Wal-Mart will now time stockers, those that cannot meet times will be fired...

[Modern_Matthew]

Doesn't this violate some kind of labor law or something? Older associates will struggle the worst with this.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. link?

[Modern_Matthew]

5. There is no news article about it...

It is being discussed on Wal-Mart employee forms and associate meetings.

The program is called MyGuide if anyone wants to try and find more information.

[Brickbat]

2. What, meeting a time limit? If the job description calls for a time limit and the employee can't

make it, sounds like they're out of luck. Good thing they don't have a union, though; they might lose money on the dues or something.

[Taverner]

3. This is why you need a union nt

[Cobalt Violet]

4. Looks like they will be paying a lot of unemployment claims then.

At least in my state. Here in MA they are free to fire you for no reason at all but you have to do something really bad (illegal things) to be unable to collect unemployment if fired.

I think it varies from state to state.

[apocalypsehow]

6. When I night-stocked grocery shelves in college, it depended on the contents of the aisle, because

different aisles took more or less time depending on if you were throwing (that's the 1980s night-stocker term for "putting the groceries on the shelf") soup or cereal, to use two examples. It also depended, of course, upon how big the order was on any given aisle.

We were never timed, however. There was, rather, a rough consensus about how long any given aisle should take to throw. If a guy (and we were all guys, BTW) was lagging behind one night on an aisle, his "aisle-buddy" (the guy two aisles down from him; aisles to stock were assigned in twos per person, with exceptions I will discuss below) would usually double-back and help him finish up.

Older associates, now that's an interesting conundrum. We had a couple of guys in their late fifties (I considered that ancient at the time; not so much now, of course), who had been with the store a long, long time. Good workers, but they obviously weren't going to keep up with college-aged guys in the prime of their lives. The night manager assigned them to throw one aisle apiece, and then go back to aisles #2 & #3 respectively and start on the facing. This was the two older guy's job after they threw one aisle, and looking back, it was the right way to distribute the work.

"Facing" is when you start at one end of an aisle and working your way down it to line up all the products nice and neat on the shelves, so they look professionally done, like in a TV commercial. After all the rest of the store was "thrown," and we'd all taken a break, the rest of us would join them in facing the rest of the store till quittin' time. It was also the time you were supposed to make sure the most dated stock was toward the front, so they would sell first. Usually you took a basket along with you so you could toss any beat up or damaged-looking product in the basket: customers absolutely will not buy a product that looks damaged unless its discounted.

I doubt WalMart will be so kind or equitable - all they care about is efficiency, efficiency, efficiency.

[madrchsod]

7. walmart distribution centers time employees to thee second

on every job in their facilities. this is also commom in many factories in the usa. by using computer tracking the new standard is by the second now.

when i had a real job i was paid a base rate and by the piece. another real job i my base was tonage plus a set wage.

[doc03]

8. I know several people that have worked at a Walmart

distribution center near me and that is nothing new. I have been told they even keep track of how many times you use the restroom and stand outside with a stop watch timing you. They give you a list of orders to fill and you have so many minutes to complete them or you get a demerit, so many of them you are gone.

on edit: Walmart is not alone we have a Cabela's and a Cardinal Health distribution center here and they do the same.

[GP6971]

10. All major grocery wholesalers

do the same thing. Not only are you timed, but you are evaluated on the number of mispicks.

[Marblehead]

9. This may force human evolution

and not in a good way..