Posted on 01/14/2006 7:23:45 AM PST by Dane
Unions Hope Wal-Mart Bill Has Momentum Other States Consider Similar Measures
By Amy Joyce and Matthew Mosk Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, January 14, 2006; Page D01
Labor will take its major victory from Maryland's health care vote this week to 31 other states, hoping to capitalize on anti-Wal-Mart sentiment and to build momentum in state legislatures considering similar measures.
Washington and New Hampshire are among the states labor activists view as most likely to follow in Maryland's footsteps . Similar measures also have been introduced recently in states including Colorado, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
Organized labor has a lot riding on this campaign. Companies that provide higher pay and benefits under union contracts are battling lower-cost competitors here and abroad. The companies are attempting to level the playing field by cutting back on pay and benefits, sometimes by filing for bankruptcy. Labor is trying the opposite tack: making others pay more.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
WILTS
(what I'd like to see!)
I whole heartedly agree with you. I like less than 10 miles from the Maryland line...the nearest WalMart to me is in Maryland. We sure could use one in this county :)
I really hope Walmart will close every store in Maryland and move them just accross the state line into neighboring states.
How about this: In response to increased costs associated with the illegal mandate by the State of Maryland, Walmart will be cutting its work force by 10% and raising prices by 2% to offset the cost. Also, new store development will be cut to zero for the State of Maryland going forward resulting in $100,000,000 net loss to Maryland area contractors and a $50,000,000 loss in tax revenue to the state over the next five years, or roughly 3 times what it would have cost to bear the additional burden of the Medicaid recipients during that same time period. That is all.
Much as I despise Wal-Mart under it's current management, it's a free country (or should be.)
It's the right of an employer to say "I have lots of jobs at eight bucks an hour, and no jobs at ten bucks an hour."
The best way to deal with the current labor/trade issues is to repeal the income tax and replace it with a flat tarriff on all imports. That would level the playing field while having a zero net effect on workers' income. And the result would be an explosion in American manufacturing jobs, to the point where we'd have several job openings for every legal immigrant who wants to come here (and any American still willing to work for a living.)
Unions and their Democrat allies are really learning how to make friends.
"The best way to deal with the current labor/trade issues is to repeal the income tax and replace it with a flat tarriff on all imports."
So the 'best way' to deal with the problems caused by domestic labor unions is to enact a system of tariffs that close off foreign imports forcing American consumers to pay the outrageous priced and low quality goods produced by the domestic labor unions? I fail to see the logic.
Actually a rollback of onerous regulation on manufacturing would be a good start to revitalizing manufacturing in this country.
In my experience, Wal-Mart does not have a positive effect on the local economy. When Wal-Mart came to our community, there were promises made of tax revenue and job creation.
As soon as the store was built, Wal-Mart grieved their tax assessment, with billions of dollars and teams of lawyers to back them up.
Employment gains have been zero, as Wal-Mart has not hired as many employees as promised, and other stores have been driven out of business or forced to cut back.
And the Wal-Mart and the mini crime wave it has spawned (robbery, assault, shoplifting, drugs- it's now the closest store to the "bad" neighborhoods and on a bus line) ties up the equivalent of one full-time police officer and a chunk of paramedic/ambulance resources.
But hey, they did pave over fifty acres of farmland and increase congestion on two major roads!
Once again, Democrats express their opposition to the 14th Amendment. So much for equal protection.
Democrats have opposed Amendment XIV since the day it was written.
Fire the employees of specific types and hire temps from some agency or other until your workforce falls below the required number.
Outsource truck drivers, warehousemen, maintenance, accounting staff, repeat until you drop the number below 10,000.
Total: $125.25
Tax: $8.63
Compliance Fee: $.63
Total Due $134.51
Thank you for shopping Wal-Mart
All that will do will be to leave the legislaters no choice but to have to raise taxes again on the residents. Hey, this is Maryland, after all...
Another if I can't compete, I'll destroy.
"There's a joke about a Frenchman, an Englishman and a Russian who are told they have only one day until the end of the world. The Frenchman says he will spend his last day with a bottle of Bordeaux and a beautiful woman. The Englishman says he will take his favorite sheepdog for a walk across the moors. The Russian says he will burn down his neighbor's house."
On the contrary- non-union businesses in the US, especially those with high quality and low cost of producton, will continue to eat the lunch of the dinosaur union shops.
Look at the success of the Japanese car makers who have brought their factories to the US.
Also, when combined with the elimination of the income tax, the net effect on purchasing power will be zero.
People who still want Italian suits, French wine, German cars, etc. will have to pay a premium, sure. And the tax on oil would make many alternate fuels competitive with oil, and boost the domestic oil industry.
While I agree that business here is overregulated, should American companies have to compete on a "level playing field" with companies in countries where there are NO environmental regulations or safety standards whatsoever?
Ah, but who cares if workers die and the environment is trashed someplace else, as long as we have our cheap toys.
Also, I believe that with the massive increase in manufacturing, wages would be driven up by the labor market, with a resultant increase in economic activity and tax revenue. This would allow the tarriff to be rolled back slightly once our economy was on a solid footing.
