After viewing the WalMart documentary, read "Why the Bosses Need Wal-Mart" from your Globalization book (pp. 92-96). Incorporate a quote or a point of interest from that reading in your response to the film. Additionally, add a link that your find relevant to your perspective. Engage in a dialogue with your classmates.
Other relevant connections to WalMart that may be of interest:
http://www.ufcw.org/makingchange/
http://www.epi.org/publication/ib223/
http://www.independent.org/events/transcript.asp?eventID=125
Blog #5 Welcome to Wally World – Why the Bosses Need Wal-Mart
ReplyDeleteThis video documentary and reading were, to me, revolting. I couldn’t believe the allegations and predicaments that so many people are in because of a multi-million dollar (seemingly helpful) corporation like Wal-Mart.
In the video it took us to “small town America,” little cities in the U.S. where private shop owners, and whole communities felt the pain left by Wal-Marts moving into their towns. Even larger areas felt the pressure. One speaker in particular, a woman by the name of Keira Mersetta, of the Denver Colorado Public School System, and who is a 4thand 5th grade Bilingual teacher At Newman Elementary school, who said, "And Wal-Mart received subsidies of about 1.7 million dollars and with that 1.7 mil. the Denver metropolitan area could have kept those three schools we had to close down this spring open.” This distresses me greatly because as a student of Education with aspirations of becoming a school teacher this could be a possible infringement of what I want to do with my life. The documentary also showed some of the deplorable conditions some (if not all) the workers at Wal-Mart suffer with. These conditions include barely livable salaries in which to support their families, being coerced into working for free (or off the clock as it is referred to), and how many employees are unable to support themselves completely and then must turn to the government for assistance; in essence putting even more of a strain on the American economic crisis because we them must pay for these workers to receive federal aid. The video goes on to show the horrendous conditions some of the actual workers who produce goods for Wal-Mart have to endure; sweat-shop like production areas, forced residence in slums (with money taken out of their paychecks), and the astonishingly small wages they are paid for all the back-breaking work they do. These images are now forever engrained in my mind and I feel so aggrieved for these poor souls who are only trying to survive themselves.
The text continues with the injustices outlined in the video and gives even more statistics of what the company really does to its suppliers, competitors, and workers. One production worker for example, a sixteen year girl in Dhaka, Bangladesh named Robina Akther, story is particularly saddening. She gives an account of her working conditions where she worked for “thirteen cents an hour for fourteen hours a day, making pockets.” To add insult to injury she attests that if she didn’t complete the work they required of her per hour the overseers would “slap her and lash her hard in the face with the pants they were working on.” This is only a part of the depressing facts the article in the book cover and makes the Wal-Mart corporation seem like a unspeakable example of American Capitalism.
`I myself, along with my parents have been patrons of the establishment for as long as I can remember, and after reading this article and watching this movie I am ashamed of all that I have taken for granted; even if I had no prior knowledge of these atrocities. To make matters worse, I know that I (as a single college student trying to support myself), and many families trying to support themselves on small salaries are dependent on companies like Wal-Mart to get the goods and services they need to continue surviving.
So after seeing the video i am a bit in shock, to think that Wal-Mart is an every-other day place that i go to. Of course i never thought bad about Wal-Mart because of the "good" image the media presented, such as the Wal-Mart commercials explaining how they care about the community and their workers. The text simply went along with the video but just went a bit more in depth and the links as well. On one of the links it states how " Our vision for American Workers..is respect and dignity at jobs that pay fairly and guarantee workers a voice." the only thing i wanted to scream out to that was FALSE! It touched me when i saw the small town companies going out of business after so much hard work and having been in business for years, but indeed thats what's happening. As the video stated if Wal-Mart makes so much profit then why cant they afford to pay their employes' better? Because they claim to believe in that same goal as i quoted up above , but then why is it their workers cant make ends meet? Instead they are "under-staffed" causing workers to stay late, have high insurance that even full time employe's can not afford, and are RECOMMENDING THEIR WORKERS TURN TO GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE. so for us to think that this does not apply to everyday people is wrong, because for the last reason stated "government assistance" it is costing us "tax payers" a fortune! i think that if people were aware about Wal-Mart then something would be done, but the problem is that people are not aware , instead because of the media they are stuck with believing that
ReplyDeleteWal-Mart cares about the community and their workers.
After seeing the video I started to to realize all the negative effects that Wal-Mart has had in certain communities. Whether it drove out businesses that have been their for years or whether the Wal-Mart associates were being over worked and underpaid. It really made me mad to see how they made their workers work off the clock by threatening them and smiling while they did it. If I was put in that position I would have lost it, but many of the people in the video didn't have a choice because they had family members to feed. They also talked about how they found women were not given high position spots and the fact that when workers complained about racists comments the company did nothing about it. In the story "Why the Bosses Need Wal-Mart" it says, "By 2005 the company faced forty different lawsuits filed by workers all across the country for making them work off the clock, work through scheduled breaks, or punch out and continue to work for no pay." I also felt bad to see how workers in China were getting paid little to nothing for the immense work load they had to do.
ReplyDeletethe weblink I think others should take a look at is the www.ufcw.org/makingchange/ because it shows how there is a union out there now so that Wal-Mart associates can be protected.
