I love the Christmas season. It brings out the best in people, especially corporate giants like Wal-Mart. In an absolutely altruistic move, Wal-Mart says "thank you" to a handful of representative workers. Wal-Mart managers at 4,000 stores will meet with 10 rank-and-file workers every week and extend an additional 10 percent discount on a single item during the holidays to all its employees, beyond the normal 10 percent employee discount.
This is the company that over the last six months has sought to create a cheaper, more flexible labor force by capping wages, using more part-time employees, scheduling more workers at nights and weekends, and cracking down on unexcused days off. By offering an additional 10% discount on a single item, Wal-Mart makes everyone happy - the company gets to keep those wages in house, and the underpaid workers get a cheaply made item at 20% less than the normal 120% markup, and the company STILL makes a profit.
Unexcused absences include staying home with a sick child. But look on the bright side: workers who've been there 20 years or more are also being given a Tee-Shirt.
Don't you love the Christmas season?
11 comments:
Don't you love the Christmas season? No. But I love solstice and the return of the sun. Everything else is just mass consumer frenzy. I am glad that I never celebrated this holiday, so all of the advertising and shopping drumbeat means nothing to me. Wal Mart is a great face to put on corporate thinking. There is no shameful behavior that they are not willing to engage in when it comes to their employees. Ah America.
Our local Walmart is loosing employees left and right as they are walking out and now the mart is howling that they don't have enough employees for the season. Too bad. They should have thought about this before they screwed them.
I once had the misfortune to work for Wal-Mart. That was back when ol' Sam Walton was still running the show. As odd as this sounds (considering Sam's notorious stinginess) my experience sounds miles better than what current employees have to put up with. I worked there for a year; until I found something better. My only memories are of aching feet, a sore back, and having my bathroom visits timed. At least back then employees were allowed to buy stock at deeply discounted prices, and paychecks were issued on time and for the full amount of time worked. None of this having to donate hours to keep your job bullshit I understand happens rather frequently now.
You don't want to get me started on this god awful company. I can rant for hours on just their environmental damages without even getting to the way they treat their workers. You couldn't get me in one of their stores even if you held the biggest gun they make to my head.
I think a nice "you're welcome" would be to unionize...
Robin Andrea, I prefer Festivus myself. But yes, indeed. Wal-Mart brings the concept of worker exploitation to new lows.
PCMary, don't you think? But when greed steers, people tend to be very short sighted.
TFLS, amazing! That they actually paid employees on time, and without shorting them is mind-boggling!
POP, don't be getting the vapors, now. Lola might have to get her mason jar back from Pursey and give it to you.
Frederick, that would be nice. And then, when the movie is made, Jessica Simpson would have the Sally Field part and at the Oscars, she can say "You like me. You really, really like me." Naw, that's just mean.
This predatory retail shark doesn't have a single honorable bone in it's carcas. Wild horses couldn't drag me to shop there and obviously some other people have decided to walk away from it too. Just heard somewhere, that the first time in it's crappy history, the sales projections are down. I feel that with this announcement, WM gave me an early Christmas present.
Pekka, no, tell us how you really feel! ;-)
Personally, I hate their annoying advertisments. That stupid smiley face roll-back thingy makes me want to throw my television out the window.
Should be renamed: Gall-Mart!!!!!!
I'm back. You could not pay me to go there.
Donnie, that's good! I'd hire you to do the advertising for Gall-Mart.
Sue Woo, good to see you. And you couldn't pay me to go there either. Wal-Mart, along with Sam's Club, are two chains I loathe to my very core. Everything about them is wrong, wrong and wrong.
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