Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
27 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The sign that corporate America is feeling the pinch of the vise that has squeezed the middle class. (Original Post) diabeticman Feb 2015 OP
Finally they realize that the poor need money to buy from them. jwirr Feb 2015 #1
They'll give barely enough to appease the peasants in the short run. Dont call me Shirley Feb 2015 #2
this is a scam by walmart, imho. mopinko Feb 2015 #3
Blaming the dockworkers right now. seabeckind Feb 2015 #6
That's how the USPS used to work PATRICK Feb 2015 #9
I think you're right. irisblue Feb 2015 #10
They can't raise prices, market competition from the dollar-type stores is already hurting Walmart. Ikonoklast Feb 2015 #19
The timing of this as well as the Burger King Arizona award circumstances have me wonder too... cascadiance Feb 2015 #23
vice or V I S E ? ananda Feb 2015 #4
thats what I was wondering... VanillaRhapsody Feb 2015 #26
Good news!! The chocolate ration is being raised to 20 grams!! seabeckind Feb 2015 #5
OMG... now I'm guilty of a blatant facecrime! nt procon Feb 2015 #27
Wage increases are the key Man from Pickens Feb 2015 #7
Hillary was on Walmart's board for six years; currently, that record besmirches her, closeupready Feb 2015 #8
oh please. that was back when walmart was a much better company. mopinko Feb 2015 #11
A better company is one which pays women less for the same work done by a man? closeupready Feb 2015 #12
oh please. mopinko Feb 2015 #15
Well then by all means, refute with facts, rather than "cool story, dewd", "oh please" closeupready Feb 2015 #16
i didnt say good. i said better. mopinko Feb 2015 #24
There are a lot of Walmart associates still around that worked in that era. LiberalArkie Feb 2015 #14
Oh God yes! lark Feb 2015 #20
It was a better store, too SusanCalvin Feb 2015 #25
And the "Made in the USA" thing was a fraud from the beginning. Fuddnik Feb 2015 #21
this might be a case of too little, too late. Tuesday Afternoon Feb 2015 #13
Yep. It's chump change. GoCubsGo Feb 2015 #17
I will drive 150 miles to make major purchases. Manifestor_of_Light Feb 2015 #18
Unemployment is down, and workers are less likely to stay in a crap job. herding cats Feb 2015 #22

mopinko

(69,805 posts)
3. this is a scam by walmart, imho.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 12:28 PM
Feb 2015

they are going to use this as an excuse to hike prices substantially. then they are going to turn around and use that as proof that raising wages means raising prices.
and as a bonus, they get out of being the poster child for low wages.

mark my words.

PATRICK

(12,227 posts)
9. That's how the USPS used to work
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 01:20 PM
Feb 2015

Sign a meager contractual increase whining all the way, then raise stamp prices. Also recent service standard reductions will play into an either/or narrative of whining- and stamp prices, long repressed, will still go up no matter what- and the workers still blamed.

Ikonoklast

(23,973 posts)
19. They can't raise prices, market competition from the dollar-type stores is already hurting Walmart.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 02:32 PM
Feb 2015

And the dollar stores won't raise prices, they'll just take market share away from any retailer that does.

 

cascadiance

(19,537 posts)
23. The timing of this as well as the Burger King Arizona award circumstances have me wonder too...
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 05:23 PM
Feb 2015

If corporate boards realize they are getting a bad name when confronting labor in every direction, and perhaps are trying to find ways to get good PR for themselves and the bosses of their corporations, but still have what they do have far less financial effect of doing the right thing and raising their minimum wages to something close to a cost of living wage around $15 an hour like some states such as Washington have passed now.

This story on the Burger King boss getting a car and a rolex as an award for being good and then selling them off to give people in the company an extra $200 sounds like a great story about an individual who's trying to do the right thing within a company that has the rules lined up against the workers. I'd like to think that this person is a decent noble boss that his workers are behind, and perhaps later will make a more substantive difference for workers if he's allowed to get more power within the company, but part of me wonders if this was orchestrated to get good PR for the company and the guy was promised other favors if he went through this exercise which gives people only $200 instead of substantially more if they gave a reasonable minimum wage for them.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026253402

We should probably be keeping our eyes open for other similar events around the country to see if there's a correlation, to see if these are intended to spin things the corporate sectors' direction without much cost to them, or if perhaps there is genuine signs that the corporate PTB are making gradual changes in the right direction that are a result of current worker activism, and our support for them.
 

Man from Pickens

(1,713 posts)
7. Wage increases are the key
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 12:53 PM
Feb 2015

That's the sign I am looking for to believe a recovery is under way - one instance doesn't make a pattern, of course, but given the size of that company it's very positive.