After watching the documentary, I was repulsed by the thought of the terrible things Wal-Mart is doing. They try to market themselves as helping out everyone, but in reality the only helpful thing they have is low prices. While low prices can help out the consumer, the methods they use to achieve such low prices are horrendous. Wal-Mart workers deserve to be treated fairly, and the video and the text made it clear that they are not. I didn’t realize that companies could force their workers to work overtime with no pay, but at Wal-Mart that seems to be the norm. The text mentioned just how many lawsuits Wal-Mart was in concerning this problem, which makes it clear that this injustice is happening all around America. Also, the way they treat the people who make their products is just wrong. The conditions in the factories were horrendous, and the people working it were barely being paid enough to live. It is illegal to treat workers like that in America, so you would think that companies would just treat their workers well or at least to legal standards. But since Wal-Mart is so concerned over making huge profits, they just took their business outside of the U.S. to take advantage of people elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by the effect that Wal-Mart can have on small towns. I didn’t realize how it could cause so many local businesses to go out of business. These small local businesses can’t compete because their prices will never be as low as Wal-Mart, since they treat their workers the right way. But people just can’t say no to the low prices that Wal-Mart offers, so the local businesses suffer. It is sad that Wal-Mart tries to force itself on small towns that don’t want to have it there. Wal-Mart has become too fixated on making profits to care how much damage it is doing around the world, and how many people’s lives are affected by their careless ways. After watching this video and reading the text, I don’t want to support Wal-Mart by shopping there anymore. I would rather spend more money at a different store who treats all their workers right than to help Wal-Mart mistreat their workers and ruin lives across the globe.
The National Organization for Women has an interesting webpage that shows some of the many things that Wal-Mart is doing wrong, and some of the legal developments it is currently involved in. http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wm-facts.html
Staci Darden
In response to Meagan Alessandra Gonzalez.
ReplyDeleteI agree to how horrible it was to learn that Walmart receives all these subsidies from local communities so that it may come to it's city limits. But with this money the community could instead open the schools it closed for students to have a better future. Not only can they reopen school but they might even be able to offer better pay for teacher or more school funded activities. Walmart robs society in every possible aspect. -Ilsse Rodriguez
In response to Ashleyt.
ReplyDeleteIt also touched me very much to see how locally owned companies of so many years closed because of the "monster" (Walmart) that invaded their communities. It is so sad to think that so many years of work and sweat to grow a business just washes away so fast because a company with no scruples comes to town. -Ilsse Rodriguez
First off i just have to express the mixture of emotions I had throughout the film. I was so sad, mad, angry and emotional after watching this documentary on Walmart. I even cried at the point when it got to the people who actually make things for Walmart the people behind Walmart's success. It is so sad to see that Walmart has not one token of appreciation or at least mercy with the people that make it the big company that it is today. Walmart has no respect what so ever for its workers. It does not care how the workers live and how they suffer due to it's injustices. The way they do healthcare just breaks my heart. How can a big company like that not be willing to spare a certain amount of money to at least provided their hardworking employees a little bit of comfort at least in the health realm. All this is just unfathomable to me, it makes no sense. How can a company of people be so ruthless and unmerciful. There is a quote from the globalization book that especially caught my attention is states "Walmart spreads it's Monopoly power by destroying its competition with it's "lowest prices". But, it achieves these low prices by impoverishing it's own workers and the workers of it's suppliers adn by forcing it's suppliers to super-exploit lo-wage labor across the globe." (Pg.92) This statement summarizes Walmart's ruthlessness. Walmart exploits is workers and pays low wage salaries. In turn the companies that sell to Walmart have to pay even lower salaries to their employees because Walmart will not invest any more than the very minimum or not even the minimum it invests only what it wants. It is a lamentable chain of events that this dreadful company creates.
ReplyDelete(Continuation )
ReplyDeleteIt's low prices are only at the expense of terrible work schedules, terrible working conditions, terrible pay and terrible healthcare. (It is at the expense of workers rights)Another point is that because Walmart offers such low prices it's competitors must also adjust their prices in accordance to the "monster" (Walmart video). This in turn makes low wage jobs even more common because Walmart is so big it influences prices all over the world more over it sadly influences lives all over the world and not for the better. An interesting site I found relating to the Walmart video was http://reclaimdemocracy.org/walmart/links.php. This website provides a tool for everyone to learn more on standing up to big companies like Walmart. Inside this website I also found a marvelous website it is http://bigboxtoolkit.com/. This website provides a "tool" like the title says for communities to become informed and on how to keep big companies like Walmart out of their cities. It promotes and encourages local businesses. I love how this website provides a "Community protection kit". This outlines ways to help them keep giant stores out of their communities and to keep local businesses.
Blog 5 It was disheartening to find out that many small businesses are being forced out of the market due to Wal-Mart's price undercutting. It was also distressing to see all the things that Wal-Mart puts their employees through in the name of having a job. The comment made by Wal-Mart CEO H.Lee Scott in our book stating that his workers get "a raise everytime they shop with us" was ludicrous. If his workers were actually getting a raise then maybe they could afford to shop somewhere other than Wal-Mart. Maybe Wal-Mart's next money-saving feature will be to pay their workers in Wal-Mart vouchers thus assuring they will get "added value" out of their workers both before and after they pay them.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ashleyt: I agree that govt. assistance is costing taxpayers a fortune. Maybe we should weigh the cost of this assistance against the "savings" we are supposedly getting from shopping at Wal-Mart.
In response to Staci Darden: I agree that the only thing that Wal-Mart has is low prices however how much is this helping us in reality when they are edging down the wages of entire communities?
