Fuck WalMart

[Playinghardball]

[saturnsring]

1. if people didnt go they wouldnt open

[KeepItReal]

2. Try getting some Chick Fil A on a Sunday, then

Eom

[rpannier]

28. Good answer

I like it

[d_legendary1]

87. Living up to your name

Kudos!

[awoke_in_2003]

34. Yep. nt

[treestar]

58. This ^^^^^^^

I can't imagine the people who would go there on Thanksgiving Day. Nothing seems to be more unappealing an activity to me for that day.

[niyad]

64. if they didn't open, people wouldn't go. witness REI

[saturnsring]

74. yes they would theyd just go somewhere else

[Sunlei]

3. I work on Thanksgiving day too. I want the $$

[jwirr]

29. My daughter works Thanksgiving so she can get Christmas off.

There are a lot of places that cannot just close their doors. My daughter works in a hospital. But we handle it by having Thanksgiving on another day.

I am thankful for those who give up their day when it is necessary but the OP is correct Walmart should not be making their workers work on this holiday.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

78. Once when I worked on Thanksgiving I got paid triple time

and free lunch in the hospital cafeteria.

[csziggy]

4. One of my sisters in laws seldom gets to enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas

Since she usually has to work even with over 30 years of seniority. She might be able to get her schedule changed, but she needs that extra money she makes by working on holidays.

[3catwoman3]

5. Did they have food donation baskets in their...

...breakrooms again this year to collect food for their employees?

[Sherman A1]

6. Agreed

Well said!

[mountain grammy]

7. I don't have a problem with them being open on Thanksgiving..

people want to shop and workers get OT..As a hospital lab tech, I worked many holidays. Families have a way of adjusting. I do have a problem with their miserable pay scale and working conditions. Walmart needs to reward the people who make their profits by sharing their success with the workforce.. call them associates, if you must, but pay a living wage with benefits, you greedy bastards!

[fasttense]

36. No one at Walmart gets OT

My spouse use to work there and OT was a dirty word.

Walmart could not exist without Communist Chinese cheap products and paying their American workers starvation wages. You can not work at Walmart and expect to take care of your family. They just don't believe in paying their workers a living wage. Now if your spouse has an income or if you are in a management position then you can make ends meet.

[mountain grammy]

37. My friend said her store pays time and a half on Thanksgiving

but, you're right, it was holiday pay, not OT. She said it's nearly all volunteers who work Thanksgiving. She never does because she works with people who need the money much more than she does. She's retired with SS and Medicare and works because she has to, but her situation isn't nearly as dire as some people she works with. It's been ok for her and allowed her to get ahead, but she despises the company, as do most of the very underpaid and under appreciated employees.

[krawhitham]

68. now they get an extra day pay, sorta of

Any worker who doesn’t want to come in on Thanksgiving Day in order to spend it with friends and family has to work it out with his or her manager. Those who do work the week of Thanksgiving will be paid extra holiday pay, whether they work full or part time. That extra bonus is calculated based a worker’s average daily pay in the 12 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving week. But last year, some workers said it had cut shifts in the weeks before the holiday, which would lower their holiday pay.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/10/16/3580508/walmart-thanksgiving-2014/

[npk]

8. Lots of people work on Thanksgiving

It's no longer a day that everything closes and sadly many people, including those who identify as progressives, like to take themselves out to businesses such as movie theaters, diners, stores, etc. Most people who work on the front lines in the service industry are seeing the need to have to work on Thanksgiving to support their families, because many places that are open on Thanksgiving pay time and half and that is very attractive to many people that are stretching their paychecks to make ends meet.

[Octafish]

9. Is Walmart unionized?

How about benefits? Do Walmart workers get pensions?

[yeoman6987]

79. They have stock options

I worked the summer of 95 and 96. Put my entire paycheck in the stock. They matched 5 percent up to a certain amount. I have a nice amount in there right now that I will use someday to update my two bathrooms.

[Township75]

10. Im sure the hourly workers that get paid extra are really upset

and they really need you to tell them how bad their life is.

[Person 2713]

13. And they are missing a meal scene just like the OP posted bought with Walmart wages yeah sure

I think most people working there will take the money I agree with you
I've had plenty of jobs that were 24/7 operations
Shock and horrors

[Township75]

15. me too

First "real" job was in manufacturing at a 24/7/365 plant. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day doing 13 hour days. I knew the deal when I signed up.

Some people fought to get to work those days because it was actually 3x the normal wage.

