If you thought that you knew what kind of company Walmart is

[FrodeMk3]

As has been stated before, if you have no skills other than dragging Chinese-made clothes across a scanner or perhaps stocking shelves, why SHOULD you make more than $7.50 an hour? The only reason some places pay minimum wage is that they can't figure out how to pay you any LESS

But in order to use that reasoning, Bj, you have to go case-by-case to see if that is the only skillls' those employees' are capable of. There are many that can do more, only don't have the oppurtunity to because of either economic climate, availability of occupations suiting their job skill levels' and potential, or other things. It's kinda unfair to say that, for example, an Oilfield welder who was put out of work due to increasing drilling overseas/Use of imported oil, that can't get a job in the local oil-patch here, had to turn to a wal-mart job because there wasn't anything available for him in his chosen trade. It's not always the workers' fault they can't find something better.

[lazs2]

moray.. as usual.. you tow the party line.   I have no idea what I said that set you off but I notice that you did not deny that it was true.

Now we get to the crux.. how much is stocking the shelves worth?  greeting people who come in?  chasing shopping carts?   the mom and pop stores you guys see as alternatives pay a lot less.. the government thinks that the lowest skilled jobs are worth less per hour than walmart pays.   

The walmart haters here are being dishonest.. it all boils down to the fact that walmart is thumbing their nose at the unions that the posters love so much..  and..  people flock to the stores and lots of people who had worse jobs before now have a decent job.

lazs

[SteveBailey]

It's kinda unfair to say that, for example, an Oilfield welder who was put out of work due to increasing drilling overseas/Use of imported oil, that can't get a job in the local oil-patch here, had to turn to a wal-mart job because there wasn't anything available for him in his chosen trade. It's not always the workers' fault they can't find something better.

so Walmart should pay him more money because he used to be an oil welder?

[MORAY37]

moray.. as usual.. you tow the party line.   I have no idea what I said that set you off but I notice that you did not deny that it was true.

Now we get to the crux.. how much is stocking the shelves worth?  greeting people who come in?  chasing shopping carts?   the mom and pop stores you guys see as alternatives pay a lot less.. the government thinks that the lowest skilled jobs are worth less per hour than walmart pays.   

The walmart haters here are being dishonest.. it all boils down to the fact that walmart is thumbing their nose at the unions that the posters love so much..  and..  people flock to the stores and lots of people who had worse jobs before now have a decent job.

lazs

Tow the party line...lol.  You don't even know my affiliation, and I'm not democrat.  Another assumption you make without merit, simpleton.

I have no fight in this for unions.  Join one, don't join one.... it's your choice.  Organized labor can hurt workers just as much as it can help.  I don't like Walmart because it flies in the face of capitalism.  That, and by itself, it is the single largest contributor to our trade deficit. As a single company it is most responsible for the rise of chinese power in the past 25 years.  Whole cities in China of 400,000  have sprung up to support factories which supply one company.... WALMART(Frontline, Aug2004).   In so many ways it is bad for us... yet people don't see it that way.  

Yeah lazs... that new walmart gave prolly 300 people a job.  But, when it came to town it took out 20-30 other businesses in your town, which means more than likely, that is a net loss in jobs.  The question then is, is it worth it?  Getting your cheap towels from China?  In the end, I suspect not.  We'll all end up working for Walmart... everyone else will be put out of business.

I am completely for THIS country.  Outsourcing favors only one part of the equation... the end price.  All of the profits move outside of the country of purchase.  Add to that, our manufacturing base is abysmal at this point.  Should we need to revamp for any major war... forget about it.  We're outproduced by at least a dozen other countries now.

It's a simple question of worth... and I don't feel that Walmart is worth it.

[Neubob]

I am most sorry Laz, but this is not what I believe, but what Christians believe.

"I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  Matthew 19:24.

Do you not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke true words here??

Whoever composed that quote was a manipulative fool, and you've clearly dodged evolution by quoting it. Plenty of your fellow Christians seem not to be hung up on the supposed evil of wealth. Perhaps it just suits your own ego to believe that a man with money is automatically worse than a man without it.

You should really at least attempt to think for yourself at some point. It's been all the rage since the 16th century.

[Holden McGroin]

 I don't like Walmart because it flies in the face of capitalism.  

Walmart is the definition of capitalism.

It is the end result of capitalism, much as Rockefeller's Standard Oil was.  Much like Carnegie Steel was.

It is the end result of the gaining of power through capitalistic means.  It is what Marx saw in the industrial revolution that led him to the idea of throwing the baby with the bathwater and throw away capitalism altogether. 

[lazs2]

moray... can you link me to a place that tells about how many people lost jobs because of walmart?  All I see is the place growing and the wages got higher in the mom and pop stores.