I was speechless after seeing the Wal-Mart video! Almost everyone single person I know shops at this store for a variety of items whether it be food, clothes, cleaning products or electronics. We see people working their all the time and sometimes may even carry on conversations with its employees not knowing what the hardships they have to deal with in working for them. I find crazy how such a huge corporation can be so greedy and carefree! How so many people are clueless as to what is going on in the stores we shop at on a daily basis. I would have known nothing about what was going on if it hadn’t been for this assignment. It’s all wrong, from the workers being forced to work for no pay because they don’t have a choice, from workers in foreign countries being abused and mistreated in every way possible. The text gives us more statistics and details about how Wal-Mart is run. It makes me very sad to see that workers are being abused if their jobs aren’t done to their standards, these people are human beings and they deserve to be treated like one! I would recommend people to visit http://www.ufcw.org/makingchange/. This website provides hope to the people who have to suffer under the horrible conditions that are forced upon them. It makes me feel somewhat at ease to know there are people out there trying to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Staci Darden:
I also did not realize that working for free was happening! When I saw that I had to ask myself how this even possible? How are they able to get away with doing such horrible things? Everything they advertise is false, and I hate the fact that we can do nothing to stop it. Wal-mart is a huge corporation and they are doing an excellent job at hiding all their wrong doings. I knew nothing about this until I saw this video. Millions and millions of people are also clueless as to what Wal-mart is really about.
After seeing the video I feel sad and helpless. It's hard to believe how a big corporation like Wal-Mart can treat their employees so badly. Still the CEO Lee Scott says "In effect it gives them a raise every time they shop with us." It's sad to know everything that goes on in order for us to get low prices. Employees have to suffer low wages, bad treatment, and having to turn to the government for healthcare. Also, seeing how many small business have had to close their doors due to Wal-Mart leaving behind ghost towns.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Lisa Martinez:
I agree with you, it was very distressing and heartbreaking to see all the suffering Wal-Mart employees have to go through
to Lisa Martinez:
ReplyDeleteI think that we see the low prices and think we are saving money, but in reality Wal-Mart is costing us tons of money in other less obvious ways. It would probably save more money as a whole community to live in a town without a Wal-Mart nearby.
In response to Lisa Martinez
ReplyDeletei agree, if you really sit down and think about it we are not saving at all. It may appear to seem as if though we are saving because at the register we like that very low price we are seeing , but in the future when we see the big picture (having to pay taxes for people on government assistance) we are probably not saving like we thought.
After watching the video I feel both angry and selfish. From time to time I find myself shopping at walmart because of the "low" prices not realizing that both people in store and in warehouses are being taking advantage of. The video made me see just how cruel and unfair this giant monster Walmart corporation is. It's sad to see that the low prices that walmart shoppers greatly appreciate are being taken from the hardworking and unappreciated workers of Walmart. These helpless workers basically have no choice but to work for this monster since so many are dependent on these Walmart jobs. Many people have reccomended the UFCW organization which is making a huge different into helping the workers of Walmart. I think this is a great organization that could really help the workers of walmart to get the justice they deserve.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of the some of these statements by friends and family member who have worked for Wal-Mart but I had no evidence to believe that it was happening not just at a small local level but at a global one. I remember hearing about Helotes, Texas fighting off Wal-Mart and winning by keeping them out of their area but I never really knew the reason why. After watching the video and reading the article I have a clear understanding of the monopoly they have created. I am not one for unions but the cases that are presented by employees and management are a bit ridiculous in my opinion that a company at this level that makes the money it does has such low health benefits and underpaid employees. I have personal experience in dealing with large multi-billion dollar companies such as Gambrinus and I know for a fact none their employees are treated on this level and all have outstanding health benefits now the numbers of employees aren’t anywhere close to this level and maybe that’s a factor. I couldn’t believe employees were basically told to go on welfare and how Colorado had to shut down three schools because the subsidies went to Wal-Mart. Which is an issue as well we go to college to get a better job so we don’t have to go work at places like Wally World. Wal-Mart has caused even environmental damages allowing herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers left in their parking lot to run-off into creeks which affect the areas sustainable drinking water. “Wal-Mart has been considered one of the engines driving the process of low-wage capitalism. In the article it also stated how,” Wal-Mart spreads monopoly power by destroying its competition with its famous “lowest prices.” One way to get more profits from the workers is to simply make them work longer hours without increasing their pay.” If I am ever placed in the position to be running a corporation of this magnitude I will find the time to speak to employers and see how they are being treated and have a point to take care of the little guy because that’s who builds these operations and keeps them running sufficiently.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ashley T. blog I too have been someone who has gone to Wal-Mart since I was a child and now it shocks me that I have been a product of this capitalism. It’s great how they create jobs and say they are going to give back to the community but the statistics show they only manage to create low underpaid jobs giving a push to their employees to go onto welfare. This is a sad situation but obviously people have fought to keep them out of their areas allowing small businesses to be able to have a fighting chance at flourishing which may even be harder in these down economic times. I too thought good about Wal-Mart due to the positive media but this tends not to be the case. I’m sure the Walton family didn’t envision this outcome but it’s the what happens when monopoly and capitalism comes in the game plan which isn’t good at all for this country we need to maintain a level of small business and competition that diversity helps to maintain a stable economy as well.
Response to Lisa Martinez and Marisa Vargas: I agree with your guys about seeing all the Wal-Mart employees are suffering and it’s heartbreaking what they have to go through every day for unable to pay for food, rent, and health care on their wages. My heart goes out to those employees chosen to work at Wal-mart because they make their own decision. I think something is better than nothing. Job is better than no job. For example, at least employees can afford to live and buy their own thing. I go to Wal-mart sometimes. I have seen some employees are happy, sad, or suffering. Yes, I know it is true that they don’t get pay that much, but think about it, likewise for the employees. No one is forcing them to work at Wal-mart but themselves.