 

closeupready

(29,503 posts)
8. Hillary was on Walmart's board for six years; currently, that record besmirches her,
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 01:05 PM
Feb 2015

but if - in the run-up to 2016 - Walmart can find a temporary way to redeem itself a bit from being perceived by the public as a sweatshop (mitigating the impact of criticisms about her association with them), then a later Hillary win makes the price of raising wages NOW merely a pay-it-forward investment in the election of a president who would then be more likely to have an open door policy to Walmart's executives and their concerns.

mopinko

(69,805 posts)
11. oh please. that was back when walmart was a much better company.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 01:42 PM
Feb 2015

that was back when old sam was still in charge. remember when they used to push- made in the usa?

i feel for hillary with all the things she has done that people can twist into something bogus.

 

closeupready

(29,503 posts)
12. A better company is one which pays women less for the same work done by a man?
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 01:47 PM
Feb 2015

A better company is one which demands clocking out even though workers are still working so as not to pay overtime?

If that is what you consider "a much better company," then I'm afraid we have nothing further to discuss.

mopinko

(69,805 posts)
15. oh please.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 01:55 PM
Feb 2015

they are worthy of all the hate that can be heaped on them now.
but they did used to be a lot better. i didnt say great or perfect.

 

closeupready

(29,503 posts)
16. Well then by all means, refute with facts, rather than "cool story, dewd", "oh please"
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 02:05 PM
Feb 2015

and

Walmart destroyed so many local drugstores and five-and-dimes. That's not a matter of opinion; it's solid fact. There have been studies done, documentaries about it, how many millions of anecdotes.

mopinko

(69,805 posts)
24. i didnt say good. i said better.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 09:03 PM
Feb 2015

and yes, i am well aware of their practices.
but hillary was also on the board long before the effect was clear. you cant people to retroactively have knowledge.

:eyeroll: yourself.

LiberalArkie

(15,686 posts)
14. There are a lot of Walmart associates still around that worked in that era.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 01:49 PM
Feb 2015

I think they had benefits and stuff that the ones who hired on after Sam left did not get.

lark

(23,003 posts)
20. Oh God yes!
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 02:37 PM
Feb 2015

My husband started to work for Sam's Club (same ownership as Walmart) and they got HUGE profit sharing bonuses at 7 years. People who weren't even in management were getting $75,000 - $95,000 and that was 20 years ago. Sam died, kids took over and ended the bonuses the same time my husband finally reached 7 years. He got a $300 bonus and quit. Fucking kids, may they rot in hell, stole all the workers profit sharing and it's never come back.

So, yeah, it's not the same company as when Sam was alive.

SusanCalvin

(6,592 posts)
25. It was a better store, too
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 08:48 AM
Feb 2015

I still remember my first visit to a Walmart in the early 90s. I was I so impressed with the store and the employees. Of course, this was before I was as politicized as I am now. (Well, I was pretty politicized even then - I remember asking a bunch of Republican women with a table in front of a strip mall store if "Republican woman" wasn't an oxymoron - I just didn't know about Ol' Sam's union policies at the time.)

Fuddnik

(8,846 posts)
21. And the "Made in the USA" thing was a fraud from the beginning.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 03:04 PM
Feb 2015

And "Good Ol' Sam" used to go around, in front of witnesses, threaten workers, like his warehouse, and meat-cutters, with shutting down and moving any facility that tried to unionize.

The only thing better about them, was that nobody had caught on to them yet.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
17. Yep. It's chump change.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 02:09 PM
Feb 2015

And, nowhere near enough to get me to spend my money, what little of it that I have, there.

 

Manifestor_of_Light

(21,046 posts)
18. I will drive 150 miles to make major purchases.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 02:12 PM
Feb 2015

Like quality clothing and accessories. I don't have choices in the country, so I drive to the city (either Houston or Dallas) to buy quality stuff.

And chocolate covered almonds from Costco.



herding cats

(19,549 posts)
22. Unemployment is down, and workers are less likely to stay in a crap job.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 03:20 PM
Feb 2015

Wal-Mart was passing their rising profit per employee straight to their shareholders and not increasing compensation to employees. That's a risky business model under our current employment rate in the demographic they hire from most. There are other carp jobs out there now, and wages aren't the only downside to working at Wal-Mart. They also treat their employees extremely poorly. When you can leave them and get a job at any other big box retailer for the same crap wages, why would workers stay there?


What will be interesting to see is how long it will be before the other big box retailers are forced to follow Wal-Mart's lead. It would seem they're going to have to eventually.

Some people will have it a little better, but $9 an hour, and the $10 starting next year, is still going to be hard to get by on in most all of the country. Still, it's a step in the right direction.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»The sign that corporate A...