Who here doesnt like Wal-Mart? Options

[BlackCelicaGT94]

I dont know if you guys know what all goes into putting a Wal-Mart up but my goodness theres always a fight in every city to keep it out of their city.


Do you guys have any problems with Wal-Mart?


go to Walmart facts\

they have such a bad rap but i personally see nothing wrong with the company. They are an excellent company for wifes or family members of those who live on military bases. Gives people a chance to work.

[BlackCelicaGT94]

DOES FLAGSTAFF NEED SUPER WAL-MART?

Employment Impacts

On average, communities lose one and a half full-time jobs for every part-time job at Wal-Mart.
Wages and benefits at Wal-Mart are an average of $5.00/hour less than at places like Safeway that pay union wages.
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Wal-Mart has threatened and penalized employees attempting involvement in unions
Approximately half of Wal-Mart’s employees are eligible for food stamps
The median income of a Wal-Mart employee is about $12,000 as opposed to the national median income of $25-30,000

Fact: Currently, 74 percent of Wal-Mart’s hourly associates in the United States work full-time. That is well above the 20 - 40 percent typically found in the retail industry. Our average hourly wage for regular full-time associates in the U.S. is $9.68 an hour, almost double the federal minimum wage. Wal-Mart’s average full-time wage in urban areas is slightly higher than the national average. For example: Chicago, $10.69; Austin, TX, $10.69; Washington D.C./Baltimore, $10.08; Atlanta, $10.80; and in Los Angeles, $9.99


Only about 40% of Wal-Mart employees have medical coverage
Fact: Our health care plan insures full-time and part-time associates once eligible. Last year, this was more than 500,000 associates, including many family members. Currently, 86 percent of Wal-Mart associates surveyed have medical insurance - 56 percent of those with coverage received health care insurance from Wal-Mart and the remainder receive health care through another source such as another employer, a family member, the military or Medicare. Unlike many plans, after the first year, the Wal-Mart medical plan has no maximum for most expenses, protecting our associates against catastrophic loss and financial ruin.

Associates enrolled in the Associates’ Medical Plan also have access to world class health care at the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University Hospital, Johns Hopkins University Hospital and many other health care facilities, all without insurance approval.




They usually leave their previous store vacant to prevent a competitor from locating in that building.


Fact: Wal-Mart recycles unused stores to benefit our communities. We have a full-time team of real estate professionals, backed by an entire department dedicated solely to making sure available Wal-Mart properties are sold or leased to benefit our communities. Our stores have been converted to other retailers including Hobby Lobby, Big Lots and Burlington Coat Factory. They’ve also been turned into schools, churches, call centers and automobile dealerships. Last year, we sold, leased or sub-leased more than 15 million square feet of space for our communities. It’s our responsibility to recycle our unused stores and we take it very seriously.




Military Support
Fact: In 2004, more than 38,000 Wal-Mart associates told us they have served in the military. Currently, 3,200 associates are on military leave. It’s obvious we are loyal supporters of men and women in the armed forces. More often than not, they are our friends, neighbors, and frequently our fellow associates. Wal-Mart proudly offers continuation of benefits and salary differential to associates called to active duty.

We support the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Operation Uplink by providing free phone cards so service men and women can call home from anywhere in the world. And we made it possible for customers nationwide to send hundreds of thousands of messages of support to military men and women through in-store kiosks. We provide millions of dollars in financial aid to military family-support organizations and work with manufacturers to supply clothing for the wounded and special-need items for the troops.

Wal-Mart donated $6 million to help build the World War II memorial in Washington D.C. while associates and customers raised an additional $8.5 million. In 2003, Wal-Mart was honored with the prestigious "Corporate Patriotism Award" sponsored by the Employer Support for Guard & Reserve (ESGR) and in 2004 honored with the Secretary of Defense “Employer Supports Freedom Award,” also sponsored by ESGR.

[ghostdog]

did you get that from the walmart website? sorry to say but you can't always take things at face value. take for example the statement below:

Fact: Currently, 74 percent of Wal-Mart’s hourly associates in the United States work full-time. That is well above the 20 - 40 percent typically found in the retail industry.[right][snapback]234846[/snapback][/right]

what they don't tell you is that

the company brags that 70% of their employees are full time, but fails to disclose that they count anyone working 28 hours a week or more as full  time.

something else I found interesting:

One of the most telling of all the criticisms of Wal-Mart is to be found in a February 2004 report by the Democratic Staff of the House Education and Workforce Committee. In analyzing Wal-Mart's success in holding employee compensation at low levels, the report assesses the costs to US taxpayers of employees who are so badly paid that they qualify for government assistance even under the less than generous rules of the federal welfare system. For a two-hundred-employee Wal-Mart store, the government is spending $108,000 a year for children's health care; $125,000 a year in tax credits and deductions for low-income families; and $42,000 a year in housing assistance. The report estimates that a two-hundred-employee Wal-Mart store costs federal taxpayers $420,000 a year, or about $2,103 per Wal-Mart employee. That translates into a total annual welfare bill of $2.5 billion for Wal-Mart's 1.2 million US employees.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17647