Handshake With Sam
While Wal-Mart’s founder, Sam Walton, steered his company’s growth over its first thirty years, he never let anyone forget that with such tremendous success come certain moral responsibilities. He led by example, and he did business with a handshake.
Today’s Wal-Mart has lost Sam’s way. That’s why we’ve proposed a new contract with Wal-Mart’s current leadership—to help Wal-Mart take its place as a responsible business leader for the new century.
Pennsylvania Wal-Mart Manager files Gender Discrimination Suit
Posted by Media Team
The former manager of a Pennsylvania Wal-Mart store has filed suit against the company, alleging that she was fired for “not being truthful” in interviews about her relationship with a fellow employee. Helen Masonis claims that not only was she truthful in said interviews, but also that male employees in similar situations were allowed to remain at the company. Masonis joins the ranks of over a million women suing Wal-Mart for gender discrimination. Read more about these and other cases on our Women’s Rights at Wal-Mart page.
*UPDATE*
The complaint, filed by Masonis on January 18th, points out a couple interesting facts. First, there is the allegation that Wal-Mart management knew Masonis’s in-store relationship did not violate Wal-mart’s fraternization policy, yet still required her to sit through two closed-door “investigative interviews.” The official Wal-Mart “Exit Interview” given after Masonis was terminated confirmed Masonis had not violated the policy.
Masonis also calls out five male managers, each of which had either improper relationships with fellow female employees directly under their supervision, or were accused of harrassment, and none of them were fired or subjected to “investigative interviews.” You can read the whole complaint here.
It appears that the interview statements of Masonis and her male “friend”, Ward Thomas, gave differing accounts of what happened, but that it was only Masonis, and not Thomas, that was terminated. It will be interesting to find out the actual fate of Ward, so stay tuned.
Wal-Mart lawsuit over gender bias [Altoona Mirror (Penn.)]
A former department manager at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Clearfield County, who had an affair with an employee, is claiming gender discrimination against the company.
Helen Masonis of Falls Creek said she was fired for having a relationship with a male employee while several male managers who had affairs with employees were not fired.
Masonis is requesting a federal judge order back pay and employment benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, as well as pay her attorney fees and issue injunctions that would reinstate her and bar further discrimination against her.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. court in Johnstown lists the names of other males and females who had affairs at Wal-Mart. She charges that the males never were disciplined.
Read the rest of this story ...
Wal-Mart’s Debit Card: Cashing In on Low-Income Shoppers
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt
We’ve mentioned here before that Wal-Mart profits off poverty in a number of ways. The economy’s recent slow-down has meant booming business for Wal-Mart, and the company has little incentive to pay higher wages that would allow its employees to shop elsewhere. This post from Consumerist points out one more way that Wal-Mart is taking advantage of its customers’ poverty:
Walmart’s Debit Card Has Lots Of Hidden Fees [Consumerist]
El banco del Walmart is issuing pre-paid debit cards, and like everything else at Walmart, they suck. Here’s some of the hidden fees:
- Card issue fee: $8.94
- Reload the card with more money: $4.64
- ATM transaction fee: $1.95
- ATM balance inquiry: $0.75
- Monthly maintenance fee: $4.94
- Statement fee: $2.00
Great idea, tap into the “unbanked,” and then rip them off. Here’s an even better idea for potential Walmart Debit Card users: cash! No fees!
Click here to see the specific terms and conditions.
Wal-Mart To Stop Carrying Over 1,000 Magazines
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt
The New York Post reports that Wal-Mart is planning to stop carrying more than 1,000 magazine titles, essentially crippling the industry. The retailer’s motivations for the move are unclear, but said one company executive: “I used to think pouring salt on slugs was fun, but this is WAAY better! Maybe even more fun than when we put all those locally-owned supermarkets out of business! I mean, this is freakin’ AWESOME!” From Advertising Age:
The New York Post reports that Wal-Mart is tossing more than 1,000 magazines from the racks in its stores, sending a shock wave through the industry. Wal-Mart, which released its official purge list Jan. 15, is believed to be responsible for generating more than 20% of all retail magazine sales in the U.S. One of the biggest corporate losers appears to be Meredith Publishing. Its flagship Better Homes & Gardens is out, as is sibling service magazine Ladies’ Home Journal. Family Circle stays, however. Read who else is out, and who gets to stay.
More from the New York Post >>
Pressuring Suppliers: Wal-Mart Demands RFID Tags
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt
RFID tagging, aside from being controversial for privacy reasons, is a prime example of how Wal-Mart forces the hand of its suppliers. The company is demanding that all suppliers use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on their products: the tags make it easier for Wal-Mart to track its inventory, but cost a significant amount for suppliers to implement. Companies failing to meet Wal-Mart’s demands will be fined $2 a pallet, a figure which quickly adds up when supplying thousands of stores. Wal-Mart is ostensibly forcing its suppliers to invest in Wal-Mart-specific technologies...or pay the price. This kind of power allows Wal-Mart to bully suppliers in a number of ways: most recently, to bring greener packaging to its stores, but also to demand lower costs, often leading companies to ship labor overseas or scrimp on product quality. Is domination by a single company what they meant by “free” market?
Wal-Mart Sets Deadline For Sam’s Club Suppliers To Use RFID [InformationWeek]
Wal-Mart is stepping up pressure on suppliers to comply with its three-year-old RFID mandate. The retailer says it will charge a $2 fee for each pallet not tagged with RFID that comes into a Texas distribution center for its Sam’s Club warehouse stores beginning Jan. 30.
Wal-Mart also has told suppliers that in less than three years, all Sam’s Club products passing through 22 distribution centers need to be tagged with RFID at the selling-unit item level.
