Walmart employee Thanksgiving donations at Canton store cause controversy

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My apologies. I failed to see the tongue planted firmly in your cheek.
 
estesbob said:
So we should require that a married man with a child be paid more for the same job as a single man?
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No.

I’ll defer to a Jesuit-educated Democrat from Buffalo whose father was a sanitation worker on that:

“All of us in government, corporate America, labor unions, academia, churches, synagogues, mosques and, yes, the media, must teach, cajole, motivate our children to finish school, learn a skill, hold a job, get married, have a baby — in that order.” (- the late Tim Russert)
 
pete_29 said:
I guess it would be better if Wal-Mart didn’t exist. Oh! Wait! Where would Wal-Mart employees work. :banghead:
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They could join the military. Pretty much same pay rate, worse working conditions. Oh, and by law they can’t join a union.
 
sharmin said:
So true!! Perhaps we aren’t saying that Walmart shouldn’t exist, but rather, they should pay their employees fairly.
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Do they pay less than others for similar work?

If no, then how are you defining fair, and why aren’t you going after the other establishments? Should they pay more because they employee more people, or because they specifically hire those who are generally not well off to begin with?

If yes, I’d be curious to see the actual statistics.
 
Where I live, Aldi’s starts people off at a much higher wage rate than Walmart, but there are two big differences. First is that they have fewer people and second the people they have work a lot harder. At Aldi the workers both stock shelves and run the cash register and they are very fast at the cash register. Retail in general has never been a picnic in my experience, but it did give me an incentive to finish school so I could get skills that would give me bargaining power with an employer.
 
pete_29 said:
I bet that they pay as much as other stores.
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Not in my area. Here we have a store called Meijer. It was this store that sam Walton got his idea for Walmart. (as the story goes) Henrik Meijer decided to remain local, and has a unionized workforce. (this means better pay, benefits, and working conditions)

It’s sad to see people actually try to defend Walmart. When we should all be working to change their corporate model.

ATB
 
freeRadical said:
What is a “fair” wage? Who decides what “fair” is? Is $10 an hour fair? $15? $20?

In a free market system, wage rates are decided through the market, and are based on productivity. Wal-Mart jobs are not skilled labor. Period. Their wage reflects that. If you don’t think that’s fair then you would have to change the way we distribute goods and services in this country. Economic theory has shown that the price mechanism is the best way to distribute scarce resources and coordinate billions of people across the globe.
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  1. I hope you are not suffering under the allusion that our system is designed to spread wealth across the globe.
  2. As for what is a fair wage? Well I don’t think anyone should work for less than 20% over the poverty level. Assuming they are working full time. Though at this rate, they would be hard pressed to provide health insurance for themselves and their families. But one cause at a time I guess.
  3. Lets just stand together and right the wrong that is Walmart. Think of the relief our welfare system will experience.😉
ATB
 
Mickey_Finn said:
What? Do you even know where that phrase came from?
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I’m pretty bad at the internet. I think I’m being misunderstood. Although, I have to admit I don’t know where the phrase came from.

It was my answer to: Whatever happened to the idea of social justice and the responsibility to pay a just wage?

People tend to focus so much on personal responsibility that they just assume that everybody’s situation can be fixed by simply making better choices. Sometimes a better job isn’t an option. Why should the unskilled be forced to live in substandard conditions? They are as important and valuable as the greatest genius and most productive among us. I am very much against individualism and am worried that the libertarian mindset is creeping in to Catholic though.
 
J_Peterson said:
I’m pretty bad at the internet. I think I’m being misunderstood. Although, I have to admit I don’t know where the phrase came from.

It was my answer to: Whatever happened to the idea of social justice and the responsibility to pay a just wage?

People tend to focus so much on personal responsibility that they just assume that everybody’s situation can be fixed by simply making better choices. Sometimes a better job isn’t an option. Why should the unskilled be forced to live in substandard conditions? They are as important and valuable as the greatest genius and most productive among us. I am very much against individualism and am worried that the libertarian mindset is creeping in to Catholic though.
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I believe Wal-Mart pays a just wage. You evidently don’t.Neither of our beliefs is contrary to Church teaching on Social Justice.
 