ReplyDeleteI've personally never liked wal-mart, and after watching this video my point is completely backed up. Wal-Mart is taking so many jobs from the hard working class who owned small businesses that helped them get by and not necessarily make them billionaires. Wal-Mart is destroying those little businesses by killing off the competition. Sure they have low prices but at what cost to the wal mart employees. Now after viewing that employees are being recommended to get insurance through the government :/ I mean seriously. Its a freaking billion dollar corporation and they can't supply benefits for their employee's. I understand people aren't having guns aimed at them and forcing them to work at Wal-Mart, but as stated earlier wal-mart killed off the competition and those workers who owned the little shops were dependent on their businesses and now they have to be dependent on wal-mart because they have no other choice. Wal-Mart is retarded!
ReplyDeleteIn response to everyone who is against WalMart- I dont like walmart. Walmart is retarded. I can't just respond to a single person because from what I see everyone is pretty much against wal-mart and I back up everyones point as to why walmart is dumb :)
I found the reading and the video to be absolutely atrocious!! Wal-mart does NOT represent America, they represent the capitalist class, an evil evil breed of money hungry selfish people who will run over ANYONE just to have a mansion. After watching the video I really wanted to hold a strike against the Wal-marts here and get rid of them the same way others have in their town. This private company has destroyed so many peoples lives. They have taken away business that have been open for 40 plus years without a care. The company has destroyed towns covering the once lively places with empty once full shops. The one thing that made me absolutely furious was how wal-mart treats their workers in America and abroad. U.S. workers are made to work off the clock! Employees have to come in early, stay late, and work on their days off. If they have not finished putting items away and they need to clock out, the managers tell them that they have to put the items away off the clock before they leave and if they don't someone else will. Meaning they are replaceable and the managers say this with a smile! The associates barely have enough money to feed their family let alone pay for Wal-marts health care due to not receiving their full 40 hours. Over time is never allowed in fact if they do reach "overtime" the managers are trained on how to move the hours to another week or take the hours off all together!!! The company is stealing from their associates and actually get away with it!Not to mention the sexism,"Women at Wal-mart are useless", and racism going on in the company publicly (using the N word)! In places like Honduras and Bangladesh the conditions are twenty times worse. These people are lucky if they make 20 CENTS a hour! They are forced to work 7 days a week fourteen hour shifts!! They live in these slums that the company provides and makes them pay rent, water, and electricity. If they choose to not live in these "apartments" then wal-mart does not make them pay for water or electric but they still have to pay for rent. How does that make any since? These workers are abused mentally and physically. "Robina Akther- whose job was to sew flaps on the back pockets of pants destined for wal-mart- worked for 13 cents an hour, 14 hours a day, making $26.98 a month". "If she did not sew the required 120 pairs of pants a hour she was beaten". How sad to know this is happening and nothing is being done about it. Sure wal-mart is being sued and loosing but I feel more people should be aware of what wal-mart is doing to the world. I will no help support this company no longer. These issues are only half of the things wal-mart has done. There are so many more things wal-mart is guilty of such as the water they have contaminated, the billions of dollars they have to pay back to employees they have stolen from, the undocumented workers they have taken advantage of, schools being closed,wal-mart against unions (imagine that), and the list goes on. A link people should check out is the employeerights.com website.
ReplyDeleteI have never personally been a fan of Wal-Mart. I'm definitely not a conceited person, but every time I walk into Wal-Mart it is always dirty, or there is a mess at some point in the store. They always say that they are advertising to everyone. They try to offer a lot of jobs to all different types of people, yet still people end up suffering. They are affecting a lot of the local businesses by taking all of their business. It isn't fair because they aren't giving them any chance to try and be successful at what they do. These businesses are going bankrupt, and are having to lose all their jobs. It is helping China become better with bigger companies and corporations, but it is not doing anything for the little ones. This company doesn't treat their employees right as well. They overwork them and underpaying them. They come to work early and stay later, and they don't get paid as much. They really branched out on all of their stores being able to offer as many things as they possibly can. It seems as though they combined a bunch of different types of stores into one giant super-store which helps make it easy for them to branch out. People were saying that they think the government should take more part of being in control of the corporation. They're calling it a monopoly. People don't think that the owners of Wal-Mart would be satisfied as a whole with the job they're doing. Wal-Mart starting coming to small towns to try to help boost the economy. Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. Wal-Mart needs to get its priorities straight if they want to continue to have a successful business.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video and reading this article I was appalled at just how far this company has been willing to go in order to make a profit. They do it on the backs of their workers and by destroying small town businesses. Going back to the very beginning of the video, the CEO talking about Walmarts record earnings, sales and reinvestment was even more awful to see. He proceeds to make the statement, " Today for whatever reason whether its our success or our size Walmart stores Incorporated has generated fear if not envy". I was thinking to myself, what a surprise! with all the bad that they do how can they be the least bit surprised at the perception that they have generated?
ReplyDeletein response to Meagan Alessandra Gonzalez,the horrible treatment of Robina Akther,was also saddening for me to read about, even more so that Walmart gets away with it.