[doc03]

11. I worked 40 years in the steel industry, our plant worked 24/7

we worked all three shifts, holidays, Saturdays and Sundays. Of course we were paid extra for shift work, Sundays and holidays, I don't know if Walmart pays premium time for that or not.

[craigmatic]

12. Fuck thanksgiving it's a celebration of the precurser to genocide.

[Waldorf]

16. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Food all day and football. Plus its one of the few

times when the families all get together.

[yeoman6987]

24. Is there a holiday that can be celebrated without controversy?

Thanksgiving is for giving thanks for what we have. Eating and football with a parade in the morning.

[Nye Bevan]

41. I think Martin Luther King Day is the only one that no DUer ever gripes about (nt)

[yeoman6987]

42. I think you may be right

[Archae]

52. No DUer ever gripes about?

The FBI smear campaigns.

The republicans claiming King would be one of them.

The assassination conspiracy theories.

[niyad]

65. you might want to read this for a look at the real history of "thanksgiving"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027381541

[romanic]

46. Eat a slice of sweet potato pie.

Everything gets better with pie. :3

[Inkfreak]

51. No thanks.

[LanternWaste]

59. you'll allege a most righteous justification to better pretend your bumper-sticker is actual thought

Your suggestion is anatomically impossible. I blame a lack of rational thought for that; though no doubt, you'll allege a most righteous justification to better pretend your bumper-sticker is actual thought.

[snooper2]

60. Well, you can't really fuck thanksgiving, now- the turkey on the other hand

[Paka]

14. I would always volunteer to work on holidays,

because the money was good, and I was single all those years. I also was in health care where there is a valid reason to be open. No one will be damaged if they miss one day at Walmart.

Since I NEVER shop at Walmart, you would expect me to agree. Every other store on the planet would have to close for me to consider going to a Walmart, and even then I would look for another solution.

[tazkcmo]

21. I did too

I'm in food service and my kids are grown. Just me now so I figure let the younger folks at work with kids have the day off. I did this for all holidays except St. Pats. My boss said I was probably the only bartender in Kansas City that had that day off.

[S_B_Jackson]

55. Back in the days when I worked retail, I always worked on Thanksgiving...

I wanted the money, customers were thankful we were open and free with making gratuities to the clerks.
And I still got to spend that quality family time - I just asked the family to hold a late Thanksgiving dinner...a request that when made in advance is no problem to accommodate...

[marble falls]

17. Like the man said, fuck WalMart.

[former9thward]

18. When I worked at a steel mill for 14 years

we worked Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and every other holiday. The mill was represented by the United Steelworkers Union which is one of the strongest in the U.S. If holidays are your thing then don't work in the type of work that operates 7 days a week.

[Efilroft Sul]

27. My dad worked in a union steel mill for 19 years and was paid extra on holidays.

I imagine you did, too. However, non-union Walmart workers are probably making the same ol', same ol'.

Always low wages. Walmart.

[Kingofalldems]

35. He must have forgotten to mention that.

[former9thward]

49. I did not mention that because as usual with your posts it is not true.

They get overtime. Ask a Walmart employee if you have the courage...

[Efilroft Sul]

56. My dad was laid off from US Steel in 1982...

...but I distinctly remember him saying that working on a holiday qualified for a higher pay rate ("holiday pay&quot and overtime was any time put in past eight hours on the shift. The reason I say this is because he referred to working overtime on a holiday as hitting the daily double. And if you got paid more working midnight in shift differential pay, so much the better.

[former9thward]

80. When I left you got 2 1/2 times pay on recognized holdidays.

Your regular 8 hours plus another 12 hours for a total of 20.

[Efilroft Sul]

88. Nice. That would make me look forward to the holidays.

[druidity33]

83. Holiday pay is time and a half in most states. nt.

[former9thward]

85. Neither the states or federal government have any laws on holiday pay.

In non-union workplaces it is set by the employer. In union workplaces it is negotiated by the union and the employer.

[former9thward]

48. No they get overtime.

Ask a Walmart employee.

[wolfie001]

61. Defending Wakmart?

Yuck!

[former9thward]

82. Just bringing up some facts.

Facts seem to bother you. Looks like they are making you throw up.

[wolfie001]

89. The original post that was about forcing Walmart workers to.....

....work on Thanksgiving. No one really cares if you forged steel for "fill in the blank" years either. What a true blue metal hero you are...... Blah, blah, blah.

[former9thward]

90. As another poster who worked there mentioned

they are volunteers. They are getting holiday pay. So as usual you are wrong again. Facts are just pesky things!

