Holding Walmart responsible for not providing healthcare for millions of people in a country where most are without that same care is ridiculous. Does the business you own provide you with healthcare?
The bottom line is that Americans want low prices and convienence. They don't care about the ramifications because they don't see them. Sure, everyone wants other people to be healthy, the air and rivers to be clean, and for things to work out nicely but nobody actually wants to pay for them.
Whether you like Wal-Mart or hate them, you cannot deny that.
There are at least two sides to every story. It looks like that last excerpt definitely skews to one side.
Only 38% have benefits"" --- How many people have some/all benefits at other businesses? How many people stay employed long enough to have the benefits? How many more people does Wal-Mart incorporate as opposed to other places?
Where are the comparisons?
Does Target ever get reprimanded?
Are people forced to work at Wal-Mart or are they given an option to work there?
Is Wal-Mart outperforming other businesses?
Does Target take away from small businesses?
How much would the $11,000 or $15,000 a year employees have made normally?
Does Wal-Mart hire people other places such as SMALL BUSINESSES wouldn't have?
Do small businesses pollute or accrew wastefulness? If so, does it get unnoticed by the consumer watchdogs because it is so small and it is easier to go after a big corporation?
Do other places have racial/gender discrimination suits?
Is Wal-Mart a victim of its on prosperity?
Are there people that hate just to hate?
Should Wal-Mart be given some credit for stepping up with this inaguaral store and the possibility of more to come despite possible losses?
Hmmmmm...More than just the clear 100% black that anti-Wal-Marters would have you believe?
I'm no expert on the retail business, but aren't MOST retail jobs part-time positions?Many of the people working on the floor at Walmart are part-time as well, so that Walmart will not have to give them benefits. It's notoriously difficult for anyone to get a full-time position there.
I mean, couldn't you say the same thing about Kroger, HEB, The Gap, Best Buy, etc.?
Well thank you for deciding what my standards should be, Chris! Its not about the health insurance, it is about the weekly hours, the wages they are paid etc etc.
Would those things be legal in the US? Would it be OK to make products in those conditions here?
Very true.The bottom line is that Americans want low prices and convienence. They don't care about the ramifications because they don't see them. Sure, everyone wants other people to be healthy, the air and rivers to be clean, and for things to work out nicely but nobody actually wants to pay for them.
Whether you like Wal-Mart or hate them, you cannot deny that.
You cant have things both ways.
Wal-Mart's rebuttal to your claims, Manny.
Just thought I throw it in the mix....
So Wal Mart should pay those works 8 bucks an hour and work em 40 hours a week?Well thank you for deciding what my standards should be, Chris! Its not about the health insurance, it is about the weekly hours, the wages they are paid etc etc.
Would those things be legal in the US? Would it be OK to make products in those conditions here?
I was talking about the airtanks they sell in Walmart which are made in China. They are welded pressure vessels. They are bombs. The weak part in the design are the welds. If Walmart doesn't want to get sued, they tested them extensively, but you cannot convince me that the welds are of the highest quality, and I doubt they X-rayed them extensively. Fabricated chinese products are notoriously shoddy, and tell me that a Chinese worker gives a if one out of 100,000 of their product blows up in some decadent capitallist's face.
Even if I concede every point about discrimination and worker conditions to you, it changes nothing about how WalMart detracts form the economy in the long run and it does nothing in regards to their history regarding pollution.
Sixty percent of Wal-Mart associates are female and our manager ranks are over 40 percent female, including professionals like pharmacists and opticians. In 2004, thousands of female hourly associates received promotions, a rate that exceeds their representation in the qualified applicant pool. That means that if 50 percent of the qualified applicants were female, for example, 50 percent or more of those promoted were female
Whoops.......
I know about the major class-action lawsuit against Walmart regarding paying less money to women that are in equal position as men, etc. The suit has become the largest private civil rights case in U.S. history. Has that case been settled, or is it still ongoing?
You could prob say the same thing for some american welds.I was talking about the airtanks they sell in Walmart which are made in China. They are welded pressure vessels. They are bombs. The weak part in the design are the welds. If Walmart doesn't want to get sued, they tested them extensively, but you cannot convince me that the welds are of the highest quality, and I doubt they X-rayed them extensively. Fabricated chinese products are notoriously shoddy, and tell me that a Chinese worker gives a if one out of 100,000 of their product blows up in some decadent capitallist's face.
Dont get me started on needing ASTM standards and european standards being inferior.
It is still ongoing.
That's a positive way to stay on the negative side.
This is one of the most ridiculous statements you have made. Very ethno-centric.
We spent more than $150 billion with U.S. suppliers in 2004 for things such as various products on our shelves, to the concrete it takes to build our buildings, to the electricity that powers them. A single company with sales of that magnitude would rank #6 on the Fortune 500. You can count on this fact, too: The products and services from US suppliers sold at Wal-Mart stores provide good jobs to more than 3 million employees at 61,000 suppliers in states across America.
Another factoid to shoot down the " Everything they buy is made in China" theory.
Just wanted to make sure this didn't get lost in the shuffle, since it was the last post on the previous page.
Even if I conceed to you they have a history of pollution and then I go ahead and conceed to you the majority other major corporations don't, shouldn't consumer watchdogs like yourself be proud that Wal-Mart has taken an uncharted step in environmental protection. I didn't see your kudos. This is what you wanted, right?
Last I heard it was still ongoing, it will be interesting to see how it pans out though.
By looking at everything they do that I don't agree with? Well, Wal-Mart needs to not give me such a big list to work from.
Undoubtly some of the things I complain about them are being fixed, have been fixed, or were never issues. Also, they more than likely catch more flack for their actions because of their size. I'm not debating any of that.
But there is more than enough information on their business practices on things they have done that I do not agree with to keep me locked in on boycotting them.
That store will make money make no bones about it, but the first couple years, they will have problems, and nothing will work perfectly.
I do salute Wal Mart for this endevor, and it would be neat if they could adapt ALL their stores to this energy.
If you're going to hire someone for part time work, then work them part time. Don't hire someone under the false name of part-time if you're going to work them 39 hours a week on a regular basis - if that's the case, then you must need them full-time, so don't be a jerk and refuse them benefits when you need the work they do.
Walmart could power one of their stores from the hot air expended in this thread alone...I do salute Wal Mart for this endevor, and it would be neat if they could adapt ALL their stores to this energy.
One store? No, I want these measures taken to be a standard. I know that doesn't happen overnight, and while yes it is a step in the right direction you have to also question whether this is a token response or not. Are they right now opening dozens of stores without this measure while putting this one in the spotlight? Yes.
So yes, if this store becomes more than a token response, they will get kudos. But they have not earned them yet.
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