Welcome to Wal-Mart

This video perhaps has more occurrences of the "f" word than anything else on youtube. 

Yet, if you can make it through the 27+ minutes and stomach a little bit of nudity at the end, you'll get an amazingly thorough, instructive and amusing lesson on capitalism in America.

Enjoy!

Comments

[LLR]

I saw this video the other day on another website. I’m glad that you also posted it. Wal-Mart gets a bad rap from the hard core lefties all the time. I know why. It’s because Wal-Mart is the prime example of capitalism and a lot of them are socialist.
Now I don’t like that Wal-Mart has broken some laws like not giving breaks, but at the same time I don’t like that a lot of states/cities are trying to create anti-Wal-Mart bills.

[Greg]

I know why. It’s because Wal-Mart is the prime example of capitalism and a lot of them are socialist.

I thought I would just list a few reasons why someone might be opposed to Wal-Mart. For your information Wal-Mart has not broken just a few laws as you would like readers to believe. But let me list some of the reasons why I am no fan of Wal-Mart.

* A recent study from UC Berkeley's Labor Center found that Wal-Mart drives down wages in urban areas, with an annual loss of at least $3 billion dollars in earnings for retail workers.

* In 2004 the same UC Berkeley's Labor Center reported that reliance by Wal-Mart workers on public assistance programs in California comes at a cost to taxpayers of an estimated $86 million annually.

* Wal-Mart was order to pay $50 MILLION to settle an off-the-clock class action suit in Colorado.

* The state of Texas has estimated that Wal-Mart has cheated workers out of up to $150 million in unpaid wages.

* Wal-Mart currently faces lawsuits in 31 different States for wage and hour abuses potentially involving hundreds of thousand workers.

* Wal-Mart is paying $11 million to settle Federal allegations it used illegal immigrants to clean its stores.

* Wal-Mart is facing a class-action lawsuit for discrimination against $1.6 million former and current female employees.

* Violations of Family Leave Laws. Wal-Mart has received numerous fines for violating the Family and Medical Leave Act in locations all over the country -- firing workers while on federally protected medical leave. In 2005, Wal-Mart was fined $188,000 by the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission for violating California state law by failing to reinstate a woman after she completed her maternity leave.

* Forcing employees to skip work breaks. In 2000, an internal Wal-Mart audit found that of 128 stores, 127 of them were "not in compliance" with company policies providing for work breaks.

* Whats your feeling about using child labor? Federal investigators found Wal-Mart complementing low wages with low ages. In January 2005, after an investigation of 27 stores in three states, Wal-Mart reached a settlement with the United States Department of Labor for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Wal-Mart paid a $135,540 fine for allowing 85 workers, aged 16 and 17, to participate in activities prohibited to minors -- "including loading and occasionally operating or unloading scrap paper balers, and operating fork lifts." Wal-Mart signed an agreement with the Department's Wage and Hours Division regarding future child labor conditions. [U.S. Department of Labor Press Release, 2/14/05.]

* In 2004, Wal-Mart faced fines for violations of environmental laws in nine states: California, Colorado, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

* Also in 2004, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $400,000 to the government to settle claims that Sam's Club had flouted federal air pollution regulations in eleven states.

* In 2001, the EPA and Justice Department for the first time fined a company,hmm let me guess, Wal-Mart for violating newly adopted standards for stormwater runoff. Wal-Mart paid $5.5 million in fines for violations at construction sites in four states: Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Four years later, however, Wal-Mart signed an agreement with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection over storm water violations occurring over seven years at 20 stores, and agreed to pay $1,550,000 in penalties.

Now if think this is just a few laws broken and you have no problems with it, so be it. But I am wondering can you name me any other company that has such a track record like this?

[LLR]

Greg, Greg Greg…
I’ll speak to some of these points and give an inspirational story at the end.

In 2004 the same UC Berkeley's Labor Center reported that reliance by Wal-Mart workers on public assistance programs in California comes at a cost to taxpayers of an estimated $86 million annually.
Doe the study say that most of these people were probably on welfare before working @ WM. It’s not the job of WM to take people off the welfare roles.

Wal-Mart was order to pay $50 MILLION to settle an off-the-clock class action suit in Colorado.
Do the crime, do the time. If WM is doing such a thing I think that they should pay. I have no problem with that.

The state of Texas has estimated that Wal-Mart has cheated workers out of up to $150 million in unpaid wages.
Take them to court and if they are guilty fine them and/or get that lawsuit kicking.

Wal-Mart is paying $11 million to settle Federal allegations it used illegal immigrants to clean its stores.
I am not so sure about this one. From what I read it was the company that WM hired to clean that was the one hiring illegals. I may be wrong though. If WM hires/hired illegals, fine them to the bone.

Now if think this is just a few laws broken and you have no problems with it, so be it. But I am wondering can you name me any other company that has such a track record like this?
Like I have said, I think that WM should comply with all federal, state, and local laws. I also think that it’s not cool for the fed, state, and local gov’t to be making WM laws.

On to the good story.

When I was in JR there was a guy that I had a class and lunch break with names Chris. He was a cool guy and we played on the jr. high football team together. We ended up going to hs together but we really didn’t hang out together like in jr high. Well Chris ended up running with the wrong crowd and got thrown in prison for shooting at someone. I think that it was a cop but I am not so sure. Any who; I went back to my hometown and I ran into him after he had gotten out of p[prison. He was working at the local WM. I think that he was doing something like stocking shelves. Years went by and a few months ago I was out of town for work and decided to spend some time with an old high school friend and catch up with her. We were talking and she mentioned Chris. She told me that he is now the manager of the frozen foods section of the new super WM that was just built in my hometown.

Now I have never been anti-WM but after hearing about Chris getting a dang good promoting I became even more pro-WM. Chris is a felon with a criminal record. He used to run with gangs and he’s an ex-con with a FELONY on his record. Obviously he put all of that behind and went on the straight and narrow. He must be a pretty good worker. I am telling this story because I am sure that not a lot of people/companies would have given him a second chance. If they did I am sure that they would not have given him a good promotion like management. If Chris continues to work hard who knows where he can go.

Like I said, it’s not the job of WM to lift anyone out of poverty. It’s the job of each individual to life himself/herself out of poverty. Sure WM can be used to help accomplish this.

WM doesn’t pay their cashiers $30K. I am sure that hey pay something like $20K a year. They offer that WM discount card that gives associates 10% off their already low prices. They offer profit sharing and an OPPORTUNITY to advance in the company. That’s the biggest benefit of all./ You can start out a s a cashier, be a good worker, and be in management in no time if you put your mind to it.

People are always talking bad about WM. Sure hey break some laws and they should be punished for it if they do but overall WM is a great company that lets people save money on the items that they buy the most.

Now WM is good if you know what you need to buy. Let’s say that you need some screws for a project and you know nothing about screws. Sometimes the associates at WM may know but you are better off going to your local hardware store and getting the right thing the 1st time.

Sure a lot of local shops end up going out of biz when a WM comes in town. It’s maily because they can’t offer the same products that WM offers at the same price. Also remember that WM brings a lot of business with it when it comes.

Here when I live there was a battle over the new super Wm that was built some years ago. People didn’t want it to come. I was all for it. Well WM came and before they cam THEY paid for one of the busies streets in the city to be made into a 4-lane street. When they cam about a dozen other new businesses opened up close to them. We ended up getting a home depot, some new small businesses, and some new restaurants (some corporate like Chill’s and some locally owned). Now there is development all around the area that WM is located at. We have had at least 4 new banks open up in town.

Sorry about the long rant, but I just love Wm because they offer good products at a low price.