Walmart

[knapplc]

The perception that Wal-Mart treats their employees like "every other business" is silly. Have you ever worked with Wal-Mart professionally? No way you have and you think this.

 

The workers there largely have a choice. There is no indentured servitude, nobody is forcing those people to work there. But to pretend that Wal-Mart is some benevolent employer treating their employees the same as everyone else... you must be fooling you, because you ain't fooling me.

[sd'sker]

Why Big U.S. Retailers Can Afford To Increase Wages

 

By 2020, more than one-quarter of U.S. workers will be working low-wage jobs, not making enough money to keep a family of four out of poverty. The corporations that employ the most low-wage workers, meanwhile, “have largely recovered from the recession and most are in strong financial positions.” 92 percent of them were profitable last year, while three-quarters are making more in revenues than they were before the recession.

The retail industry is one of those that employs the most low-wage workers. (About 36 percent of low-wage workers work in retail.) And according to a new report from Demos, big retailers could afford to boost their workers’ income to $25,000 per year without eating into their bottom line:

The cost of increasing the living standards of more than 5 million Americans, adding $11.8 to $15.2 billion to GDP, and creating no less than 100,000 jobs amounts to just a small portion of total earnings among the biggest firms. The retail sector takes in more than $4 trillion annually and firms with 1000 or more employees account for more than half of that. At the same time labor compensation in the sector contributes only 12 percent of the total value of production, making payroll just a fraction of total costs. Large retailers could pay full-time, year-round workers $25,000 per year and still make a profit – satisfying shareholders while rewarding their workers for the value they bring to the firm. A raise at large retailers adds $20.8 billion to payroll for the year, or less than 1 percent of total sales in the sector. At the same time it is very likely the firm will experience benefits that offset the cost of the wage increase — in the form of productivity gains and higher sales per employee — making the net cost of the new wage even lower.

Meanwhile, “if retailers pass half of the costs of a wage raise on to their customers, the average household will see just 15 cents added to the cost of its shopping basket on any trip to a large retailer. That amounts to an annual cost of $17.73.”

[krill]

Question one: How can companies like Trader Joe's and Costco afford to pay their employees decent wages and benefits, nearly twice the average Wal-Mart wage, and still be very profitable? They also often have better values on better quality products.

 

Question two: If you despise people on public assistance, or at least believe it's time to reign in spending on public assistance, how do you feel about companies that are very profitable every quarter, yet still choose to pay their lowest ranks a wage that necessitates taking of public assistance for basic needs like housing and health care, possibly food too?

[Roark]

Question one: How can companies like Trader Joe's and Costco afford to pay their employees decent wages and benefits, nearly twice the average Wal-Mart wage, and still be very profitable? They also often have better values on better quality products.

 

Question two: If you despise people on public assistance, or at least believe it's time to reign in spending on public assistance, how do you feel about companies that are very profitable every quarter, yet still choose to pay their lowest ranks a wage that necessitates taking of public assistance for basic needs like housing and health care, possibly food too?

 

One: because they choose to.

 

Two: reign the spending in anyway. Wal Mart employees can go get a second job at the Buckle until they have the skills/experience required to get a highly-coveted position at Trader Joe's.

[KJ.]

Just because Wal-Mart can pay their employees more, why should they? If the employees are too stupid to realize they are underpaid, then why the hell do they deserve more money? Go quit and get another job somewhere else. Go get some actual skills and find a non cashier job. Wal-Marts never going to raise wages unless they need to, and the employees aren't giving them a reason.

[sd'sker]

Just because Wal-Mart can pay their employees more, why should they? If the employees are too stupid to realize they are underpaid, then why the hell do they deserve more money? Go quit and get another job somewhere else. Go get some actual skills and find a non cashier job. Wal-Marts never going to raise wages unless they need to, and the employees aren't giving them a reason.

sounds like they need to unionize.

[KJ.]

Just because Wal-Mart can pay their employees more, why should they? If the employees are too stupid to realize they are underpaid, then why the hell do they deserve more money? Go quit and get another job somewhere else. Go get some actual skills and find a non cashier job. Wal-Marts never going to raise wages unless they need to, and the employees aren't giving them a reason.

sounds like they need to unionize.

Or just not be dumbasses.

[strigori]

Just because Wal-Mart can pay their employees more, why should they? If the employees are too stupid to realize they are underpaid, then why the hell do they deserve more money? Go quit and get another job somewhere else. Go get some actual skills and find a non cashier job. Wal-Marts never going to raise wages unless they need to, and the employees aren't giving them a reason.

sounds like they need to unionize.

Or just not be dumbasses.

Its not that simple. When Wal-Mart rolls into a market, wages for all related jobs drop. Companies who payed more, lower wages to 'compete with Wal-Mart'

 

The simple fact is that nearly all retail operations now use what amounts to Wal-Mart's playbook. I know of some who treat employees even worse. But there is a segment of the population who are suited for the type of job. And simply, the without people working in stores, where is anyone going to buy anything?

 

the facts are that largely due to Wal-Mart and the rampant greed that has completely permeated the management of businesses, there are people in positions in retail that make less real money now than they did 20 years ago.

 

Unionizing would go a long way to correcting things.