ReplyDeleteWal-Mart is one of the stores I spend most of my time in. I can’t believe all the negative things that come along with this store. I never really thought about it but now that I do, it makes a lot of sense. I have always lived in a big city so I haven’t really thought about all the small towns that suffer from having a Wal-Mart on the corner. I’m shocked to see all these businesses go out of business after all the hard work, dedication, and responsibilities of owning their own business. This is so true though. Wal-Mart sells basically anything you need. From groceries to paint to hunting gear to body wash to beer. For as long as I have shopped at Wal-Mart, the pay of the hard working employees has never crossed my mind. Wal-Mart is such a huge company; they should be paying their employees more than they do. That would at least make them look good in that aspect. Since Wal-Mart is open 24 hours, these employees don’t have the best working hours. The fact that they have to put in extra hours on top of low pay is ridiculous. Here is one interesting site about Wal-Mart.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
Response to Ilsse Rodriguez:
I like the quote you picked from the book.
"Wal-Mart spreads it's Monopoly power by destroying its competition with it's "lowest prices". But, it achieves these low prices by impoverishing it's own workers and the workers of it's suppliers and by forcing it's suppliers to super-exploit lo-wage labor across the globe." (Pg.92) It’s the perfect example of what Wal-Mart is. Its not fair to the workers that work hard to earn the little they get while the makers of Wal-Mart and living the good life.
After watching the Wal-Mart documentary I’m shocked on how much Wal-Mart has affected the lives of others. Wal-Mart has affected so many people from their workers to the local school teachers. I would have never known the negativity Wal-Mart has brought to the communities without having seen the documentary. I never knew how China’s factory workers were treated until now. It saddens me how they are treated, paid and also trained to lie about their working conditions. A quote from the reading, “Robin Akther-whose job was to sew flaps on the back pockets of pants destined for Wal-Mart-worked for thirteen cents an hour, fourteen hours a day, making $26.98 a month. If she did not sew the required 120 pairs of pants per hour she was beaten.” I cannot believe Wal-Mart would associate themselves with such of working conditions. It’s also very sad to see all of the small towns with family owned businesses forced to close due to Wal-Mart. Another eye opener is the number of crimes in the Wal-Mart parking lots; it’s unbelievable how Wal-Mart is portrayed by not doing anything about the number of crimes. I have found an article which brings up Wal-Mart and the economy which I found was very interesting. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2005/nf20051026_8916_db016.htm
ReplyDeleteResponse to Megan Gonzales:
I completely understand how u felt when you talked about holding a strike against Wal-Mart. I too was shocked to the point where I could not believe how a huge company as such can do this to America.
They say Wal-Mart can wipe out a town of small businesses with their “low-pricing” and how they go about achieving these low prices, has many questioning Wal-Mart, their values and what they stand for as an American company. “Wal-Mart spreads its monopoly power by destroying its competition...but it achieves these low prices by impoverishing its own workers and the workers of its suppliers and by forcing its suppliers to super-exploit low-wage labor across the globe.” We’ve seen in the video and read in Chapter 11, just how many are affected by this big business philosophy. You would think with its public policies, mission statements and goals that Wal-Mart would’ve brought about much wealth, not just to the people but to the community as a whole. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Many in the U.S. and globally, who are connected to Wal-Mart, are still living in poverty, working undocumented, unpaid hours and in an unstable, insecure working environment, afraid to leave because of lack of employment options. How can we change this for the better of the people? How can we preserve the American business when most of the time we focus on money. Whether your rich or poor, we all want to save money. Many have the mentality, “We want quality, we want it now and we want it cheap.” We have the power to keep these small local business running but too many choose to continue shopping there because 1.) financial necessity, especially when every dollar counts OR 2.) sheer connivence. They are after all the largest “one stop shop” around offering a variety of things from groceries, clothing, vision, pharmacy, sporting, painting/hardware, haircuts, nail salon, automotive, electronics, toys, home goods and furniture. Really, with all that under one roof, what small business stands a chance against them? Things will change when people, workers and communities band together and begin to fight back. This article http://motherjones.com/politics/2003/03/against-wal-mart shows how people are doing just that. The community realizes that Wal-Mart isn’t going anywhere but hopes that it will begin to improve it’s working conditions and offer the workers fair pay and affordable health insurance. - Chrisanne Salinas
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video I had a plethora of emotions running through me. I was more so upset than anything. One of the topics that stood out to me was the fact that wal-mart employees could not afford health insurance and had to turn to government assistance. One lady would have had to take a $75 pay cut in order to help provide for her family. That was crazy to me! Another aspect of the video I did not appreciate was the managers making the employees work off the clock and “doing it with a smile.” They don’t make enough money as it is so why would they want to work and not get paid for it. If I were them I would be highly upset. Not only that but if you were a women the job was even harder to do. They weren’t treated fairly and weren’t paid the same amount as men were either. The last part of the video that just put me over the top was the woman going up for the general manager position. When the person interviewing her told her that people like her don’t belong in manager positions I was appalled. Then when she asked if it was because she was black or a woman his response…there aren’t even words for it. “Two out of three ain’t bad” my mouth just dropped. I couldn’t believe he actually had the nerve to say something like that! I had no idea these issues even existed in wal-mart corporations, but I am so glad I am now aware.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Alexis Ayala I’m the opposite of you. I’ve lived in a small city all of my life until I moved to San Antonio. Like you though, that’s a store I spend a lot of my time in also. Now that all of these negative aspects of Wal-mart have come up I realize why other companies have gone downhill.
After seeing the video on Wal-Mart and reading why the bosses need Wal-Mart, it had made me realized the negative or bad side of Wal-Mart which many not even I knew about it just because Wal-Mart puts out his name as a good through media in the community. I realized it is a low wage paid place and even though there company makes a lot they still don’t give their workers as much and with a lot of hours for them to work, but many still stay because they need to maintain and feed their families. I have never realized how big a negative impact Wal-Mart has in this community and to think that every day we go and buy things at Wal-Mart because of their “low prices”.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Lisa that another thing that also shocked me was that Wal-Mart has been in the way of small business and how they had to give it all up because Wal-Mart was a really big competition.
