Discussion
  • Read More
    김치전!Hamilton Nolan
    7/15/13 3:38pm

    I'm dead curious what the ratio of positive to negative emails is.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Hamilton Nolan김치전!
      7/15/13 3:39pm

      I'd say it's running about 3 to 1, negative to positive. But all of the positive emails only started coming after the company issued its call for employees to send us positive emails.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      quagmireHamilton Nolan
      7/15/13 4:07pm

      It sounds like 2 of the 4 positives are from people who don't HAVE to be there.

      Also, if an employee is in the military, like the Navy vet, federal law requires an employer to work around deployments and other related commitments. Yay WalMart for not breaking the law?

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    dataminer6677Hamilton Nolan
    7/15/13 3:49pm

    The problem with the first two positive stories at least is that those employees had full careers before they worked at wal-mart. At least the Navy veteran has an ample retirement income from the military and the first employee mentioned they started working out of boredom. This is not the same as working at wal-mart to survive and so their stories do not really represent wal-mart employees.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      cheerful_exgirlfrienddataminer6677
      7/15/13 4:05pm

      Yes, I like how bored, older lady even called it "busy work".

      She doesn't understand at all that for most of her fellow employees this isn't about having some "fun money" to spend on bongo or on the grandkids, it's about having enough money to live.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Ineedmorecowbellcheerful_exgirlfriend
      7/15/13 7:05pm

      Went with my sister to a Walmart on a Sunday and noticed that there was not a cashier in this particular store under the age of 60. Most seemed to be over 70yrs. Our own personal cashier that day was 75. Sucks to have to eke out your retirement standing at a cash register all day.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Not A SnortHamilton Nolan
    7/15/13 4:02pm

    Yes, Hamilton, these stories are very revealing:

    1. I'm glad the 77-year-old lady is happy working there. Wal-Mart does offer jobs to people over the age of 50, which many employers won't do, and that is admirable. The fact that they hire them to exploit them for low wages is not admirable.

    2. The guy who retired from the Navy would be on food stamps if it wasn't for his low paying Wal-Mart job. My sister's family is in this exact same position. That's a horrible black mark against how we treat our veterans, not a gold star for Wal-Mart.

    3. The lady who said Wal-Mart makes the other stores have better prices because they feel "threatened." This is a point of cognitive dissonance that reverberates every time I hear someone praise the Big Box stores. Don't they know how many local retailers were forced out of business by the arrival of Wal-Mart? There are even white papers showing that, overall, Wal-Mart is detrimental to the economic prosperity of a community. It's just sad that people are so seriously uninformed.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      dataminer6677Not A Snort
      7/15/13 4:07pm

      20 year vets get a nice retirement. Depending on family size and money management they may need a job, but many do not need to work to survive after retirement.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      TroyRiemerNot A Snort
      7/15/13 4:26pm

      1. I wouldn't say that $10.30/hr would be exploiting senior citizens for labor..

      2. huh?

      3. Completely agree.

      I guess I really only had a problem with your first point (and didn't understand the second one).

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    e.nonHamilton Nolan
    7/15/13 3:51pm

    those walmart greeters make me so fucking sad — that these elderly people who've worked their entire lives but have come up short are reduced to doing this to survive.

    as shitty as my current situation is, at least i'm not there. how can you even have hope in circumstances like that?

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Joe HansbargerHamilton Nolan
      7/15/13 3:40pm

      Gosh, a store manager married to another store manager has nothing but good to say about Walmart?

      That's amazing!

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        cheerful_exgirlfriendJoe Hansbarger
        7/15/13 4:06pm

        Wal-Mart even gave them a half-day off for their wedding and allowed them to get married in the garden center at no extra charge!!

        Wal-Mart just can't stop giving, they are practically enablers.

