Wal-Mart keeps the poor it serves poor. (America, church, POV)

[Pah]

Complete article and discussion

“The platform that Wal-Mart keeps advocating is bringing in jobs to low-income communities,” says Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina’s Catholic Church in Chicago. “But low-wage jobs, often without health care, keep families in poverty and keep people in shackles.”

At Wal-Mart, full-time workers have to endure six months—and part-timers, two years—before applying for health coverage through the company. Wal-Mart told the New York Times in November that about 77 percent of its employees are eligible for health coverage through the company plan. But since Wal-Mart saddles its staff with 33 percent premiums, the coverage often costs more than $200 a month per worker to maintain—a steep price for workers making between $8 and $10 per hour. As a result, just 58 percent of those eligible, less than half of all workers, or about 537,000 people, actually have the insurance.

Not all companies have torn up the social contract

. Costco, a competitor in the large-scale retail business, provides insurance to more than 19 out of every 20 of its workers and pays more than 90 percent of the premium.

When Wal-Mart bows out on covering the healthcare costs of staff members, the public often picks up the tab. More than 10,000 Georgia children whose parents work at Wal-Mart are on a state health program, thus neatly passing on the $10 million yearly expense to state residents. And in California, taxpayers are footing the bill for about $32 million in healthcare costs from Wal-Mart workers that the employer would typically cover.

[retrorich]

Wal-Mart keeps the poor it serves poor.

I guess that's one way to hold on to your market, as well as your market share.

[Pah]

Originally Posted by retrorich

Wal-Mart keeps the poor it serves poor.

I guess that's one way to hold on to your market, as well as your market share.

and increase taxes for the rest of us!!!

[painted wolf]

walmart pays it employees just enough to shop at walmart... thus it helps to keep itself in business.

a good source on what Walmart is up to is Wal-mart watch
http://www.walmartwatch.com/index.cfm

lots of good info on the truth behind Americas favorite store.

wa:do

[Isis-Astoroth]

About the health care thing, I'm glad that my country saw sense in creating a welfare state. Everyone pays taxes which go towards health care so those that really need help aren't bled dry by company health care schemes.

[Jaymes]

Nickel and Dimed touches this subject in a few chapters. After reading that book, I can't bring myself to shop at Wal-Mart.

[painted wolf]

The thing that really creeped me out about Mal*Wort was that it takes insurance policies out on all of its workers without thier knowledge or concent.
Here in NH a widow sued them because they had a 100,000 life insurance policy out on her 89 year old husband who was a part time door man for the company.
They clamed that he was a 'key personell' and that his loss would irrevocably harm the future of the corperation.
He died of a heart attack while fetching carts in the parking lot one winter.

Bunch of sick *insert words I can't use on the forum*

wa:do

[john313]

Wal Mart was boycotted in my book a long time ago.

[desi]

Whats the big deal. Walmart is at least consistent by selling goods made from Chinese slave labor and messing over its employees.

[Quoth The Raven]

Originally Posted by painted wolf

The thing that really creeped me out about Mal*Wort was that it takes insurance policies out on all of its workers without thier knowledge or concent.
Here in NH a widow sued them because they had a 100,000 life insurance policy out on her 89 year old husband who was a part time door man for the company.
They clamed that he was a 'key personell' and that his loss would irrevocably harm the future of the corperation.
He died of a heart attack while fetching carts in the parking lot one winter.

Bunch of sick *insert words I can't use on the forum*

wa:do

Good God...how can that be legal? And how can the death of an 89 year old collecting shopping trolleys irrevocably harm the future of the corporation? Here it's a job for 15 year old boys because a trained monkey could do it, and with the minimum of training...
(no offence intended to any 15 year old members...you have all demonstrated yourselves to be above average in a variety of ways)