I don’t really like Wal-Mart. The employees are not trained to answer in-depth questions and this is not their fault. Most of them work there to provide for their families so I understand. There were smaller grocery stores who sold everything fresh and now they are gone because of Wal-Mart. Those people didn’t deserve that because they worked hard every day. My cousin worked there for four years and he hated it. If he got sick he couldn’t go the doctor because it was too expensive. What the employees were saying reminded me of him and what he went through. They make themselves out to be this wonderful convenient place to shop but they are not. This really bothers me because nobody deserves to be treated this way when they are trying to provide for themselves and their families.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Chrisanne Salinas: what you said was awesome and inspiring. I read the article and it’s nice to that not everyone supports Wal-Mart and is doing something to change it.
"Walmart drives down prices by driving down wages..." To me this was a very strong statement in the text because its true, but many people don't know to what extent. How CAN they're prices be so low? Walmart is the biggest competitor for just about every store there is; whether its grocery, automotive, electronics, or clothing, it blowing everyone out of the waters with their prices.
ReplyDeleteEvery company is in the business to make money so Walmart, of course, is making a profit off of all these low priced items. We see Walmart hiring people around the nation at minimum wage. Many of these people have families to take care of and mouths to feed and yet they still cannot afford to do so with their check from Walmart. What we don't see, until the video pointed out, was how many of the same type of people from other countries are in an even worse situation. It amazed me to see the difference. People are getting paid nearly nothing to work 14 hour days, 7 days a week, then forced to pay for housing and utilities that they don't want and that aren't even worth paying for.
I understand that Walmart is trying to make the biggest profit they possibly can and that they technically have created thousands of jobs. But its disgusting to see they are willing to dehumanize their employees and their need to work by cheating and stealing their money and even beating them when they make mistakes.
Tiara,
ReplyDeletemy mom actually used to work for Walmart, she was a Manager at the Vision Center. I remember I used to see her bring her work home with her all the time because of not being able to work overtime. When she transferred to a different locations, she told me, she was told to fire a certain person by any means necessary - to find any and every reason to write the person up and fire them. When she asked why, she was told because they make too much money.
Before watching this video I admit I liked Wal-mart because of its convenience to have almost everything that I need when I have to go shopping, and the fact that I do grocery shopping at all hours of the night. I knew before watching what Wal-mart did and was about, not going to lie. The convenience of the store and 24-hour access usually has me over-looking it less fine qualities but knowing information and hearing and seeing the information is a little different. Stores like this really are taking jobs away from so many small businesses and potential authentic family owned businesses. I’ve always appreciated family owned restaurants and stores, but as Wal-mart continues to expand, these types of businesses are shutting more of their doors. It’s a shame and I’m definitely against that. I think that even though I am putting myself through school, reading about the working conditions for people overseas is just ridiculous and cruel. It is hard to think that by going to the super center I am indirectly supporting the kind of behavior that I am so against. My dependence on Wal-mart will be changing very soon!
ReplyDeleteI hardly ever enter a Wal-Mart unless I am in an absolute bind (like when my laptop charger stopped working at 11PM and I had homework to do). I knew what a horrible company it was. During a majority of the film, I was crying. Actually, many of the topics we have been touching on in this class makes me cry. Peoples lives are being destroyed by this monopoly of a corporation. At the same time, I thought back to when my Mother was raising my brother and I. We shopped at Wal-Mart every payday because it was affordable. My Mother had to shop there to provide for us. This is the vicious cycle of capitalism. Now that I make my own money and support myself I never choose to spend it at a Wal-Mart.
ReplyDeleteI work for HEB-Central Market and I think HEB is on its way to becoming as profit driven as Wal-Mart is. It scares me because I don't want to be working under such conditions but I feel like I might already be. In the reading they discuss the source of all profit. "Every worker needs to know that their wages come to only a fraction of the value they add to products with their labor." I do the math when I sell supplements to people. I know our profit from the price on the shelf and I know that I am underpaid while Stephen Butt is collecting the extra. We work hard so the bosses can relax.
Another thing I realized in the film was that Lee Scott, the C.E.O. of Wal-Mart, often looked like he knew he was a liar. He had a look of shame on his face, shame on him and shame on all of the evil monopolists at Wal-Mart.
In response to Tiara Murray, I was upset as well and not entirely surprised by the information regarding the employees turning to government assistance due to lack of affordable healthcare. I was appalled by the fact that the manager had all of the information on the resources where the employees could turn and the statistics on how many employees have to take such measures. I feel like there was truth when they stated Wal-Mart was using the government as their health care plan!