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      DoubleOJoeHamilton Nolan
      7/15/13 3:38pm

      "For example, when I was sick once they said I was free to take a leave of absence and my job would be waiting for me"

      Yeah, that's called the Federal Medical Leave Act. Wal-Mart isn't granting you a boon there, they're obeying a federal law. They are legally prohibited from penalizing you in the event of medical need. I file that paperwork every few weeks for my subordinates.

      Guess who fought to get that protection extended to you and every other American worker? Here's a hint: the answer starts with an "L" and ends with an "abor Unions".

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        strayDoubleOJoe
        7/15/13 3:42pm

        Walmart does abhor unions... er wait.

        Reply
        <
      • Read More
        AstrueDoubleOJoe
        7/15/13 3:50pm

        Aren't they also required to work around deployments and such?

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      GogogadgetanythingHamilton Nolan
      7/15/13 4:11pm

      I always found it ironic that these employees with families would shop at the very store that screws them.

      It's not all that unusual. It's been happening for well over 150 yrs in this country ever since people worked in company towns. You work, sleep in company owned buildings, and buy your groceries in company stores. Depending on how much the company wants to screw you over like charging you an excessive amount for rent and groceries because, well, you were pretty isolated where you were and there were no alternatives, you start owing more to the company. You'll keep digging that hole forever owing the company.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        blue11speedGogogadgetanything
        7/15/13 5:13pm

        Often those employees weren't even paid with real U.S. currency. They were paid in those scrip coins that were ONLY usable at company stores. Talk about being enslaved by the company.

        Reply
        <
      • Read More
        Crash CometGogogadgetanything
        7/15/13 5:21pm

        I think it bears posting:

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      agglutinateHamilton Nolan
      7/15/13 4:35pm

      Is anyone else blown away by the $5000 deductible on health insurance?!? I dont understand his description of how their health insurance works but... $5000 deductible sure does stand out!! What is the point of ANY insurance if it has a $5000 deductible? It's straight bullsh*t at that point!! I have got to be reading that wrong or something... Why would you even pay into something with a $5000 deductible? I have had a lot of medical problems over the years. I have dealt with the fighting for coverage and everything. On the other hand, none of it was as bad as a $5000 deductible... Also, I am barely-if at all-above the poverty line.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        BillieHolidayagglutinate
        7/16/13 12:03am

        His premium is 160/2 weeks. Probably pre-tax, which is also likely how the deductible amount would work (I'm assuming an hsa or similar). Those premiums are not bad. I'm mid/sr level management at a fortune 100 and pay in the 200s per month for premium, with a 3200 or so deductible (a single wouldbe under half for premiums, maybe 2400 deductible). With kids that can be a great deal. As a 20-something with no kids I would never have hit the deductible. In my early 40s, single parent, two kids, occasional though infrequent health issues but some meds, I hit it about halfway through the year. Medical, dental, mental health and vision all count toward the deductible. All in, it's a great deal. So no, 5k deductible for a family doesn't seem insane. And even if he's not supporting a family, he didn't say whether they have a choice of plans, if this is the best, etc.

        Reply
        <
      • Read More
        agglutinateBillieHoliday
        7/16/13 2:53pm

        Are you saying he most likely pays $160 every two weeks?

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      PasswordnotvalidHamilton Nolan
      7/15/13 3:46pm

      I think the positive letters have got to come from those suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. I count my sister as one. She has worked at Wal-Mart for more than 10 years and except for a couple of managers over the years, she's never really grumbled about any of them. Even the one time she was cutting open pallets and the blade in the cutting tool came loose and sliced into her goddamn eye. She called me to take her to the emergency room, because no one at the store would. Then, after staying in the ER all night, had me drive her back to work so she wouldn't get in "trouble." I asked her what the hell, it was a WC injury and she just said, "Oh well, what are you gonna do?"

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        JorgeHusebyHamilton Nolan
        7/15/13 3:42pm

        A whole $10.30 an hour after working for 2.5 years at Wal-Mart? Wow, what a positive story, sign me up!

        I was making more right out of high school working customer service. I don't think these people with positive stories realize how shitty their jobs are.

        Reply
        <