sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by Jmick
Thought this was interesting:
In a recent Congressional report, Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart, the Democratic staff of the House of Representatives' Committee on Education and the Workforce estimates an average salary range for a Wal-Mart “Associate” worker of between $7.50 and $8.50 per hour. With managers operating on instructions from the corporate brass to keep overhead at a bare minimum, Wal-Mart employees have “an average on-the-clock workweek of 32 hours.”8 Since 2002, when Wal-Mart's definition of part-time employment changed to include anyone working fewer than 34 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, the cost burden of employee benefits coverage has shifted considerably onto the employees themselves. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW):
Most Wal-Mart employees cannot afford to pay the expensive premiums and deductibles required for coverage. The average worker would have to pay one fifth of his paycheck for health care coverage at Wal-Mart. On a wage of about $8 an hour and 29-32 hours of work a week, many workers must rely on state programs or family members or simply live without health insurance.9
Full-time employees wait six months before becoming eligible to enroll in an Associate worker's health plan. For part-time employees the wait is four times as as long; after two years' work, these employees qualify only for individual coverage. According to an October 2003 AFL-CIO report, these prohibitive eligibility policies are a natural outgrowth of Wal-Mart's cost-cutting priorities.
These waiting periods are particularly important for holding down the company’s health {costs} because turnover rates appear to be very high among hourly Wal-Mart store employees. At some stores, turnover may well be more than 100 percent per year.10
The kindest available estimates indicate merely 46 percent of non-managerial Wal-Mart employees are actually insured by a company health plan. Far from going the extra mile to make health care accessible to its workforce, Wal-Mart leaves many of its uninsured or under-insured employees with little recourse but to seek outside assistance for a wide array of uncovered services.
No offense, but welcome to corporate America. Wal-Mart gets the spotlight because of their size. It is no different from many other stores. Cut costs, increase sales. They are no different. It is unfortunate but true. That is how it is in any store. All stores are out to make a profit. Some do it honestly and only grow so far. Some do it the scum-bag way and make it to be one of the top retail chains in the world. It is business.
Thought this was interesting:
In a recent Congressional report, Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart, the Democratic staff of the House of Representatives' Committee on Education and the Workforce estimates an average salary range for a Wal-Mart “Associate” worker of between $7.50 and $8.50 per hour. With managers operating on instructions from the corporate brass to keep overhead at a bare minimum, Wal-Mart employees have “an average on-the-clock workweek of 32 hours.”8 Since 2002, when Wal-Mart's definition of part-time employment changed to include anyone working fewer than 34 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, the cost burden of employee benefits coverage has shifted considerably onto the employees themselves. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW):
Most Wal-Mart employees cannot afford to pay the expensive premiums and deductibles required for coverage. The average worker would have to pay one fifth of his paycheck for health care coverage at Wal-Mart. On a wage of about $8 an hour and 29-32 hours of work a week, many workers must rely on state programs or family members or simply live without health insurance.9
Full-time employees wait six months before becoming eligible to enroll in an Associate worker's health plan. For part-time employees the wait is four times as as long; after two years' work, these employees qualify only for individual coverage. According to an October 2003 AFL-CIO report, these prohibitive eligibility policies are a natural outgrowth of Wal-Mart's cost-cutting priorities.
These waiting periods are particularly important for holding down the company’s health {costs} because turnover rates appear to be very high among hourly Wal-Mart store employees. At some stores, turnover may well be more than 100 percent per year.10
The kindest available estimates indicate merely 46 percent of non-managerial Wal-Mart employees are actually insured by a company health plan. Far from going the extra mile to make health care accessible to its workforce, Wal-Mart leaves many of its uninsured or under-insured employees with little recourse but to seek outside assistance for a wide array of uncovered services.
No offense, but welcome to corporate America. Wal-Mart gets the spotlight because of their size. It is no different from many other stores. Cut costs, increase sales. They are no different. It is unfortunate but true. That is how it is in any store. All stores are out to make a profit. Some do it honestly and only grow so far. Some do it the scum-bag way and make it to be one of the top retail chains in the world. It is business.
