Wal-Mart Asks Workers To Donate Food To Its Needy Employees

Business Insider ^ | 11/18/2013 | Ashley Lutz

[Responsibility2nd]

A Cleveland Wal-Mart store is holding a food drive — for its own employees. 

"Please donate food items so associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner," reads a sign accompanied by several plastic bins.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported on the food drive, which has sparked outrage in the area.

"That Wal-Mart would have the audacity to ask low-wage workers to donate food to other low-wage workers — to me, it is a moral outrage," Norma Mills, a customer at the store, told the Plain Dealer. 

 

[NeoCaveman]

And now the rest of the story.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/19/walmart-canton-collections/3636729/

“The donation containers are displayed at a Walmart in Canton, Ohio, some sitting on tables in an employees-only area, others underneath tables, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.”

More yellow journalism from Salon and Business Insider

[bert]

Christmas is about giving.

Everywhere there are someone in need. The fact is all employers have people less fortunate than most.

To give them the opportunity to help those less fortunate is a good thing.

Those who knock it can be lumped with the liberals who insist on the Government doing it

[MrB]

So... the employees are being paid less than their skillset is worth?

Are they somehow chained to the store or something?

[skinkinthegrass]

sound like a (Indirect) Unionist Thug "HIT" piece...

[bgill]

Lundberg says an example of this would be a recent layoff in the family or some other financial hardship.

If it's for specific workers who have had a unusually difficult year, then that's fine.

[fatima]

It’s a great idea.Everyone has extra canned goods.We used to do that and let people just take what they wanted.One time a man walked in and handed me a fresh turkey-just plopped it in my arms.I tried to say we don’t have anyway to keep it cold but he left that fast.The next person that walked in took it.:)

[Hojczyk]

These people are working….I say take it from the ones sitting home watching Oprah

[EnquiringMind]

Walmart...you’re making it very hard for us to defend you to our liberal friends.

[EQAndyBuzz]

To date that is still my favorite Thanksgiving dinner. And I top t off with a Dallas Cowboys victory.

[DoodleDawg]

"Please donate food items so associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner," reads a sign accompanied by several plastic bins.

I thought they were working on Thanksgiving?

[thorvaldr]

But we still need to FLOOD the country with low skilled illegal immigrants so that no one anywhere can ever get a decent living wage.

[Farnsworth]

Why do they have needy employees then?

[conservaKate]

Sorry but you are not correct. Walmart does not pay competitive wages and they do not have a decent benefits package for the majority of their store employees.

There are a lot of Walmart employees who rely on food stamps and state assistance for medical benefits...all on state tax payers dime.

There are many communities where Walmart is the only store in town...so some people are ‘forced’ to shop/work at those locales. BUT there are other communities where Walmart is just one of many stores. It’s THOSE stores that I don’t understand why people buy that cheap Chinese (or other countries) crappola.

IMO, Walmart’s business model depends on attracting lower income shoppers who need low cost products....and they’ve done their part w/ keeping their own workers salaries low (low hourly rates and limited hours per week).

Yes...yes....Walmart’s entitled to make a profit. Just don’t feed me the line they pay their people a competitive wage. They don’t.

[JennysCool]

These dumbed-down idiots are so beguiled by socialism, they think everyone is the same. Listen, lady: Let’s say I’m a young, unmarried Wal-Mart associate with more than enough money. I’d be happy to donate food for that other associate over there, the one with four kids. Or say I’m a manager, making a little more than my co-workers, I’d gladly contribute something. Or, as you say, tcrlaf, I want to do something nice for that associate over there who just lost her home. It’s a nice gesture this store is making, but the always cranky, always complaining libs just won’t have that.

[DBrow]

” but on the other hand, I imagine there is more to the story than what is stated.”

Simple- WalMart is nonunion. If this were KMart, you’d never hear of it.

There is a huge push to get a “living wage” for WalMart, they think $15 is enough. The phony analyses suggest that a “living wage” of $15 an hour would only bump prices 1.5%, and most of that would be paid by the wealthy. Looking at the analysis, it looks like they could support a living wage of $30 for less than a 2% price bump, so why not a living wage of $30 and hour?

Aside from the fact that unions get a floor of 15 and not 30, I mean.

[mountn man]

People don’t go into business thinking of how many people they need to produce their product. They go into business to make money producing their product and fill that need with workers “willing” to work for the wage they’re paid. People do not go into business to be a welfare organization.

I agree completely.

I was on another forum that was trashing Lee Scott, the former CEO of Walmart and the Walton family, for their GREED and the money they made.

In Lee Scott's final year with Walmart he made $27 Million.

There are 2 million Walmart employees. If divided up amongst all Wamart employees, that would be $1.35 each. Not enough to make the slightest scratch of an impact on an employees life.

The Walton family owns 48% of Walmart stock. Walmarts profits were $16 Billion (at a 3.25% ROI [nothing stellar])

I figured Walmart has about 3 Billion man hours worked in a year. That means a little more than $2.50 an hour, if one were to deny the Walton family from making any profit.

In the BIG picture, not everybody's lives can be substantially impacted by Walmart paying more money.

A person starting out and willing to stick with Walmart and willing to work, can move along in Walmart, eventually making an OK to very good income.

BUT the AVERAGE person working at Walmart has no skills, beyond what they are using at Walmart. Skills which could make them more money somewhere else, doing something else. Its not Walmarts fault that these people don't have any skills. Walmart will take someone with no skills, and if the person is willing to work and apply themselves, Walmart will train them with a skill set that can be applied at Walmart and used for further advancement.

[mountn man]

Half of Walmart workers are part time.

[mountn man]

Why do they have needy employees then?

Might want to educate yourself about how much Walmart pays, how much Walmart makes and how many employees they have.

Your sounding like A DUer.

[SkyDancer]

The thing I have a problem with is the way the Left/Liberals/Democrats keep slamming CEO’s for their “excessive” compensation. Those LLD’s do not know or understand what or how a business is operated. CEO’s salary is based on performance. If what the CEO does brings in business thus enhancing their corporate profit (dirty word there) that goes to pay investors >after< all business expenses have been paid. If an insurance agent is paid per insurance sign up and gets paid a percentage of the premium then why not a CEO getting a percentage of the business he or she brings in?

[mountn man]

My buddy's wife has been at Walmart nearly 20 years and has been making about $20 an hour for over 10 of those years. And she's not even management.

Walmart has 2 million employees. About half of those are part time.

Part time means lower hourly pay, lower over all pay and no benefits.

Do the math.