Walmart Holding Canned Food Drive For Its Own Underpaid Employees
Source: Think Progress
Walmart in northeast Ohio is holding a holiday canned food drive for its own underpaid employees. Please Donate Food Items Here, so Associates in Need Can Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner, a sign reads in the employee lounge of a Canton-area Walmart.
Kory Lundberg, a Walmart spokesman, says the drive is a positive thing. This is part of the companys culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships, he said. Indeed, Lundberg is correct that its commendable to make an effort to help out those who are in need, especially during the holidays.
But the need for a food drive illustrates how difficult it is for Walmart workers to get by on its notoriously low pay. The company has long been plagued by charges that it doesnt pay its employees a real living wage. In fact, Walmarts President and CEO, Bill Simon, recently estimated that the majority of its one million associates make less than $25,000 per year, just above the federal poverty line of $23,550 for a family of four. When the Washington DC city council passed a living wage bill requiring Walmart to pay workers a minimum of $12.50 per hour, the chain threatened to shut down its new stores if Mayor Vincent Gray didnt veto the bill. Gray vetoed the bill.
Walmarts low wages come at a public cost. Because low-income workers still need housing and health care, taxpayers end up doling out millions in benefits to bridge the gap faced by many of the stores retail workers. They have also led to strikes at Walmart stores from Seattle to Chicago to Los Angeles in recent weeks.
Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/11/18/2960371/walmart-food-drive/
TBF
(32,060 posts)enough
(13,259 posts)aggiesal
(8,914 posts)In 2010, CEO Michael Duke's annual salary of $35 million
Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot, Kroger, Target, Sears, Costco, and K-Mart combined
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/crazy-facts-about-walmart-2012-11?op=1#ixzz2l2PIImLr
Revenue US$ 446.950 billion (2012)
Operating income US$ 26.558 billion (2012)
Profit: [font color=Red]$420.392 billion[/font]
World Wide Employees: 2.2 million
US Employees: 1.4 million
Based on MSNBC on (Walmart leaked documents), the average US Walmart employee makes
$19,226 per year. That's about $9.24/Hr. based on a standard 2080 hours per year.
http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/leaked-document-shows-what-walmart-really-pay
Using MIT's Living Wage Calculator
http://useconomy.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=useconomy&cdn=newsissues&tm=513&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_p504.6.342.ip_&tt=11&bt=8&bts=8&zu=http%3A//livingwage.mit.edu/
A living wage in San Francisco County for 1 adult is $12.83/Hr.
For 2 adults and 3 children a living wage in SF County is $31.20
I choose SF County because I think this may be one of the most expensive areas to live,
and I wanted to use worst case.
So let's work with both.
If the average is $9.24, to bring up to $12.83 would cost $3.59 per employee.
That would cost Walmart $7,898,000 million. So profits would dip to [font color=Red]$420,384,102,000 (That's Billion)[/font]
If the average is $9.24, to bring up to $31.20 would cost $21.96 per employee.
That would cost Walmart $41,206,000 million. So profits would dip to [font color=Red]$420,343,688,000 (That's Billion)[/font]
The Walton family has given away about 2 percent of its net worth to charity Bill Gates is giving away 48 percent of his net worth and Warren Buffet 78 percent of his net worth.
I'm with Bill Maher on this (and I paraphrase) "I'm sick and tired of helping billion dollar companies pay their employees."
KeepItReal
(7,769 posts)NYtoBush-Drop Dead
(490 posts)Nobody needs to shop there. Give your business to mom and pop shops in your community. IF those with a conscience boycotted Walmart's cheap shit from China... clothes... toys... If ONLY repugs and baggers shopped there... You'd see them go out of business.
liberal N proud
(60,334 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)The poor CEO only got paid a $20.7 million salary last year.
alcina
(602 posts)for this guy -- and that's probably being a little generous -- and 50 full-time weeks of employment a year, that's over $5000 an hour. I cannot even come close to understanding how someone can be considered worth that amount of money. I wonder what his price per pound would be....
louis-t
(23,295 posts)Really? "Open up your wallets and donate to our employees who can't afford Christmas because we're so stingy"? Really?
barbtries
(28,795 posts)how much the ceo makes?
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)The manager of our town's super Wal-Mart.
The house they bought is pretty cool, full basement, immaculate condition, was on sale for the last 3 years for 155 K,
have no idea what the actual price sold was.
Have not yet gone over to do the obligatory neighbor introduction thing. Gotta do that this Sat.
Don't expect to see much of them, there is half acre of woods between our house and theirs and people tend to stay indoors
in our climate.
erpowers
(9,350 posts)According to Huffington Post and other sources Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke was paid $20.7 million in 2012. However, he has an even bigger retirement package. His package is worth about $113 million, which according to a study discussed in the same article is about 6,200 times more than the average Wal-Mart worker.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/15/walmart-retirement-pension_n_4283341.html
Retrograde
(10,136 posts)TBF
(32,060 posts)you don't even have to go down towards 100 - they're all up there in the top 20. You'd think they could open their own damned soup kitchen or something:
http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/#page:2_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All%20industries_filter:All%20countries_filter:All%20states
Lancero
(3,003 posts)It would take money, their own precious money, to do so.
Sam would be rolling in his grave to see how low his decendants have taken his company.
AAO
(3,300 posts)Kochsuckers!
NickB79
(19,243 posts)With their money.
Hell, Carnegie was reviled by many in his time but still funded the building of many beautiful structures that still stand today. The local library near us is a Carnegie Endowment library, built 80 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie
Brigid
(17,621 posts)Hiring Henry Frick was only the beginning
NickB79
(19,243 posts)He was a fucking saint.