ReplyDeleteWow! That’s all I could really say after watching and reading the article on Wal-mart. I would have never imaged something like this from them. I remember walking into a Wal-mart and looking at the chart of how they helped the community, and thinking wow they help a lot, even churches and etc. Now I see all that as a cover up knowing that that such a giant company could do some damage to so many people. I’ve always heard how Wal-mart is “so good to its workers”. But yet so many of them complained about the company. How selfish could they are. They make millions and millions and yet don’t want to provide better health insurance instead they tell them to apply for welfare? Many of these employees couldn’t don’t much just by the simple fact that they have to make some sort of money to keep food on the table. Going back, to how Wal-mart makes millions and millions of dollars, I found a fact that surprised me; The Walton family has given away about 2% of its net worth to charity -- Bill Gates is giving away 48% of his net worth and Warren Buffet 78% of his net worth. (http://www.businessinsider.com/16-walmart-facts) After reading that it disgusts me that people that have so much can be so greedy. I will certainly make me think twice once I step into a Wal-mart store.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Starr: I agree with you, I’ve always been clueless about what really goes on. I usually go in and out and that’s it. And I’m that person that has conversations with the employees and your right I would have never known exactly what they are going though just working there.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching this video and reading about "Why bosses need Wal-Mart" I just get so angry. Why can't people just live their "American Dream?" Big companies such as Wal-Mart are solely focused on making as much profit as they can. What makes me the angriest is that they constantly are understaffed on purpose. They don't care about their associates and that's something a big business can get away with unfortunately. They work their workers like dogs and they want them to stay as long as they can, not scheduled, can. They don't have a good medical plan for their employees and it doesn't make any sense because this is a place where people work for a good chunk of their lives. This is where the people go when they really need to support their families and they have to work awkward hours because it works with their schedule because its open 24/7. It's depressing because these people are going to work that doesn't pay their employees enough, that doesn't supply medical care, that isn't enough to support the worker's families. I love Wal-Mart, I'm not going to lie. They are so convenient and they have everything that a college student who stays up all night could possibly need. It's close and it's not as expensive as HEB. I hate what they do and it makes me really angry; even though they do all of these terrible things, sadly, unless everyone boycotts Wal-Mart, it's too late and nothing is going to change this. There are business like this EVERYWHERE and we don't even know it. The old restaurant I used to work at had the WORST management that I have ever seen. My boss would yell and curse at his employees, work us like dogs, if the girls worked in the bar after the restaurant closed they needed to be as sleezy looking as possible to increase the bar sells. It was disgusting and I've vowed to never go back. Even though I know they will never get another dime of my money, I know everyone else loves it. Even if no one ever went back to that one restaurant, there are so many branch restaurants that it wouldn't even matter if this one building shut down. It's depressing because Wal-Mart is basically the same type of place. One building can shut down and all those workers are now jobless, sure their job wasn't great before but it's better than nothing at all.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Leslie:
I like how you mentioned that Lee Scott looked shameful. He knows what he's doing, he knows that when he gets up there on stage and sings the praises of the Wal-Mart industry that he's creating false hope in those single mothers who need a job or even that high school student who just feels like school isn't what they're made for. It breaks my heart to see all of this happening and to know that I can't do anything to fix it.
After watching the video and reading the text about WalMart I am very suprised to see how badley workers there are treated. I always thought places like Walmart were a good thing because they provided low prices and so many jobs. I did not realize that the workers there were treated so badly and paid so little. I is sad to see that these people are often forced to work off the clock for no pay and for such little wages. In the text Fred Goldstein states that "Walmart's low prices are at the expense of the low wages of their 1.2 million workers, as well as at the expense of the millions of workers in the United States and in sweatshops around the world who work for Walmart's suppliers". Walmart should not be allowed to treat their employees this way. It is sad to see that the people who work there hardly make enough money to live off of.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marley about how Wal-Mart is so convenient and cheap so nobody is going to boycott it. It is open 24 hours a day and has almost anything you would need for a low price. This is one of the reasons why they can treat their employees the way they do because they no that no matter what, people will still shop there.
ReplyDelete“The system was designed to keep the goods following and when push came to shove they did not stand up and do the right thing”. Is the CEO ignorant or just plain evil and greedy? If the workers are told to lie or be punished or fired then someone from above gave them those instructions. How far up the line does this go?
ReplyDeleteCEO quote “If we keep our prices low but raised our average wage substantially we would in fact decrease our profit disproportionately and would sacrifice a health chunk of what our share holders expect from us.” Boohoo – he does know; so it seems!
What?! I am appalled at Wal-Mart. This author of Wal-Mart bosses and producer of the film both have a stand that Wal-Mart is bad, so bad. I agree. The security issue is horrible. Even on the inside it watches the employees not the customers. A friend of mine from Phoenix, AZ had her daughter actually kidnapped while in the store. It was not seen or reported by Wal-Mart security. While the father went to the security, the mom raced around the store and her daughter was found, and the perp arrested. But it was the family and not Wal-Mart security that found their daughter and called the police.
From Globization,”low prices have made it possible for the capitalist class to lower wages without driving all the workers to absolute hunger and rebellion.” My husband worked for Wally world for a 3 month season. He said they were constantly monitored. He never experienced the off the clock issues but did work less than 40 and no overtime. What he brought home to the family was not enough for us to survive on and we did have to have government assistance.
I think that I shall not be a consumer of anything Wal-Mart!
“The system was designed to keep the goods following and when push came to shove they did not stand up and do the right thing”. Is the CEO ignorant or just plain evil and greedy? If the workers are told to lie or be punished or fired then someone from above gave them those instructions. How far up the line does this go?
ReplyDeleteCEO quote “If we keep our prices low but raised our average wage substantially we would in fact decrease our profit disproportionately and would sacrifice a health chunk of what our share holders expect from us.” Boohoo – he does know; so it seems!
What?! I am appalled at Wal-Mart. This author of Wal-Mart bosses and producer of the film both have a stand that Wal-Mart is bad, so bad. I agree. The security issue is horrible. Even on the inside it watches the employees not the customers. A friend of mine from Phoenix, AZ had her daughter actually kidnapped while in the store. It was not seen or reported by Wal-Mart security. While the father went to the security, the mom raced around the store and her daughter was found, and the perp arrested. But it was the family and not Wal-Mart security that found their daughter and called the police.