[wolfie001]

91. Oh yeah, every Walmart follows that high degree of employee treatment!

Prob'ly few and far between. More like: if you don't show up, look for employment elsewhere. Your "facts" are more like talking points. Maybe a Walmart stockholder?

[former9thward]

92. Making it up as you go along.

Fortunately not a Walmart stockholder. Their stock recently went down when they announced they were raising employee wages and their profits would be down as a result. But of course that does not fit into your meme. Damn facts!

[wolfie001]

94. Wakmart defender

These are the people I'm talking about in this youtube video:


ow.ly/V3T8u

These people deserve living wages.

[mountain grammy]

38. My son is an operator at a refinery, Steelworkers also.

He works nearly every Thanksgiving and Christmas..5 kids and holiday pay of around $75/hour, he can't afford not to. A typical Walmart employee might make $14/hr at time and a half.. less than $100 for the whole day, but more than is earned at straight time. People can't live on that.

[former9thward]

47. If they can't live on that then how are they living?

And why don't go somewhere else?

[mountain grammy]

54. Please elaborate. I'm not sure what you're trying to say.

[wolfie001]

62. He's got a hankering for defending Wakmart

Really popular position to take here at the old DU.

[former9thward]

81. I was very clear.

You said they can't live on it. So how are they living?

[RoccoRyg]

19. When on vacation with my parents in Florida...

They insisted on going to Walmart for all their needs. I refused to spend a dime of my own money, but nothing could stop them from feeding the beast. I wished we could go to a store that pays it's employees adequately and treats them right, but hey, dad had the car keys.

[callous taoboy]

53. I got my RW parents to switch to Costco!

They have no idea it's a blue company.

[tazkcmo]

20. I share the sentiment, but...

Walmart is no different than loads of other places like restaurants that I've worked at. On top of working on that and other holidays, some don't pay extra while others do. I tell people new to the culinary services to plan on working when everyone else is off and to be alone when you're off because everyone else is working.

I'd prefer none of us work on Thanksgiving/Christmas.

[DonCoquixote]

22. it is also the way things are done

for example, many non Christians loved working those days, because then they could get time off for their holidays, be it diwali, eid, Chanukah, etc. However, some jobs used to give people a choice on getting at least ONE of the holidays, off, now they do not.

[Bigredhunk]

23. IDK

Obviously the world can't completely stop spinning on holidays. Hospitals, for example. HAVE to be open. But everything doesn't have to be open. Bums me out to read the, "I had to work holidays at my job...no tears for you having to do so at your job." Some people would kill to work holidays at their job b/c maybe their job pays a shitload for holiday/OT. I have friends who work jobs like this (double pay or more - and they're well-paid to begin with). Wage slaves shouldn't be included in this. And having the choice to work is completely different than being forced to do so.

Some jobs are more important to the fabric of society than others (some are totally necessary). Starting Black Friday earlier and earlier isn't necessary. My .02.

[Logical]

25. So every business should shut down on Thanksgiving??? Seriously? Lets discuss. nt

[alfredo]

32. I don't like all that religious stuff, but having a day all can get together, is good.

It helps remind you which relatives are roaring assholes. Of course those a holes might think the same of you, but they weren't never that good at judging character.

And to see if Aunt Lu Lu still just brings cans of cranberry that she opens, plops on a plate, then slices with a your pie server.

[JDPriestly]

26. K&R.

[liberal N proud]

30. 3 family members will be spending Thanksgiving at Walmart

I blame shoppers as much as the corporations.


Stop shopping they will stop opening on holidays. But trust me those stores will be at maximum capacity on Thursday. Add the fact that each of these stores will require police presence inside and out taking even more people away from the family.

I have seen this scene play out too many years.

[Beacool]

71. Years ago I solved the holiday shopping dilemma.

Children get toys and neighbors get a small gift. Hair stylists, nail salon workers and other service people get a monetary gift. Everyone else, from friends to family, get a gift certificate from a store that I know they like to frequent. It saves me loads of time and stress. It also has the advantage of not having to spend hours wrapping boxes.

[liberal N proud]

75. They are not shopping, they are working the ugly event

[Beacool]

76. I understood.

I was referring to your point that shoppers need to stop doing so on Thanksgiving. I don't shop on Thanksgiving. That's a day to spend with family and friends. I'm sorry that some in your family have to work on that day.

[Keth]

31. Football you say...

I have a few relatives who are "upset" Target is open on Thanksgiving because that means folks will have to go to work instead of enjoying their families. The same relatives will settle down to watch football - of course, that means folks will have to work at the stadium (concession stand, ticket takers, etc.) and be away from their families. I asked my relatives why aren't they upset about football games on Thanksgiving... if you are going to boycott Target, shouldn't you also boycott football? just wondering...

