Posted on 01/13/2006 5:28:37 AM PST by sickoflibs
The Maryland General Assembly overrode Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto of a bill requiring Wal-Mart to pay more for employee health care yesterday, a measure that has sparked a nationwide debate over the level of benefits an employer should provide workers.
The so-called Fair Share Health Care Fund Act, the first of its kind to succeed in the nation, became a fight between organized labor and business, raising questions about to what extent government should intervene in private enterprise.
It now becomes law and a model for more than 30 other states, which are expected to take up similar legislation in the coming months. But it might have more immediate consequences in Maryland, where some leaders fear Wal-Mart will withdraw its plans to open a proposed distribution center that would, if built, bring nearly 1,000 new jobs to the Eastern Shore.
"Fair Share health care is going to sweep the nation," said Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, part of a coalition of labor unions, Wal-Mart competitors and others that pushed the bill through the legislature.
"This pro-business, pro-working families law makes sense, and the Maryland state legislature is taking the lead."
"This vote was never about health care," she said. "This was about partisan politics."
Clark said the company has not decided about the distribution center but will be re-examining the project "through a different set of lenses."
Before either chamber voted, he told a group of Prince George's County businessmen that the bill will hurt his efforts to bring business to the state.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
BTW: MD (same assembly) also recently passed a law that charges a tax on HMOs to pay for lawsuits on doctors. It would be nice to see this backfire.
Another example of MD's socialist legislature.
The location for this distribution center is right square at the half way point between Sussex County, DE and Accomac County, VA..........bad news for Somerset County, it has the highest rate of unemployment in the stte of MD.
If I ran Walmart, I would look at the maximum number of employees you could have without triggering the law and shut down the number of stores necesscary to get them under the ceiling. Maybe moving them just across the borders where practical. If Walmart caves into the Maryland Manifesto, they would give a powerful incentive to other Neo Comm states jump on the wealth redistribution bandwagon, even more than they already have.
I guess the peoples democratic republik of maichigan will be next.....
We left Brighton for just that reason, you should move down here to Indiana and have a blast poking fun at all our neighbor states.
I hope WalMart shuts em down...
As a Wal-Mart associate and Freeper, I hope they find ways around the libs. The area of Pennsylvania where I live (near the border) could benefit, maybe we'll get a distribution center or even more stores.
I'm hoping the proposed Eastern Shore distribution center this effectively kills moves 30 miles south to the VA county I live in :)
If I was running Wal Mart i would close every Wal Mart in Maryland and sell the property.
If I were H. Lee Scott, I would immediately announce that since Maryland does not want business there, ALL Wal-Mart stores in Maryland would be closed and all employees fired. Over 10,000 newly unemployed voters should be enough to get the attention of the a**holes in Annapolis.
I can only hope that Wal-Mart withdraws from the Peoples Republic of Maryland. I am just guessing, but I suspect many other large companies are already looking to get out. Its a small communist state. Maybe they can have a union commune there. Maybe the UN would like to move there.
Have them stop by BALTIMORE on their way to Annapolis ;)
I would like to see WalMart move 8000 jobs to Delaware.
They are the only force able to make a point to socialcrats like the Maryland assembly.
Hit ENTER instead of period.
Have them stop by Baltimore to see where all their tax dollars are being dumped. That place is a welfare cesspool that's driving most of the state's bad policies.
I'll split the difference with you........Delaware can have 4,000 and give the Eastern Shore of Virginia the other 4,000. That way all the folks who live in this county can stop working in the Maryland WalMart, have a job closer to home, and VA will get all the tax revenue Maryland is now enjoying from VA residents.
Well, duh, they should if they're smart.
Walmart needs to use Maryland as an example.
Here's the deal ~ Wal-Mart does offer health care insurance. All you have to do if you work there is sign up for it.
For a variety of reasons not all their employees sign up, and the result is claimed to be a "lower than average" level of health care insurance coverage, presumably made up for with public assistance.
Some of the reasons folks don't sign up for the company's offering of health care insurance are:
1. They are covered under the policy of a spouse or parent elsewhere,
2. They, themselves, are previously retired and already have such a policy,
3. They just don't want the bother since they are happy with their doctor who does not accept payment from any of the plans at Wal-Mart.
The consequence of this action will be that Wal-Mart will simply shut down its operations in Maryland. They will be replaced with higher cost retail operators who will not provide any health care insurance at all.
Conclusion ~ the state legislature in Maryland is made up of some of the stupidest, ineducable people in America.
Of course, that is not news.
Actually, those other states aren't just "far larger", they are MANY TIMES larger.
I'm with you. I believe the bill applies to Companys with 10,000 or more employees in the state. Wal-Mart should cut back to 9,999 employees. Wal-Mart has the guts to do it. I recall that when they were required to allow a union in a Wal-Mart store in Canada, they instead just closed the store.
they should ask GM employee's how that is working for them
Wal Mart should close the store and fire them all.
Yup. That would provide a ood "model" for other states to consider. Other than that, lay off half the staff, and sell stuff so cheap, at a loss that it forces other stores to lay off as well.
