"I have no sympathy for Walmart workers"

[progressoid]

"I have no sympathy for Walmart workers. If they don't like it, they can get a job somewhere else".

This is what I heard from someone last night after dinner.

. . . . .

My wife made a brief and succinct reply that shut the person up. I sat that one out since I was still a little red in the face from arguing for marriage equality.

Aren't holidays fun!

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Oh absolutely

[ashling]

2. So what was her reply?

Don't leave us hanging!

[progressoid]

3. She told her to tell that to her sister.

Her sister (who has a Masters degree) had to leave Thanksgiving dinner early to get up at 2:00 in the morning to work for a similar big box company. She's making more money than a Walmart employee but not enough to make ends meet.

[Nikia]

4. Now that we have a Super Walmart, it is a major employer in town

Since then, the other two groceries have been reducing staff and one is likely to close soon.
We drove past there Thursday night. Every parking spot was taken and there were people parked in non legal spots. I felt sorry for the employees. Some of them were previous grocery store employees.

[progressoid]

5. It's especially hard on smaller communities.

Hardware stores, grocery stores, etc. squeezed out of business.

They are a poison.

[Great Caesars Ghost]

6. That's why me and my husband share Thanksgiving alone

Last time I had Thanksgiving with family, I went to jail for assault.

[TwilightGardener]

7. My husband worked at WalMart for a brief time over the holidays

almost a couple decades ago, moonlighting to supplement his low enlisted pay when I had my second baby and took time off of work. It wasn't a bad part-time job--he's had worse--but it certainly wasn't our only income, we didn't need health care or other benefits from them, and there were plenty of other retailers in that city back then if he didn't like the way WalMart treated him. Where we live now, WalMart is about it, unless you like driving another 10-15 miles down the road. That's really the problem--in small cities and rural centers, those who work in retail don't have a lot of choices of employment because of WalMart's dominance.