What have I said that you don't agree with?    I see people buying affordable goods there.   I see poor people living better than they would if they had to spend more on the same goods... often.. they end up buying things they don't need but..  they are poor for a reason aren't they?   

I am still trying to figure out what all the walmart haters are so upset about and all I can see is the fact that they don't like walmart winning out over the unions.

lazs

[Jackal1]

Wally World opened a Super Center in the small town about 10 miles from us here on the lake.
Population in this little town is about 1300 to 1400.
The draw to this little town was not the town itself, but the increasing of the surrounding area commuters to the Big D. Now it has drawn even more commuters in. A new housing project has been approved and annexed for a 1300+ housing project. That will just be the start.
It sucks from a personal standpoint. A quiet, low key area being transformed and not for the better.
We had two Wallys in the area before this. One about 15 miles, the other around 20. Was fine for me when I needed them Oh so necessary Wally World items.
Now instead of everything being laid back and a country atmosphere, it`s rush , push, shove etc. You can spot the Dallasites a mile away in your rearview as they scramble for position in the great highway race.
Insane would be a good word. The concrete pounders are ruining the place. They move from the city to be in the country................then the first thing they do is try to change the country to the big city. It sucks.
Now since Wally`s three ring circus has come to town, the side acts are following. In the last few months Wal-Mart Supercenter, AutoZone, McDonald's, O'Reilly Auto Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, Taco Mayo, Video Giant, all have built and  located here with several more to come.
The Mom and Pop family small businesses are gone with the exception of Willy`s Westaurant.
Can`t touch that.
The personal friendly touch places are gone that made it so nice to live in this area.
Crime has went BOOM.
The town wasn`t ready for it. It is unfriggenbelievable to get in a total traffic jam in a town with 130+ population.
Only good thing that`s came from it from a personal standpoint is that it put the idiots that run Brookshires here on their knees.
Like I said...it sucks personaly.
Is Wally World in the know businesswise? You betcha they are.

[Holden McGroin]

The town wasn`t ready for it. It is unfriggenbelievable to get in a total traffic jam in a town with 130+ population.

If the locals didn't want it, why did the locals issue a building permit?

[Maverick]

Holden,

Don't forget the wally world thugs that go out into the surrounding area and force people to go in the store and buy things. It's just terrible. 

[FrodeMk3]

so Walmart should pay him more money because he used to be an oil welder?

No. Because in this case (and it's someone I know) He had a wife and a baby daughter to support. If Wal-mart were to pay more, they would be getting the money back eventually anyway, because those $7.50 an hour workers, if they are to get a raise to anywhere from 10-15$ an hour, can now also be customers (read: consumer base.)

[Holden McGroin]

No. Because in this case (and it's someone I know) He had a wife and a baby daughter to support.

To each according to his need...  This is a good business model?

[FrodeMk3]

To each according to his need...  This is a good business model?

Now, the second part of the story.

He's not a personal friend of mine, rather, the husband of one of my wife's friends. So anyway, we had them over for a BBQ, and were sitting down talking about things' after dinner. No matter how many attempts' to keep the conversation on the cheery side, eventually all the financial woes come out- Having trouble paying rent on their apartment, no real health insurance (Wally-mart threw a clinic for him and his co-workers' on how to get on Medical; that was as far as the company health plan went) He needed to pay the registration on his car, Diapers' were eating them out of house and home, etc. etc. At the time, I was still driving a Vacuum-truck in the oil patch. Since he had a clean record, I helped him get his Class A. He got on with the same outfit I worked for, that was paying $12 dollars an hour in '95, and you worked AT LEAST 60 hours per week( I wound up working 80+ most of the time) so you had quite a bit of overtime. Now, for the finale' to the story. My wife's hubby still talked to some of the people he worked at Wal-mart with. The day he quit (and he gave notice, too) They actually asked him to reconsider. They thought he was bluffing about leaving, up to the day he walked in and handed his blue vest to the manager. They thought he was trying to get a raise; They of course did not want to give in, and decided to call his bluff. He said they offered him some kind of assistant Mgr. spot, at something like $12 an hour. He said he was happy to say no. He just wished he could have bent them over some way...But he's really too nice a guy to do that. He wouldn't just up and not show up and quit when I suggested it.

[Holden McGroin]

My wife's hubby still talked to some of the people he worked at Wal-mart with.

Your wife's hubby ...is... is you?

Now, the second part of the story.

He's not a personal ...a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with selling cheap chinese crap... They actually asked him to reconsider. They thought ...a bunch of stuff that sounds like he had a bad experience, like the last job I had... He wouldn't just up and not show up and quit when I suggested it.

OK

[Maverick]

You know there are plenty of other employers who also pay minimal wages and also do not provide benefits. Some of them deliberately hire part time help almost exclusively to do that. You ought to look into your friendly neighborhood bank and see what their hiring practices are for an example.