Effing Walmart

[samplegirl]

Last edited Sat Jan 8, 2022, 09:42 AM - Edit history (1)

Why do people shop in this shithole???



Walmart takes the CDC's gift to employers, cuts paid leave time for workers with COVID-19
Jan 06, 2022 12:21pm EST by Laura Clawson, Daily
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) confusing, widely panned (and widely mocked) shift from 10 days of quarantine after a positive COVID-19 test to five days for asymptomatic cases was seen by many as a gift to employers eager to keep workers on the job no matter what—an interpretation quickly confirmed by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who said the shift was intended to “keep the critical functions of society open and operating.” Maybe so, if the critical function she meant was simply corporate profit. The latest: Walmart has slashed its paid leave for workers with COVID-19 from two weeks to one.

Since Walmart is the largest private employer in the U.S., the company’s change in policy will directly affect a significant number of workers and could lead other major employers to change their policies. At the same time, Walmart is telling corporate employees to continue working remotely for longer than previously announced. It’s not that the company thinks the threat of COVID-19 has abated, in other words. It just figures the CDC gave it permission to cut a benefit for its low-paid hourly workers.

Dailykos.com
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2073042

[jimfields33]

1. CDC has been sloppy in their rules. But it's their rules to be followed.

Everyone says follow the scientists and when they do, nobody is still happy.

[Crunchy Frog]

5. CDC decisions are sometimes based more on politics than science.

At any rate, the CDC guideline was for asymptomatic people, while the Walmart policy is apparently for anyone who gets Covid, no matter how severe or long lasting the symptoms.

[swimboy]

2. I've never set foot in a Walmart

and I never will.

[Demsrule86]

22. Really? I know several people that work there and they like it and are paid a decent wage.

Our local grocery store here in Ohio is Sparkle...not in the Cleveland area but in Trumbull and Mahoning...they only hire teenagers as cashiers because they don't want union workers. Giant Eagle pays less than Walmart too.

[SheltieLover]

3. Amazon reported to have done the same

On edit: per recent DU post.

[Celerity]

9. link

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216225773

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Sounds like Amazon is doing the same thing. Boycott them, too?

[samplegirl]

13. Yes just read that.

[Deminpenn]

6. Some perspective

Don't shop at Walmart much, but they are the only local store that carries a couple of necessary products at their store. A few weeks ago when I was shopping for these things, a youngish employee was doing some restocking there and we began chatting. The employee said Walmart was the best job they'd ever had. When asked about pay and benefits and the like, the employee said the pay was good, they had health insurance and it was true that Walmart would pay the entire tuition for college classes.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. And since we have a mask mandate here in New York, the local Walmart is the only store that has

A mask checker at the entrance.

[Demsrule86]

21. I heard that too...you know what is a shitty company that pretends to be so great is Starbucks.

They truly suck and treat their workers like dirt. My future daughter-in-law works for them...why I don't know. There are better jobs available. Hell almost any job is better. They quietly changed the insurance in 16, it is not good insurance and since most employees are kept at 20 hours weekly or below, they can't afford it anyway...up until the pandemic, they were paying minimum wage in Ohio...now claiming to pay $15.00 but really pay a maximum of $11.00. People like to hate on Walmart, but I would rather work for them any day of the week than Starbucks...Target is now paying $15.00 per hour but still not allowing much full-time employment.

[Deminpenn]

30. Retail

One thing about retail is that if you show up for work everyday and do your job well, you can move up in the ranks very fast.

[Demsrule86]

32. That is not true around here.

And Starbucks has been hiring outsiders...They force people to work for shitty money and limit the hours they can work...but due to scheduling changes which are constant...hard to work a second job.

[Celerity]

8. link

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/6/2073042/-Walmart-takes-the-CDC-s-gift-to-employers-cuts-paid-leave-time-for-workers-with-COVID-19

[Hortensis]

10. We are suffering shortages in labor and goods that could get worse.

I don't doubt Walmart has its bottom line in mind, but I'm also not the kind of person who could imagine very serious decisions like this are not based on and affected by many factors to serve various purposes. It should be obvious that increases in illness from this would affect Walmart's bottom line in various ways.

Perhaps a few moments could be invested, though, in examining the possibility that a nation of 300M does have "critical functions" to keep operating if the complex systems we all depend on aren't to fail us. Although we all deplore Walmart's size, that means Walmart is the closest/only supermarket serving many areas, and among the largest employers of many, and is critical to the wellbeing of many communities, or just crossroads. They know it. Its trucks are typically among the first, if not the first, to arrive in disaster-struck areas.

You might also check the job websites that invite employees to post their views against your "effing" impression. On the whole, they do not support the widespread notion that Walmart is a "shithole" employer. It seems to run very slightly above average for its kind.

I can answer your question about this "effing" place because I now do the bulk of my shopping at Walmart. It's not to associate with the mainly lower-income and minority people who are a major reason many people choose to segregate themselves from this "shithole" as you see it (and as I expect tRump does also). But I'm also just not as discriminating as many. ( Many cars in the parking lot are more "respectable" than my wonderful little 26-year-old Ford Ranger pickup, anyway.)

Positive reasons are because we're retired and prices are lower than others, because it's the closest supermarket to our rural residence, because it has a quite decently wide selection, because it enables me to consolidate most shopping and avoid other stores when I need to isolate, and notably because it was among the first to offer a special shopping hour for high-risk people and curbside pickup when the pandemic began.