They need to close shop in Maryland.
What anti Walmart sentiment are they talking about? The polling I have seen shows about 70% off those polled like shopping at Walmart.
Good luck in Wisconsin. They'll show up in Madistan, a hot-bed of socialists and unionists, and get 40 people to show up "for the cause" out of a city of 200,000. LOL! Bring. It. On. Waste your money. Do it! Do it!
Wrong forum, comrade. Walmart has NO obligation to you or anyone else to 'have a positive effect on the economy'. Their only obligation is to their shareholders/creditors. If a net beneficial effect is created while they pursue their own economic interests, great. See Adam Smith.
Ditto farmland/congestion - ever hear of the concept of private property? It's what our capitalistic system is based upon - the ability to own, utilize and dispose of one's own property without interference from the state. Unless your community wants to pony up the $ to purchase property and convert it to parkland, don't expect others (ie farmers) to provide *your* open-space for free.
Looks like they're already on it in Wisconsin, led by the socialists in our congress of course, but if the Pubbies have one lick of common sense, they'll snuff it out immediately! And if it comes down to it, I'll encourage Wal-Mart to pull out of Wisconsin, too. Socialists are SUCH idiots! How can they not see how business provides the tax base for towns all across this country? If business wasn't paying a part of people's healthcare, the states would be picking up ALL of it. Good Lord. Take an 'Economics 101' course, would ya?
Wal-Mart law in Maryland boosts efforts here
By Anita Weier - January 14, 2006 - The Capital Times
A law enacted in Maryland forcing Wal-Mart to pay more for employee health insurance could boost the prospects for similar legislation in Wisconsin and other states.
But Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, co-author of a bill to be considered by an Assembly committee next week, is not optimistic that the Republican-controlled Legislature will go along with the plan.
"The Republicans won't touch what they think of as the free market, even though Wal-Mart is distorting the free market with a monopoly controlling the price of goods and labor," she predicted.
The Maryland Legislature on Thursday overrode the governor's veto of a bill that would require companies with more than 10,000 workers in the state to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on employee health care or pay the difference into the state's Medicaid fund. The bill is a first nationally and may be challenged in court.
Wisconsin legislators introduced similar legislation after learning that Wisconsin paid $2.7 million in 2004 to provide BadgerCare coverage for 1,252 Wal-Mart employees and their dependents. BadgerCare provides insurance for the working poor.
Nate Hurst, a spokesman for Wal-Mart in its Washington, D.C., government affairs office, said that the U.S. and Maryland Chambers of Commerce had questioned the validity of the law. "That is something I'm sure our attorneys are looking into as we decide on a course of action," he said.
Wal-Mart has 42 Supercenters and 35 discount stores in Wisconsin, as well as 11 Sam's Clubs and two distribution centers. The company employed 27,864 people in Wisconsin as of December 2005. The average hourly wage is $10.48, according to Hurst.
He said that Wal-Mart workers can obtain insurance coverage for as little as $23 per month nationwide, and less in some markets.
"We believe that everyone should have access to affordable health care. This legislation does nothing to accomplish that goal. There are 786,000 uninsured people in Maryland. Less than of 1 percent work for Wal-Mart," Hurst said. "Legislators have let down hundreds of thousands of Maryland residents in need of insurance."
Wal-Mart officials have said that the company already pays between 7 and 8 percent of payroll in Maryland for insurance coverage.
The company provides insurance for more than 1 million Americans, Hurst added.
The bill authored by Berceau and Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, would require an employer with 10,000 or more full-time or part-time employees in Wisconsin that does not pay at least 80 percent of the cost of insurance coverage for its workers to repay the state for costs incurred by society as a result.
That would include:
• The cost of enrollment in the Medicaid, BadgerCare or other state programs.
• The cost of increased premiums incurred by other employers and employees due to cost shifting by medical care providers.
• The cost of health care services provided due to a lack of preventive care, delays in seeking care or use of emergency rooms for non-emergency care.
• The cost of decreased lifetime earning capacity caused by premature deaths.
• The cost of financial assistance, treatment and support services for individuals with disabilities caused or contributed to by a lack of access to health care.
Berceau said, however, that she plans to shorten and simplify the bill, because it is too complex, before the Labor Committee considers it at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Room 225 Northwest at the State Capitol.
She has also authored a separate bill that would approach the issue differently by imposing a tax on every retailer doing business in the state that has gross receipts of more than $20 million per year, pays less than 10 percent of its payroll for employee health care costs and pays less than $22,000 for an entry-level full-time job. The revenue would go into the state's Medical Assistance fund.
I see nothing wrong with Wal-Mart's anti-union
policy. They offer a tad above minimum wage
for non-skill jobs. And from what I see,
those people of all ages are damned glad to
have the job. They don't qualify for any
other type of work. And the unions aren't
going to make friends or influence people
by ousting them onto the public doles or
welfare funds. Just how much is Jewel
Foods or Dominick's paying those mentally
handicapped kids that work as baggers on
the line? They'll be next if the unions
are victorious in this Wal-Mart assault.
It isn't by mere chance that the Zogby
Poll and a couple of the other polsters
always include that question... Do you
on any member of your family belong to
a Union!
