Walmart

[Janice]

Why does Walmart get a bad rap for buying Chinese products when every other store does too. K-mart, Penneys, Target, etc. We buy all of Japan and Indias items and all electronics and cars from overseas. Why give Walmart all the bad publicity? Penneys and Sears and all other stores hire part timers and don't give them benefits either. Walmart hires hundreds of thousands of employees in the US. Americans complain about no jobs, low wages and Walmart has supplied employment to so many.

I just think Walmart is getting a raw deal. And we wonder why businesses leave and go overseas. Those people are hungry for jobs and are hard workers.

[GalvestonDuck]

I never heard about that (buying foreign products) being the problem. The biggest complaint I hear about is how Wal-Mart kills smaller, family-owned businesses.

[Janice]

Then why don't they complain about shopping centers and grocery store chains? I just don't get it.

[HurryKane]

Most grocery store chains and shopping centers don't undercut the local businesses by much. Wal-Mart undercuts them by a lot.

Wal-Mart also exemplifies a lot that people don't like about over-commercialism; they're a figurehead of sorts and therefore most likely to be targeted.

[feederband]

Not to long ago one of their slogans was buy American so thats why they are getting some of the bad rap...I use to complain about them but not anymore...They do provide alot of jobs and low prices...But they have the worst customer service but everyone that shops there don't care because of price....I have a family of 5 can't afford anywhere else...

[Lindaloo]

Not to long ago one of their slogans was buy American so thats why they are getting some of the bad rap...I use to complain about them but not anymore...They do provide alot of jobs and low prices...But they have the worst customer service but everyone that shops there don't care because of price....I have a family of 5 can't afford anywhere else...

I enjoy Walmart, but they need to share the wealth with their employees by giving them better insurance and better wages.

[feederband]

Your right , and after working for 16 years now for a grocery chain because of them we have slowly losing our benefits...They blame walmart and say to compete we will have to model what they are doing as far as insurance and better wages...WalMart does make a ton of money but they do invest more of it compared to the rest of the industry by opening a ton of stores...Health Insurance is getting to a point where no company wants to get into it...Having many health probs my self and our company being self insured..I alone have cost over a quater of a million..I only see that insurance getting worse...As far as wages well every company's fat cats always want more money...So they are not going to give any up untill a ton of people start complaining about the service...Employee's are only as good as their pay...

[greeng13]

i think the other main problem is that with the buying power they have there they (Wal-Mart) set the price...

they don't let the manufacturer of the product set a price. No negotiation...either we buy it for this price or you won't make it period. in turn it means cheaper labor in China which already has low wages and they can sell a product for less than it should be worth which knocks out the little guy is my understanding.

[feederband]

i think the other main problem is that with the buying power they have there they (Wal-Mart) set the price...

they don't let the manufacturer of the product set a price. No negotiation...either we buy it for this price or you won't make it period. in turn it means cheaper labor in China which already has low wages and they can sell a product for less than it should be worth which knocks out the little guy is my understanding.

Correct...

[beachbum_al]

Because at one time Wal-Mart used to advertise Made in America. I think that is why they get the rap they get.

[CajunMama]

I never heard about that (buying foreign products) being the problem. The biggest complaint I hear about is how Wal-Mart kills smaller, family-owned businesses.

I agree with you on hearing that about walmart too duckie. But what I find odd is you don't hear that about KMart and Target and their prices are lower than a mom & pop store. Heck you don't even hear it about Sam's Club which is owned by the Waltons also.

[gtalum]

The biggest problem with WalMart is that when they displace smaller businesses, the replace the lost jobs with lower paying jobs with fewer benefits. The net effect is that you and I end up paying more in welfare for the benefits and salaries that Wal Mart displaces. In other words, a much higher percentage of Wal-Mart employees are on some form of public assistance than are the employees of other major retailers. We may get lower prices at the register, but we more than make up for it in tax bills.

[gtalum]

I agree with you on hearing that about walmart too duckie. But what I find odd is you don't hear that about KMart and Target and their prices are lower than a mom & pop store. Heck you don't even hear it about Sam's Club which is owned by the Waltons also.

KMart and Target employees are not on public assistance as much as Wal-Mart employees are. Also, they are smaller so of course are not as attractive as targets (no pun intended) for activists as Wal-Mart is.

[Janice]

Well, one thing for sure. I am sure Walmart will not knowlingly hire an illegal and I respect them for that. That is more than family owned farmers do.

[gtalum]

I am sure Walmart will not knowlingly hire an illegal and I respect them for that.

Are you sure?

Wal-Mart cleaners arrested in sweep

In a sweeping crackdown on undocumented workers, federal agents arrested more than 300 people at Wal-Mart stores in 21 states Thursday and raided the retail giant's world headquarters in Arkansas.

The workers arrested are members of cleaning crews that the company hired through a contractor.

Wal-Mart said Friday it would review all of its 1.1 million U.S. workers and fire any that aren't legally employed.

The government's decision to go after Wal-Mart (WMT), the world's largest employer, underscored an aggressive and ongoing effort to enforce labor laws involving undocumented workers.

The workers from Eastern Europe, Central America and Asia, hired by contractors to fill cleaning crews, were arrested at 60 stores. Agents also hauled several boxes of documents from an executive's office at Wal-Mart headquarters. A sealed criminal complaint alleges that immigration violations took place with "direct knowledge" by Wal-Mart executives, according to Department of Homeland Security officials. Evidence includes taped conversations between Wal-Mart executives, they said.

They just hire their illegals through contractors so that they can pretend not to know about it.

[Janice]

Yikes, thanks for the info. I guess anyone in the US who wants to hire an illegal is free to do so.

[feederband]

I am sure Walmart will not knowlingly hire an illegal and I respect them for that.

Are you sure?

Wal-Mart cleaners arrested in sweep

In a sweeping crackdown on undocumented workers, federal agents arrested more than 300 people at Wal-Mart stores in 21 states Thursday and raided the retail giant's world headquarters in Arkansas.

The workers arrested are members of cleaning crews that the company hired through a contractor.

Wal-Mart said Friday it would review all of its 1.1 million U.S. workers and fire any that aren't legally employed.

The government's decision to go after Wal-Mart (WMT), the world's largest employer, underscored an aggressive and ongoing effort to enforce labor laws involving undocumented workers.

The workers from Eastern Europe, Central America and Asia, hired by contractors to fill cleaning crews, were arrested at 60 stores. Agents also hauled several boxes of documents from an executive's office at Wal-Mart headquarters. A sealed criminal complaint alleges that immigration violations took place with "direct knowledge" by Wal-Mart executives, according to Department of Homeland Security officials. Evidence includes taped conversations between Wal-Mart executives, they said.

They just hire their illegals through contractors so that they can pretend not to know about it.

They had no control over who the contractors hire.....I work fo a grocery chain...I don't think we had one cleaning crew that spoke english..We had to call a 1800 number to talk to them...We had no way of knowing if they were illegal or not..

[MiamiensisWx]

I think they should be taught English more so that others (like me) can understand what they are saying, such as when they are hired to build a pool (I am having one built at my home)...

[Aslkahuna]

Why should they learn English? It's YOUR responsibility to learn THEIR language according to those who support the illegals (like those building your pool).

Steve

[MiamiensisWx]

Why should they learn English? It's YOUR responsibility to learn THEIR language according to those who support the illegals (like those building your pool).

Steve

Are we getting a bit testy here?