Some Wal-mart employees planning a strike/walkout

cheri1122 · Nov 16, 2012

Humble2drive said:
One of their managers said this?

How does someone in management get these handouts?

At WalMart, the title 'manager' doesn't mean management, it's how they avoid paying overtime to full time employees - overtime is not permitted [in the labor budget] no matter what the circumstances.
In the past, store managers have been caught doctoring time cards when employees demanded to see them, because they hadn't been paid for extra hours worked.

bobwg · Nov 17, 2012

I believe most companies that have managers oh wait that makes them management types which pays them on a salary basis and wait they know they are being paid a salary when they become managers

Missie600 · Nov 17, 2012

I think that most management jobs at a lot of company's are salary and put in a lot of hours. Not just Walmart. CVS & Walgreens probably put the mom and pop Drug Store out of business. Lowes and Home Depot did the same to local hardware stores.

My mother works at Walmart and because of her longevity gets paid nearly $20/hour and she gets time and a half on weekends and has great benefits. AND she is not in a management position.

It just makes me crazy that everyone (not just EO...everyone) is on the "Walmart is bad" bandwagon. There are other stores that are doing the same thing. It is called capitalism.

cheri1122 · Nov 17, 2012

Missie: it's great that your mother has a good job, but the negative perception of WM is drawn from a great many sources, not just personal knowledge. [I worked at Sam's Club long enough to see some of the tactics for myself.]
When publicity forced WM to change some policies, they did, but I don't believe they reformed their corporate culture at all - they just found other ways to maximize their profit.
The Waltons didn't become richer than God by sticking to Sam's vision [I don't believe he'd approve of what his namesake has become], and IMO, the 'bigger is better' business model is terrific for generating profit for shareholders, but not so good for everyone else.
You are correct that big boxes drive smaller businesses out of business, but there's a reason that monopolies are frowned upon, even in a capitalist society. I'm not saying they are monopolies, just that the line is pretty blurry, and in today's pro business climate, what keeps them from crossing it?

Missie600 · Nov 17, 2012

I guess what bothers me is that it is always Walmart. I don't understand why the other stores are ignored when it comes the the big box hatred. I am positive the others are running their business for a profit also.

Some other things I was pondering (you know we have all this extra time....we must ponder endlessly

) Now that the Hostess stores are closing are we going to see bakeries pop up everywhere?

And what is the difference between a store that has 200 employees and 10 stores that have 20 employees? They are all still employed.

Tennesseahawk · Nov 17, 2012

Missie600 said:
I guess what bothers me is that it is always Walmart. I don't understand why the other stores are ignored when it comes the the big box hatred. I am positive the others are running their business for a profit also.

Some other things I was pondering (you know we have all this extra time....we must ponder endlessly ) Now that the Hostess stores are closing are we going to see bakeries pop up everywhere?

And what is the difference between a store that has 200 employees and 10 stores that have 20 employees? They are all still employed.

Competition.

OntarioVanMan · Nov 17, 2012

I see Target took a chunk out of Walmarts potentential earnings last quarter....now that is competition...

bobwg · Nov 17, 2012

Ok anyone that thinks they can open the perfect store for employees with high pay and benefits and the employee gets to set their own hours and what ever else the employee wants and sell ur products or service at a price that people are willing to pay oh wait don't forget u have to cover ur overhead such as lights , heat, air conditioning, water, the building, taxes, supplies, etc. go ahead and go for it

purgoose10 · Nov 17, 2012

Missie600 said:
I think that most management jobs at a lot of company's are salary and put in a lot of hours. Not just Walmart. CVS & Walgreens probably put the mom and pop Drug Store out of business. Lowes and Home Depot did the same to local hardware stores.

My mother works at Walmart and because of her longevity gets paid nearly $20/hour and she gets time and a half on weekends and has great benefits. AND she is not in a management position.

It just makes me crazy that everyone (not just EO...everyone) is on the "Walmart is bad" bandwagon. There are other stores that are doing the same thing. It is called capitalism.