But I still have hopes of another red/blue
US map like these two:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/7902
Or, to avoid this mess Wal-Mart could create a new company in Maryland to control a portion of their stores, with the new company having less than 10,000 employees and the original company also having less than 10,000 employees. It's all the bookkeeping.
What needs to be done is the federal government needs to find a way to either enact legislation that prevents state from enacting laws like this or they need to strike them down as unconstitutional, maybe under the commerce clause.
If someone doesn't like the conditions and benefits offered by their employer, they have every right to earn their keep somewhere else.
Non-socialists Hope Wal-Mart Bill Is Impaled, Has Garlic Stuffed Down Its Throat, And Is Beheaded At High Noon On Sacred Ground So That It Never Rises From Its Crypt Again
Heck GOVERNMENT jobs don't pay that much where I live.
I'm a bit confused. Your town has
ONE policeman but SEVERAL "bad
neighborhoods"? Sounds like you're
blaming Wal-Mart for conditions that
must have existed BEFORE they set up
shop.
Businesses that try to compete directly with Walmart always fail...I don't live in a small town or city, but have vacation property near a small North Carolina city where a mega walmart moved in. The first couple of years were rough, until the local businesses that survived found their niche in specialty goods. Walmart does not do niches...they sell cheap crappy stuff.
Since Walmart arrived about 8+? years ago, other shopping centers have come with more stores, including CVS and a Home Depot. Employment is certainly up, but it wasn't overnight. Once the area became more metropolitan and the population rose, crime also came...that's the price of not having to drive at least 45 minutes away.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Later in the week, we considered overrides of the Governor’s vetoes on the Fair Share Health Care (Wal-Mart) bill and raising the minimum wage, both of which highlight fundamental differences in the philosophies of legislators across the State. After both bills passed in the House, many legislators were quoted in the news as saying, "this is a win for the democrat party".
It very well may be a win for the democrat party, but it is clearly a loss for the Eastern Shore. Wal-Mart has already announced that they will not open a distribution center on the Lower Shore because of this bill, sacrificing 800 jobs that start at $12/hour in a county with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. Major Maryland employers have vowed to reduce jobs or cut benefits to make up for the increase in the minimum wage.
Additionally in Maryland, nearly 80% of our businesses are small businesses that may be forced to relocate, lay off workers or close their doors. These bills do little to address the real issues surrounding health care and our workforce and instead discourage job growth. As I stated on the House floor during the debate on these issues, instead of taking away job opportunities from the very people who need them, we should be empowering people through education and job training and enacting comprehensive reforms in Maryland’s health care system.
"On the contrary- non-union businesses in the US, especially those with high quality and low cost of producton, will continue to eat the lunch of the dinosaur union shops."
So why do you want to enact tariffs to protect the domestic unions that produce over priced goods?
"Also, when combined with the elimination of the income tax, the net effect on purchasing power will be zero."
No, the protective tariffs will result in overall price increases and a reduction in quality.
"Ah, but who cares if workers die and the environment is trashed someplace else, as long as we have our cheap toys."
Who cares if Americans are forced to pay higher prices for lower quality goods as long as our unions get higher wages and more benefits.
"This would allow the tarriff to be rolled back slightly once our economy was on a solid footing."
The economy is doing just fine.
Your evidence is anecdotal. Studies have shown an increase in employment as well as taxes paid on the local level. where Walmarts have been built, as well as an over all increase in standard of living as measured by increases in wages retained. This is due to shoppers having more buying power because of WM lower prices.
Walmart isn't Enron, so it's not just accounting or the bookkeeping...the duplication of some jobs would probably create additional cost increases. They certainly could pare down the number of stores....or leave.
And this is a bad thing, how? (rhetorical question)
WalMart is about the highest paying retailer in this area, and getting a job in the local one is nearly impossible, as there are very few opennings because there is so little turnover. The people I know that work there actually do like their jobs........and that WalMart is in Maryland.
The good Delegate is quite right.
The Shore (both Maryland and Virginia) need jobs, there is no question about it. I'm not working, and not planning to seek a job, but I do read the local classifieds....the vast majority listed all seem to be in the medical field, or in the poultry industry. It seems most retail jobs are filled by word of mouth.
I think this is going to be very bad for Maryland in the long run.
Walmart to reduce Maryland staffs to 9,999.
(haven't read the statute on whether the 10,000 number is Maryland employees or total company employees)
there will probably be some creative emloyee rotation programs from some other state as well.
Walmart to reduce Maryland staffs to 9,999.
(haven't read the statute on whether the 10,000 number is Maryland employees or total company employees)
there will probably be some creative emloyee rotation programs from some other state as well.
Maryland isn't a very big state. It is only 30 miles or so from downtown Baltimore to the Pennsylvania line and just a stone throw away from the DC suburbs to Virginia. The western part of Maryland isn't very wide all.
I don't think the Maryland state legislature thought out the unintended consequences of their action.
You're right about the size..........the Eastern shore is only about 45 miles from the Delaware line to the Virginia line.
You are also right about the legislature not thinking this through properly.
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