Keth

[mountain grammy]

39. So very true.

[mindwalker_i]

33. "Fuck Walmart"

That would hurt.

[Nye Bevan]

40. Boycott Walmart! Shop at Amazon! (nt)

[Go Vols]

43. Fuckin' A

[colsohlibgal]

44. I Have Boycotted Them For Over A Decade

I refuse to go there or go to Sam's Club. I'm a Costco member, they treat and pay their employees well, not dirt like Walmart does. And guess what, Costco's owners are still wealthy.

Is it worth it being cheap just to have 600 million instead of 450 million or whatever?

[Go Vols]

45. Been 4 years since my last visit

My local grocer got my moth balls,fuck Walmart.

[Enthusiast]

50. Kicked and recommended to the Max!

Happy Thanksgiving Walmart employees!

[Hepburn]

57. You know when I was in my 20s, single and in college, living away from home...

...I volunteered to work weekends and holidays so that others with families could be at home. The difference is that I worked in a hospital ER and not a Big Box store!

[silenttigersong]

66. I would like to extend

a hearty "Happy Thankstaking to wall street "and to my Indigenous relatives a grateful and thankful Happy Harvest.

[Bubzer]

67. Happy to be the 100th K&R!

[PATRICK]

69. Do we need federal blue laws to keep

federal holidays meaningful? Stores are closed on New Years and Xmas(one cultural, one semi-religious or vice versa) and those have to do with orgies of parties and shopping. Thanksgiving is only about the simple dinner and businesses who make that impossible for millions of Americans(I even include the Black Friday get in line first addicts who fuel this race to another raped holiday) should be stopped- somehow. Why not let banks open and have postal delivery for Amazon(wait, they might be doing that)?

Holidays seem to be universally subverted in America, in spirit and letter. A hurtful boycott is well in order.

[Beacool]

70. I'm no fan of Wal-Mart and seldom go there.

But to be fair, there will be plenty of businesses that will be open on Thanksgiving. It's getting worse every year. I think that they all deserve opprobrium for not allowing their employees a day off. Unfortunately, if they did close, most of the employees are on hourly wages and would lose a day's pay.

There are other people who don't get a full day off either. Police officers, hospitals, EMTs, firefighters, public service emergency crews, toll collectors, etc.

[bvar22]

72. It is a real SHAME that Hillary helped build this monster,

and turned it loose to suck the pennies out of poor people's pockets.

I wonder if Hillary ever shops at the monster she helped create?
My guess would be....NO.

[quickesst]

77. Helped build?

LOL, LOL

On July 2, 1962, Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Ark.

Hillary Clinton
1962 — Attends Maine Township East High in Park Ridge, IL for three years.

1962 April 15 — Goes with church youth group to Chicago to hear Rev. Martin Luther King. Hillary’s minister, Don Jones, takes Hillary and others backstage where she meets Rev. King.

I don't think she picked up a shovel til January, 1963.

[bvar22]

86. Just for you.

Clinton Remained Silent As Wal-Mart Fought Unions

"In six years as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, between 1986 and 1992, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world's largest retailer waged a major campaign against labor unions seeking to represent store workers."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/31/clinton-remained-silent-a_n_84246.html

Hillary Clinton was a Wal-Mart Director for 6 Years

During six years (1986 -1992) as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world’s largest retailer waged a major campaign against the labor unions seeking to represent store workers.

John Tate who was one of Clinton’s fellow board members, was leading Wal-Mart’s anti-union efforts. Tate was also Wal-Mart’s executive vice president and served on the board with Clinton for four of her six years. Tate favorite phrase was, as he admitted himself, “Labor unions are nothing but blood-sucking parasites living off the productive labor of people who work for a living.”

According to an ABC News report, published in 2008, Clinton appears in videotapes of the stockholder meetings where she never appears to defend the role of labor unions. On the contrary, the tapes show Clinton in the role of a loyal company woman. “I’m always proud of Wal-Mart and what we do and the way we do it better than anybody else,” she said at a June 1990 stockholders meeting.

http://www.progressivepress.net/hillary-clinton-was-a-wal-mart-director-for-6-years/

[quickesst]

93. Thanks,,,

I've never seen that before.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

73. Also worth mentioning

On this highly food-centered holiday, Wal Mart has, in the past- but not this year, apparently- taken up food collections for their employees since so many of them are on food stamps.

[classykaren]

84. Did you read on Gawker were Walmart was working with the FBI To spy on their striking employees?