Gawker
has published several stories told by various Wal-Mart workers about
the conditions, treatment, and incidences they have endured at the Sam
Walton-founded store. The store that was – in it’s early years before
the children took over – a place one would be proud to work at and
stocked with American-made products as well as promoting family-values
and ethical work treatment.
Not any more. I’m sure Sam Walton has turned over in his grave a thousand times by now.
Here are a few tales pulled from Gawker’s “Life at Wal-Mart: The Workers Speak”
Vol. 1,
Vol. 2, and
Vol.3.
I have edited some only due to length so that this post does not turn
into a novel. Please check out the Gawker articles for more details and
stories. All stories are completely anonymous, including the location.
For my mother
I
am leaving this in it’s entirety. What a loving child had to watch her
mother endure all because it was about the only job in their small town.
“I
am emailing this story of behalf of my mother, who worked at Wal-Mart
in a small town in Texas for 25 years. She recently retired, and is the
happiest she’s ever been.
In addition to the anti-union stance, no
overtime pay, and the newly instituted salary cap (for cashiers,
stockers, etc, not management), and declining-to-the
point-of-uselessness health benefits (cost goes up, benefits go down), I
watched Wal-Mart suck the soul out of my mother.
“My
mother was a single parent, and in our small town, Wal-Mart is about
the best one can do to support a family. For a while, it paid the bills.
Then the cut in hours came. My mother, usually scheduled 40 hours per
week, was cut to 25, and was told it was because “Wal-Mart isn’t making
any money.” She and her co-workers would work five hours per day, and
still be expected to do the same amount of work they would normally do
in eight hours. Then came the threats: “If you don’t do what you’re
supposed to do I WILL fire you and find someone who can,” said the store
manager.
“Sprinkle
on top of that some of this: ‘You know, you’ve been here so long, I
could fire you and pay two people for what I pay you,’ said a manager
directly to my mother and some of her co-workers who had been there
20-plus years.
“Another
younger employee at this Wal-Mart, also cut to 25 hours, was forced to
work multiple departments in her 5-hour shift, and was told if she
didn’t she would be fired. This young woman, also taking care of her
children by herself and fearing being fired, attempted suicide. She
survived and was asked to sign a document saying she wouldn’t sue.
“If
you could make it through the day either not being harassed or
withstanding it, the job itself was horrifying. My mother worked in
softlines (clothes) and would have to take care of/dispose of/clean up
the following: used tampons in the dressing room, piles of clothes
people urinated on, baby diapers, dirty underwear, dirty clothes
switched out for newer ones. And that wasn’t even the worst. Grocery
recently had to deal with a massive rat infestation, and the stockers
were told they couldn’t use anything other than a damp towel to wipe rat
turds off the produce. (I’ve heard this problem was fixed, but still,
nasty.)
“No
one says anything. Everyone fears being fired. And if they are fired,
they don’t have any other options for work in this small town. Even if
people finally find courage and complain to the head office, and a
‘clean-up crew’ comes to visit the store, things always go back to the
way they were before the higher-ups paid a visit. That’s what Wal-Mart
does: wipe out the other businesses, scare people into submission,
reinforce the idea they have no options, reap the profits of low-cost
labor.
I
don’t know if you’ll even get a chance to read this, but I know my
mother never felt she had a voice, and it’s nice to let someone hear her
story. We’ve heard people say that complaints about Wal-Mart are
unfounded. They aren’t. This is the life people are sometimes forced to
live.”