[Demsrule86]

20. As I pointed out below...many companies including my husband's offer no leave of any sort.

And never have even before the latest CDC ruling.

[Hortensis]

25. Ouch, Dems! The real thing. A painful loss to most and

and a serious hardship to many -- transferring the employers' costs to employees, most of whom have little choice but to eat them and to remain available. At least at that point.

In any case, I don't think people should manufacture or magnify victimhood grievances for other, unaware people, much less then feel "their" grievance for them. I'm assuming a fair number of people wouldn't care to be seen or used that way.

I'll feel indignant for you guys since you shared, though.

[Demsrule86]

33. My husband would have had two weeks if he had been made permanent...but his boss was out with

Covid. He was very sick as he was unvaccinated so...we got nothing. But this is the case for many if not all workers that I know.

[Ponietz]

11. Conservatism and feudalism are indistinguishable

Serfs in training shop Walmart.

[Hortensis]

26. I believe the title Effing Shopper is more accurate than Serf In Training.

I prefer it, anyway, since I shop at Walmart but the people I find myself associating with do not make me an effing idiot.

(Oh, my people! )

[Ponietz]

29. My people too

Apologies. It is such literally and figuratively dehumanizing place. They support the traitors’ agenda, and helped fund it. Its unprincipled to go there, in my opinion.

[USALiberal]

12. Link???

[MarineCombatEngineer]

14. Sorry, but being an owner/operator,

I sometimes haul loads for WalMart and I'm not about to stop, they pay top dollar, it's all drop and hook, no touch loads.

I gotta look after my bottom line also.

[Mosby]

15. Why are you focusing on walmart?

Amazon just did the same thing, Target will probably revise rules next.

Amazon:

Throughout the past two years, we have consistently based our response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the advice of our own medical experts. After reviewing the newly released guidance from the CDC, we are updating Amazon’s COVID-19 isolation and quarantine policy to one week (seven calendar days) from when you took the test, with up to 40 hours paid leave. This change is effective immediately and applies to all employees in the United States, regardless of vaccination status.

[XacerbatedDem]

16. Is it just me or does anyone else have a problem with citing stories from...

the Daily Koz? I don't trust them as a news source, along with the Daily Beast, Business Insider, the Daily Mail or the Hill, for that matter. I pass over their headlines constantly, just the way I do Faux News. Sure, some stories are just, but I've found others that are just BS, reminding me of a time where I would be standing in line at Dollar General and see all those nasty mags at their checkout counter talking about who was screwing who, and who's baby some celebrity was having, and how Elvis still isn't dead. (No offence to the poster of this article)

[BlackSkimmer]

17. That doesn't make the story untrue. nt

[XacerbatedDem]

18. True, but it does influence others to seek out those publications, read other stories and articles.

[BlackSkimmer]

27. Well perhaps, but imo, most of us on this forum read a wide variety of media.

I read plenty of sources, some of which I take with a grain of salt until I see it backed up elsewhere.

[Ponietz]

23. Fully dismiss a progressive site that supports the labor movement?

You paint with broad strokes.
Besides, its “Daily Kos” so what are you referring to?

Here’s the site purpose posted there:
That’s the fundamental premise underlying all expectations about posting, commenting, and interacting at Daily Kos. As progressives, we believe that the best way to build our coalition is through the Democratic Party—and we are fighting to make it a stronger, more effective, more just, more forward-thinking Democratic Party. We are here to connect, unite, and work together toward this common purpose, to elect more and better Democrats, to advocate for a more equitable country, and even to socialize among like-minded friends. Given our clear goals, these are our only ideological prohibitions:

Advocacy for third parties or third-party candidates
Advocacy for voting against Democrats or not voting at all
Misleading, deceptive, or malicious attacks against Democratic officials or candidates
But of course, there’s more to encouraging a harmonious community than ideological guidelines. We must still be able to work together as human beings. This is the internet, where hostility and negativity come all too easy. So we must necessarily have and enforce standards of behavior.

These are not the “Terms and Conditions” that you must accept to sign up for a user account. The expectations as outlined here are enforced by community moderation—that is, the community itself helps police bad behavior. How?

Community members may reply to your comments and diaries, rate them positively (recommend), ignore them, or flag them as unacceptable. If you are uncertain about what is and isn’t acceptable to the community, despite the guidelines listed below or the Knowledge Base at the Help Desk, feel free to simply ask! People will be more than happy to guide you in the right direction.
[link:https://www.dailykos.com/rules-of-the-road|

[XacerbatedDem]

28. Sorry, my apologies to the Daily KOS, thus the question at the beginning of my post.

I may have confused the Daily Mail with them. After reading the site purpose above, I will definitely check out their site. Thank you Ponietz for pointing that out.

[Deminpenn]

31. Dkos has a lot of Op Ed type

commentary. You have to pick and choose.

[Demsrule86]

19. At least they offer paid leave...hubs was mandated to stay home two weeks from the date of his

positive test and we got nothing...no paid leave and no unemployment. This was before the new CDC guidelines. He felt well enough to go back to work sooner but had to stay out. So at least Walmart has paid leave many if not most companies do not.

[Zeitghost]

24. Far from perfect

But WalMart gave my disabled BIL a career when nobody else would.

They are following CDC guidelines, that seems reasonable to me.