoosiers don't make squat) you're also a male. I'm assuming you're also a white male. You're also a young white male in school. Living with parents? Probably. Part-time so they don't have to pay benefits? Yes.

It only seems a deal to you because you're in school. I'd suggest you stay in school.

[THUNDER HANDS]

6. well, the life of a wal-mart cashier seems enticing

but I think I'll stick with option A - graduating from college and getting started in my career field. :D

[hoosierblue]

12. Excellent choice!!!

Good luck.

:D

[politicaholic]

5. Even after reading I said "Hell No!". Small business matters to me.

They have a concerted comprehensive plan to destroy competition from small business. Thus an assault on the American small town. The plan has been published many times.

You get your $9.50. Please use it to get an education and strip yourself of the chains.

[intheflow]

7. Office Max or Wal-Mart

Either job is working for the evil empire. You have to make a living, you have to pay the bills.

But consider this before you go praising Wal-Mart.

1) jobs in the northeast pay higher because the cost of living is higher. Still doesn't mean it's a living wage.

2) I could not support myself and my son working full-time on $9.50/hr in the early 1990's. I had to take other jobs to cover the costs of living. (This was in rural Massachusetts.) I'm sure buying power has one down considerably since then.

I'm sure it's ok money for a single guy, part-time in college (and where do you live? with your folks? with room mates who help pay the bills? in a dorm?). But it's not a living wage for a family. Even a family of two. And especially not in Long Island!

[THUNDER HANDS]

10. oh yeah

its nowhere near a living wage. I wasn't saying that.

But the mindset I had going in was that Wal-Mart pays its employees the bare minimum - as in $5.75 or whatever minimum wage is these days.

When he said $9.50 I was shocked.

I guess it has to do with where I live, because I'm pretty sure a living wage on Long Island (where a one-bedroom apartment is about $1,500 a month) is closer to $13-14 an hour for a single guy.

For the life of me I can't imagine how a person with a family survives working at Wal-Mart.

[intheflow]

16. Yes, hiring a single guy part-time

no benefits, etc. at $9.50/hr. not only helps perpetuate the myth that Wal-Mart pays a living wage, but also that the only people working in retail are "kids" making a little "extra spending money" on the side.

I did a summer internship about 2 years ago for a labor union. I couldn't believe how many people I talked with thought that all cashiers and stock people were kids! Its like they never saw 70% of the people working the registers. One woman called me after we talked and said that when she went to Safeway that night she looked--really looked--at the cashiers and was shocked to see I was right. In fact, she said, only one person working there looked under 25. She did some volunteering with the union after that. It was the only bright spot in a summer of frustration.

[Solon]

17. Magic Rat, some tips to survive Wal-Mart....

One, carry around a notebook, like one of the small ones, mark down the days and times you clock in and out, note the dates too. Compare to your checks EVERY time, they routinely short hours, even for part timers. If a manager asks you to work off the clock AFTER you already clocked out, refuse outright, they can't fire you for that, and if they do, you can either sue, or its no great loss to you. I would say carry a small tape recorder around and record their conversations for your own protection, but you might get caught, so don't do it unless you think something is going on. Oh, BTW: while there, note how they break federal laws constantly, and check the fire doors, by law they should be clear of obstructions and should NOT be chained or locked. Ours were chained shut, you can give them all types of hell, if you do it on the sly. :evilgrin:

[Solon]

8. Cashiers are paid as much as 2 dollars an hour more than floor...

associates, I worked there two years, and they shafted me several times. They will routinely forget to give you breaks etc. Plus you live in Long Island, in my neck of the woods, its still 6-7 dollars an hour, cashiers around 7, floor associates around 6. Don't buy into the bullshit, oh by the way, have fun lasting two weeks. :)

[rabid_nerd]

9. Take Wal-Mart

Contact the Union, try to organize.

Be suttle. Make your money off of them, but make your mark while you're there.

[K-W]

11. Northeastern Walmarts are a different beast.

Northeastern states have pesky things like labor laws and competition for labor.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. Just wait 'til they make you work OT off the clock

remember the scandal unearthed this year? They (managers) had workers punch out but then asked them to stay and continue to work in order to make it look more productive and profitable.
W-M is an evil fucking empire.