Mickey_Finn said:
Not in my area. Here we have a store called Meijer. It was this store that sam Walton got his idea for Walmart. (as the story goes) Henrik Meijer decided to remain local, and has a unionized workforce. (this means better pay, benefits, and working conditions)

It’s sad to see people actually try to defend Walmart. When we should all be working to change their corporate model.

ATB
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Let’s not defend wal-mart. But all who think they are unjust have an answer in your hands. Start a business of your own and hire those people at a just wage.
 
Here in is what is wrong in the world…in two pages of posts not on person touches the real issue…namely the misery some of our brothers and sisters find themselves in…and the circumstances causing their misery we argue over, when as Catholic Christians what we should be doing is to pray, and ask others to pray with us for them…

Father, give comfort and mercy to the spiritually afflicted, physically ailing, the hungry, widows and orphans. Let us who have appreciate our many blessings, and show our love for you through our compassion for our neighbors. Amen!
 
People, including Walmart employees, have the opportunity to earn more. You see, the wage scale in this country goes from $7.25 or so per hour to Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) pay of 2.5 Billion for 2012.

What’s great is if someone is on the $7.25 end, or even anywhere on the scale and they want to earn more, they can!

From forever though, there have been a group of people in society for whatever reason, from circumstances out of their control to an intentional decision, will earn less than they need. We as a society should do things for them. A nice gesture is collecting items which might be beneficial to them. In higher pay scales we call this a Christmas (or more likely now “Holiday” bonus). For those less fortunate, it is delivered in the form of food.

What’s wonderful is we don’t need a bunch of beauracrats to dictate this, in America we can each change this instantly by making a decision to live how we want. If that is more wealthy, we can make that happen. Less wealthy but more satisfying we can make that happen as well.

PAX.
 
seekerz said:
Walmart has come under fire for soliciting Thanksgiving donations for its less fortunate employees:

cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/11/walmart_employee_thanksgiving.html

What does this say of Walmart’s corporate image? Granted, they provide employment for many, but is this open acceptance of the working poor among its own ranks an indictment of the company?

Is it fair to work everyday and still fall below the poverty line or should these Ohio workers simply be thankful to have a job even if it leaves them vulnerable and dependent? Similar questions I’ve seen debated about outsourced labor in Bangladesh or China…
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They should get a just wage.
 
ChurchSoldier said:
People, including Walmart employees, have the opportunity to earn more. You see, the wage scale in this country goes from $7.25 or so per hour to Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) pay of 2.5 Billion for 2012.

What’s great is if someone is on the $7.25 end, or even anywhere on the scale and they want to earn more, they can!

From forever though, there have been a group of people in society for whatever reason, from circumstances out of their control to an intentional decision, will earn less than they need. We as a society should do things for them. A nice gesture is collecting items which might be beneficial to them. In higher pay scales we call this a Christmas (or more likely now “Holiday” bonus). For those less fortunate, it is delivered in the form of food.

What’s wonderful is we don’t need a bunch of beauracrats to dictate this, in America we can each change this instantly by making a decision to live how we want. If that is more wealthy, we can make that happen. Less wealthy but more satisfying we can make that happen as well.

PAX.
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Ah, yes. We can pack up a nice bag of generic grocery items and contentedly bask in the glow of our own generosity.

The fact is that many, many people in this country cannot earn more. Even working two full-time jobs at minimum wage will not take them above the poverty level. The latest figures show that almost half (46%) of Americans live in poverty. That’s directly attributable to a minimum wage that has not kept up with the COL. And WalMart and its cohorts have successfully lobbied to keep the minimum wage where it is to add more billions to those the Walton’s already have.

Other companies, like Costco, pay a living wage and manage to make very good profits. I believe that Costco’s income per employee is about five times that of WalMart, a pretty decent return even when taking the differing demographic of their target customers into account.

And as for starting your own business and paying workers more, ask some of the thousands of small business that WalMart has destroyed with its cut-throat tactics how well that has worked for them
 
Book_Worm said:
Ah, yes. We can pack up a nice bag of generic grocery items and contentedly bask in the glow of our own generosity.

