Wal-Mart Holds Canned Food Drive for Their Own Impoverished and Underpaid Employees

[orphanedhawk]

Tragic Irony: Wal-Mart Holds Canned Food Drive for Their Own Impoverished and Underpaid Employees

“Please Donate Food Items Here, so Associates in Need Can Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner,” is what a sign reads in the employee lounge of a Canton, Ohio area Wal-Mart.

“This is part of the company’s culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships,” Kory Lunderg, a Wal-Mart spokesman said.

While it is a positive and commendable effort to help those in need during the holidays, it seems as though Wal-Mart as a whole should be attempting to assist their employees through better benefits and wages, as opposed to holding charity for their own workers. This type of demonstration really exemplifies the difficulties of being employed by Wal-Mart and just how challenging life can be when trying to live on a disgracefully low wage. Even with the food drive, many of the company’s employees will still be stuck working and unable to even eat a Thanksgiving dinner — due to Black Friday sales that will commence at 6:00pm on Thursday afternoon.

Recently, the company has endured protests for it’s lousy benefits and lack of livable wages. According to Wal-Mart’s CEO, Bill Simon, the majority of company’s one million associates make less than $25,000 annually, just above the poverty line for a family of four. Wal-Mart even strong-armed Washington DC’s Mayor Vincent Grey into vetoing a bill that would require the company to pay a minimum of $12.50 per hour. The company threatened to shut down all new stores unless the bill was defeated.

It appears that instead of providing a livable wage to their employees, their policy is to have underpaid employees provide food for their co-workers.  Happy holidays, everyone!

http://aattp.org/tragic-irony-wal-mart-holds-canned-food-drive-impoverished-underpaid-employees/#sthash.XLOqOJ51.dpuf

[adgal]

100% agree.  You are absolutely correct and I had this conversation the other day.  We the consumer are driving this.  We want the best deal possible.  However, it's also true that many of us must find the best deal out there. We have x amount to spend and it has to go so far.  That is reality. Still no idea how to change this.

[adgal]

I don't really think the issue is necessarily with the companies.  Again, I look at the rapid increase in cost of living.  If companies pay significantly more then minimum wage then they can't always stay in business, and more are unemployed.  So raising minimum wage isn't the answer.  For Wal Mart to pay more, they have to charge more, and those that rely on the low cost shopping there are also now in trouble.  See what I mean?  It's a vicious cycle.   We have exactly this problem in my city.  If you make minimum wage you cannot possibly afford what rents, utilities and food cost.  Just not possible - no way, no how.  So what is the answer?  I wish I knew.  We don't want to put employers out of business based on assumption they are greedy.  I don't believe that is always the case.  Yet people need to be able to earn enough money to pay their way.  If anyone comes up with the solution, please let me know.  My job would become significantly easier....

[desrt]

If you're shopping at Wal-Mart, you've already rationalized that it's OK to buy goods produced in a sweat shop overseas as long as you can save a $ and American jobs be d@mned. Why should you care if the employees selling you the goods are treated any differently?

This is actually great advertising for Wally World:

'We treat are employees like dirt so we can pass the savings on to you!'

[orphanedhawk]

The problem as I see it is that people are not being paid a livable wage. This did not used to be the case.
Working people should not need to use food banks or food stamps in order to get food to eat. What makes people angry is the huge profits those at the top at Walmart rake in while not even paying enough for their employees to have Thanksgiving dinner :(

[specialmom]

Well, working there is a choice as is shopping there.  How are they doing harm by providing income someone might otherwise not have?  

I don't get this line of thinking.  No one should make minimum wage?  

I'm not trying to be argumentative but guess we just see it differently.  I recently realized that I am overqualified for the work force.  Well, I mean . . .  unless I go back to my profession, I'm untrained to do much else.  This stinks.  My options are limited.  I'm considering a training program to learn a marketable skill in order to make a better wage than what my options are now.  Call me crazy, but that is how I think the world works.

[orphanedhawk]

I agree.

[teko]

When any corporation pays a low wage, no benefits and as a result they end up on the government teat, in order to eat  then that tells me that that corporation may be **** more harm for this country than not. I think its time to support our local community business instead.

[brice1967]

I've worked more Thanksgivings that I have not.  Yeah, its family time and all but I hired on to do a job.  My family and I have always tried to make every day Thanksgiving.

[specialmom]

Well, it's sad.  I'm not sure what you can do about unskilled labor making more than minimum wage though.  I'm not sure why any company should have to do that when the deal is, the skill set required to work there isn't very high.  I'm like a broken record to young people-----  get trained to do a job, get educated, spend your teen years and early 20's focusing on this so that you can be financially stable in a difficult world.  It's no guarantee but without a trade or degree, you are really stuck for what your options are.  Wal Mart is an option.  It's really not their fault that those who work for them are there.  They offer 'something' to people who need a job which is sure better than nothing.  And they pay in comparison to other types of companies for cashiers and other jobs that don't require a lot of skills to do them.  

My very first job was at Macy's.  I was a  fitting room clerk.  Then I moved up to clerk/associate.  I earned minimum wage.  I was in my teens.  They paid me the same as anyone else who did that job.  If I were 30 and a single mom with kids at home, they weren't going to up the pay scale for it just because of my personal circumstance.  There was a pay rate for the job.  I agreed to it when I took it and I don't think they were shmucks to have a set pay rate that was for everyone regardless of who they were and financial needs.  

Why is Wal Mart different?  

It's also unfortunate that these employees try to do something nice for some who work there and it is used to put down Wal Mart . . .  again.