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Wal-Mart Opens 4 “Efficient” Stores - Only 6,796 Energy Hogs to Go
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt
Wal-Mart announced plans today for four new “energy-efficient” stores, the first which will open in Illinois later this month. Utilizing new refrigeration techniques and LED lighting, the new stores are projected to be 25% more efficient than the usual Supercenter. The company touts the efficient stores as not only green, but cheaper, too, though as an article out today from BusinessWeek points out:
“When Wal-Mart (WMT) tells their suppliers to stop shipping in [costly] bulky packaging, it’s not for the consumer. It’s for the company,” Leimsider said. “The good news is that the green revolution is moving beyond corporate reputation issues.”
And reputation has a lot to do with it. If the company is saving money AND winning acclaim with its new stores, why aren’t all 170+ new stores this year going to be green? Perhaps because Wal-Mart’s just looking for a little breathing room:
Under fire from labor unions and employee groups, Wal-Mart has embraced the environment as a way to improve its image and cut costs. The retailer launched a plan in 2005 to make Wal-Mart more eco-friendly, from the products it carries on its shelves to the energy it uses to operate its stores to the fuel efficiency of its truck fleets.
The company’s initiatives are definitely a step in the right direction, but they’re incrimental and certainly don’t earn the retailer a free pass on environmental issues. It’s more important now than ever to keep pressure on the company to follow through on its environmental promises. To help this effort, join our environmental task force at http://walmartwatch.com/environment.
Wal-Mart to open eco-friendly superstore in Romeoville [Chicago Tribune]
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Exporting Jobs, Importing Poverty
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt
Two different stories out today - one from the Associated Press (here) and one from the New York Times (below) - both examine the devastation of American blue collar jobs. In an economy where manufacturing jobs are exported overseas, many working class Americans are forced between a rock and a hard place economically. The Associated Press piece explains that many people are turning to drug dealing because “‘I can make a lot more money swinging crack than working at Wal-Mart.’”
In the wake of massive factory closings across the country and the destruction of Main Street businesses, Wal-Mart is often one of the only employment options available. Far from being the savior of rural America, as the company sells itself, Wal-Mart is the ultimate end of a race-to-the-bottom economy. Does middle America need more Wal-Mart’s? Hardly.
Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Families’ Way of Life Along [New York Times]
After 30 years at a factory making truck parts, Jeffrey Evans was earning $14.55 an hour in what he called “one of the better-paying jobs in the area.”
Wearing a Harley-Davidson cap, a bittersweet reminder of crushed dreams, he recently described how astonished and betrayed he felt when the plant was shut down in August after a labor dispute. Despite sporadic construction work, Mr. Evans has seen his income reduced by half.
So he was astonished yet again to find himself, at age 49, selling off his cherished Harley and most of his apartment furniture and moving in with his mother.
Read the rest of this story ...
The High Cost of Low Prices: Wal-Mart’s Supplier Factories
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt
As Wal-Mart struggles to produce greener electronics, safer toys, and better conditions in supplier factories, this article details just how complicated such processes can be. It’s also exposes the long-term costs of low-cost production, for workers, consumers and the environment. Additional material, including a blog from Chinese factory worker Wang Fengping on the Wall Street Journal’s website.
Toxic Factories Take Toll On China’s Labor Force [Wall Street Journal]
Over the holidays, millions of American children received Chinese-made toys powered by cadmium batteries.
Cadmium batteries are safe to use. They are also cheap, saving American parents about $1.50 on the average toy, compared with pricier batteries.
But cadmium batteries can be hazardous to make. In southern China, Wang Fengping worked for years in plants that produced cadmium batteries for the likes of Mattel Inc., Toys “R” Us Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Like hundreds of her colleagues, Ms. Wang regularly inhaled the toxic red cadmium dust that filled the air in the plant.
Now, at 45, Ms. Wang is often too weak to walk. Her kidneys have failed, and her doctors have identified cadmium poisoning as the likely culprit. About 400 other workers at her former employer, Hong Kong-based GP Batteries International Ltd., have been found to harbor unsafe levels of cadmium, a toxic metal like mercury and lead that can cause kidney failure, lung cancer and bone disease.
In recent months, Americans have discovered the dark side of their reliance on cheap Chinese goods. From lead-tainted toys to contaminated pet food, the safety of Chinese products is suddenly an American obsession.
Read the rest of this story ...
“The End of the Sam Walton Era”
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt
In a lot of ways, Sam Walton represented the best intentions of Wal-Mart. His Rules for Building a Business emphasized employee-friendliness, and what became the world’s largest corporation started as his locally-owned business. Wal-Mart has moved away from Sam’s philosophy in the decade and a half since his death, opting instead to scrimp on employee benefits and customer service. Today’s Morning News brings word of another aspect of Sam’s legacy falling by the wayside: the early Saturday morning meetings. What was once a dedicated gathering every week will become an impersonal meeting held in the high school basketball court once a month. As the culture continues to change in management, so too does the company’s values.
Wal-Mart Alters Regular Saturday Meeting [Northwest Arkansas Morning News]
The legendary Saturday morning meetings that have long been at the heart of the Wal-Mart culture will dwindle to just one meeting per month.
And executives won’t be funneling into the home office for the soon-to-be monthly meetings, but will gather down the road at Bentonville High School where a larger auditorium can house the growing crowd of department managers required to attend.
Wal-Mart confirmed the news, announced Saturday at the meeting, but declined to make further comments as “details have not been worked out,” a company spokeswoman said.
To many, the move signifies the end of the Sam Walton era. Sam Walton strongly believed in the value of the Saturday morning meetings as a time to communicate, plan strategy and gain a competitive advantage.