The fact is that many, many people in this country cannot earn more. Even working two full-time jobs at minimum wage will not take them above the poverty level. The latest figures show that almost half (46%) of Americans live in poverty. That’s directly attributable to a minimum wage that has not kept up with the COL. And WalMart and its cohorts have successfully lobbied to keep the minimum wage where it is to add more billions to those the Walton’s already have.

Other companies, like Costco, pay a living wage and manage to make very good profits. I believe that Costco’s income per employee is about five times that of WalMart, a pretty decent return even when taking the differing demographic of their target customers into account.

And as for starting your own business and paying workers more, ask some of the thousands of small business that WalMart has destroyed with its cut-throat tactics how well that has worked for them
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The poverty rate in the US is 15% Costco doesn’t pay its employees 5 times more than Wal-mart. Wal-Mart is a boon to small business who flock to locate near them and supply them The truth is Wall Matt is attacked onlyb because they are not unionized.
 
All employees, regardless of where they work, have a right to a just wage. Unfortunately Walmart is one of the many corporations that don’t give their employees a just wage. As others have said, people who work at Walmart are often barely able to feed themselves.

And as someone else said, we’re not for closing down Walmarts, we are for them paying a just wage to their employees.

Its not right that their employees have to choose between buying food and medicine or between paying the electric bill and buying enough food to make sure their children don’t go to bed hungry.
 
seekerz said:
Walmart has come under fire for soliciting Thanksgiving donations for its less fortunate employees:

cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/11/walmart_employee_thanksgiving.html

What does this say of Walmart’s corporate image? Granted, they provide employment for many, but is this open acceptance of the working poor among its own ranks an indictment of the company?

Is it fair to work everyday and still fall below the poverty line or should these Ohio workers simply be thankful to have a job even if it leaves them vulnerable and dependent? Similar questions I’ve seen debated about outsourced labor in Bangladesh or China…
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I am sure there will be plenty of people who will somehow make Walmart the bad guy in this good deed.
  1. The minimum wage is not, nor should it ever be, the same as a working wage for anyone other than someone just starting out - no experience, little education. That’s what “minimum means”.
  2. Big retail stores like Walmart hire a large number of minimum wage workers. In a good economy, any workers with experience/specialized training/education would not be interested in minimum wage work. The exception being someone with a “better” regular job who needs/wants to pick up some extra money with a second job.
  3. Even for those who fit the demographic for minimum age workers, some will be impacted by circumstances. While a single woman with a roommate or living with her parents might do ok with a FT minimum wage job as a starting point, a single mother with extra mouths to feed will not. This is exactly the kind of employee who might need the extra help that Walmart is soliciting. An employer can’t adjust the salary based on the personal circumstances of the employee.
  4. It’s the holidays and many parts of the country are still suffering economically. For someone who has been unemployed but now working - maybe only through Christmas- at Walmart, there are surely needs that can’t be met with his/her Walmart salary.
If anything, this is an indictment of the economy and the slow recovery not of a corporation that has managed to keep thousands of people employed.
 
Corki said:
I am sure there will be plenty of people who will somehow make Walmart the bad guy in this good deed.
  1. The minimum wage is not, nor should it ever be, the same as a working wage for anyone other than someone just starting out - no experience, little education. That’s what “minimum means”.
  2. Big retail stores like Walmart hire a large number of minimum wage workers. In a good economy, any workers with experience/specialized training/education would not be interested in minimum wage work. The exception being someone with a “better” regular job who needs/wants to pick up some extra money with a second job.
  3. Even for those who fit the demographic for minimum age workers, some will be impacted by circumstances. While a single woman with a roommate or living with her parents might do ok with a FT minimum wage job as a starting point, a single mother with extra mouths to feed will not. This is exactly the kind of employee who might need the extra help that Walmart is soliciting. An employer can’t adjust the salary based on the personal circumstances of the employee.
  4. It’s the holidays and many parts of the country are still suffering economically. For someone who has been unemployed but now working - maybe only through Christmas- at Walmart, there are surely needs that can’t be met with his/her Walmart salary.
If anything, this is an indictment of the economy and the slow recovery not of a corporation that has managed to keep thousands of people employed.
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I agree with you Corki. Walmart did do a good deed by doing this but they would do a better deed by paying their employees a more just wage.
 
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