From Globization,”low prices have made it possible for the capitalist class to lower wages without driving all the workers to absolute hunger and rebellion.” My husband worked for Wally world for a 3 month season. He said they were constantly monitored. He never experienced the off the clock issues but did work less than 40 and no overtime. What he brought home to the family was not enough for us to survive on and we did have to have government assistance.
I think that I shall not be a consumer of anything Wal-Mart!
Watching the film and reading "Why the bosses need Wal-Mart" makes me angry and sad for all of the people that still work there. I've watched documentaries on Wal-Mart before and it always surprises me how selfish this company is and how far from the dream Sam Walton had they really are. I worked for Wal-Mart three years and I have to say that was the worst job I've ever had. They make you do way too much for the little pay you receive. When I left after three years they were cutting jobs and making one person take care of two or three departments. It was unreal to me the amount of work load they would put on each of us and would get extremely angry if we were not able to meet these requirements. I was also going to school during this time and they were not flexible at all with my schedule, I literally would have to call in just to get a day off to take an exam even though I would let them know a month in advance. Most employees were part timers because even if they wanted to work full time they would not allow it in order not to have to pay any overtime or provide better benefits. I never had insurance with them because it was way too much money. I cannot believe how some of these people have a family to feed and take care of and they have been at Wal-Mart for over 20 years and they work paycheck to paycheck. I can't believe that with all the money they make and have they cannot provide better benefits and pay these employees that have been there their entire lives more. It is extremely upsetting to me that this company can be so evil and selfish. I'm glad I no longer work there and rarely shop there.
ReplyDeleteWow, this documentary really made me think. I was just in Minnesota last weekend in a small farm town and wal-mart had just recently moved in about 20 minutes away. It seemed like it was a really big deal to them, and I didn't really think anything of it. I was just like oh well good! But now, after seeing this documentary and reading in the Globalization book I now see why having a wal-mart move to their small town was such a big deal. Our Globalization book mentions that, "When Wal-Mart moves into an area, it puts unionized supermarkets out of business or gives the bosses of its competitors leverage at the bargaining table to demand concessions based on not being able to compare with Wal-Mart." All of the small ma and pa stores that work their whole lives to only be trampled down by pretty much monopolistic company. The family life part of the film was really sad, the fact that their are people who work full time and still cannot adequately provide for their family. Especially the mother who said when she gets her pay check it goes straight back to Wal-Mart for groceries and etc. I had always thought that Sam Walton was always proud of the fact ( when Wal-Mart first started out) that Wal-Mart was an AMERICAN company. But now that American claim has gone down the drain. American? If American, you mean China, then yes. And the fact that wal-mart encourages their employees to go on welfare!? That is just ridiculous. The everyday low prices are based on tax payers money.
ReplyDelete@Kathy: Yeah, I think the CEO is BOTH ignorant and greedy. It's all about money money money, its so awful. His judgment will come one day.
Here is a news report and gives numbers about how many wal-mart's their are all around the world :/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10838942/ns/business-forbes_com/t/wal-mart-takes-over-world/
After this reading and video I was appalled at the thought of Walmart. I also felt stupid and embarrassed at my own shopping at this monster store. I live less than 100 yards to a Walmart and it is so convenient to my house that I find myself going there at least two to three times a week and sometimes more! That is appalling. I feel horrible that my contributions are aiding in such bad treatment to their employees as well as America in general.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a very small town in east Texas and my first job in high school was at a small grocery store. I loved my job and the company that I worked for. It was a Christian based company, which later paid for part of my first two years of college through their scholarship program. I remember ladies who had worked there or at a sister store for twenty or more years. Obviously I have never worked at Walmart, but after seeing this video and seeing how inappropriately that they treat their employees, it makes me so much more thankful for my first job and the opportunities it presented to me. The year I graduated from high school a Walmart was built in my town. I know local people had voted against it many times, but finally they got approval by the town. I was so young and naive at the time that I thought it was like the other things that they tried to get passed (selling alcohol, building new schools, ect.) I thought that the town was just old timey and not ready for change. So finally the Walmart was built a little while after I had moved away for college. It only took two years for the company I had worked for to suspend their scholarship program. They were not making enough money to sustain their extra activities for their staff or former staff. This was heartbreaking for me and my family. Now as a senior, graduating in December, I drove by the store I formerly worked at just a few months ago and the doors were boarded up and there was a for sale sign in the window.
Of course I was immediately heartbroken. I knew all of the people who worked there, they were my friends. I met my (now) husband working there, and I know older people who sincerely appreciated the personalized service of having a person who would carry out their groceries everytime they came it, as well as enough cashiers in order to ensure that a customer would not have to wait forever! Why on Earth would we get rid of a place like that? It is mind boggling that the only option is a crowded parking lot with stray buggies that smash into your car in the lot, crushed cans, long slow lines that seem to take days to get through.
@ Kathy: I think you are right on all accounts. The CEO is ignorant, greedy, and evil. Hes not worried about anyone besides himself. I am sure he rides up in a nice luxury automobile and his children are taken care of by his private insurance and I am positive that his wife has never had to sit through the embarrassing process of getting government assistance for his family to survive; unlike apparently most of his employees have to do.
http://walmartwatch.org/ is a site that I absolutely love. It has charts and graphs and you can even sign up for a newsletter from this group. I think that everyone should take a quick peek at this site.