[Solon]

15. Yep they did that too me...

Told me to fill out a time card so they would correct it, well guess what, they didn't, and the card itself disappeared, kinda hard to prove that shit.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

18. and that is but one of MANY things W-M does to heighten profitability

and Wall Street rewarded them by making them one of the fucking DOW JIA 30 stocks.
Tell me about "moral values" in this country again?

[THUNDER HANDS]

19. yeah i heard about that

You know what I also found unbelievable.

The Wal-mart I applied to, its opening at the end of January - they hired 400 people to work there.

FOUR HUNDRED.

The Office Max next door...

... 12 people.

[conflictgirl]

22. That's because of expected turnover and giving more employees fewer hours.

nt

[Mend]

14. Suppose you weren't going to college

and you had to work there the rest of your life. And they never would give you full-time so you would never have benefits. And if you were a woman, you would never get a promotion...if that is a lie, why is there a huge class-action lawsuit about this. And since Wallmart gets all its junk from China, no other US worker is helped. The little stores in town go out of business so if you were fired, where would you go next. It doesn't matter if you work there but I sure hope you don't buy anything from them.

[conflictgirl]

20. It's definitely because of where you live

Jobs pay better in areas with higher cost of living, because they have to. I have a friend here in a moderate-size town in Michigan who works as a cashier for Walmart and she makes $5.50 an hour. Minimum wage is *still* $5.15 an hour, by the way. Fast food pays minimum wage around here, too. Down near Detroit you can get fast food jobs that pay more like $8.00 an hour, but rent is almost double what it is here so it all evens out.

[TolstoyAndy]

21. Evil scum

as bad as Bill Frist (R-Cat Killer):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1108929

[NewYorkerfromMass]

23. http://www.walmart-blows.com/ (forums too!)

http://www.walmart-blows.com/

[Solon]

25. Holy Shit check this guy out!!!!

If I find any Wood Village, OR employees on this site, they will be terminated immediately!

If you have whiney complaints about Wal-Mart or our Wood Village store, my office door is always open to you. Please feel free to let me know your pathetic gripes in person. Also please don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. There's hundreds of people in the Portland/Vancouver area that would love to have your job and, unlike a number of you, some of them can even speak English and read and write. They'd even be willing to work for less than you lazy scum.

Wal-Mart corporate gave the Republican Party over $1.6 million dollars in the last election to ensure President George W. Bush's re-election. Since he has been re-elected, we can count on a business climate that continues to be favorable to us and our model management practices. We will continue to be able to import as much as we want from China and other low wage countries to undercut American manufacturers and to boost our margins. We will continue to be able to dictate labor terms favorable to the company both here and abroad. There is nothing that can stand in the way of our growth and that includes YOU!

If you are ever terminated from any Wal-Mart anywhere, you will never be able to find employment again. We DO comment on your performance and personality to any other employers who check references, and these days, that's everyone. If you are currently a Wal-Mart employee, you'd better get used to the concept that the sun rises and sets on Wal-Mart. Everything you do better make you look good to my eyes. You better not be complaining to your fellow employees either. If you overhear one of your coworkers who is unhappy, I expect to hear about it from you. If I find out you heard something but didn't report it, you are just as guilty in my eyes and just as fired.

Merry Christmas!

Link is here: http://www.walmart-blows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=421

[K-W]

27. That looks like a bit to me. n/t

[Sanity Claws]

24. Workers comp

I remember Wal-Mart ran into some serious problems about two years ago in Oregon because of the way it administered its workers comp program. Oregon refused to allow Wal-Mart to administer its own workers comp program after a history of abusive tactics.

[InvisibleBallots]

26. Yes, Walmart gets a bad rap - a well deserved one

$9.50 an hour on Long Island? Chump change, it's not even a living wage.

Let's not forget that Walmart is collaborating with the Chinese Communist regime, and profiting from slave labor.

[Tony_Illinois]

28. Don't Work at Wal-Mart

Especially if you have other offers. Wal-Mart is the last place you want to be associated with. Don't drink any Kool-Aid they offer you.