I'm surprised they haven't done this already. Perhaps they'll wait until appeals have run their course. It's not a huge move to take the distro center to Delaware.
Construction was to have started last year, but was put on hold after this passed and was awaiting the outcome of the veto override.
WM is planning a distribution center in southern Delaware, I wonder if they will consider expanding the plans on that one..........or instead of a proposed Supercenter here in Accomac Cty. VA, they will consider moving it here....both are approxiamately equi-distant to the proposed one in Somerset Cty.
"I really would like to know who is paying the benefits, WalMart or me, the consumer?"
Not that you don't already know the answer but......you.
If I ran Walmart, I would look at the maximum number of employees you could have without triggering the law and shut down the number of stores necesscary to get them under the ceiling. Maybe moving them just across the borders where practical. If Walmart caves into the Maryland Manifesto, they would give a powerful incentive to other Neo Comm states jump on the wealth redistribution bandwagon, even more than they already have.""
The way I read this and based on TV remarks, this is calculated on NO LESS THAN 8% of Gross payroll costs. That would mean to me that it wouldn't matter HOW MANY employees I have in Maryland, I would have to create health care benefits that meet the 8% threshold.
This would drive me out of the state of Maryland if I were an employer there or I would suddenly become strictly a Mom and Pop company. Then ONLY MY FAMILY would have the health care benefits. I would drop down to a much smaller operation, gross less money, have fewer paperwork & management headaches, and possible actually NET more $$$$..
How many people who work at McDonalds are actually employed by McDonalds compared to those employed by the local franchisees?
I'd go with Delaware. Delaware is more business-friendly than Virginia, and will continue to be as long as Virginia keeps electing their current dtring of governors.
Then the TV remarks are wrong.........this law specifies only companies with more than 10,000 employees are covered.
Sorry- I missed the 10,000 employees part....
But- remember- it only takes a / to change that to 1,000 or another / to make it 100.
Not a bad idea, but it would probably be more efficient to create a separately owned subdivision that ran the distribution system.
I moved out of Delaware because it is becoming a Maryland East..........
Idiot socialists never learn.
Yeah, and it only takes a phone call to shut a job site down.
Nothing hard about it at all. It's just that most companies pay a major portion of the ridiculously high premiums. Most folks couldn't afford the whole amount. The cost of insurance is artificially high because of this, but that's another thread.
DemocRATS are just too stupid to take care of themselves. Soon they are going to demand Walmart provide "feeders" in the lunch room, people to spoon-feed stupid democrats who are too dumb to feed themselves.
Democrats are so dumb, they are happy just getting a pay stub, knowing that all their needs will be taken care of by the government. A free bus ride will take them to their free government home. a free meal will arrive at the door by a meals on wheels government sandwich factory, a feeder will come feed them, and tuck them in to bed. Then of course there is the government child care worker who brings their kid home, feeds it and tucks it into bed, then comes back in the morning and picks it up again. That's the marxist utopia they dream of living in. What ever spare time they have to themselves they spend watching to make sure nobody is making any money, or driving a car.
Yes, that was in Queer-bec. Another almost closed in Northern Manitoba, but it was found that the union was involved in some sort of illegal activities. Unions have outgrown their usefulness. All they do is end up costing employees money and making work more miserable. They do nothing except rob you of dues and spend it on politicians and leftist enviro-wacko groups and other such causes. They need to be shut down, and kicked out of political involvement.
A large percentage of Wal-mart's employees are not the primary wage earners in their homes. Many refuse medical coverage because they get better benefits from the primary wage earner's insurance company. Would you really expect that a job that requires manily unskilled labor is going ot have as good of benefits as a higher paying job?
Wal-Mart isn't providing less coverage than other retailers. They aren't providing less benefits. They are merely larger that the other retailers.
This legislation was targeted at Wal-Mart and was intended to treat them differently than other retailers. This is not equal protection under the law.
THis should be thrown out by the courts, and Wal_mart's legal expenses should be paid for by the Legislators that voted for this crap.
Walmart should layoff just enough employees to cover the additional health care costs.
Wal-Mart should close stores near the state boarder and move them across the boarder.
They should move all distribution centers outside the state.
What is Min wage in Maryland?
Considering the income tax alone that these employees generate for the state is around $120 million, that's one stupid government to risk loosing that much revenue in one shot. Why don't they just top up the health care plan themselves with medicaide on those few employess that might actually want one. Democrats just don't think.
Walmart should do what it can to treat it's workers fairly. It's unlikely that they were the ones behind this legislation.
It should try and relocate stores near the border into other states and transfer as many employess to the new stores as they can.
Walmart has a lot of low paying jobs due to the nature of their business. However, they usually try to be a good employer. For example they tried to relocate workers that were displaced by Katrina.
They pay competitive wages. They offer competitive benefits. They are more successful than other retailers because they are more efficient. They have the most modern and efficient distribution system of any retailer in the world.
If the government passed a law requiring all retailers to make a certain level of health care coverage available to their employees, then while it might drive up prices, it would effect all retailers the same. It might harm sales and decrease profits, but it would do so equally.
This was an attack by the Maryland legislature on one specific company. They must not be allowed to get away with this.
I don't know.
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