Carnegie gave away his entire wealth, most of it before he actually died. Like I said, I can still drive by a beautiful library today that was build by his endowment.
I doubt today's ultra-rich will leave behind a positive legacy even close to the robber barons of a century past.
OhioChick
(23,218 posts)tblue
(16,350 posts)Release The Hounds
(467 posts)ErikJ
(6,335 posts)in 2011
tblue
(16,350 posts)He's trying to keep jobs in DC. But these are not the kind worth keeping if they don't pay a living wage!
KansDem
(28,498 posts)McDonald's is telling its employees in need to get food stamps and medicaid while Walmart is asking its employees to donate canned goods to help out other employees?
Do I understand this?
I remember a day when the US was the beacon of empathy and compassion for all the world to see...
mysuzuki2
(3,521 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)berni_mccoy
(23,018 posts)They don't care about anything except $
erpowers
(9,350 posts)If this story is true this is crazy. It can make one ask what is wrong with the Walton family. It seems the Walton's could raise the pay of its associates to $25,000 per year and then give then $500-$1,000 holiday bonuses.
I think Wal-Mart stores is one of the top five most profitable companies in the world. I understand that part of the company's profitability is the fact that the store workers are paid so little. However, when a company is in the top five would it hurt the company that much to take a billion dollars from its profits in order to increase the pay of its workers.
Blue Owl
(50,374 posts)The only thing lower than our prices will be your quality of life!
Scuba
(53,475 posts)warrprayer
(4,734 posts)... offering grief counseling to employees after a laid off employee commits suicide
Brigid
(17,621 posts)Words fail me.
renate
(13,776 posts)This isn't an actual headline (as far as I know) but isn't that the nasty icing on top of this disgusting cake? These bins are at a Walmart, right? So employees who haven't brought canned goods from home would go out and shop at that very Walmart. I know the profit margin at grocery stores is tiny, but still... guilting Walmart employees into shopping at Walmart because Walmart doesn't pay them enough is just salt in the wound.
Beartracks
(12,814 posts)Hestia
(3,818 posts)at all. Disgusting to make a profit from a food drive for their own employees.
underpants
(182,803 posts)Great point renate
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)...when they face extreme hardships,
This is just letting someone else pay the bills that you run up while exploiting people, just like taxpayers who pay for your inability to provide a living wage for your employees.
THAT is your company's culture.
Brigid
(17,621 posts)Let me spell it out for you: The reason a fucking canned food drive is necessary is that that Dickensian employer of yours won't pay a living wage, dumbass. There, do you get it now?
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)Instead we should be mailing suggestions for visits to the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
Because instead of just one day of joy, that little story indicated lasting value from those short introductions...
underpants
(182,803 posts)Of course not they needs all hands on deck for the shopping riots at their stores
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)...going insane like the ...ahh..."Things" on Walking Dead.
Give me your BAAAARGAINS!!
Sorry...it just cracked me up..
Solly Mack
(90,767 posts)aggiesal
(8,914 posts)Instead of just paying them more, so they wouldn't need a food drive,
they're asking their own employees to dip into their own pockets
and make up the difference.
The company sure does have a pair!
herding cats
(19,564 posts)First they won't pay a living wage to their workers which leaves them dependent on social services to survive, then the have the nerve to expect their own workers to buy food from them to donate to other workers so they can "enjoy Thanksgiving dinner."
bedazzled
(1,761 posts)most will undoubtedly be working to staff their vital "black thursday"
sales.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)PSPS
(13,598 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)K&R
durablend
(7,460 posts)Hmm...er...well...apparently things going on...umm...next up...
(needless to say Walmart of course advertises on NBC)
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)The Wal-Mart Employee Soup Kitchen
TBF
(32,060 posts)footing the bill, because I don't see Walmart being quite that generous.
rpannier
(24,329 posts)I thought their stores were all open so Wal-mart could make even more money.
I figured they were forcing these people to work on Thanksgiving so that people (like some here at DU) can shop
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)wasn't it WalMart that was caught putting Christmas items that were donated BACK into their inventory? I can't find the article right now. Does anyone else have it?
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,986 posts)Hillary Clinton is not a member.
http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/leadership/board-of-directors/
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Doesn't stop her from speaking out on this important labor issue.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)Lancero
(3,003 posts)Traditionally, for food drives held at a food store, people go in a buy things and then donate what they've just bought.
So, not only are they holding a food drive for employee's that they ensure have to depend on such things... They are also making money from the food drive.
So one could say that this isn't done to benefit the employee's... But rather, to make more money. To exploit their workers twice over for even more gain.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)that's billion with a B.
They employ about 1.4 million people in the United States. If they paid those people $2/hour more that is only $80/week for a person working 80 hours or about $2,000/year per person. (However, we know a lot of Wal-Mart employees work less than 40 hours/week. But, let's just use $2,000/employee.)
so, 1.4 million employees earning an extra $2,000/year. That would be $2.8 billion/year or $14,000,000,000 over five years, so would change Wal-Mart from making $71.6 billion to $57.6 billion. Still a HUGE amount of money.
calguy
(5,309 posts)I've seen where Walmart is going to open up at 8pm Thangsgiving day I'm sure they'll be expected to work thru the night. Some of the lucky ones might even get 40 hours in.
durablend
(7,460 posts)Most likely will be working 0 hours next week to make up for it.
Judi Lynn
(160,540 posts)They wore out their welcome so very long ago.