I'm just curious. What state is your mother working in?? I do know that the Wal Mart Truck Drivers are the highest paid private carrier drivers in the country. I don't understand how they have the really low end pay and the really high end pay. They forgot about the middle guy.

cheri1122 · Nov 17, 2012

Missie600 said:
I guess what bothers me is that it is always Walmart. I don't understand why the other stores are ignored when it comes the the big box hatred. I am positive the others are running their business for a profit also.

Some other things I was pondering (you know we have all this extra time....we must ponder endlessly ) Now that the Hostess stores are closing are we going to see bakeries pop up everywhere?

And what is the difference between a store that has 200 employees and 10 stores that have 20 employees? They are all still employed.

Missie: WM is the 'poster child' because they were the first in many ways and the most ruthless in others to drive costs down & profits up. They pioneered a lot of innovations [Dead Peasant's insurance policies on employees, limiting nearly all to part time status, giving workers a title in lieu of money, outsourcing jobs rather than permit a union to represent their workers] that so many other companies now do that we forget where the tactics originated - but WM was [and is still] the master at maximizing profits and funneling them upwards.
As I mentioned, the publicity caught up with them long ago, and they reformed somewhat [for public consumption] because the negative perception was affecting their bottom line - but I don't believe the changes were more than cosmetic. The bottom line is still 'profit rules, everything else drools.'
I'm 110% in favor of capitalism and profits, but there's such a thing as too much of a good thing, and IMO, WM had a big part in the 'profit at any price' philosophy that is so prevalent today.

cheri1122 · Nov 17, 2012

bobwg said:
Ok anyone that thinks they can open the perfect store for employees with high pay and benefits and the employee gets to set their own hours and what ever else the employee wants and sell ur products or service at a price that people are willing to pay oh wait don't forget u have to cover ur overhead such as lights , heat, air conditioning, water, the building, taxes, supplies, etc. go ahead and go for it

Costco [for example] is apparently managing to do a great job of keeping everyone happy: workers, management, and customers. It can be done.

davekc · Nov 17, 2012

cheri1122 said:
Costco [for example] is apparently managing to do a great job of keeping everyone happy: workers, management, and customers. It can be done.

Not sure you want to use Costco. Quite a few legal battles like Walmart.

Maryland Politics Watch: Costco’s Shocking Legal History

Humble2drive · Nov 17, 2012

davekc said:
Not sure you want to use Costco. Quite a few legal battles like Walmart.

She can use it with a little tweak.

Costco [for example] is apparently managing to do a great job of keeping everyone happy: their attorneys, workers, management, and customers. It can be done.

cheri1122 · Nov 17, 2012

Is there any company that doesn't face lawsuits from someone at some time?!
Costco has managed the balancing act pretty well, from what I've read, keeping customers and labor and management in the mutually dependent relationships that satisfy all three: win/win/win.
There are many other companies that do it too - Costco is just the one that jumped out at me because I am also a customer, and I like their style.

davekc · Nov 17, 2012

cheri1122 said:
Is there any company that doesn't face lawsuits from someone at some time?!
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I believe that is likely Walmart's position.

OntarioVanMan · Nov 18, 2012

cheri1122 said:
Missie: WM is the 'poster child' because they were the first in many ways and the most ruthless in others to drive costs down & profits up. They pioneered a lot of innovations [Dead Peasant's insurance policies on employees, limiting nearly all to part time status, giving workers a title in lieu of money, outsourcing jobs rather than permit a union to represent their workers] that so many other companies now do that we forget where the tactics originated - but WM was [and is still] the master at maximizing profits and funneling them upwards.
As I mentioned, the publicity caught up with them long ago, and they reformed somewhat [for public consumption] because the negative perception was affecting their bottom line - but I don't believe the changes were more than cosmetic. The bottom line is still 'profit rules, everything else drools.'
I'm 110% in favor of capitalism and profits, but there's such a thing as too much of a good thing, and IMO, WM had a big part in the 'profit at any price' philosophy that is so prevalent today.

I think it was John Rockefeller....captured almost all the oil production in its time, driving costs down and increasing huge profits for his kerosene...the fuel of the future at that time...he bought smaller oil outfits and just closed them down..throwing thousands out of work....causing one of the first depressions this country has ever seen....
Then there was Andrew Carnegie....a monster to work for....who capitalized on the invention of cheap steel....
Walmart is no different then other great pioneers who built this country on the blood of others at any cost...